2015 Mustang: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

By now, you’ve probably heard that Ford unveiled its sixth-generation Mustang pony car today in several cities across the world. Here’s what else you need to know.

Ford is ushering its retro-styled ‘Stang out of the building and the world is left looking at a car that, in many ways, is a big departure from ponies past.

Automatic and manual transmission versions both come with updates. Slushbox buyers will find that “manually” picking shift points doesn’t involve pressing up and down buttons on the shift lever anymore and thank goodness for that. The new car comes with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel.

Things are getting better if you’re trained to operate a third pedal, too. Ford says it reworked the six-speed stick to offer smoother shifts.

It isn’t every day that Ford brings out a new Mustang. In fact, the fourth and fifth generations both lived for roughly a decade, so you can probably understand why modernizing the new car is so important. The cabin probably won’t change much for the next five years.

So what’s new? Pretty much everything, but here are a couple of the highlights. Ford is integrating a touch screen with its MyFord Touch infotainment system. Depending on how you feel about the system, that could count for a mark in either the “win” or “lose” column.

But there’s good news in the technology department even if you think MyFord Touch stinks. The car also gets blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert systems, both of which will make the heavily raked coupe easier to manage for daily driving.

Realizing this by looking at photos is just about impossible, but the new car is both lower and wider than the model is replaces. The A-pillars are also thinner in an attempt to make the car easier to see out of.

Those factors should improve the new Mustang’s cornering capability and make it easier to handle fore more drivers.

Originally, Ford planned to build the car on an evolved version of the old chassis, but that didn’t end up happening. The fact that Ford designed a new chassis is significant because it allowed equipment that will dramatically change how the car behaves on both the street and track. It also cost Ford an arm and a leg.

Some Mustang owners hate hearing “IRS,” and it usually doesn’t have to do with taxes. You’ve probably heard that Ford finally scrapped the solid rear axle every found in every preceding generation.

The move will bring a new degree of civility to the car, making it more livable over rough pavement and less prone to hanging the back half out in corners.

Of course, this is a Mustang and the car wouldn’t be complete without a roaring V8 under the hood. The same 5.0-liter “Coyote” V8 will power this generation, although Ford says it will make more power than before. The brand hasn’t divulged the details, but says it will also be more efficient thanks to a new intake manifold for improved efficiency at low speeds.

For now, all the world knows is that it will make “at least” 420 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, although the official number will probably climb before any models gallop into dealerships.

Ford debuted the car in several locations at once, and part of that included showing the drop-top model. As anyone with seat time in a soft-top Mustang can corroborate, the conversion process could be quicker. And it will be. In a striking seven seconds , the new car takes about half the time as its predecessor does to go from private to exposed.

This one sort of goes without saying, but the car adopts new styling. Considered to be more “evolutionary” than “revolutionary,” Ford kept things reasonably close to the old car, but with smoother lines and the same Aston Martin-influenced face found on the Fusion sedan.

An even more extreme fastback than the old model along with three-bar rear lights help maintain the signature Mustang distinction.

One of the most significant changes is very small. Well, at least if you’re measuring by engine displacement. Ford will begin offering a 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine with 305 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque or more.

Ambiguity with engine output is a recurring theme with Ford’s new pony car and tweaking the force-fed four-banger to make more will be as easy as cranking up the boost with an ECU tweak. But is a four cylinder really appropriate? The answer to that question has an awful lot to do with where you live.

There’s a simple answer if you were wondering why the brand chose to unveil its car in multiple locations outside the U.S. It’s going to be sold all over the world.

That’s why Ford dumped untold sums into a new chassis. It’s the reason behind the boosted four-cylinder engine, the integrated and independent rear suspension and the smoother body style.

Ford knows the same thing McDonalds does: you don’t need to please everyone as long as sales volumes make up for miffed buyers in some markets. There isn’t long to wait, either. Mustangs will start showing up in showrooms next year and with a host of engines offered with either transmission, it’s hard to imagine this thing being a sales flop.

Discuss this story at our 2015 Mustang forum or our Mustang EcoBoost Forum