It’s a big day for pony car fans as pricing has been announced for the 2024 Ford Mustang. This heavily-revised coupe is set to be the torchbearer for reasonably American performance cars since the Mopar muscle cars and Chevrolet Camaro are set to ride off into the sunset, so let’s run through the pricing of every trim level, $1,595 freight charge included.
How about we kick things off with the base model, the $32,515 Ecoboost Fastback? It gets a new 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with both port and direct injection that puts out 315 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque, more than enough to have fun with. However, I hope you like glued-on iPad-style screens as the base Mustang gets two of them. Oh, and you’re not getting a manual gearbox with the four-cylinder, nor are you getting the drift brake for $32,515. In short, this is a Mustang for normal people and rental fleets, and it should serve that mission well.
If you want more toys, expect to pay a $5,525 premium for the $38,040 Ecoboost Premium Fastback model. The big tech highlight here is a revised dashboard with a 13.2-inch infotainment screen placed next to the digital cluster under a single piece of glass, but the lighting package also gets an upgrade, along with wireless charging appearing. Further details are sparse but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some sort of performance package available for the Ecoboost Premium. In addition, expect to see some of the features Ford highlights on the Ecoboost Premium Convertible appear on the coupe.
It looks like your new Southern California holiday rental car will carry a base price of $43,540. That’s how much the 2024 Ford Mustang Ecoboost Premium Convertible starts at, but it does include such niceties as dual-zone climate control, a nine-speaker audio system, and all the tech you’ll find on the equivalent coupe.
Here’s where things get really exciting. Spend $43,090 and you’ll find yourself playing with a Mustang GT Fastback. That means six forward ratios, three pedals, and a 480-horsepower five-liter V8. Ford’s pretty tight-lipped on options, but expect a fantastic turn of pace for the money. This is the hooligan’s Mustang, so it might just be the spec to get. All thrills, no frills, if you know what I mean.
If you go off the brief information sheets Ford’s made available, Brembo brakes and a valved exhaust system appear to become available on the $47,610 GT Premium Fastback, which makes me pause for a second. While I’m no stranger to luxuries, having to pay $4,520 extra for largely creature comforts to gain the ability to pay even more money for performance goodies would be a real shame. Sure, multi-color ambient lighting and alloy pedals are nice, but they aren’t strictly necessary in the pursuit for hot, nasty, badass speed. Let’s hope that bigger brakes and an uprated exhaust good for six extra horsepower are also available on the base GT.
Expect the $53,110 Mustang GT Premium Convertible to be largely identical to the GT Premium coupe, with the exception of a fabric top with a full liner. Ford claims that this trim gets a heated steering wheel and an available 12-speaker B&O sound system which should enable open-topped motoring more of the time, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of those toys available on the equivalent coupe.
Finally, we reach the full enchilada of the 2024 Ford Mustang range, the $59,565 Dark Horse Fastback. You’re probably thinking that a $16,475 premium over a regular Mustang GT is a lot of money, and you’d be right. Mind you, the Dark Horse gets a stronger Tremec manual gearbox, magnetorheological dampers, and an extra twenty horsepower over the standard GT, most of which are fairly expensive parts on their own. Still, expect the price to soar past $60,000 and into BMW M2 territory once options are added, which sets up one of the most interesting performance car grudge matches of 2023.
So there we are, a quick walk through the 2024 Ford Mustang range. Expect significantly more details including detailed feature sets and options lists to materialize over the next few months, but this is what we have to work with for now. As it stands, the seventh-generation Mustang still offers fantastic horsepower for the dollar, so it should be a fitting possible end to the internal-combustion Mustang lineage. We might be getting towards the end of an era, but this chapter’s only beginning.
Tell us what you think about the new Mustang; is it still a contender for you as an enthusiast?
(Photo credits: Ford)
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What happened to affordable pony cars? 33k for a base model? 43k if you want a v8? Jeesh. What sporty cars can you still find for under 30k new?
Inflation. A $23k car equivalent in 2006 should be about $35k today, but they’re usually cheaper and/or much better.
It sucks, but the increases are not out of line with the new car market as a whole. It also can’t help that this segment doesn’t sell in the numbers it used to.
The Mustang is just too damned big and heavy. If it’s going to be that big and heavy, at least give it a 6.7L Powerstroke turbodiesel.
If it were about 2/3 the weight and 3/4 scale size, I’d be all over it. Especially a V8 manual variant.
As it is, like the vast majority of cars on the market today, hard pass. I don’t want to daily drive anything that has a surface footprint of an SUV.
I’ve owned seven Mustangs in my life. GTs, sixes, and Ecoboost. I swear the Ecoboost was the most enjoyable to drive on a daily basis. The GT is faster but 315 hp is more than enough for grins. What it takes to get the 5.0 isn’t worth the cost difference anymore. If all the stars fall in line I would consider an Ecoboost Premium.
Mustangs are cool, I would consider one. I don’t even mind that 4 banger with 300hp because that’s a fun daily right there, but no stick would be a sticking point (LOL). I’d probably shop a previous model year because I don’t want that stupid new dash.
V8, with manual. Rip out the window motors and install cranks.
I’ll be getting a GT Premium with lots of extras as long as the dealers aren’t slapping 20k markups above MSRP.
And yes, I want to look like I’m looking for trouble, I live 6 miles from a dragstrip.
I want to have a high horsepower naturally aspirated V8 before they go extinct and this might be one of the last chances.
Markups suck, but I secretly hope they’ll be too busy marking up the Dark Horse and forget about the GT.
Wow, entry into a V8 Mustang is over $5k more than for a Camaro. Granted, the GT is probably more comparable to an SS than the stripper LT1, but even still it’s about $2k more. SS vs GT pricing probably isn’t enough to sway many buyers, but, the existence of the LT1 trim will definitely pull some ‘have to have a V8’ buyers from Ford.
For me, the big kicker is that you can still get the V6 in a Camaro if you just don’t like turbo 4s, and you can get a manual transmission on any engine they offer – both for less than the starter price of the Mustang. Will be interesting to see how it plays out, but, I think we might be reaching the point of pushback on having to spend so much money to get past the Ecoboost.
Unpopular opinion: If I could, I would go for the ecoboost model. I know, I know, it’s not a V8, it doesn’t sound like a V8, yada yada yada. It’s the junior Mustang. But Jesus, what’s wrong with a 315 hp RWD sports coupe? For something in the 30’s, that seems like an absolute steal to me, and would make for a fun daily driver if you can deal with the limited-use backseat.
i think your opinion is more popular than you think. price is right and there is a HUGE tuner community for the current turbo 4 banger. I don’t see Ford abandoning then with the new model. (ecc lockout)
The lack of a manual on the 4 cylinder for starters
Now that does suck. I’m really not sure why they’re doing it unless it’s the Honda/Acura play of paywalling the stick to milk extra cash out of enthusiasts. The manual was the correct choice for the S550 2.3. The 10 speed is the correct choice for GTs, however. That stock manual is at its absolute limit stock and people blow them up constantly.
I was hoping the Tremec would trickle down from the GT350, Mach 1, etc. into the regular GT with this update but alas…
you can build one with a 6 speed and 4 cylinder in 2022, did they axe that for 2023?
I would as well. They’re also significantly cheaper to insure and much better on gas, so ownership costs are a lot lower. I had an Ecoboost convertible as a rental a while back and the wife and I had a great time with it. It averaged 27 MPG over about 300 miles of driving and when our friend, who’s about 5’10, got an earlier flight out of town he rode with us 2ish hours to the airport and the car had room for all our luggage.
Was it ideal? Maybe not. Was it damn good for a long weekend on Cape Cod? You bet, and 300 horsepower is more than enough to get into RWD shenanigans. I went out for a spirited drive in the wet while my wife was getting her hair done and I had it rotating through corners no problem…I even got it to slide a bit and if you mash the throttle from a stop it’ll roast the rear tires.
The Ecoboost is a great car and it drives me nuts that so many enthusiasts are like NO V8 NO DICE GRRRRR about it. It’s perfect for what it is…a taste of the pony car life that you can ring out on public roads without risking your license. The S550 HPP Ecoboost is cool too…their skunkworks team longitudinally mounted the Focus RS engine in the damn thing. If you add the handling package it’s faster around a lot of circuits than the GT is.
I would never buy one, but if I were to get one, I would take an ecoboost 4 with 6 speed manual and handling package. Might be a more useful weekend track knife than say a Dark horse, but far less fun on the street I imagine.
Nah was never a fan of mustangs. From underpowered pony car. To powerful engine with archaic technology that couldnt handle the power, to Pinto ugly and underpowered it is all marketing no joy.
Nope, for the dash alone, but then there’s the lack of manual with the 4 and I have no interest in the V8. Mustangs and Miatas are two cars I’ve looked at a number of times in the past, but neither just feels like me—Miata’s too cramped and gets way too expensive for the one I’d settle for (RF), Mustang’s too big and heavy. Glad the Toyobarus came out with an upgraded engine.
“The 2024 Ford Mustang Starts At A Very Reasonable $32,515. Would You Consider Buying One?”
Sure, in 2034 when it’s an even more reasonable $3,215.
Are there a lot of 2014 Mustangs out there for $3K now? Please point me in their direction if so.
Right? If it’s a manual GT my lack of a weekend car problems are solved
The question wasn’t whether $3k 10 yo Mustangs exist. The question was “The 2024 Ford Mustang Starts At A Very Reasonable $32,515. Would You Consider Buying One?”
Sure, in 2034 when it’s an even more reasonable $3,215.
Who knows what’ll happen in 2034, maybe there’ll be another pandemic shutdown or perhaps a massive depression or the EV mandates will become Rush’s motor law, killing demand and with it the current used market bullshit. If so I look forward to committing my own weekly crimes in a cheap Mustang instead of a Red Barchetta. That’s good enough for me.
If not, oh well then I guess I won’t be buying a Mustang.
Well you are certainly living up to your username, although I would not hold my breath for any of your scenarios coming to pass. The last time I can recall decent 10 year old Mustangs going for $3K was around Y2K.
In 2004 I bought a year old 2003 GT with about 6k miles on it for $19k. Thats about $30k adjusted for inflation.
An extra $2k for a “new” one with 55 more horsepower, better mpg, and a lot more creature comforts sounds like a bargain, cylinder count be damned.
Hopefully the quality has improved significantly as well.
Also: IRS.
No, my company won’t pay mileage reimbursement on something with less than 4 door, and that’s still too much for a 3rd or 4th car to just sit around.
Also, flat LCD screen instead of physical gauges looks wrong in a Mustang, and a prior experience with paint blistering off one just outside the warranty period kind of puts me off, though Ford might be cleaning their aluminum before painting it by now
The 4 cylinder Mustang does not appeal to me. I appreciate that it exists for those who are into it, but I would never be able to get over the idea that I left that much sound and performance on the table.
As some have already said, the Camaro seems like the better buy once you get into the V8 range.
Inflation has come for the Mustang hard. I paid $49,800 for a new 2012 GT500; that barely gets you a GT now. I remember when shopping for my car that stripper GTs were being advertised at $29,999.
What would interest me most is some kind of special edition Mustang with an aluminum block 7.3L derivative. The current GT500 is technically impressive but leaves me cool with its 4200 lb curb weight. A lighter, NA engine without as much required cooling would be great, even if power is lower than the 5.2SC.
Doesn’t every little girl want a pony?
Would I buy a 4 banger Mustang? No.
I would want a V8 which pushes the cost up quite a bit. If I wanted another pony car I would compare this to the Camaro.
The Camaro is a much better pure performance car but the Mustang is a much better daily. It just depends on what you’re going for. If I was buying it as a track/weekend warrior I’d go V8 Camaro all day but if I was buying one as a daily I’d go Mustang, and I might even get the 4 popper cause a V8 will get single digit fuel economy in my heavily trafficked area.
I looked at a Camaro as a daily a few years back. I sat in it, realized it was NOT a DD, and I moved on. Would love to track one, but I do not have the budget or the space.
I also looked at one as a daily and had an SS drop top as the rental on my honeymoon. They’re amazing to drive and pretty much crap at everything else. You can’t see out of them. The trunk opening is hysterically small. The back seats are for decoration only…and the doors! Dear god…they’re so massive that you can’t open them until they hold in normal parking lots, which led to my wife and I having to do this weird holding open/wiggling out dance the entire time…and the doors are heavy too.
We couldn’t even fit our suitcases in them without the roof down, and every Camaro rental that pulled out of the lot had the roof down and suitcases in the backseats lol. The sound it made and the driving pleasure made up for it as far as vacation cars go (seriously-I had it on some Hawaiian mountain roads and it was shockingly composed)…but it would be a nightmare as a daily.
The Mustang has a lot more usable space and better visibility. The back seats can handle average sized and smaller adults for quick trips, the trunk and its opening are sizable, etc. My wife and I had it as a rental for a long weekend destination wedding and we fit all our luggage and a friend of ours/his luggage in it for the 2 hour trip back to the airport.
Don’t get me wrong-he was happy to get out when it was all said and done, but hey…at least it’s an option in a pinch.
The visibility was my biggest complaint in the Camaro, but everything you say here is correct. I’m not entirely sold on a Mustang, but it is objectively better for general use. I did make a mistake in going to a Civic when I was looking at that Camaro. I cross-shop some of the dumbest combinations of vehicles every time.
Brother I cross shopped a 1.6T Kona Limited and a GTI/GLI in 2020. The VW salesman laughed out loud when I told him that…which wasn’t very polite lol. The irony in the fact that I later sprinted to trade in my GTI on a Kona N isn’t lost on me though. Something something time, flat circle, etc.
I reached the exact same conclusion as you, just in the early 2000s! Hilarious how the Camaro-Mustang comparo hasn’t changed in the least.
I tested a Camaro Z28, and wow it was a rocket. But it was like sitting in a bathtub, it was shocking how little usable space there was in something so relatively large, and the styling then was as polarizing as the current styling is now (though back in those days, if the Camaro’s look wasn’t sufficiently dripping testosterone for you, there was the Firebird).
The Mustang GT I ended up getting (and still own) may not be stellar in any one (or two) things, but it’s a great all-around package that I daily drove for a decade.
you have not driven many modern V8 Cars. even my massive Challenegr with a 392 gets around 20 around town. unless you use the Go pedal to induce grins I suppose. it just has so much torque it basically idles around all day.
I live in the city and commute through urban rush hour. Nothing I have ever driven has come close to meeting it’s EPA city ratings during my commute. A V8 would be no different…and I averaged single digits when I had a V8 as a rental car for a week, although I was enjoying the go pedal to induce grins with frequency.
Ready to be stolen from the Flat Rock Assembly Plant lol and found with no gas on the side of the road
I like lightweight cars with lots of ground clearance, soft suspension, lots of passive airflow (via properly designed and placed vents, vent windows, etc.)
This is the opposite of that.
So no, I wouldn’t.
I’m just not a fan of how this new body style looks. The ‘05-09 cars were great (I’ve had two) and then each subsequent body style has gotten a little more forced, a little more busy and a little less visually pleasing.
I grew up a Ford guy but for a few years now I’d have happily chosen a Challenger over the Mustang. I still would. But I can’t afford either so it’s kind of irrelevant what I think..
It’s interesting how the Mustang has morphed from being cheap but rough fun to something more akin to a mid-level sports car. I guess just how the Corvette has evolved from America’s sportscar into an exotic.
Seems to me that started with the S197 generation. My SN95 is primitive, raw, but offered V8 jollies for a blue collar price. First time I drove an S197, I was amazed at the fit and finish, and how it felt like a totally different machine. I can’t even imagine what this will be like.
Part of it has to be the consumer’s apparent willingness to spend more in general right? I mean average vehicle prices are at a point where I wonder where the money is coming from.
Combine that with the usual pony car “war” and the Mustang and Camaro teams have apparently got the green light to make these things far more capable than they ever were and legit sports cars for the track (SS 1LE for example), but all that capability doesn’t come at prices you’d typically associate with a pony car. Hell, ZL1 Camaros are in the $70’s. That is creeping up on BMW M3 prices, not exactly the spot Camaros and Mustangs used to compete in.
A Camaro SS 1LE starts at $48k, which I know is down on power compared to the Dark Horse, but still, that’s a 11k savings, which can get you a lot of tires and gas
It’ll also wipe the floor with a Dark Horse on the track if you’re chasing times. SS ILEs are absolute weapons, and for Dark Horse money you’re getting dangerously close to ZL1 money and that thing is about as good as it gets pure performance wise south of the 100k mark.
I realize there’s a lot more involved, but it sure feels like a V-8 is a $10k++ (30%) upgrade from a base model. It’s almost like there’s 2 different models. As noted, the I-4 is for wannabes and rental fleets and the V-8 is for performance-minded buyers, and never the twain shall meet.
Makes me miss the days of the Mustang LX 5.0
Ehhhhh I’ve driven an Ecoboost and I don’t necessarily agree. They offer a lot of bang for the buck…4 popper or not 300 horsepower is 300 horsepower, and the HPP ecoboost from the last gen was faster around a lot of tracks than the GT was. They’re not as bad as the V8 OR DIE gang makes them out to be.
Don’t get me wrong-if I was going for a budget track build I’d go Toyobaru over it, but I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to just write the Ecoboost off as a poser mobile. Hell, I’d rather newbies start there than start with a nearly 500 horsepower V8 anyway. We’ve all seen the videos of what happens when people who don’t know how to drive go out and buy themselves GTs…
Agree, the base Ecoboost is alright. My folks have a base Mustang convertible. They drive it slow and steady and enjoy the top down motoring just as old folks should. I don’t drive it like that. Plenty of fun to be had with that base motor and an automatic if that’s what you’ve got to work with.
Alright, I’ll admit I don’t dislike the looks as much as I did initially anymore. After seeing it on video a few times now I’ve concluded that it looks *fine*. It’s definitely nothing special, but I don’t think there’s anything offensive about it either. At the end of the day it’s essentially a very elaborate refresh and not a brand new car anyway.
Pricing and spec wise…meh? It seems a little wrong to me that you can’t get into an Ecoboost in the 20s anymore. Being able to get a rental spec Mustang with a 300+ horsepower and a manual in the high 20s just felt so right to me. At this price it’s well undercut by the Toyobaru twins, not to mention it’s not available in stick anymore, which sucks. Correct me if I’m wrong…but isn’t the general consensus that the Ecoboost powertrain pairs better with the manual and the Coyote pairs better with the 10 speed? When I drove a 10 speed Ecoboost I felt like it was gear hunting too much.
Don’t get me wrong they’ll still sell a bajillion of them for rental and fleet use, but it just kind of feels like a swing and a miss pricing and equipment wise…especially when as of now you can still get a base LT1 Camaro for a couple of grand more that has twice the cylinders and a Tremec manual. That would be a no brainer for me personally.
$43,000 also seems steep for a hooligan spec GT to me. A base Z and a 1SS Camaro both undercut it…and when I was actually considering a pony car a while back you could get hooligan spec GTs with the 10 speed in the mid 30s. Inflation is real but I also think manufacturers are really milking it for all they can. All of these seem about 10% pricier than they should be to me.
…but then again Ford is about to be the only ICE pony car game in town, so who’s gonna stop them? I’d love to see another ICE Camaro or a Challenger with the Hurricane straight 6 but I doubt either will happen. Oh well, at least these should have money on the hoods once the initial hysteria wears off. They make a lot more sense if they’re discounted, and despite gas prices stabilizing folks are still scared shitless about how pricey it got.
Pretty much every non-collectible V8 powered car in my area is listed for under sticker these days. If you want this sort of thing you should probably move sooner rather than later. Anyway, there’s no way in hell I’d buy a first model year Ford. The Maverick/Bronco train wrecks have told me all I need to know.
I really didn’t like the looks either, but then Thomas made the M2 comparison and the Mustang suddenly became pretty. Context is everything.
I think the new M2 is way more attractive than this and it’s also much, much more subtle. Everyone and their dog knows you’re looking for trouble in a Mustang..,but to normies an M2 is just a run of the mill BMW. I know what I’d rather have, but looks are subjective. Slash ask me again once the warranties are up….because there’s no way in hell I’m keeping a twin turbo German car once the warranty is up.
The dash for the Ecoboost looks like an afterthought!!!! (´･_･`)
https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/2022/09/2024-Ford-Mustang-base-model-interior.jpg
Crap … Man, that dash looks terrible. Can’t they get past the glue-an-iPad-here school of design?
Ford needs a lower-end performance hatch. A feeder car into the brand. I may be an old fart, but a Puma ST would be fun.
Or even just a regular Puma that could be had with an actual manual. I guess I’m old too, but back in the day, that’s how you got enthusiasts early…offer them something that may not be fast, but is fun and affordable. They’ll remember you as they earn more.
Wow. HVAC controls on the screen, too. I do not like the layout at all.
wow, that’s bad. shockingly bad.
Yes, it looks like a “mod” that some High school kid would perform using tablets he bought from Ebay! (☉_☉)