Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 GT

Rating:

I sometimes actively go looking for queues of traffic in the afternoon.

This is in order to justify the time it takes me in the morning to wrap up safe and warm before jumping on my motorcycle for the 35-mile commute into London.

On the way in, it’s so early I save hardly any time at all nipping in and out of traffic, primarily because there’s hardly any traffic to nip in and out of.

The Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 GT is big and brutish and built like a tank. Yet it also has a real air of style and quality about it

So in order to nullify my bike-ready prep time either side of my commute, I have worked out on average I need to encounter and overcome at least 15 minutes of sticky congestion later on.

Anything less and I’m looking at a net loss of life as opposed to a net gain.

This was just one of several queue thoughts I had this week; the others were to do with festivals, car shows and sporting events like the Six Nations.

Those bizarre occasions where people have to spend hours and hours waiting in line to try to spend their money.

I’ve always thought this a bizarre business model. Dear stall- and bar-holders, here’s an idea: employ more staff.

Make even more hay while the sun shines. Is it just me? I feel the same when it comes to waiting lists for cars.

This Mustang is easily as exciting as 99.9 per cent of any of the cars I’ve ever driven but nowhere near as demanding or needy

Unless there is a specific artisan reason why more cars in high demand can’t possibly be produced, why don’t manufacturers just hit the production line go-faster button?

I’m told there continues to be a six-month waiting list for a new Range Rover, a nine-month waiting list for the new Jaguar F-Pace, even though it’s still two months from going on sale.

And now I’m hearing there is already a 12-month waiting list for this week’s test car – the all-new, first-ever, right-hand-drive Ford Mustang 5.0-litre V8.

A situation that has seen nearly new used examples already exchanging hands for a staggering £10k over list price, almost a third of its value.

So what’s the big deal? Are Mustangs really so desirable this time around? Can this car really be that good?

The short answer is, too bloody right. I actually couldn’t believe my eyes when one landed at our place a week ago. For a start, there is just so much of the damn thing.

It’s big and brutish and built like a tank. Yet it also has a real air of style and quality about it.

The sumptuous and hard-wearing seats are supportive as well as being comprehensively adjustable, as is the steering wheel

Immediately, it made me question the price of the Nissan GT-R, which costs almost double but I’ve always thought was excellent value – until now. Ford has done to Nissan what Nissan has done to Aston Martin, Porsche and Ferrari.

How come some companies seem to be able to do so much more for so much less?

Then there’s the Ford confidence factor, epitomised in its new multicoloured ‘Let Go Of What You Know’ marketing campaign.

It is a thing of beauty and pure genius, brilliantly bullish, screaming the fact that Ford is all too aware of the purple patch its current stable of winners – the all-conquering Fiesta, the mighty Mondeo and sporty Focus ST – represent. And so to the car in question.

After I’d finished drooling over the redesigned bonnet and sexy new rear-light clusters, I fired up the ignition for the first time and waited to be disappointed. Surely this beast couldn’t possibly sound as good as it looked, as good as I wanted it to. It did.

I selected first gear and booted the throttle. Surely it wouldn’t pull as well as I hoped it might. Yes, again.

After I’d finished drooling over the redesigned bonnet and sexy new rear-light clusters, I fired up the ignition for the first time and waited to be disappointed

In fact, to be honest, I only semi-booted it as I was merely pulling out of my drive but still the car yearned to go sideways. And this was in Normal drive mode, never mind Sport or Race.

A few hundred yards later we encountered our first roundabout. Mustangs hate corners. Not any more. This car just gets better and better by the moment.

The thing about high-performance cars is, for the most part, they are like polo ponies. Always on red alert, always so highly strung, great fun but only if you’re willing to play as much as they are.

This Mustang is easily as exciting as 99.9 per cent of any of the cars I’ve ever driven but nowhere near as demanding or needy.

It’s like an Airbus with a hidden penchant for aerobatics. You can either cruise, gurgle and smile your way along the high street or roll up your sleeves, put the pedal to the metal and feel the burn.

The only downside to the second option is that you might want to close your eyes when it comes to checking your petrol receipts – 20mpg was the best average I could achieve on a week of anti-polar bear hedonism.

The big new onboard gimmick is the electronic line lock system that spins the rear wheels shamelessly for a holy tyre-smokin’ 15 seconds.

Boot space is very tight for a car that otherwise appears to be huge. My kids would also argue that rear leg room is approaching child cruelty status, depending on how selfish Mum and Dad are with their seat backs

This is fantastically childish and totally ridiculous, exactly the kind of option a panel of kids would invent if given the chance to run a car company.

In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Ford doesn’t have a permanent secret panel of ankle-biters on an annual retainer of Space Dust and Gummy Bears doing just that.

TECH SPEC From £34, 495, ford.co.uk Engine 5.0-litre V8 Transmission Six-speed manual Power 420hp 0-60mph 4.8 seconds Top speed 155mph Fuel consumption 20.9 CO2 emissions 299g/km (£505/year tax band) Advertisement

Line Lock is ‘for track use only’ according to the manual. Yeah, all right Henry, we won’t tell anyone if you don’t. The interior was another welcome surprise.

The front doors are massive and close with that reassuring clunk of luxurious authority. The finishes, elegantly trimmed, generally look a lot more expensive than they probably are.

And the sumptuous and hard-wearing seats are supportive as well as being comprehensively adjustable, as is the steering wheel.

Two things are undeniably rubbish.

First, the central location of the drinks-holders.

Put any beverage whatsoever in there and it will render changing gear nigh-on impossible – even a mobile phone throws a spanner in the works. How on earth this went unnoticed I have no idea.

Second, boot space is very tight for a car that otherwise appears to be huge. My kids would also argue that rear leg room is approaching child cruelty status, depending on how selfish Mum and Dad are with their seat backs.

But really, if this is the kind of tin top that turns you on, there is very little not to like.

I have to say, on the eve of my half-century, I am genuinely tempted to order one myself.

AND THE VERDICT? ‘Can this car really be that good? The short answer is, too bloody right’ Advertisement

I’ve always been a Mustang fan, having owned a black with white ’64 1/2 convertible and an original Shelby GT350 in white with a blue stripe.

However, there is talk of the new Mustang GT350 and 350R also being made available in right-hand drive for the UK market, in which case maybe I’ll hang on.