Utilizing our V Field gear on the Gerotek take a look at circuit, the Darkish Horse accomplished the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.22 seconds — slower than the 4.4 second sea-level determine claimed by Ford however a good efficiency for a usually aspirated automotive at Joburg’s excessive altitude.
Regardless of the stopwatch says, the Mustang Darkish Horse bolts from the road with satisfying vigour and acoustic fury. There’s nothing just like the sound of a usually aspirated V8 and the Darkish Horse’s none-too-subtle growl turned heads wherever we drove. Reactions to the automotive are unimaginable; everybody appears to love a Mustang.
It has a quiet-start perform so that you don’t wake the neighbours, however even on this mode it sounds grumpy.
The Darkish Horse feels quick and visceral, particularly in Drag Race mode, which has extra aggressive gear modifications that punch you into the seat. It was on this setting that we achieved the most effective 0-100km/h time.
There are six drive modes: Regular, Sport, Slippery, Drag, Observe and a customisable setting with as much as six particular person profiles which have an effect on the throttle and gearshift responses, steering sensitivity, suspension firmness and the steadiness management, supplying you with a automotive that switches character to fit your temper and the driving situations.
With a 267km/h prime pace, the sporty Ford gallops with good directional stability, with the edges of the large bonnet flexing when driving at larger speeds.
It isn’t straightforward to see the tip of that lengthy hood when parking, and the absence of a entrance parking digital camera or sensor within the R1.5m automotive is rude, to say the least.
Gasoline financial system is unlikely to be one of many predominant issues for purchasing a Mustang, however for all its pace and bluster the Darkish Horse consumed a semirespectable gas common of 12.4l in common driving, and round 14.4l with the high-performance testing at Gerotek included.
The chassis tweaks don’t flip the Mustang Darkish Horse right into a Porsche 911. It’s a heavy automotive at simply over 1.8 tonnes, making it a grand tourer relatively than a lithe sports activities automotive. That mentioned, it’s the finest dealing with Mustang up to now and hurtles by way of a twisty highway with higher agility than its forebears.
