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The pony car segment is evaporating in front of our eyes. The Chevy Camaro is ending production next year, with no direct replacement planned. The Dodge Challenger, the best-selling muscle car of 2022, is about to die to make way for an all-electric replacement. That leaves just one front-engine American sports car remaining: the Ford Mustang.
Instead of shifting the Mustang to a totally new platform and going all-electric, Ford decided to stay the course with the seventh generation of its most iconic vehicle. The 2024 Mustang has the same proportions and the same engine options as the last-gen car. There isn’t a hybrid model on the trim list. At first glance, you might even think some of the body moldings are the same as before. The S650 Mustang feels like more of a refresh than something totally new, both in its looks and how it drives. In this case, that’s absolutely a good thing.
We won’t go as far as to say Ford played it safe with the 2024 Mustang’s styling, but the design is clearly an evolution rather than something clean-sheet. The fascia and body lines are sharper than before, but this car is instantly recognizable as a Mustang. The biggest change comes out back, where the trunk and tail light area now sports a concave design, a shout-out to the 1967 Mustang fastback. The car feels honed and modern without straying too far from the public’s perception of what a Mustang should look like.
Far more has changed inside. The analog gauges are gone, replaced by a fully digital cluster measuring 12.4 inches across. Swap through any of the six drive modes and you’re greeted to a cool animation of a Mustang that corresponds to the mode you’ve selected. There are also five different cluster themes that include Normal, Sport, Track, and Calm, which minimizes the display to show only the most important functions. There’s also a Fox Body-themed cluster that mirrors what you’d see on a Mustang from 1987 to 1993, which is cool as hell.
The digitization expands to the center-mounted touchscreen, now a 13.2-inch behemoth that contains everything from entertainment to climate control. Virtually all of the conventional buttons on the dash, save for a select few important switches, have been stuffed into the screen, meaning you’ll have to adjust things like the radio station or fan speed with a few taps. It’s more bothersome than a simple switch, but at least SYNC 4.0 is responsive and simple to learn. Chances are you’ll be using Apple CarPlay most of the time, anyway. And connecting is seamless.
The V-8-powered GT model remains the heart of the range. The 5.0-liter Coyote motor now makes 486 hp and 418 lb-ft of torque thanks to a new dual throttle-body setup with separate intakes, along with a new left-side exhaust header that promotes better flow. There’s also dual injection and forged connecting rods. In a world of turbos, the smooth, immediate delivery from the naturally aspirated eight-pot is supremely refreshing. Big torque is available down near idle, making low-speed travel and commuting easy. The real fun happens near the 7500-rpm redline, as it’s there where all the power can be found. Unlike a push-rod engine, there’s no dead spot near the top of the rev range—the louder the noise, the more power you have. Thank the dual-overhead cams and variable cam timing.
Thankfully you can still pair the 5.0 to a six-speed manual transmission (the four-cylinder EcoBoost is auto-only for 2024 onward). It’s the same Getrag MT82 found in the last Mustang, and feels the same, too. Shifter feel isn’t anything to write home about, but the shift action is short and easy, while the clutch is light and feelsome. The gearing feels just as long as it does in the 2018+ Mustang, tuned for efficiency rather than outright acceleration. That means second gear reaches into the mid-70-mph range, resulting in law-breaking runs to redline on most roads.
This is usually the part of the review where I dismiss the 10-speed auto and tell you to get the manual if you’re physically able to drive stick. But I can’t do that, since the 10-speed is actually good now. The steering wheel-mounted paddles respond well to commands, giving crisp downshifts on deceleration where the prior version of this ‘box would fumble and lag. It’s not eight-speed ZF good, but the differences are slim enough to where most drivers won’t notice. Pop the GT into sport or track mode, and the transmission will react to braking and steering inputs to feed you the correct gear. It’s clear a lot of time was spent dialing in the software—sensible considering 73 percent of all V-8-powered 2024 Mustang orders so far have been specced with the auto. Instead of neutering the experience, the 10-speed allows for legitimate fun for more people. And we’re all for that.
Our tester came with the $4995 performance package, a must-have for the twisty-road-obsessed. It adds staggered 19-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tires, Brembo brakes with six-piston front calipers, stiffer front springs, a bigger rear sway bar, a strut tower brace, and a bigger rear wing. Even with all of those upgrades, the Mustang GT doesn’t feel totally at home in the canyons, as it’s simply too large. A nose-heavy 3827-pound curb weight means the GT can never deliver the same lateral satisfaction as a Toyota GR Supra or Nissan Z. A numb front end with next to zero steering feel doesn’t help things, and occasionally creates a sketchy ice-skatey vibe because you don’t know how much grip is available.
Once you get used to the mass, though, you can hustle the Mustang GT. It’s a pony car through and through, slow through corners and fast on the straights. You just have to manage the weight and keep an eye on brake temps (we got a strong whiff of hot brakes after about 20 minutes of serious canyon carving). We suspect most buyers will use the GT where it feels best: Straight roads and open highways, where you can get the most out of the delectable powertrain. If that’s your plan, we suggest skipping the performance pack to smooth out the suspension, saving a couple of bucks in the process.
You’ll have to keep the performance pack specced if you want the 2024 Mustang’s most gimmicky feature, the drift brake. While it might look like a normal manual handbrake, it’s actually all-electric, simulating a hydraulic handbrake like you’d find on a pro drift car when activated. Rip it and the Mustang will lock its rear brakes, allowing for easy, smoke-filled drifts. Cool yes, but we worry people will routinely ignore Ford’s “for track use only” warning to show off at side shows—something we expect to happen more than ever seeing as how the ‘Stang will be the only game in town soon.
Ford could’ve walked away from the Mustang as we know it for 2024, leaning harder into the Mach-E side of the sub-brand. But it didn’t. Instead, Ford stayed the course, offering a more traditional muscle car that enthusiasts will continue to enjoy right here, right now, for an entire lifecycle. The Mustang now finds itself with little competition, nestled and isolated into a once titantically popular niche. It feels stuck in time in all the right ways, resisting the march towards our combustion-less future. And we, as enthusiasts, are all the more blessed because of it. Long live the pony car. Long live the Mustang.
Brian Silvestro is Hearst Autos' Lead Deputy Editor for rankings content. He spent over seven years as a staff writer for Road & Track Magazine, and still contributes regularly with car reviews, industry interviews, and more.
He also has a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
