2013 Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is a performance-oriented car that happens to have some practicality quotient attached to it. The 2013 car comes in 5 trim levels, V6, V6 Premium, GT, GT Premium, and Boss 302, however, the GT badged trims will be reviewed separately. The Boss 302 is nearing its end this year, so getting one now would also add up to its collector value in the near future.

The base Mustang comes with a basic sound system with no touch screen, air conditioning, and Xenon headlights. The V6 Premium, as the name suggests, adds comfort & convenience features like leather upholstery and power seat adjustments. The Boss 302 is just a hooligan performer with more performance traits and fewer comfort ones.

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The very base trim Mustang is very difficult to recommend, and maybe it’s just there to sell the Ford optional packages. The V6 Premium Mustang with Equipment Group and Security group packages will be our car of choice as the packages add features like 6-way power driver seats, SYNC voice infotainment system with voice commands, rear parking sensors, and more. The engine configuration stays the same on both the first trims and only upholstery & infotainment features get added in the latter trim, which no optional package can let you have on the base car.

This is what we like the most about this segment. No matter what your budget is, there is an engine option for everyone. For daily drivers with occasional highway sprints, the 2013 Mustang comes with a 3.7L V-6 engine which lets out 305 hp & 280 lb-ft of torque. This comes coupled with a 6-speed manual as standard, and automatic transmission remains as a $1,200 option. Such a sigh of relief for the old-school skilled drivers. If you are considering buying an automatic for effortless urban commuting and you will just put it into manual mode whenever you feel like having fun, don’t. The car doesn’t come with any paddle shifters or even the gear knob isn’t movable back and forth for the shifts. 

Ford has put up a switch on the left side of the gear knob with upshift/downshift both in a single small switch. Just imagine yourself precisely pressing that small button and not accidentally downshifting. Now for the people who don’t look in their wallets while refueling, there’s the good old 5.8L V8 engine available in the GT trims. This mill churns out 420 hp & 390 lb-ft of torque. The Boss 302 has done further tuning on this same engine as it gives 444 hp & 380 lb-ft of torque. Keep in mind though that the Boss 302 trim only comes with a 6-speed manual.

Technically, the Nissan 370Z is the quickest car in the group, but that car has done some serious cheating, the car has no second row, is smaller than the competition, and has the same engine. Then, why won't it perform better! Dodge Challenger with almost the same engine specs is underperforming, but you guys know very well what it does better than the Mustang; drifting.

Ford Mustang might have fewer horses to propel it forward compared to its rivals, but fuel economy is as important as having the highest number of horses under the hood. The 2013 Ford Mustang returns best-in-class fuel economy with its base V-6 engine of 22 mpg combined, but the fuel tank capacity suffers as it’s the case with most cars, better economy/small fuel tank or vice versa. The automatic transmission has an even better economy on the highway at 31 MPG. The V8 engine returns similar city mileage at 18 MPG, but highway economy takes a hit at 25 MPG. Opting for the slip differential will further lower down these numbers.

The competition is doing well in the fuel economy department compared to our stallion here, but we had expected a much better number from Nissan. Looks like they were so happy about the performance they forgot about the fuel economy altogether. But it doesn’t matter as every car except Mustang gets a bigger 19 gallons of minimum fuel capacity.

The 2013 Mustang is a performance car on a budget, so our vigilant readers will not expect a high-end cabin full of comfort features. Still, the car comes with the ones you would need daily. The overall cabin of the 2013 Ford Mustang is a mix of classic styling with the addition of some modern features. The instrument cluster is just like what old cars used to have with that exactly similar font, but now it comes with several background lightings and an informative drivers display in the middle. 

The material quality is fine at best, and we weren’t expecting it to be any good. The cloth seats on the base car might keep you glued better than the leather ones and are bolstered well for lateral support. Now comes the part we always want to skip on a Mustang, the second row. Well, the space is very limited back here, but the way these seats are angled and designed, smaller passengers like teens will actually be comfortable in these.

We wouldn’t recommend relying on the Mustang for your cargo needs. Yeah, it will do just fine in those grocery runs at Walmart or Kroger, but anything more than that is a far-fetched dream. The seats can be folded on this car, but the passthrough gap is very limited. The Challenger, on the other corner, isn’t just better in terms of cabin space, but the trunk space is huge in the Dodge. Standout interior features include:

• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Alcantara lining on Boss 302
• Single switch gear shifter
• Retro instrument cluster with adjustable lighting
• Ambient lighting (Option)
• Leather seats (V6-Premium)
• Brushed aluminum finish on dashboard panels (Boss 302)
• 6-way power driver seats (Optional)
• Illuminated Mustang logo on the door sills (Optional)

How intuitive is the 2013 Ford Mustang's infotainment system?

The base V6 trim of the 2013 Mustang comes with a 4-speaker sound system with AUX input and a tiny digital display that can show two songs at one moment at best. The V6 Premium and upper trims get a 4.2-inch LCD screen with navigation and Pandora integration. There is an optional 500-watt shaker sound system with a dedicated subwoofer in the trunk. 

Using the Ford SYNC system, one can connect their phones with the car and make calls just by saying the recipient’s name over voice commands. The SYNC system also reads out the text messages for you out loud. Just be extra careful while using this feature, if you know, you know. Standout infotainment features include:

• 4.2-inch LCD screen
• Pandora
• Voice commands
• Factory Navigation
• USB ports
• Shaker sound system (Optional)
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Ford SYNC

We won’t stop praising this classic American style icon because no matter what year it is, the styling just keeps improving over. The 2013 Mustang is a design refresh, and the new looks are meaner than ever. The front end on the new Mustang is revised, and the grille now has a more curvy shape to it and sits at the farther side of the front end. The headlight assembly has been upgraded as well. The main projector LEDs now sit on the inner side of the unit, and the huge fog lights are installed on the front grille itself. 

The overall front fascia on the is much more aggressive than the older one. The underbody which was covered in black plastic is now body-colored. At the rear, the LED taillight is revamped and now has O-shaped lights inside replacing the halogen bulbs of the past. Overall the body styling has remained similar, but the updated lighting setup and bumper upgrades make the Mustang a mean performance machine.

The cars in the discussion today are totally different from each other if the design is compared. The Camaro has a more aggressive low-slung supercar-like stature overall with that low ground clearance. The Nissan 370Z doesn’t really belong in this place, but we don’t even have a worthy opponent elsewhere. Overall, the automakers have given all the freedom to the buyers to choose a car that suits them. Standout exterior features include:

• 19-inch wheels
• Fake hood intakes
• Grille with huge fog lamps
• Xenon headlights
• Frameless windows
• Mustang logo puddle lamps

The 2013 Mustang has got a 4-star rating in overall safety and overall side crash rating in the NHTSA crash tests. The rollover rating is very minimal at 8.70% with a 5-star performance. IIHS has given a Good rating to this car in Moderate Overlap and head restraints & seats. The side crash rating is only Acceptable though. Standout safety features include:

• Stability Control
• Rear parking sensors
• Blind-spot monitor
• Rearview camera
• Hill-start assist
• Programmable driver key (Speed Limit & audio)

The 2013 Ford Mustang is a car most of the youth dream of having, and considering the clientele, Ford has introduced a model with every budget option. So even if you have saved just enough for that base trim V6, you won’t miss out on any power. The nostalgia value this car would add to your garage is just irreplaceable. Sure, the 2013 Mustang isn’t particularly a practical car for 4, but for that, you have different, equally capable options. Overall, if performance and fun are only what you seek, there isn’t anything better than a Ford Mustang.