Once upon a time, it would seem highly unlikely for a classic North American muscle car to find its way to the pages of the EnviroDad Test Drive.
Photo: Eric Novak
But these are remarkably different times where more R&D dollars go into making a car engine do more with less (or no) fuel than just about any other aspect of automobile technology. Whereas turbo-charging once upon a time was all about making a big engine more powerful, nowadays the rai·son d’être of the technology is now to create engines that are powerful and fuel-efficient at the same time.
2.3L EcoBoost engine
Ford Motor Company has been embracing the Eco benefits of turbo-charging with their EcoBoost line-up of engines since 2009. What was once seen as a niche product is now mainstream best seller. With 7 different EcoBoost engines, more than 200,000 produced a month and recently topping 5 million units sold since inception, Ford’s EcoBoost line-up is changing the face of what power should be.
With the launch of the all new 2015 Mustang, Ford reached into almost sacred ground and created a new 2.3L 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine especially for its iconic muscle car. Ford happily boasted that the new 2.3L EcoBoost engine would produce more than 300 horsepower, so when the opportunity for me to review a classic muscle car – but one that was equipped with a not-too-thirsty 4 cylinder engine yet still packing enough pony-power to put some wind in my eco-friendly sails – I said giddyap partner!
As the following video review will attest, which I decided to shoot on location at (where else) a horse farm, I didn’t walk away disappointed.
About the only thing one would expect a Ford Mustang to have that is missing from the 2015 Mustang equipped with the new 2.3L EcoBoost engine is the guttural engine sound that makes North American muscle cars truly what they are. That said, the car is still gorgeous enough to turn heads, even if they don’t hear it coming before they see it.
The legend of the Ford Mustang will not diminish one bit by the addition of this new gas-sipping engine. In fact, Ford may have just introduced this classic car to a legion of potential customers who likely would’ve looked the other way in the past.
BY THE NUMBERS (Out of 10):
LOOK/DESIGN:
EXTERIOR 9.5
INTERIOR 7.5
DRIVE: 9.0
GREEN FACTOR: 8.5
FAMILY FACTOR: 6.0
TECHIE STUFF: 8.5
VALUE: 8.0
(MSRP AS TESTED
– $45,849 CDN)
OVERALL: 8.0
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