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2013 Ford Mustang GT Convertible - AutoBlog Review

Putting The Finishing Touches On The Poster Child For The Midlife Crisis

By Jeff Sabatini

Shortly after I turned 16, my father set out to acquire a new car for himself. Dad knew a guy who knew a guy who ran one of those quasi-legal used car lots that specialized in deals-too-good-to-be-true, so, armed with the protection of the referral, he drove off to the wrong side of town to see what might replace the 1980 Ford Fiesta that was about to become my hand-me-down.

When dad came home in a barely used 1987 Mustang GT, my mind was blown. I pestered him to let me drive it the moment he set foot through the door of the house, but was told that I was not allowed, as he had not actually purchased the vehicle, but merely borrowed it for the night. Dad wasn't sure that it was the right car for him, he said, explaining that what drew him to it was that, like the Fiesta, it was a hatchback.

The absurdity of this statement was not lost on me. The Mustang met 110 percent of my automotive fantasies at the time, and even at my young age, I could sense that giving a newly ordained driver access to such a car would be eclipsed in the Pantheon Of Bad Parenting only by introducing your child to hookers and blow. This just made me more furtive and desperate.

2013 Ford Mustang

I had no idea how to convince my dad to keep the Mustang, but knew I must. So when mom said we needed milk for dinner, I volunteered to accompany my father on a run to the store. I had no plan, but if I was in the car with him, I reasoned, he might be distracted from finding something wrong with it. The errand also provided an opportunity to actually go for a ride in the Mustang, an experience that an hour earlier had existed only in the realm of my wildest fantasies. But I had already discounted merely riding in the car, so quickly does the adolescent mind move from one desire to another. Even getting behind the wheel had been subverted by my quest to possess the Mustang, like some teenaged Gollum. But dad improbably tossed me the keys, breaking his own rule and unknowingly providing me with a lifetime of animus against Ford's venerable pony car.

Although I managed to keep my cool for the two minutes it took us to exit our subdivision, when I pulled out onto the road that led to the grocery store, my foot crammed the accelerator to the floor and I got to hear that 5.0 sing all the way up to redline. Alas, it was a sad song of goodbye, as by 60 mph, the loudest sound in the Mustang was not the exhaust, but my father screaming at me to slow down.

The next day, dad returned from work late, behind the wheel of a 1986 Ford Tempo.

I have spent the last two-and-a-half decades trying to work through my feelings about the Mustang. But as each successive generation has improved, the awe and delight that initially accompanied those cars has given way to the bitterness of my first encounter. It has been just too easy to find fault with subsequent Mustangs, which have always been too ugly, too cheap, too underpowered, or too impractical. But now, just months shy of my 40th birthday, a week spent driving a 2013 Mustang GT Convertible seems to have erased the psychological trauma of my childhood. That my tester was a lavishly outfitted Premium model with a sticker price of $47,305 – which included over $7,000 worth of options like Brembo brakes ($1,695) and a navigation package ($2,340) – certainly helped, but beneath all the extras I found a pretty amazing car.

The 2013 Mustang is the final step in the multi-year redesign of the then-revolutionary 2005 'Stang. The first Mustang in the model's long history to be given its own platform, the S197 was a good car saddled with a crummy interior and a dated powertrain lineup, complaints that have now been addressed. Ford began the process in the 2010 model, fixing the interior along with an exterior restyling that effectively pulled the Mustang's lines just a little more taut. Two stellar new engines debuted for 2011, including the GT's 5.0-liter V8 and a 305-horsepower 3.7-liter V6. Adjustable settings were introduced to the electric power steering system in the 2012 model, and the 2013 model features new front and rear fascia designs that further separate the current Mustang from those 2005-2009 models. At least until the all-new Mustang on the horizon for 2015 bows, this one is the ne plus ultra.

It's the first modern Mustang I've driven that looks and feels like a complete package, a car that's exciting enough to make me once again covet a Mustang like I did at age 16. Explaining how I've come to this way of thinking might best be left to the therapy chair, but it starts with a simple question: What else is left for Ford to do?

Now before the collected enthusiast community – minus the Mustang fans – all shouts "independent rear suspension" in unison, I'll preempt that by saying that I just don't care. If my test car had a rear axle made out of Legos and a suspension designed around the viscous properties of marshmallow fluff, it would not matter in the least to me if it still did the things it does as well as it does them. (And to the greenies who point to the GT's EPA fuel economy rating of 18 miles per gallon city and 25 highway, might I direct you to the V6 Mustang.) What matters are three things: Looks, fun and value – and the new Mustang delivers on all three.

The redesigned front fascia and vented hood that's exclusive to the GT give the '13 models an aggression that just wasn't there last year. The upgrade also includes HID headlights and body-colored rocker panels. While I really liked the way the old grille sat hidden underneath the horizontal overhang of the hood, the new front end emphasizes the vertical, giving the Mustang more of a fuselage look. Out back, the new LED taillights are less of a big deal, but they do give the rear end a cleaner look. The 2013 is the first of the post-2005 Mustangs that seems to have tilted the scales far enough away from retro to look fresh, without evolving into a 21st Century Ford Probe like some expect to see in the next-generation design.

The interior in the Mustang is nothing special, but neither is it deficient. It hasn't been reworked aside from the addition of a new, optional 4.2-inch LCD display in the center between the speedometer and tachometer, necessary to accommodate the Track Apps feature, which we'll get to shortly. The seats in my test car looked like a million bucks done up in red leather with white stripes, but they felt flat and uncomfortable after a few hours behind the wheel, with no lumbar support and Ford's odd half-power, half-manual adjustment. Having a steering wheel that didn't telescope didn't help, but the optional Recaros seem like they might. While some of the switches and finishes inside the 2013 Mustang aren't quite as nice as in some other Ford vehicles (the Taurus SHO comes to mind), the utility of the interior controls is undeniable. The Mustang has never been a form-over-function kind of car, and though the 2013 may flirt with self-indulgence a bit – the side mirrors do display the Mustang logo in a puddle of light at night – this is a car that delivers everything it promises.

This is mostly thanks to the GT's 420-horsepower 5.0-liter V8, which has received an additional eight horsepower for 2013. No, the two-percent improvement isn't something you're going to notice, but the addition of SelectShift to the six-speed automatic transmission is significant. It allows for manual control of the transmission by means of a shifter-mounted button, and while it doesn't make the Mustang's automatic sporting in the way of a real manual, it certainly doesn't hurt, allowing you to choose your own gear and, more importantly, keep the tranny from upshifting. SelectShift's usefulness is somewhat limited, however, as the manual shifting action is not all that quick, and compared to a better solution like paddles, the rocker button is unsatisfying.

While I'm not one to shy away from a good manual transmission, mashing that gas pedal and feeling the rocket launch of the V8 uncomplicated by a third pedal, is as enjoyable as it ever was. Maybe this seems adolescent and unsophisticated, but once you convince the throttle to open up, the 2013 Mustang will make you say "Ahh!" While my GT's six-speed automatic did seem to poison the performance of the big V8 a bit, particularly when I left the transmission alone to choose an inevitably higher gear than ideal, the car is still extremely quick. Nimble too: When you adjust the electric power steering to the sport position, the steering feels really good, weighty, but quick and direct. On the comfort setting it's noticeably softer and more appropriate for a long freeway slog. The optional Brembo brakes on my test car produced phenomenal stopping power and were easily modulated, with excellent pedal feel. For a convertible, the Mustang feels stiff and solid, and with the top up it's surprisingly quiet.

One new feature for 2013 is the aforementioned Track Apps, which will measure a number of performance stats while you drive. It's similar to systems found in other performance cars, like the Dodge Challenger SRT8, with an acceleration timer, a g meter, and a braking timer. It's thanks to this nifty piece of tech that I know the Mustang GT Convertible can pull over 0.9 g's on its street tires. All the Track Apps information is displayed on that nice looking little LCD in the center of the instrument panel, but amongst all the menus and options (this is the first car I've ever driven that will let you display cylinder head temperature) there's no digital speed display, which would certainly help mitigate the barely legible speedometer.


The 2013 Mustang GT Convertible is fun to drive and be seen in, and it is such an all-around performance car that it's hard to resist its allure. It may not be the best at everything, as there are certainly other competitors that are flashier, more powerful and more exotic, but there are few other performance cars easier to justify owning. The backseat of the convertible is large enough to be useful, and so is the trunk. I can imagine a Mustang GT Convertible working out quite capably as an everyday driver and family conveyance while serving equally as well as a hobbyist project and weekend toy. With a starting MSRP of $37,290, I just don't think you can find an enthusiast's car that can do more for less.

You certainly aren't going to find many other performance cars with the unique history of the Mustang, and that certainly counts for something. That GT I drove in back in 1988 was the second coming of Ford's pony car, a performance bargain to reignite the enthusiasm of those Baby Boomers who had come of age during the Mustang's original heyday in the late '60s. That today's Mustang GT is once again wearing the 5.0 badge is significant, as it's now my generation that's looking back at the Mustang of their youth and seeing it reincarnated, for the better.

2013 Ford Focus ST - MotorTrend Review

How to Get a Bang Out of the Ford Focus: ST Makes for a Legitimate VW GTI/MazdaSpeed3 Competitor

By Todd Lassa

Ford says Mustang is its second-most-recognized model in Europe, after the Focus. Chalk that up to the white Ford Mustang in Claude "Rendezvous" Lelouche's "A Man and a Woman," Lemme Caution's Mustang in Jean-Luc Godard's "Alphaville," and Serge Gainsbourg's tune "Ford Mustang." Bang.

Notice all these mid-'60s cultural references are French? Surely it was coincidence that Ford chose the South of France to launch the performance version of the Focus. The C-segment compact has less than one-fourth the history of the iconic Mustang, and no known European paean.



Before the Ford Focus launched in Europe in the late '90s to great success (less so in North America) there was the Escort, and before that, in the Gainsbourg days, the Cortina, a European Ford nearly as iconic as the American pony. What made -- makes -- the Cortina an icon in its own right is the respect the high-performance Lotus version garners from enthusiasts.

So here we are, in the general vicinity of the Cote d'Azur, Brigitte Bardot country (see Gainsbourg), negotiating the twisty mountain roads and treacherous second-gear switchbacks in the modern era's Ford Lotus Cortina, but with front-wheel-drive. What could go wrong?

Ford Focus

Not much. We're probably the least enthusiastic enthusiasts' publication for the quotidian Focus, but the Focus ST, at least as far as a first drive on smooth European roads are concerned, impresses. Its chassis dynamics and throttle response sharpen the car's dull points. Ford's U.S. Special Vehicle Team and Team RS in Europe worked together to massage the 180-horsepower, 2.0-liter EcoBoost four into a 252-horse (on premium) powerhouse. The engineering boffins added a high-pressure direct-injection system, low-inertia turbocharging, Twin-Independent Variable Cam Timing (Ti-VCT), redesigned intake and exhaust, and unique calibration. Yes, that makes it the same 2.0 EcoBoost as in the much bigger and heavier Edge Sport and Explorer Sport.

There is a lot behind the vague descriptor "unique calibration," because Ford claims the Focus ST will zip through a 0-62 mph time of 6.5 seconds all the way up to an autobahn-worthy top speed of 154 mph. Imagine flashing your lights at a BMW M3. The driver might be impressed with the ST's special grille filling his rearview. It's a large one-piece maw replacing the Focus' "kinetic design" affair with something a bit closer to the new '13 Fusion design language and the Focus EV, although its look is more piscine than poor man's Aston. There are LED daytime running lights, wide side skirts, a subtle red ST badge in the grille, and, if you choose, Race Blue or the Mopar-esque-named Tangerine Scream among exclusive paint colors.

If the M3 lets you pass - it's still up to that car's driver, because the ST is not that fast - the driver will see 235/40 R-18 Goodyear Eagles on handsome honeycomb wheels. They're painted "gray black" with red brake calipers if you've chosen the Performance Pack. Next, the Bimmer pilot will see a rear roof spoiler, and dual squared-off exhaust tips exiting through the middle of the rear lower fascia. North American dealers will offer an all-season alternative to the Eagle summer tires.

Inside, the Recaro front seats are spectacular, with snug and effective bolstering. They come with grippy, techy cloth inserts and leather bolsters, and Race Blue or Tangerine Scream inserts with the ST2 package, or all-leather with the ST3 package (see sidebar).

The two-tone interior might seem over the top, but if you choose anything other than the ST2 package, you'll end up with an interior as dark as Kim Jong Un's heart. The seats also have the contrast-color stitching, and there's a dash-top gauge cluster with water temperature, turbo boost, and oil pressure gauges; a thick, meaty leather-wrapped steering wheel with both smooth and dimpled pieces; a darker headliner than in standard Foci; and a red six-speed shift pattern in the gearshift. Everything else is everyday Focus, including questionable ergonomics as a tradeoff for whatever the translation of "kinetic design" is into interior design-speak.

The European-specific center stack controls for climate and the Sony audio system were happily devoid of North America's SyncMyFordTouch folderol. The Euro stack still was lousy with buttons, but it still seems a simpler, more straightforward alternative to the Microsoft voice-operated excess.

The sixth gear is one of the most welcome additions. Other Foci -- even the Titanium trim packages with their base price in the same territory of this sportster -- are hampered by a five-speed that has all the feel and engagement of MyFordTouch. The six-speed feels direct and precise, a good companion for the turbo engine's downshift needs. Ford figures the sixth cog will help get an EPA highway fuel economy number into the low 30s when it's officially tested ahead of the car's late August or early September launch.

By now you've probably heard that Ford ST engineers added an overboost feature to the engine, which extends the 270 lb-ft of peak torque for up to 15 seconds at a time. While other EcoBoost engines would quickly drop off their torque peak after achieving it, the ST's overboost feature extends it from 3000 to 4500 rpm. Lay into that extended torque band and the "sound symposer," which amplifies the engine's induction noise into the rather quiet cabin, converts the EcoBoost's well-oiled mechanical whirr into a rather subtle induction woffle.

Driving a Focus ST versus Mustang in these settings is like bringing a laser to a gunfight. The Mustang Track Package may be good on these South of France roads, but it would be no match for the smaller, tighter, well-balanced Focus ST with its flat cornering. Like the over-tired standard models, wide Goodyears contribute much to ultimate grip.

The ride feels firm, though you'll have to wait until we get the ST on a properly decrepit American road, say in Detroit, before we can judge how stiff it is for everyday driving. Ford says the Focus ST is designed to be comfortable in the stop-and-go commutes that make up far too much of our drive time.

The electrically power assisted steering comes with variable ratio and effort, and a Torque Steer Compensation program. Its consistency leaves something to be desired. Steering effort feels higher with the throttle on than with the throttle off, as in entering a corner or scrubbing off speed. Though it may sound counterintuitive, a slice of torque steer seems more predictable.

You can affect electric power assisted steering and set the electronic stability control by choosing ESC-on, ESC-off (which doesn't turn off everything completely) or Sport mode, and while the differences are subtle, crediting again the wide tires, Sport mode is the way to go most of the time. The mode improves turn-in, though this dynamic still suffers the shortcomings of FWD. The Focus ST is a serious competitor for the harsh and nervous current-generation MazdaSpeed3 and the better-balanced and refined Volkswagen GTI, but as we note in our $28,000 sportster comparison test, the two-door, rear-drive competition simply handles better.

The affordable sportster segment is now more diverse than ever, and if you're of the light, small, and balanced school, a relatively big, lumbering Mustang V-6 for about the same money will seem like it's the wrong scale for roads like those on our first drive. Mustang might be the second-most recognized Ford model in Europe, but that doesn't mean it's cross-shopped with the Focus.

If you need or want the practicality of a four-door hatch with a useable rear seat, you'll need to add the Ford Focus ST to your consideration list. We'll sort out whether you should consider it over the GTI or Speed3 when we get the cars together for a comparison test.

2013 Ford Escape Test Drive - Popular Mechanics Review

Ford’s compact crossover finally gets a complete revamp, and a boost in highway fuel economy up to 33 mpg with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine.

By Ben Stewart

Competitors: Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, VW Tiguan

Powertrain: 2.5-liter inline four, 168 hp, 170 lb-ft; 1.6-liter turbocharged I-4, 178 hp, 184 lb-ft; 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4, 240 hp, 270 lb-ft

Fuel Economy (city/highway, 1.6-liter): 23/33 (estimated)

What’s New: Compact crossovers are a hot segment, and after an 11-year run, Ford’s Escape was due for a revamp. The 2013 Escape rides a version of the Ford Focus platform, dubbed C1, though it’s a good bit larger: The length is up by 3.5 inches, the wheelbase has been stretched by 2.8 inches, and it’s slightly wider. That added room helps for hauling people and stuff. You’ll find a little more than an inch of increased legroom in the back seat and around 3 more cubic feet of cargo capacity.

Under the hood, you’ll have a choice of three engines. The base Escape gets the 2.5-liter, normally aspirated four-cylinder from the old rig. But we recommend the upgrade to one of the two turbocharged four-cylinder engines—a 1.6-liter EcoBoost with 178 hp or the 2.0-liter EcoBoost with a full 240 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. That’s the same horsepower and even more torque than the old 3.0-liter V-6 could produce. Every engine comes paired to a six-speed automatic. There’s no manual-transmission option, and the hybrid model is gone from the menu.

Ford Escape

Although the old hybrid Escape delivered better city fuel economy than the 2013 version, the new 1.6-liter engine clobbers it on the highway with an estimated 33 mpg, thanks in part to grill shutters that close at freeway speeds to improve aerodynamics. Overall, Ford says, the new Escape is about 10 percent more aerodynamic than the outgoing model, and it’s still available with all-wheel drive.

Tech Tidbit: The Escape’s intelligent all-wheel-drive system gathers data from wheel-speed sensors, accelerator-pedal sensors, and steering-wheel-angle sensors. Ford says it can preemptively split the torque between the axles through an electomagnetic clutch. So in situations where oversteer or understeer are about to happen, the all-wheel-drive system can divert torque to where it’s needed. Ford says these torque adjustments can happen within 16 milliseconds.

Driving Character: The Escape, which will be sold as the Kuga in Europe, isn’t a world vehicle that’s been dumbed down for our roads. According to chief engineer Eric Loeffler, the only real difference in handling between the European Kuga and our Escape is the tires. European buyers prefer the higher grip of summer tires, but we apparently prefer the compromise of an all-season tire.

No matter. The Escape handles well, with quick steering and little body roll—for a crossover. This is one ute that would be at home slithering down the twistiest portions of California’s Pacific Coast Highway. If your daily grind includes more potholes than smooth pavement, you might find the Escape’s ride a tad stiff. But for most drives, you’ll gladly accept some bumps and jiggles for that flat cornering. We found the 2.0-liter Escape Titanium with its large 19-inch tires and additional 200 pounds of heft (thanks to the all-wheel drive) to be the smoother ride and better handler.


On paper, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost sounds like it would be underpowered for a 3500-pound vehicle. But in reality, this little engine does an excellent job moving the Escape. It’s only when you need a bootful of throttle to pass a slow-moving truck that you’ll wish for the larger 2.0-liter engine. Either engine requires the six-speed to shift a lot more frequently than a larger displacement engine would. But lugging the gear lever down to “Sport” minimizes this gear hunting. The Escape then holds a gear better and even fires off downshifts when you need them.

This bigger motor transforms the Escape into a little hot rod. It’s quite a lot of fun to pitch a 2.0-liter Escape into a corner and let the all-wheel-drive system sort out the power and pull you through without any drama or tire scrub. It’s easy to hustle this Escape around town. We can’t wait to see what this snappy 2.0-liter EcoBoost powertrain does for the lighter Focus, when Ford brings the high performance ST version over to the U.S.

The view from the front seats is a combination of Focus and Explorer. The fat steering wheel and gauges seem to be lifted right from the Focus, and that’s no bad thing. The materials around the interior are all fairly soft and upscale. We spent the day in a midlevel $29,840 SE model with cloth seats; aside from lacking the features of the high-end Titanium model such as heated-leather seats, activeparking assist, and blind-spot warning, the SE was no less refined or comfortable, and it packed seats that wore an upscale fabric. Climb into the back and you’ll find a rear seat that reclines and provides plenty of legroom. (Although for taller riders, headroom could get tight.) Reclining the seat surely helps but can cut into the luggage space. The seat cushions of this split-folding bench seem thin, so only a road trip will uncover their comfort level over the long haul.

Favorite Detail: The Escape’s optional hands-free power liftgate is one of the smartest features to hit the market in some time. No longer must you fumble for your key fob with an armload of groceries or shopping bags to hit the button and get the tailgate to open. The Escape takes care of everything as long as it can sense that you have the fob in your pocket. Just gently kick your foot between the two sensors in the middle of the bumper and the liftgate opens—and closes when you are all done loading. Smart.

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