
Gasoline-powered muscle cars are a dying breed. Chevrolet stopped building the Camaro in 2023, and Dodge did the same with the Challenger in the same year. In a sign of the times, the latter launched the new Charger Daytona late last year, an all-electric, 670hp beast that may or may not win over alumni of the University of No Replacement for Displacement.
This Mustang GT in Premium trim and with the Yellow Splash paint starts at P4,019,000, and comes with a cartful of performance-oriented specs like a MagneRide Damping System, quad tailpipes with active valves, 19-inch Pirelli P Zeros, Recaro seats, and most importantly, five liters of displacement good for 486hp and 567Nm of God’s own torque.
Impressive? If you’re coming from an ordinary daily driver, yes, but these days 400-ish horsepower is pretty common when you compare it against the latest crop of electrics.

For example, the MG Cyberster has 536hp for about the same amount of money, and the four-door BYD Seal Performance gets 522hp for a little over half of what the Mustang costs. The Mustang rips from zero to 100kph in 4.4 seconds, which is pretty fast for a stock car, but both the MG and the BYD do the deed in under four.
But driving enjoyment isn’t just about metrics. How the GT goes about its business is probably 90% of what makes it so appealing. For starters, few other cars have as much road presence as the Mustang. It’s long and low, but not so low that less-than-nimble people will hurt themselves getting inside. It’s 4,811mm long and 2,097mm wide—slightly shorter than a Territory, but actually wider as the latter is listed at 1,923mm. Something to think about when parking or squeezing in a narrow street.


But the acreage doesn’t translate much into passenger space. Legroom and headroom in front is great even for folks taller than 6ft, but the rear seat is best described as oversized cargo buckets. Much of the car’s mass is taken up by the hardware that makes it so good.
First and foremost is the 5.0-liter Coyote V8, a fourth-generation unit that uses every trick in the book such as direct injection, 4-into-1 intake manifold, and dual 80mm throttle bodies to really get the most bang for its size without resorting to forced induction.
It’s harnessed to a 10-speed automatic, which, to be honest, feels only a bit sacrilegious to a manual-driving puritan like me, but the transmission does the job exceedingly well. In normal, preening-about-town driving, it’s smooth and seamless, electing to go with third or even fourth gear to scrimp on pricey gasoline. I liked playing with the paddle shifters when the road opened up, if only to keep the V8 singing in the 4,000rpm sweet spot.
At wide-open throttle, it bangs through the gears faster than Vin Diesel speed-shifting his 20-speed Charger (LOL), and you’re saved the trouble of having to deal with a heavy clutch so you can savor the symphony of valves, pistons and cams as the mechanical orchestra plays at full tilt. I could listen to it roar all day if it didn’t guzzle gas so much (4-5km/L on average).


It’s glorious, and what an internal-combustion engine loses these days in acceleration, it more than makes up for at a visceral level. Especially with the GT’s adjustable exhaust valving, which gives you several options ranging from “Loud” to “Obnoxiously Loud.” I was in an air-conditioned office 50m away and I still heard the rumble and felt the floor vibrate a bit when the Ford guy delivered the GT to the house. And so long as you’re not revving the nuts off past your neighbor’s bedtime or near a church, everybody loves the sound of a big V8. A conscientious Mustang owner will be mindful of his surroundings.


As a performance car, there’s not much to change in a GT if your goal is to enjoy a Sunday drive in the twisties or on a track. The MagneRide dampers do a swell job of taming the ride on all but the roughest roads, and the steering is sharp and responsive. The shock valving automatically changes depending on your drive mode, too, so it’s always optimized for the condition of the road.
Hard cornering is flat, the car sticking to the road like a limpet thanks to that wide stance and sticky rubber—really giving you your money’s worth with those form-fitting Recaros. The GT has an electric parking brake, but you still get a handbrake so you can yank it when you feel like doing some donuts and figure eights.


Indeed, it’s amazing how easy, light and responsive the car feels despite its size. When it’s “game on,” the GT is nimble and responsive, a very likable beast that’s not exhausting to push hard. With fluid engine response, trackable suspension, powerful Brembos, and a surfeit of power under the hood, it’s begging you to bring it to a track for some quality time. Modern driving aids like lane-keeping assist and even Evasive Steer Assist help keep you out of trouble, and you’d have to be a jackass YouTuber to switch off the traction control and power straight into a tree after a car meet.
As a nod to modernity, the car benefits from a sweeping 12-inch instrument cluster and a 13-inch touchscreen. All the tech toys are there like Apple CarPlay, wireless charger, and more—plus you can configure the car’s drive modes from Normal to several degrees of Crazy.


For all that, the car is a niche player in a market that is getting smaller every year. The Mustang Mach-E (an SUV, for crying out loud) outsold the Mustang in 2024 (51,745 to 44,003). Mustang sales are on the decline, while the Mach-E is on the rise.
The writing’s not quite on the wall yet, though, with President Donald Trump rolling back EV incentives that have made going electric more appealing the past several years in the US.

Here in the Philippines, where internal combustion is still the king and big-displacement cars are revered, the Mustang GT occupies an enviable niche in the performance-car class. It’s nearly twice as expensive as a sports-oriented four-cylinder, but much cheaper than an entry-level Porsche.
It’s big and it’s loud, and few would pass up the chance to own one if he had the money and the garage space to spare. Because besides the obvious benefit of having more performance chops than the average driver will actually ever exceed, it has the undeniable power to keep you entertained. And really, when it comes to cars like this, that’s what really matters.
FORD MUSTANG GT PREMIUM
Engine | 5.0-liter Ti-VCT V8 |
Transmission | 10-speed automatic |
Power | 486hp @ 7,250rpm |
Torque | 567Nm @ 4,850rpm |
Dimensions | 4,811mm x 2,097mm x 1,407mm |
Drive layout | RWD |
Seating | 2+2 |
Price | P4,019,000 |
Upside | Visceral power, delicious engine note, flickable chassis, and all the modern driving aids and comforts. |
Downside | No 360° camera (rear only). Fiddly seatbelts won't stay in their retaining clips on the seat. |
Comments