Ford Mustang GT Convertible review: Ride on, cowboy

For as little as $74,000, the new Ford Mustang convertible is extraordinary value for money.

Ford Mustang GT Convertible, $74,728

For the family holiday this year, I rented a house in the Dordogne in south-west France and we all decided to drive. That wasn’t so bad for my son, who has a Fiat 124 Spider, or my elder daughter, who has a Ford Fiesta ST. But my younger daughter has a nine-horsepower, base-model Volkswagen Polo. Her passenger called in a state of distress half an hour south of Calais. “This 130mph speed limit is ridiculous,” she wailed. “We’ve been trying ever since we got on the motorway and we just can’t go that fast.”

There isn’t much romance to driving across France any more. I dare say there never was. I look back with fondness at those long trips with my parents, but I bet that my dad, from behind the wheel of his Austin 1100 in the gazetteer and wonky-thermostat days, never thought, “Oooh, I feel like David Niven”.

You can, however, take croquet sets and inflatable beach toys in a car, which is harder to do on a plane. And no one touches your penis at the border. And you can stop when you want. We stayed overnight in Orleans, which is one of those cities that cause you to stop and think, “Why the bloody hell have I not been here before?” It is spec-bleeding-tacular.

It’s good to have your car on holiday, too. Because that way, you don’t need to give half your spending money to the fleecing taxi bastards, or waste half your time at a car-rental desk watching that woman from Planes, Trains & Automobiles write War and Peace on her computer. “You’ve got the car and I’ve got the money, so hand over the keys, vache.”

I’d do it again. No question. But would I do it again in the car I used this time? The latest incarnation of Ford’s 5-litre V8 Mustang convertible?

God, it’s childish. It has an unnecessary 10-speed gearbox and a seven-speed fan and a system that lets you choose whether you want the exhaust to wake the neighbours when you start the engine. You can even lock the front wheels while spinning those at the back. And that’s brilliant if you are 10, or if you have too much tread on your Bridgestones.

But there’s no getting around the fact that this big, good-looking, honest-to-God V8 convertible muscle car with all the bells and whistles you’ve ever dreamt of – and a hundred more you haven’t – costs as little as $74,728 for the six-speed version. That is extraordinary value for money.

Yes, you can tell where the money hasn’t been spent. There’s a fair deal of flex when the roof is down, but as this isn’t sold as a taut sports car, it doesn’t matter. Also, some kind of fluid often dripped onto my feet, but in the heat of a French summer, I was grateful for it. Oh, and it has a turning circle of about 17km, so in an ancient city such as Bergerac, it was a bit of a nuisance. But you don’t live in an ancient city, so relax.

You’re probably getting the impression I’d forgive the Mustang anything. And, to an extent, I would, because, crikey, it has a big heart. This is a car you treat like a dog. You want to tickle it behind its door mirrors and let it sit by the fire on cold evenings. And when it develops a wobble at tickover, you don’t get cross with it; you worry.

And yet it really does work as a car too. After an 11-hour drive back to London, I stepped out without any aches at all. I’d listened to Rich Hall on the brilliant stereo, spent much less than expected on fuel, had the wind in my hair when it was sunny and icebox air-conditioning when it wasn’t.

I don’t want a US muscle car – I’d feel like a traitor to the cause of good engineering – and I don’t need a Mustang. But I miss the car that took me across France so much, it actually hurts a little bit.

Ford Mustang GT Convertible

Engine: 5.0-litre V8 petrol (339kW/556Nm)

Average fuel: 12.7 litres per 100km

Transmission: Ten-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Price: From $74,728

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars