Ford has revealed the mid-cycle action (MCA) makeover for its sixth-generation Mustang, and the facelifted S550 makes its debut as a 2018 MY model, kitted out with a host of new items and design changes.
Exterior revisions are led by a redesigned grille and lower, remodeled hood, and the position of the hood vents have been changed. The 2018 car also gets all-LED front lighting as standard across the entire model range. Aside from LED projector main units, there’s also a new front LED turn signal and foglamp cluster. Restyled front fenders round off the changes in front.
The rear, meanwhile, features a new tri-bar LED tail lamp design, new bumper and a performance spoiler. The exhaust tip layout has also been reconfigured, with dual tips for the EcoBoost and quad tips for the GT as standard.
Buyers also get more personalisation choices, with 12 wheel design options and the introduction of three new exterior colours – Orange Fury tri-coat metallic, Royal Crimson tinted clear coat and Kona Blue.
Interior changes are led by a new 12-inch digital LCD instrument cluster display, and everything has a more premium feel to it. There’s a new hand-stitched centre console with contrast stitching and padded knee bolsters, while door handles, rings and bezels are now finished in aluminium.
Elsewhere, the seats have been restyled and feature new patterns and colour options, and the Mustang also gets a new design key fob. Ford Sync Connect with FordPass goes on too, the latter allowing drivers to start, lock, unlock and locate their car via their smartphone through an app.
Engine-wise, two of the previous mills continue on, the 2.3 litre EcoBoost and 5.0 litre Coyote V8, but the 3.7 litre Cyclone V6, which equipped the baseline model when the coupe was first unveiled in late 2013, is no longer in the lineup, confirming the earlier rumours that it would be dropped.
While there’s no specific mention of output numbers, both engines are said to have obtained gains with the MCA. The EcoBoost gains additional torque, while the Coyote gets both power and torque hikes, the result of a thorough rework. The improvement has come about courtesy of the application of dual-fuel, high-pressure direct injection and low-pressure port fuel injection, new to the V8. Gains include more robust low-end torque, high rpm power and improved fuel efficiency.
The available transmissions for the pony have also been revised. On the automatic front, the previous ZF-based 6R80 SelectShift six-speed box has been replaced by the 10R80, a 10-speed unit. Compared to the outgoing unit, the automaker says that the new 10-speeder offers quicker shift times, better low-speed tip-in response and significantly reduced friction losses.
The 10R80 is also equipped with an all-new electronic control system, which includes unique tunes for different drive modes and has real-time adaptive shift scheduling to ensure the right gear at the right time.
As for the Getrag MT82 six-speed manual, that has been upgraded as well, with better torque characteristics to be seen on both engine applications. For the V8, the transmission has been redesigned to include a twin-disc clutch and dual-mass flywheel to increase torque capability and deliver more efficient clutch modulation.
Other mechanical improvements come in the form of upgrades to the chassis for improved ride and handling. New shock absorbers offer better ride control, while a new cross-axis joint in the rear suspension increases lateral stiffness and new stabiliser bars bring sharper response and handling.
The Mustang also gets a new MagneRide damping system as an option, available as part of the Mustang Performance Package. An all-new active valve exhaust system is another option to be found on the GT, offering a fully variable soundtrack to match the entire acceleration range.
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Really wish this car can come to Malaysian shores. It’s an iconic Ford car.
Uhhh… its alredi here. Oh wait, ur internetz tells u Ford still sells Model T. Cant blame u there, connection in caves can be very bad.
The mustang have came last year.
Forgip him, my brother. For his internetz is 56k dial-up, and he havent receive the memo yet.