Ford Mustang Mach 1 v GT track test and performance review

CarExpert

There's a $20,000 price difference between the Ford Mustang Mach 1 and the Ford Mustang GT. So, is the price difference worth it?  In-house professional race driver Chris Atkinson hits the race track to set some lap times and figure out whether it's worth investing more money into the Mach 1 for a better lap time.  Let us know what you think and whether you'd spend the extra cash!  More Ford content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/ford More Ford Mustang content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/ford/mustang  Skip Ahead: Intro 00:00 Mustang GT Impressions 00:30 Mustang GT Hotlap 05:20 Mustang Mach 1 Impressions 06:37 Mustang Mach 1 Hotlap 11:22 Result and verdict 12:35  We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.  Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.  Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1  You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.  Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!  Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!  CarExpert: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au  Paul Maric: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric  #ford #mustang #mach1 #gt #review

Transcript

00:00 (car engine revving)

00:03 Hey guys, Atko here,

00:04 and we're back at Queensland Raceway, our test track.

00:06 Today we're gonna do a bit of a different one.

00:08 We've got two cars from the same family.

00:10 We've got the Ford Mustang Mark I,

00:12 and the Ford Mustang GT.

00:14 Now the Mark I is definitely more track focused.

00:17 Better suspension, gearbox, a little bit more power,

00:20 same tyres.

00:21 Now we're gonna see if the $20,000 price difference

00:23 between these two makes a big difference

00:25 on the track or not.

00:27 I'm excited to find out, so let's get out there.

00:30 (car engine revving)

00:33 All right, firstly the GT.

00:36 My initial impressions, let's look at the seat.

00:38 It's got a bit of movement there.

00:40 It's a little bit lazy.

00:41 It's something that would be comfortable

00:43 on a long road trip, but you can see there,

00:45 I'm sliding around quite a lot.

00:47 So I would like a little bit more lateral support

00:49 on the track, and I'm not really getting that.

00:52 Steering wheel is actually really nice.

00:54 No complaints at all.

00:55 Really good size, and yeah, really happy with that.

00:59 So I've got the instrument set up on track mode,

01:02 and you can see the big rev indicator across the top,

01:06 and also the shift lights, which are really cool.

01:08 I'd actually like them to be a little bit brighter almost.

01:12 I'm just not quite having them catch my attention.

01:15 I'm having to look down a little bit,

01:17 so that just takes your focus away from the track.

01:20 So being a six-speed manual, I've got to heel-toe,

01:23 but it's actually got a rev-match function.

01:27 I think a lot of people enjoy that,

01:28 'cause heel-toeing is quite an art,

01:30 and if it's not quite working properly,

01:32 it can be a real hassle.

01:33 For me, I'm still heel-toeing,

01:34 but I'm also using the rev-match at the same time,

01:37 and I think it's helping me quite a bit there.

01:40 All right, let's pick up the pace a bit

01:45 and see what the engine response is like.

01:47 As you can imagine, with a five-liter V8,

01:49 339 kilowatts, 556 newton-metres,

01:53 so plenty of potential there.

01:56 It revs out pretty well.

01:58 It just feels a little bit lazy, like maybe at the top end,

02:01 but the bottom end is super drivable,

02:03 actually more drivable than I thought.

02:05 I can really manage the throttle there nicely.

02:08 Just the top end, I'd like probably a little bit more,

02:14 but it's far from slow and sounds amazing, that V8.

02:17 (engine revving)

02:19 I'd say some of that engine feeling's coming a little bit

02:22 from the gear ratios in the transmission.

02:25 I think those middle gears are spaced quite far apart,

02:28 but it's not like you feel like you're ever

02:30 in the wrong gear.

02:31 It's such a wide power band

02:34 that it's still useful the whole time,

02:36 and you don't feel like you're missing out,

02:38 but it does maybe reduce that impact performance

02:42 that you expect that shock.

02:43 All right, handling-wise, as you can imagine,

02:46 it's a little bit lazy.

02:47 It's a sort of muscle car, obviously,

02:50 and you get a fair bit of movement,

02:52 but the impressive part is that it doesn't actually fall over

02:55 in the middle of the corner,

02:56 so it supports the suspension, so great support,

03:00 and it took me a little bit of time to really trust it,

03:03 but it actually just hangs in there,

03:05 and you can really add steering in the middle of the corner.

03:08 That's super impressive, better than I expected, for sure.

03:11 The brakes actually feel really good.

03:13 I'm surprised, I've had no fade at all,

03:17 and for a pretty heavy car, over 1,700 kilos,

03:21 it stops well, nice and stable.

03:24 It's a big car,

03:25 and I can really trust it into the corner.

03:27 It just took me a little while to get the feeling

03:30 of where the limit was,

03:31 so try the differential out as well.

03:34 Interesting, it's not locking maybe

03:42 as much as I would have hoped,

03:43 so I felt like there was still a little bit of slip

03:45 on the inside.

03:46 I could drift it a little,

03:47 but there was just a bit of change of locking,

03:50 so locking, unlocking,

03:52 and not completely catching the slip,

03:54 so I feel like maybe it's not locking quite enough

03:58 and not consistently enough,

04:00 and it'd be interesting to see if the Mach 1

04:01 with the different LSD solves that problem,

04:05 'cause it just doesn't inspire full confidence

04:08 when it's not consistent like that.

04:10 So the tyres are the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S,

04:12 which is, I think, a really good compromise

04:15 street track tyre.

04:16 I'm actually amazed at how gentle this car is on tyres

04:20 for being a big, heavy V8.

04:22 I really feel like they've stayed nice and consistent,

04:25 haven't dropped away barely at all,

04:27 and I've got great grip,

04:29 and I've got a real trust in the rear end as well.

04:32 It's not really getting away from me.

04:33 It's not as scary as I thought, but...

04:36 (engine revving)

04:39 You can still light it up if you want.

04:42 So the actual balance is much more neutral

04:44 than I expected as well.

04:46 I can chuck it in there,

04:47 and yeah, I lost the rear there,

04:48 but I had balance all the way to that point,

04:50 and that's from me just messing around,

04:52 being too hard on the throttle,

04:53 but I had balance, I had trust.

04:55 I can really commit into here,

04:57 and the front, a little bit of understeer,

05:00 but it doesn't go to complete understeer,

05:02 and I like that about a car,

05:03 that you can push it to a point, but it doesn't give way.

05:06 All right, now time to get serious,

05:08 and the important thing, the lap time the GT does.

05:11 I've put everything in racetrack mode,

05:13 traction control off,

05:14 and I feel like that's the quickest setup.

05:17 It's gonna be tough for it to beat the Mach 1,

05:18 but I'm gonna give it a crack.

05:20 (engine revving)

05:23 (engine revving)

05:25 (engine revving)

05:28 (engine revving)

05:31 (engine revving)

05:34 (engine revving)

05:36 (engine revving)

05:39 (engine revving)

05:42 (engine revving)

05:47 (engine revving)

05:53 (engine revving)

05:58 (engine revving)

06:01 (engine revving)

06:07 (engine revving)

06:10 (engine revving)

06:14 (engine revving)

06:17 (engine revving)

06:20 (engine revving)

06:24 (engine revving)

06:28 (upbeat music)

06:35 (engine revving)

06:38 All right guys, now we're in the Mach 1,

06:40 things that stand out,

06:42 the gear shifts are a little bit different,

06:44 different gear knob,

06:45 and it feels like a bit sharper throw as well.

06:48 The seats, different, but still for me personally,

06:51 not enough support.

06:53 I want a little bit more side support.

06:55 It's probably my size and stature,

06:56 but I've even found when I go into the corners fast,

06:59 my elbow can fit between the side bolster and my body.

07:02 Now that's not a problem for everyone,

07:04 but for me on a track,

07:05 I would like a little bit more support.

07:07 On the road, I think that'd be a pretty comfortable

07:09 touring sports seat.

07:11 Pedals feel very similar as well.

07:14 No problem with the heel toe,

07:16 and I actually feel like with the slightly different engine,

07:19 I can pop the revs a little bit quicker,

07:22 and that helps with those downshifts.

07:25 So the engine and transmission

07:27 is when we start to see some real differences,

07:29 and even if the power number's the same,

07:31 we've got basically six kilowatts difference,

07:34 the feel of the top end of the engine in the Mach 1

07:37 is amazing.

07:38 It's so much sharper and more reactive as well,

07:41 and part of that comes back to the transmission.

07:44 We've got a different gearbox, different six speed

07:48 with a Rimac in this one versus the Getrag in the other one,

07:51 and the gear ratios are much tighter,

07:53 so basically the performance of the engine

07:56 feels a lot stronger when you get on the throttle.

07:59 Now there is a negative to that on the track,

08:01 is that it's adding an extra gear in a couple of spots,

08:05 so that does hurt it a little bit,

08:08 but overall I feel like as a package together,

08:13 this just feels more suited to a track,

08:16 more responsive, more reactive,

08:18 and a lot more than the six kilowatts that's on the paper.

08:22 Now brakes, I can't say there's a huge difference,

08:27 but just a lot more stable in this car,

08:30 just more planted, you feel the movement in the GT

08:33 where in the Mach 1 you don't see it squirming around

08:36 as much, it's just straight planted

08:38 and more short-footed under braking.

08:41 One interesting thing is that the tyres,

08:43 although they're exactly the same tyre,

08:45 just in this car it just seems to be putting

08:47 a bit more energy into the tyre,

08:49 and the tyre drop off just seems that little bit higher,

08:52 so that's the only thing that I'd say

08:56 is hurting this car, but in terms of outright grip,

09:01 then this car has it over the GT for sure.

09:04 Right, time to talk about handling,

09:09 and this is where there's a huge difference

09:11 between the two cars, and I didn't expect it.

09:13 The support in this car is so much better,

09:17 so much more controlled, more dialed,

09:19 I'm just supported here in the corner,

09:21 I can add the throttle, doesn't fall over,

09:24 the corner speed I'm carrying is much higher.

09:27 Also notice when I come up with the kerb here,

09:29 the reaction's not as bad, the rebound control's tighter,

09:32 it stiffens the car across the axles,

09:35 and it's just much more planted on the road,

09:38 and I really didn't expect that big a difference,

09:41 I thought they'd be quite similar,

09:42 and it's almost like two completely different cars.

09:45 This is a huge step up in handling and suspension.

09:49 This does have the MagnaRide, which you can option

09:51 on the GT, but I think it's more than that,

09:53 I think the way they've done the geometry changes,

09:56 the suspension, the spring rates, as a whole package,

09:59 this just completely transforms the car on the track,

10:03 and I think even more than the engine and the gearbox,

10:06 the chassis is gonna make the difference in the Mach 1.

10:09 The diff's an interesting one, like at normal speeds,

10:12 and like nice smooth application,

10:14 it feels actually really good, and not aggressive at all,

10:18 really smooth, and much more controlled than I expected.

10:22 The only negative is that when you start

10:25 to be a bit more aggressive,

10:26 and start to throw it around a bit more,

10:28 I can just feel that slip again from the inside rear wheel,

10:33 and I want that little bit more connection

10:35 when it's slipping across the axle,

10:37 and try and hold it a little bit more consistently.

10:40 Now balance wise, when you're really pushing,

10:44 I've noticed this does has a slight tendency

10:46 to understeer on the slower speed corners,

10:49 but that, in the high speed corners,

10:52 is where you get the support,

10:53 so for sure the GT wins a little bit,

10:56 just in the mid corner of some of these slow corners,

10:58 you can add a little bit more steering

10:59 without the understeer,

11:01 but the Mach 1 is by no means bad in that area,

11:05 just a slight difference between the two cars.

11:08 All right, it's time to get serious, guys.

11:10 I've got everything in track mode,

11:11 suspension race mode with the MagnaRide.

11:14 I feel like it's gonna do a pretty quick time,

11:16 it feels like a good package,

11:18 so let's see what lap time the Mach 1 can do.

11:20 (car engine revving)

11:23 (car engine revving)

11:26 (car engine revving)

11:29 (car engine revving)

11:33 (car engine revving)

11:36 (car engine revving)

11:45 (car engine revving)

11:55 (car engine revving)

11:58 (car engine revving)

12:10 (car engine revving)

12:17 (car engine revving)

12:20 So there you go, guys.

12:34 I think there were two big surprises in there for me.

12:36 First, I didn't expect either car

12:38 to be so good on the track.

12:39 They really performed exceptionally

12:41 and were great fun to drive out there.

12:43 The second, I thought they'd be really similar,

12:45 really close, I had expectations

12:47 of the same thing for both cars,

12:49 and the Mach 1 exceeded them and blew them out of the water.

12:51 That is a completely different package to the GT,

12:54 and that really surprised me.

12:56 Now, the lap times, 59.99 for the GT,

12:59 so cracked a minute just,

13:00 and a pretty respectable time,

13:02 quicker than the Stinger up there with the Audi RS Q3,

13:06 so a quick time, but then 58.4 for the Mach 1,

13:10 so that is an impressive time on the leaderboard,

13:12 just behind the A45.

13:14 And when you think about it,

13:15 it's only a second of the M550i, which is double the price.

13:19 Now, we came to this thinking,

13:20 is 20 grand difference enough or too much?

13:24 And for me, for 1.5 seconds a lap time,

13:28 20 grand is cheap, especially in racing terms,

13:31 so that is impressive.

13:32 And you think for another second,

13:33 you've got to double the price of the M550i,

13:35 so really impressive from both cars.

13:38 The balance and the handling was beyond what I expected.

13:41 The engine was excellent,

13:42 and the overall package was really a joy

13:44 to drive on the track.

13:45 Hope you guys enjoyed the video.

13:46 If you did, give us a thumbs up,

13:47 and don't forget to subscribe to the Car Expert channel.

13:50 Something different with two cars from the same family,

13:52 but a fun test, nevertheless.

13:55 And let us know what else you want to see on track,

13:57 and we'll see you guys again soon.

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