What is the 2023 Mustang going to look like?

Price: We expect the 2023 Ford Mustang to have a starting price of approximately $28,000.

The Ford Mustang is expected to be an all-new model for 2023, but it will look a lot like the current car. We don’t think the overall shape or stance will change much.

The 2023 Ford Mustang is as American as apple pie, bald eagles, and XXL-sized fast-food drinks. That doesn’t mean Ford’s venerable pony car is sitting still, and that’s why we expect some major updates for the 2023 Mustang.

Expect a wide array of color and trim choices, including huge wheels and speedy-looking racing stripes. When you’re competing against the likes of the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, it helps to make a big and bold first impression.

You’ll also be treated to a standard turbocharged 4-cylinder powertrain, along with the option of the iconic 5.0-liter V8 which, for many car shoppers, is what truly makes a Mustang a Mustang.

Offered in both fastback and convertible formats, the 8-cylinder Mustang is a riot of power and accelerative force when you hit the gas pedal. And let’s not forget the supercharged 5.2-liter V8 that rockets the Shelby GT500 down the road with more than 700 horsepower.

For 2023, Ford may offer a turbocharged 4-cylinder hybrid Mustang. There might even be a V8 hybrid, too, along with an all-wheel-drive model and a fully-electric version — but that model, which would complement the Mustang Mach-E, would be several years down the road.

With the exterior of the 2023 Ford Mustang sticking close to its muscle car roots, the interior should offer about the same amount of room as before. That means the front seats hold two adults snugly in place during hard cornering, while the rear seats are best used by kids, or adults you don’t like very much.

We expect Ford to upgrade the cabin materials, to give the Mustang interior a more premium look and feel. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be standard.

2023 Ford Mustang Pricing

We expect the base price of the 2023 Ford Mustang in fastback/coupe format will start at around $28,000. This nets you the turbo 4-cylinder and a choice of 6-speed manual or 10-speed automatic.

If you want open-air Mustang thrills, the entry-level 2023 Mustang convertible may run about $33,000.

Stepping up to the V8-powered monsters like the 2023 Ford Mustang GT and Mach 1 will set a shopper back by about $38,000 and $54,000, respectively. The 2023 Mustang GT convertible, the ultimate high-speed tanning machine, should list for about  $48,000.

While it will take Ford some time to fully flesh out the seventh-gen Mustang range with performance models like the Shelby GT500, it’s worth noting the 2022 version of the GT500 was about $73,000. We don’t see any new 2023 Shelby models priced below that.

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We require new ratings every time an all-new vehicle or a new generation of an existing vehicle comes out. Additionally, we reassess those ratings when a new-generation vehicle receives a mid-cycle refresh — basically, sprucing up a car in the middle of its product cycle (typically, around the 2-3 years mark) with a minor facelift, often with updates to features and technology.

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Features

What looks new with the new-look Mustang?

18 Sep 2022

Ever since the Fairlane-based first-generation Ford Mustang's game-changing grand debut at the New York World's Fair of 1964, whenever a new Ford Mustang comes along, it's a big deal.

With the covers whipped off the seventh-generation 2023 Mustang's for the first time just days ago, and the outgoing S550 Mustang having been on the market since 2014, expect this fresh new face from Ford to grow very familiar over the immediate future before it's eventually replaced with a next-generation vehicle (V8 will remain if demand is there, says Ford CEO Jim Farley).

While Ford's original pony car of the ‘60s launched into the baby boomer generation during a period of significant post-war economic expansion, ostensibly inventing its own vehicle segment for many first-time recreational sports car buyers, the 2023 Mustang targets a much younger demographic faced with a crowded, and globalised, sports car segment with a heavier emphasis on modern, inoffensive styling and technology.

The outgoing generation of Mustang is of particular Australian pertinence, having ruled the roost as Australia's best-selling sports car ever since it first lobbed onto the scene. Ford Australia previously offered a limited production special 2001 Ford Mustang Cobra 'officially converted' by Tickford, but the sixth-gen S550 was the first factory-produced Mustang in history.

It's an immensely popular car the instant local success of which was unforeseen even by Ford Australia. The new one will have to impress.

Read on below as we breakdown all the ways the new-look Mustang looks new.

Exterior

Ford's taken a cautionary approach to 2023 Mustang, and looks about how you'd expect a modern facelift of the outgoing Mustang would look.

The front end now boasts a sharper horizontal leading edge, lending to the illusion of width and a lower bonnet.

The new grille is larger, with a less bottom-weighted profile than the outgoing S550. The more symmetrical anchor points of the new grille evoke the softer curves of the original ‘60s Mustang. The headlights, like all new cars, are thinner.

At the rear, the tri-bar tail-lights mimic that of the US-only Mustang Mach-E, with the current car's blacked out rear valance replaced with body colour paint. The integrated rear diffuser has also been reprofiled to visually swallow more bumper real estate.

The new rear haunches have been dramatically blistered, giving the whole rear quarter view an edgy, almost Cyberpunk-like vibe.

Four-cylinder turbo Mustangs and V8 GTs can be newly distinguished by the GT's more aggressive grille, bonnet vents and distinct front splitter.

Interior

The interior of the 2023 Ford Mustang makes more divergent strides from the familiar Mustang we know and love.

The cockpit-inspired cabin is headlined by a new 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster that seamlessly flows into the driver-oriented 13.2-inch central touchscreen. The new Mustang also introduces Ford's latest Sync4 operating system

For us nerds out there, the graphics on the digital instrument cluster are powered by video game developer Epic's Unreal Engine, just like Fortnite, Gears 5 and Borderlands 3.

The seventh-gen Mustang introduces a new flat-bottomed steering wheel with an octagonal centre pad, though with largely similar button layouts.

The existing Mustang's three central air vents have been replaced by two larger horizontal units mounted below the central touchscreen, with a redesigned HVAC interface sitting atop similarly-placed USB ports, 12v plug and a redesigned mobile phone charger.

The 2023 Mustang also brings added active safety features as part of Ford's newest CoPilot360 suite, including: Intelligent adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, evasive steer assist and reverse brake assist.

Active Pothole Mitigation comes part of the US Performance Package, and enables the car to monitor the road, detects incoming potholes, and dynamically overdamps the system, effectively 'catching' the wheel before suspension travel allows it to fall into the hole.

COMMENTS

Are they discontinuing Mustangs in 2023?

Will 2023 Mustang have v8?

When can you order a 2023 Mustang?