2022 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Fastback Review

The Ford Mustang has been in Australia in its current generation since 2015 and in those seven years the prancing horse has really won Australians over. With over 33,000 sold to now, the sixth-generation Mustang has been a massive hit for Ford in Australia – just as well too, as it’s the first series production right-hand drive model in the nameplate’s history. However, with a new model coming in the next year, should you wait or jump in now? We tested the 2022 Ford Mustang GT Fastback to find out.

The Ford Mustang is arguably one of the most iconic nameplates in the automotive industry synonymous with the American muscle car and while you can no longer buy a Chevrolet Camaro here, it really has no competitors. But does that mean you should default to just buying the Mustang or are there other options out there?

Price & Equipment: 8/10

The 2022 Ford Mustang GT starts at $65,390 plus on-road costs and the 10-speed automatic we tested here will set you back $68,290 plus on road costs (around $75,000 drive away) – $2,900 above the manual. While that’s not cheap, it’s significantly less than any other seriously fast coupe.

Standard kit on the Mustang GT includes 19-inch alloy wheels, all-LED exterior lighting, auto lights and wipers, leather upholstery with heated and vented six-way electrically adjustable front seats, dual-zone climate control, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, satellite navigation, a 12.0-inch digital driver’s display, a 1,000W 12-speaker B&O Play sound system, customisable LED interior ambient lighting, keyless entry and start with remote start, heated and electric-folding mirrors with puddle lamps, drive modes, an active exhaust and a limited-slip differential.

Safety equipment that can be found on the 2022 Ford Mustang GT includes eight airbags, forward collision alert with auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, auto high beam, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera with guidance lines.

Colours available on the 2022 Ford Mustang are the standard ‘Race Red’ and ‘Oxford White’ as well as ‘Shadow Black’, ‘Atlas Blue’, ‘Grabber Blue’, ‘Eruption Green’, ‘Dark Matter Grey’, ‘Cyber Orange’, ‘Mischievous Purple’, ‘Rapid Red’ and our test car’s ‘Carbonised Grey’ for an additional $650.

Options available on the Mustang GT include $2,500 19-inch forged silver alloys, a $750 rear spoiler, $2,750 ‘Mangaride’ adaptive dampers, $650 ‘Over-the-Top’ stripes in either black or white and a $3,000 set of Recaro bucket seats (which deletes the standard seats’ heating and cooling functionality). Our test car was fitted with all of these options including metallic paint bringing the price to $77,740 plus on-road costs (around $76,000 drive away), which brings it into serious money.

With the Chevrolet Camaro no longer sold in Australia, and the Dodge Challenger and Charger siblings never offered locally, the Mustang has no direct rivals. Having said that, there are options for those wanting a relatively practical and fast car – the $64,960 +ORC Kia Stinger GT, for example.

Performance & Economy: 9/10

Powering the 2022 Ford Mustang GT is a 5.0-litre ‘Coyote’ petrol V8 engine that has been under the bonnet of the current shape Mustangs since it was released. In this guise it produces 339kW of power (at 7,000rpm) and 556Nm of torque (at 4,600rpm). Power is sent solely through the rear wheels via a limited slip differential – our test car was fitted with the optional 10-speed torque converter automatic transmission but a close ratio six-speed manual is standard equipment.

The engine is arguably the best thing about the Mustang – it is thunderous, it sounds incredible even when cruising around and it really adds to the car’s overall character. Stomp on the loud pedal and its 339 kilowatts of power propel you from 0-100km/h in just 4.3 seconds (4.6 seconds for the manual). The engine has a linear powerband and comes on song whenever you need it to, in part due to the intuitive transmission. The 10-speed automatic transmission in the Mustang is quite intuitive and can even skip gears when needed to save fuel. When you need power, it will downshift with ease into the best gear to optimise acceleration – but even skipping gears to do so. Around town we were quite happy with the auto and when driving spiritedly we found the ratios a little too close together, but that comes from having 10 gears.

The quad-tip valved exhaust system on the Mustang GT is just fantastic and can offers a few different levels of noise depending on your driving situation. In normal mode, the car is quite vocal and gives off a fantastic V8 roar, though when you need it to be quiet to appease the neighbours there is a quiet mode which quietens the V8 to a reasonable level. Sport and race modes turn the volume up to 11 and make the Mustang very loud indeed.

Ford claims an average fuel consumption figure of 12.7L/100km for the Mustang GT with the automatic transmission. In our week spent with the Mustang, we saw an average figure of 12.7L/100km which we were quite okay with considering we weren’t driving it to be economical. The Mustang needs 98RON premium unleaded fuel and it has 71-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 8.5/10

American muscle cars have never been the last word in sophistication and handling ability, but due to the independent rear suspension set up of the sixth-generation Mustang, it handles remarkably well. Our Mustang was also fitted with the optional ‘Magnaride’ adjustable suspension, which worked a treat. In normal mode the Mustang was more than acceptable for daily duties, it was just the right amount of firm to realise what you were driving but compliant enough not to annoy you. Putting the car into sport or race mode stiffens up the suspension for a more engaging feel but true to its every day driving ability, it remains comfortable in every day use.

The Magnaride suspension also does a fantastic job of aiding in the handling department. The Mustang GT with its 19-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres handles the twisties very well for a car that has a heavy tare mass of 1,746kg. It’s not as direct or tight as something like an MX-5, but the Mustang’s handling ability surprised us in a positive way. While the steering feel can be adjusted, we didn’t feel too much difference in the modes and left it in normal mode. The steering is on the heavier side and suits the car perfectly.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

The cabin of the 2022 Ford Mustang GT is a characterful and reasonably high tech place to spend time, though don’t expect it to offer limo levels of space. In terms of storage space, the glovebox is large, as are the centre cup holders, while the centre box underneath the armrest is bigger than you might expect as well. Otherwise, storage is limited – the odd-shaped door bins, small pull-out tray next to the steering wheel and shallow tray on the centre console don’t hold much.

The quality inside the Mustang is reasonable, though don’t expect it to match other cars in this price bracket. While the dashboard and tops of the door panels are covered in soft touch materials and the dashboard also features an aluminium-life silver finish, the rest of the cabin is covered in hard plastic. The fake stitching on the dashboard is particularly naff too.

Sitting in the centre of the Mustangs dash is an 8.0-inch touchscreen that runs Ford’s superseded ‘SYNC3’ infotainment system. We like this system because of how easy it is to use and the screen quality is reasonable as well. There is also wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic and digital radio. The 12-speaker B&O Play sound system is punchy – particularly thanks to the huge subwoofer in the boot – and offers good a range too.

The 12-inch digital driver’s display is fantastic too – the sporty theme suits the car well and it really adds to the Mustang’s overall character. We love the different layouts paired to the driving modes and the functionality that it offers as well. The screen quality, like the centre screen, is also quite good and was the biggest change with the mid-life update that launched in 2018.

As you’d expect for a two-door sports coupe, the rear seat of the Mustang is cramped and it’s quite hard to access. Adults of any size will barely fit, especially with the larger optional Recaro front sports seats. Head room isn’t too bad but leg/knee room is nonexistent. The seats at least have ISOFIX points and can also fold to increase the cargo area – though don’t expect a van’s worth of space.

The boot of the Mustang offers 408-litres of cargo capacity, which is excellent for a two-door coupe – it’s actually 2L more than the Kia Stinger GT. In the boot, here is also a subwoofer and tyre inflation kit but that’s in the way of features. The opening is also on the smaller side, restricting access but its sizing is still pretty positive for a sports coupe.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Like all other new Fords, the 2022 Ford Mustang GT comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with 12 months of roadside assistance that is extended by a further 12 months at every scheduled Ford dealer service for up to seven years in total.

Servicing the Mustang GT comes around every 12 months or 15,000km. The cost to service this V8 coupe over the span of five years or 75,000km is $1,606 ($321.20 per service). We think this is very reasonable, especially considering the performance you get from the Mustang.

2022 Ford Mustang GT Fastback DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.5/10

The 2022 Ford Mustang GT gives us a taste of what American Muscle is like Down Under and in the wake of locally made V8 sports sedans, it’s easy to see why it’s been a big sales success so far. The Mustang is a rare product in 2022 in that it’s absolutely full of character throughout – from the horse logos to the all consuming V8 noise, it’s easy to know what car you’re driving. We love the V8 powerplant and explosive exhaust noise, but it’s also reasonably practical and offers a lot of fun for the money – even if prices have increased by almost $8,000 since its release.

The 2022 Ford Mustang GT is currently the least expensive V8 that you can buy in Australia (even undercutting the Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series) so should you buy one? Well, there is an all-new model coming next year, which you should keep in mind but we love the Mustang a lot and it does exactly what it says on the tin. If you’re in the market for such a car, we say go right ahead and buy one – especially while cars like this still exist.