2019 Ford Mustang – What to expect?

The Ford Mustang is a car that needs absolutely no introduction, whatsoever. The world’s most famous pony car has become synonymous to the term ‘muscle car ‘, and was first launched in 1964. In Malaysia, the outgoing avatar of the Mustang is the sixth-generation model which debuted for the first time back in 2013. However, the Blue Oval recently announced that it’ll be bringing in the newly refreshed 2019 facelifted Mustang to Malaysia, shortly.

Just as with its previous avatar, the upcoming model of the pony will also be available in the EcoBoost and eight-cylinder engine variants. According to the American automaker, while this is still a facelift, there have been marked improvements made to the Mustang for its 2019MY. The outgoing model currently retails for between RM 461,271 and RM 565,626 for the base and top trims, respectively. With that out of the way, let’s get started and find out what you can expect to find in the upcoming 2019 Ford Mustang.

Exterior

While the 2019 Mustang is just a facelift and not an entirely new model, there are still some changes worth mentioning. To begin with, Ford has revised the front fascia by making it more aggressive. It has achieved this by installing a restyled front mesh grille which is finished in glossy black, tweaked and updated headlamps with full-LED treatment for the main lights and DRLs, a more streamlined yet buff design for the bonnet, and a thoroughly restyled bumper. It now looks sportier with its deeper air intakes, larger protrusion for the lip spoiler, and now gets all-LED elements for the turn indicators and fog lights.

The side profile of the upcoming new Mustang remains characteristic of the muscle car that it is. So, it’s safe to say that it has been left untouched and retains its unbridled muscle car charm. The “large American muscle car” appeal of the Mustang never gets old and is a rather imposing looking automobile. Its muscular stance is accentuated by the 19-inch rims with their fat tyres and flared fenders, exaggerated rear haunches, long bonnet, and a sloping roofline. The updated rear features a triple-LED tail light setup with sequential operation, a remodelled back bumper with a more comprehensive air diffuser kit, and sporty quad-exhaust tailpipes. While the 2019 Ford Mustang is expected to be a touch larger in terms of its exterior dimensions, the difference shouldn’t really be that noticeable.

Interior

The overall design of the interior of the 2019 Ford Mustang doesn’t take a radical departure from the 2018 model. For the most part, it looks almost identical to what we can see in the present. However, Ford has worked harder to improve the overall quality of materials and trim inside the cockpit. It’s now a much better, more comfortable place to be in. The 2019 Mustang sports several more soft-touch points throughout the cabin - along with the centre console, dashboard, doors and even lower down near where your knees would rest.

And while most of the buttons and controls remain unchanged, Ford has now introduced an all-new 12-inch, full-digital, customisable instruments display. Drivers can toggle between different settings, menus, and even change the layout depending on the various drive modes - there’s Snow/Wet, Normal, Sport, Track, and the newly-introduced Drag Strip option. Another addition will come in the form of the new SYNC3 infotainment system which supports voice commands and Ford AppLink connectivity feature. Finally, there’s also the upgraded 8-inch touchscreen head unit.

Under the hood

The entry-level variant of the 2019 Ford Mustang will be powered with the EcoBoost, 2.3-litre four-popper. This mill puts out 310 horsepower at 5,400 rpm (same as last year) but develops 447Nm of torque (up from last year’s 432Nm) at 3,000 rpm. On the other hand, the evergreen 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 found in the top GT variant has also been tweaked. It now pumps out 460 horsepower at 7,000 rpm, while a healthy 556Nm of twisting force is served up at 4,600 rpm. Both engines continue to drive the rear wheels, though the transmission of choice is now the all-new 10-speed (with paddle shifters) unit that’s found in other newer Ford models.

The boffins at Ford have also been tinkering away with certain other mechanical components of the Mustang. As a result, the 2019 model features improved dampers, better ride quality, less body roll, and more grip around corners. Another (more dramatic) add-on comes in the form of active exhausts with adaptive valve control, which incorporates four exhaust modes, namely Normal, Quiet, Track, and Sport.

Features

Apart from the ones already mentioned so far, the 2019 Mustang also gets auto-levelling headlamps, power-operated and heated wing mirrors, multifunction leather steering wheel, cruise control, tyre-pressure monitoring system, pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection, and up to eight airbags as standard across the range.