With its new 3.5 liter V6, the 2011 Mustang became the first 305-horsepower car to return 31 miles per gallon. Now the 5.0 liter, 412-horsepower V8 has been rated, and it returns a best-in-class 26 miles per gallon on the highway and 17 in the city when equipped with the 6-speed manual transmission.
If you opt for the six-speed automatic, the 2011 Mustang GT will return 25 MPG highway and 18 MPG city (equal to 9.4 lt/100km and 13.0 lt/100km, respectively).
Derrick Kuzak, VP of Global Product Development, says, "The 2011 Mustang continues to exceed expectations in every category, and these fuel economy numbers are another chapter in an incredible story...To offer this kind of horsepower and class-leading fuel economy in a comfortable, beautiful, tech-savvy and affordable package – it's really unprecedented."
Ford got ahead thanks to the implementation of two new transmissions (6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic), and the use of Ti-VCT (Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing) which "adjusts the valvetrain in microseconds depending on driver inputs." That, and the new aluminum block couldn't hurt.
Ford just evened-out the playing field. Chevy? Ball's in your court.
- By Phil Alex
