Despite Ford’s best efforts to instil the right kind of perceived quality and material richness into the latest Mustang, the Bullitt’s cabin still doesn’t compare, for perceived quality or material appeal, with sports cars such as the BMW M2 Competition or Porsche 718 Cayman S.
That may seem an unrealistic expectation of any Mustang but, since this one is priced very much like those cars, it’s a reasonable criticism. Hard moulded plastics are used fairly extensively throughout the interior and in particular around the Sync3 touchscreen infotainment system in the centre of the dashboard.
Apparent build quality has also left something to be desired. Although our test car didn’t have any loose or rough trim, particularly vigorous or enthusiastic interactions with the gearlever caused the entire centre console to move about and creak. Anyone familiar with previous Mustangs would find little to complain about here; but if Ford’s intent was to make this car more appealing to those who aren’t students of the car’s legend, you might question how successful it has been.
The chunky Recaro sports seats are generously bolstered and far from unsuitable for long-distance drives. The base of the seats can be adjusted electronically, which lets you sit reasonably low down in the Mustang’s cabin. The seat back can be moved only manually, which does rule out the possibility of making those more minute adjustments to seating position while on the move.
Ford’s now ubiquitous Sync3 infotainment system comes as standard on the Mustang Bullitt and includes features such as sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto right out of the box.
Ford’s software is simple enough to use but it’s graphically rather basic. The sat-nav system isn’t particularly outstanding for its usability or the detail of its mapping, and while it’s easy to switch between menus and functions, chances are you’ll default to using one of the two smartphone-driven operating systems instead.
Thankfully, Ford hasn’t followed in the footsteps of numerous other manufacturers and removed all physical buttons from the centre console. Large volume and tuning dials are within easy reach, as are the controls for ventilation and air-con.
A B&O Play 1000W premium audio system is included in the Mustang’s £48,145 asking price. The 12-speaker set-up offers reasonable enough audio quality, but you’ll need to turn it up good and loud to hear it over the V8 engine rumble. There are clearly worse problems to have.
