Every few years in America, something special happens. Ford gathers up all the journalists and pulls a new Mustang into the spotlight. While the awe-inspiring return of the 5.0 V8 for 2011 and shock of independent rear suspension for 2015 got the people going, the new 2024 Ford Mustang leaves revolution off the table in favor of what appears to be a re-skinning of the current car. As a result, it has me feeling uneasy.
But, you can now rev your engine from your key fob, in the comfort of, I suppose, not even being in the car.
The Looks Of The 2024 Ford Mustang
Let’s start with the looks. On the outside, Ford seems to have gone a bit heavy-handed on the trim. While the outline of the new grille is great, the front end just feels overdone. On the plus side, I do appreciate how the 2024 Mustang looks a lot like the 2006 Giugiaro concept. Look at the straight leading edge of the hood, the straight upper character line and sloped lower character line on each door, and the creased trunk panel.
Creased trunk panel? Ah yes. The 2024 Mustang has one of the most controversial taillight treatments of any Mustang. Since Ford created a deep depression in the rear filler panel, the taillights had to follow that surfacing. The result is a pair of tail lights that look like open passports [Ed Note: Is that how Canadian passports open? It looks more like a matchbook to me which, I’m realizing, is something maybe you’ve never experienced before. – MH] [Editor’s Note: What about a flip phone or a Nintendo DS? – JT] . Think Mustang Mach-E without each center spar.
While the elements in each taillight look nicely diffused, the overall design of each taillight doesn’t blend particularly well with each quarter panel. Speaking of things that don’t blend well, look at how those wheel just disappear inside the arches. When the outgoing car was available with awesome 305-section tires, there’s precedent to follow up. The 2024 Mustang looks like it skipped leg day.
Then again, the styling of many recent Mustangs has been initially vilified upon debut. People complained that the 2015 Mustang looked like a Honda Accord Coupe, then that the 2018 Mustang was a step backward from the 2015 model. There’s a chance that the 2024 Mustang will look much better in person than it does in oddly-lit press photos, but I’m still a touch wary of the fundamentals. I guess I’ll know for sure by the time this article goes live.
The Interior Of The 2024 Ford Mustang
Inside the 2024 Mustang, it seems like tech has completely overrun actual design and usability. The dashboard is a mess of mismatched shapes, while placing the volume knob on the passenger side of the center stack seems like an ergonomic nightmare. In addition, the new infotainment screen and digital cluster are combined into one really tall bezel, a concerning sight for those who like to sit low enough for helmet clearance and still see out. In addition to the massive 13.2-inch touchscreen, there’s an optional B&O stereo available that’s likely terrible given Ford’s B&O system track record. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I don’t have particularly high hopes.
The Performance Improvements Of The 2024 Ford Mustang
While controversial looks and slightly iffy interior bits aren’t anything new in the world of Mustangs, there is a bigger problem with the 2024 Mustang: Ford’s staying light on details regarding performance improvements. Ford touts an all-new turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder base model, but that’s the same sort of engine that powered the old base model. Moreover, the 5.0-liter V8 gains twin throttle bodies, but that’s basically all we know. While Ford claims that the V8 makes more power than ever before, the Dearborn-based company didn’t divulge estimated power figures under embargo. While rev-matching on the GT’s six-speed manual gearbox is new for the Mustang, it’s not a particularly novel technology. So what sort of important performance stuff is actually new here?
For starters, there’s the steering. Ford’s quickened up rack ratios and stiffened up connection points between the steering wheel and tires in the pursuit of feel and agility. Steering was a bit of a weak spot in the old Mustang, so I’m interested to see if the new car rectifies the old one’s off-center vagueness. In addition to revised steering, the new Mustang features two gimmicks. Owners will be able to rev their cars from the key fob [Editor’s Note: Geez, finally – JT] , while models with the Performance Pack gain a special electronic handbrake that works like a hydraulic handbrake. Pull the lever and the rear wheels lock while in motion to initiate or tighten a slide. In essence, the new Mustang gives owners new ways to be obnoxious hoons, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I’m quite eager to test these new features out.
The Takeaway
I can’t help but feel a sense of dread about the 2024 Ford Mustang. My childhood best friend had loads of the things. A 1994 GT with some light bolt-ons, a 1999 GT with subframe connectors and a tubular K-frame, a bone-stock high-mileage 2005 GT, the list goes on. Mustang GTs are still close to my heart, and the 2024 model seems to be Ford forgetting what made the Mustang GT an icon. So what if Mustangs of the past had subpar interior quality, few toys, and more structural flex than a wet piece of lasagna? They had soulful V8s, three pedals, low starting prices, and delightfully wayward handling. You didn’t buy a Mustang because you were sophisticated, you bought one because you either wanted the look or wanted to go quickly on a budget.
The mythos of the Mustang has created a bit of a paradox around the new car. It may be more refined, more gadget-laden, and more premium than ever, but there’s a chance it would be better if it were worse. It’s the end of the internal combustion engine as we know it. Forget sipping Chablis in a fitted blazer like a refined individual, we want kegstands and shitty tattoos. Then again, there’s also a chance that the 2024 Mustang might not carry a vastly different price tag from the current car. I guess we’ll just have to hurry up and wait to see.
All photos courtesy of Ford
The 2024 Ford Mustang Will Finally Let You Remotely Rev The Engine From Your Key Fob
e.g. “Douchbaggery from a distance.”
So it’s the New New Edge Mustang? New Edge II?
I like the current one more, as well as it’s predecessor. This follows the Jaguar F-Type’s misstep in flattening the headlamps that gave it so much character to begin with. I suspect pedestrian impact requirements are the cause.
I don’t mind the edginess. The tail lights remind me of the solid glow of the ’90s Lincoln Mark VIII with the neon tail lamps, but even more digital. However it still looks cribbed from a video game. Or like this is the “stock car” NASCAR version, and the real one looks like a real desirable vehicle, not something made to resemble it from a distance.
I look forward to seeing them in person. At least they didn’t mess up the greenhouse, so a periscope isn’t recommended equipment as with the camaro.
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S550s drive extremely nice. Have you tried one? The bro crowd gives em a bad name, but they handle great. This is why Kristen Lee and I love them.
I’ve driven a S550 GT500, but not a GT350 yet. I’d like to. I agree with you that the price-per-smiles ratio isn’t good for the 350 and the 500, or even the PP2 cars if you don’t track it… but to me the GT Premium (really with the PP1, but prices for performance packs have shot up) hits the sweet spot. Just enough performance for the price.
Well no one can say it’s not ugly.
I think someone at ford lined up the current mustang with a camaro and said, “you know the new mustang just needs more camaro I think”. Ugh
I’ve owned a 1968 hardtop and a 1990 GT convertible, and have followed and loved Mustangs my entire life. I am hoping it comes off a bit better in person, but there are a couple of things that won’t change, like the dash. Way too much screen. It would have been better broken up into two or three, or in some kind of dashboard. And how is that going to be at all readable, with the top down and the sun anywhere in the vicinity, especially behind you? The volume dial on the passenger side?! Drivers typically get steering volume controls these days, but NO one wants to encourage the passenger to fiddle with it when they’re the driver. Aesthetically the big screen makes the whole interior a failure. I have always thought the 1970 model year was the low point for the Mustang style wise, it just made the 1969 design worse (grille/headlights, taillights), and the only one that looked good was the Boss 302, particularly in Coral. But this may have surpassed it in the number of bad details. I also hate the hood scoop, mainly because the combination of that and the new headlight / grille design of the GT gives it a Dodge Charger look from the raised front 3/4 view. And as some have noted, from other angles it looks a bit more like a Camaro now, which is never what you want in a Mustang. The slope of the hood, which I’m sure is another concession to the European pedestrian impact laws, gives the nose a weird droop as they try to keep it low, much like the Miata. I think the base model works better than the GT, because of the grille and lack of bad scoop, although in these pictures the droop is then more obvious because you don’t have the scoop to distract you. I was also hoping the design would walk back the “aggressive” look a notch, but obviously that didn’t happen, though I don’t think it got more pronounced. A Mustang should be something you can pull up in and not look like you are late for keg party, sorry Thomas. The Mach E looks better by comparison now (I thought that was pretty good looking to begin with). I sort of wish they’d offer the V8 without the GT looks, like you used to be able to order a base, non GT car with the 428. Maybe just a nice retro badge like the bar with the engine call-out. Perhaps in the new “Bullitt” version (the aesthetic of the prior Bullitts being what I’m talking about)? Or a California Special with real horsepower?
I can’t pinpoint why (maybe just the sheer height?) but the whole gauge/center console combo looks like it belongs in a truck
Meh.. I haven’t cared much about Mustangs since they had round headlights. I care less and less the more squinty eyed they get. This thing could be a Camry coup for all I care.. no wait, that would be more appealing.
Wow, that host was obnoxious. Tell him to lay off the testosterone “anti-aging” supplements.
Who the heck laid out this article?
Paragraph about the front end of the car going into excruciating detail about the grille and the hood lines.
{pic of the rear end of the car}
Come on, guys.
I mean, the sentence “Look at the straight leading edge of the hood…” is immediately followed by a pic of the rear of the car.
Maybe it’s just me, but is someone at Ford nostalgic for New Edge?
Hopefully there’s a refresh in a couple years, but also hopefully this Mustang’s beauty is a little more skin deep.
More sharp lines, creases, screens, LEDs, etc….it’s apparently everything we want in a car, but more doesn’t always equal good.
Meh. Looks like Ford gingerbreaded up the current model and envies the Camaro rear quarter panel too much.
I do like how the interior appears to be riffing on the Fox Body’s squared off dash. And the taillights are at least pointing in the right direction, contra the ’94 – ’94 SN95 (which I like more and more these days, probably b/c last of the oldschool 5.0s).
Ok, I’m glad I’m not the only one who immediately thought “Camaro” when I saw the rear quarter panel crease.
I get the Camaro take. But after a few more looks, I’m thinking it’s more reminiscent of the ’69 & ’70 sports roof (fastback) models. Camaro will certainly pop into people’s minds first since we’re all more familiar with it.
For me anyway, the current S550 is actually the ’69/’70 sportsroof look – the backlight is nicely raked and it has the muscular but not dramatically creased flanks.
That’s why this looks so Camaro to me. I’d like to say it’s a nod to the Fox’s areo-square design, but it’s too sculpted I think.
My first thought on seeing the lead image was “Oh, they put a better front end on the camaro”
The exterior is fine. The interior, though, yikes.
…at risk of offending the brotherhood of muscle on this site, I think this is god awful. It’s bulbous. As Detroit Lightning mentioned, the rear quarter panel looks terrible….almost like a low quality mod to me personally. The headlights are too small. The interior is yet another tech nightmare and it reminds me of one of their trucks.
The whole thing is a goddamn mess other than the donk, which looks fine but it’s more or less just a curvier S550. This is bad. Really bad. I get that with a legacy car like this you can’t reinvent the wheel with each redesign because you’ll lose customers, but this ain’t it chief.
I was prepared to make a much more eloquent and well detailed statement on the 2024 Mustangs design, but honestly…
BLECH.
What in the name of all things holy am I staring at here? The car looks like a knock-off of a GTA Mustang knock-off.
The front is devoid of any true character and the only thing the tail lights do for me is remind me of the ill fitting sticker kits they stretch over stock car bodies, flat, uninspiring design and all.
The interior looks like it was fed through an AI generator, at a glance it almost appears recognisable, but when you really look, you get lost in meaningless shapes and features.
I like the Mustang II more than this.
Notable things from the reveal stream:
Apparently over 480HP for regular V8
New 2.3L Ecoboost
Manual transmission available (no surprise)
Electric “drift” brake for some models.
New “Darkhorse” Trim with special Darkhorse badges, over 500HP with a manual, Magnaride…
Making various track only versions…
Overall a very cringe reveal.
For all the moaning in this review, I’m not sure what you expected. I thought it had been known for a while that this wasn’t going to be anything more than a light revision of the current car. With the Challenger on its way out, and the Camaro following soon after, why would they need to go crazy anyhow?
I’m in the camp that thought the 2011-14 was the best looking design and it’s gone backwards ever since, but I like this interior, I like the B&O system in my truck (talk about shots fired, yikes), and more than anything I like that an attainable V8 coupe is still on the market in 2024 and beyond.
They didn’t need to go crazy in ’05 with the Camaro and Challenger already gone, and yet they did.
I’ll reserve final judgement until I see it in person, but my first impression is … really really not good.
“The youngsters love screens, let’s give em all screens”.
No, I spend all day looking at a fucking screen. When I’m out for a drive, I want a damn break from screens. Just give us Android Auto and Carplay, for ease of use with Spotify and Google maps, but let the rest of this shit be an analogue break from the overstimulation of the digital world.
I drive a ’90 MX5, the dash and cluster tell me everything I need. 3 weeks ago the fuse blew for my stereo, so now I don’t even have that annoying glow in my center console, it’s perfect.
’07 Sky here. Just turned off Sirius a d the radio might as well only play static. Turned it off completely with the top down today for over an hour. Pure heaven.
Fellow ’90 MX5 owner here. If you have a stock stereo, pushing the equalizer knob should kill the stereo glow, and then you should be able to dim everything else with the roller by the steering column. Unless you’re one of them Europeans and your controls are all different from ours.
It’s some obnoxious Sony head unit that glows red. I have it set to dim, it’s never a huge annoyance, it’s just been surprisingly peaceful without it.
My car has 4AGE ITBs and a custom exhaust that ends with a Focus ST centre exit, so it is an aurally stimulating experience.
Once I get Spotify setup and playing my playlist, I hit setup and then display off on my G70, nice, dark cabin, steering wheel down low enough to block the blue high beam light, next to no eye strain.
I get that screens are here to stay, and for most consumers of new cars, there are gotta have infotainment features, I just don’t think EVERYTHING needs to be a screen. I really liked the analog clusters in the last two generations of Mustangs
It seems like a weird choice considering the fact that I’d imagine the median age of a Mustang buyer is probably 40+. The youths couldn’t care less about this stuff, they all want EVs…which makes the SCREENS ON SCREENS ON SCREENS approach even weirder to me.
That rear quarter panel (fender flare?)…woof. Especially from that front / angled view. Profile looks ok i guess.
For such a hyped buildup, that’s pretty disappointing.
Give me a Mach-e [ducks]
Looks like this is the new Camaro. Not a fan of the new interior (screens and wheel mostly) or the rear light panel.. but overall it’s not bad. Just not great. Can you believe the rumor mill thought there’d be AWD and maybe even hybrid power?! Oh well. I wonder if it’ll be the same old MT82 or will they finally use a more robust trans?
Meh….
“…while placing the volume knob on the passenger side of the center stack seems like an ergonomic nightmare.” – Welcome to right hand drive!
Or, FFS, volume controls on the steering wheel. Drama like this will drive me away from this site.
I’m not in love with the sharp crease/character line on the top of the rear quarter panels, but overall? I don’t hate it. It’ll be interesting to see one in person. That interior however reminds me of why I choose to drive a vehicle designed in the early 00’s.
My own Mustang is from the early 2000s, which means its interior is actually from the early 1990s with a dash of 1980s here and there. The overall spartan (read: cheaply made) character makes me happier every day.
It looks like a Subaru BRZ except fat. For a final ICE Mustang it’s pretty sad.
Wow. Now I can’t unsee the BRZ every time I look at the pics.
Like a lot of us here it seems, I really hope it looks better in person.