Why the Best 2015 Mustang will have 4 Cylinders

"jsmizira" (jmizira) 01/27/2014 at 15:45 • Filed to: None

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Unless you have been living under an early 2000's Chevy truck (sing it with me "Like a Rock…"), you have no doubt heard about the new 2015 Ford Mustang. The new, sculpted body is pure candy to the eye, and the fit and finish is bound to wow European petrol-heads, who already know the quality Ford is currently putting into their interiors. So why on earth would someone make the audacious comment that the smallest motor to grace a modern Mustang also be the best? For three reasons: size, tuning, and desirability.

Size . In Europe, and honestly, other countries that are not the U.S. of A., the notion of taxing heavily is not completely dead. The thought is, if you can afford a car with more than a certain amount of displacement, and with its equal amount of "not a care" given to Johnny polar bear and his stupid ice caps, then you can afford more taxes, Ye Jerk. The healthy 420 hp 5-liter is spitting boldly at the displacement tax, and in Johnny polar bear's eye, according to the EU emissions testing cycle. Even the not-too-shabby 300-ish hp 3.7 liter V6 is still just too big for Europe, to the point where Ford has not even considered it as an option. That leaves one glorious engine for the mass population of Europe to enjoy.

Ford's 2.3-Liter makes about 300 hp in turbocharged and direct injected form, and can make itself presentable for the boarding school test that is the EU emissions. Having passed the test, it can then nestle itself in a very stiff, V8-hardened chassis with, what is bound to be, a brilliant independent rear suspension. Think about that. What other RWD sports car is everyone raving about? That's right, the Toyobaru twins. What is everyone's biggest complaint about those cars? Power. This engine and chassis combination is a big "you're welcome" from the Big Blue Oval.

Tuning . Have you ever heard of a couple of companies called Mountune? Cobb? SCT? You see, these companies go into the computer and talk nicely to it. They say sweet, sweet things to these computers to make them scream. So imagine a 350 hp Ford Mustang with independent rear suspension. Did you think of the SN95-based Terminator? Yep. You did.

Enthusiasts heralded these Terminator Mustangs as the new benchmark when they arrived on the scene. The fancy IRS and supercharged modular motor really brought alive the looks of the New Age SN95. Some people were let down by what some say were the frailties of the rear suspension, and the ever-present chassis flex that plagued road course warriors. Others were let down by the debilitating fuel appetite of such a healthy supercharged motor and the inability to run anything but the finest of go-juices to keep it from knocking. While, yes, it was a great Mustang, these little annoyances are what Ford heard, and so a marvelous idea for the longest running pony-car was shelved.

Now it's back, but in a form you wouldn't have expected. Imagine, for a second, a Terminator that didn't drink gas, can be run on ethanol, rev past 7000 rpm, and have DAT TURBO WHISTLE… mmmm, tasty. Canyon carving will be easy thanks to an undoubtedly stiffer chassis. Drifting will be fun and challenging thanks to the ever welcome rear set up. Road course newbie's will be able to go to pro-am skill levels with a truly forgiving platform, and auto-crossers will rejoice, as this sniper rifle can be wielded with the proverbial ease of a shotgun. That leads us to our next point.

Desirability . The buff books, as we call them, will always have their ability to wax poetically about the way a car does so many things right, or bombast a car that fails to meet their expectations. I do not doubt that some will be put off by this little turbo four, being placated to the mantra that there is no replacement for displacement, but given how most are taken to the charms of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST, never faulting their power plant choices and the livability of the previous generation V6 Mustang, the praise will be heaped on. Some will herald it as a monstrosity at first, but it wouldn't take a vivid imagination to see that soon, with its charismatic hips and confident grin, the new Mustang will rev its way into the hearts of many around the globe, and will become, to many, more than the sum of its turbocharged parts.

Looking at all of these factors, one can't help but realize that such an vehicle will add fuel to a fire that currently rages between automakers to get as many young adult behinds into their performance products. Will this cause Toyota and others to see the Mustang as a competitor? Without a doubt. Will this prompt a "me too" reaction from Chevy's own pony car? Probably not, but it may spur on new products from them. The floodgates are now open for powerful, cheap RWD cars with the Ford Mustang Ecoboost at the forefront.

My name is Jamil Mizirawi and I occasionally like to write, always love to drive, and most times love to wrench. Expect more cool and helpful stuff

Saracen > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 15:51

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I guess the grass is greener on the other side.

I find myself crazing a big V8 these days, after so many years with turbo four pots.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 15:56

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Hopefully they revive the SVO nameplate. But then that wouldn't make sense based on their current naming schemes. And sometimes nostalgia is a bad thing. So forget I mentioned it.

CalzoneGolem > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:01

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I think I'd still rather have a 6 from the current gen.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:01

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As for tuning, I'm sure Livernois will play a big part. They do the tuning for anything ecoboost and have done amazing things to those engines. Once you get even a little bit crazy with meth injection and upgraded downpipes + a tune, this 2.3 liter will scream!!! I predict 360hp could be had for around $1000. Just by putting on downpipes and a tune.

Audi-os, amigos > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:02

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Great post!

Audi-os, amigos > Saracen 01/27/2014 at 16:03

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Same. I drive a 1.8L turbocharged A4 and I found myself saying the other day, "Hmm, I wonder then the V8 Mustang will depreciate enough for me to get one..."

Mais c'est la vie en petrol, non?

jsmizira > Audi-os, amigos 01/27/2014 at 16:07

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thank you. I'm trying.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:08

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I can't wait to tear into the suspension, see what makes it tick. I haven't heard of an integral-link suspension until they revealed it, and I'll have to see if I can make a preliminary model to see what advantages it has.

Saracen > Audi-os, amigos 01/27/2014 at 16:08

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I've been thinking E90 M3.

Audi-os, amigos > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:08

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thank you. I'm succeeding.

FTFY.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Audi-os, amigos 01/27/2014 at 16:10

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En vérité, c'est la vie en petrol. Bref, on verra sous peu de temps. La nouvelle mustang sera très amusante même avec 4 cylindres seulement avec le turbocompresseur!

J en ai hâte de voir comment le marché va l'accueillir

Audi-os, amigos > Saracen 01/27/2014 at 16:11

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Given our shared avatars, why not an S4?

Saracen > Audi-os, amigos 01/27/2014 at 16:15

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Many reasons. Too much understeer, too old, timing chains, and I had a B6 A4 1.8T Avant for 7.5 years so I'd rather get something other than another B6/B7 chassis car.

The M3 is also utterly fantastic to drive and superior to the B6/B7 S4/RS4.

Audi-os, amigos > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/27/2014 at 16:15

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Hahahahaha oh my god I had never had a conversation (about cars) in French and had never seen the word "turbocompresseur."

Mais oui, le turbo change completement l'affair. Il y a des Quatres faibles, et il y a des Quatres-sans-peur, comme j'appelle le mien :)

Audi-os, amigos > Saracen 01/27/2014 at 16:18

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That's exactly what I'm driving, except a sedan instead of the wagon. I can get that, though. If you've got the grass-is-greener itch, rolling around in your own darn lawn ain't gonna fix it.

lone_liberal > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:21

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To each their own. I'd go for the V8 and all of the lovely torques that it comes with, not to mention the sound.

CobraJoe > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:26

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I agree on many points, but not the comparison with the Terminator.

The Terminator is a completely different animal than any I4 turbo. It was rated at 390hp, but people who strapped it to a dyno were getting more than that AT THE WHEELS. That means closer to 440hp at the crank, in complete stock form. On top of that, the torque curve will be wildly different, I once test drove a terminator and I scared myself with how it could break the tires loose from a roll at idle in 2nd gear. There's no way a I4 turbo could build that much pressure at that low of an RPM that quickly to do the same. And don't forget the nannies, the Terminator had a basic traction control (which if it was like my Mach 1, would do nothing when you were counting on it). The '15 Mustang surely will have a lot more keeping you safe when you leave them on.

So, while I'm excited for the new 300+ Ecoboost, I know it won't be the monster the Terminator was. I'd prefer a monster, but I do like variety too.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Audi-os, amigos 01/27/2014 at 16:28

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Ha! Quattre sans peur!ça fait l'affaire sans doute

Hoccy > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:35

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I almost thought this was written by Ford at first!

Sure, the new Mustang will probably be a decent car. But as I've said before: it won't be a huge success in Europe. Even though if the EcoBoost 4-cylinder gets a good price, it would still compete with BMWs, MBs and Audis. Not the GT86/BRZ. And in a segment like this, image is a lot of what you pay for in Europe. We don't have the romantic peoples sportscar relationship to the Mustang. It's either associated a muscle car from the 60's, or a redneckmobile. If people here are in the money to buy such a car, they don't go to Ford.

Sad, but true. I'd like to see more Mustangs..

JustWaitingForAMate > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 16:48

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Ecoboost : 227kW and 407Nm.

V8 : 313kW and 529Nm.

I think I'm going to have to stick with the V8. Don't get me wrong the 4cyl numbers are impressive, but to try and squeeze more from it you'll end up with an engine that's going to be more highly than a university student in finals week.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 17:03

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Frankly I'm Euro and wouldn't ever consider a Mustang without a V8. It's part of the car's own positioning. If I want a fast car with a reasonably economical turbo-four, I'd buy an Impreza or Focus ST; Genesis if it has to be rear-wheel-drive.

(Then again, I'll probably never buy a brand new car so it's not like Ford can count on me. And even if I were that loaded, if GM puts the new LT1 engine in the rumoured upcoming 2nd-gen-styled, ATS-based Camaro , I'd know where my money would go.)

Saracen > Audi-os, amigos 01/27/2014 at 17:28

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I suppose I could look at B8 S4's too. new body, and while it's not a V8, it's a pretty damn sonorous V6.

Ravey Mayvey Slurpee Surprise > jsmizira 01/27/2014 at 17:50

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One thing I have to wonder about the four-cylinder: will the power/torque delivery be as good as the V6? Of course, we won't know for a while.

JasonStern911 > jsmizira 01/28/2014 at 01:20

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In before Clarkson rips it for (insert British biased reason), then praises post-Ford Jaguars...

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Ravey Mayvey Slurpee Surprise 01/28/2014 at 09:58

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I think torque curves on Ecoboosts tend to be nice and flat, I know on my 3.5 it is, the power comes on quick and lasts throughout the RPM range.

KirkyV > JasonStern911 01/29/2014 at 06:36

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He likes an awful lot of Fords; it's just, they tend to be the German ones...

Atomic Buffalo > jsmizira 02/04/2014 at 11:20

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Are displacement taxes really a big deal in Europe?

I was under the impression that actual displacement taxes weren't much (in the context of a new car) and the real issues are CAFE-like CO2 emissions and high fuel taxes — in other words, they don't care so much about displacement anymore, just about fuel consumption.