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By Patrick Rall Aug 11 2014 - 12:23pm

Building My Ideal 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Fastback

While the 5.0L V8 will power the most powerful 2015 Ford Mustang fastbacks and convertibles, the big story for the next gen pony car is the new EcoBoost models – and today we walk you through the pricing for the new turbocharged S550 Mustang.
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A high angle shot of the 2015 Ford Mustang GT
A high angle shot of the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost
The rear end of the 2015 Ford Mustang GT
The rear end of the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost

The 2015 Ford Mustang fastback with the new 2.3L EcoBoost engine is offered in base and premium forms – and today I will focus on the base EcoBoost Mustang. This trimline doesn’t come with as many options or as many standard goodies as the EcoBoost Premium, but those buyers who want the most performance for the lowest price should find the non-Premium package to be the better buy, since the features of the Premium package really don’t add any performance.

Configuring the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost
When building my ideal 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost fastback, you are first prompted to pick between the 6-speed manual transmission or the 6-speed automatic transmission and since I am looking for performance and the most fun possible, I would pick the manual transmission. This gives the Mustang EcoBoost a starting price of $25,170…while the 6-speed automatic increases the price to $26,365. After selecting the manual transmission and moving to the exterior options, the price jumps to $25,995 thanks to the $825 destination fee.

As mentioned above, there are very few options for the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost, but you do get a full complement of color choices as well as a few key options that enhance the driving excitement levels. There are ten exterior colors to pick from including Black, Deep Impact Blue, Competition Orange, Guard, Ingot Silver, Magnetic, Oxford White, Red Race, Triple Yellow and Ruby Red. The first eight colors that I listed are free, while Triple Yellow adds $495 and Ruby Red adds $395. After picking your color (I picked Competition Orange as shown above), you have a few options including the Wheel and Stripe Package ($895), the Enhanced Security Package ($395), the Reverse Sensing System ($295), a Spare Tire ($195) and the EcoBoost Performance Package ($1,995). I would most definitely pick the EcoBoost Performance Package and the Enhanced Security package – adding $2,390 to the bottom line and bringing the price of my ideal Mustang EcoBoost up to $28,385.

Other 2015 Ford Mustang News:
A Look at Why the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Matters
The 2015 Ford Mustang Gains Way Less than 300 Pounds
TorqueNews Takes You for a Virtual Ride in the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost and GT (Video)
First Official 2015 Ford Mustang Power Figures Fall Short of Estimates - But That's Ok

While there are very few options for the outside of the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost fastback, there are even less for the interior. There is no optional radio, no leather package and no sunroof. You can have any interior color you want – so long as you want black – and the only options are floormats and the Recaro race seats. Those race buckets are $1,595, but I loved the 2014 Mustang Recaro seats and I suspect that I will love the 2015 Recaros as well so any Mustang that I ordered would have them. Once those fancy buckets have been added, the price of my EcoBoost Mustang rises to $29,980.

Base EcoBoost or Base GT?
So if you are focused solely on performance and you don’t want your 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost to have leather seats or a fancy touch screen infotainment system, the car that I built above if your best bet – and it has an MSRP that sits just under $30,000. That includes 310 horsepower and 320lb-ft of torque which, when combined with the relatively lightweight drivetrain, should make the 4-cyinder Mustang a fun car to drive. It won’t dominate the quarter mile – but some people expect that this will be the better choice for those looking to go road racing. However, what if you arent sold on the EcoBoost compared to the GT?

Well, if you are buying your 2015 Ford Mustang on a budget, it all comes down to price – and how much you care about having the added power. If I configured a non-Premium 2015 Mustang GT with the Performance Package, the Enhanced Security Package and the Recaro seats, it has an MSRP of $37,410. The basic components of the two cars are somewhat similar shy of the engines, so you are basically paying an extra $7,500 for the bigger power.

So do you buy the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost for $29,980 or do you pony up the extra money and go for the 2015 Mustang GT? Tell us which you would pick in the comments below!

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Comments

Ken williams wrote on August 11, 2014 - 5:46pm
I would pick a bad ass GT....All that American horse power....I love it, I freaking love it...I can't wait till the hit the market.
thomas ryan wrote on August 11, 2014 - 9:40pm
Hello really enjoyed your review of pricing of the ford ecoboost, do you know how musch this would be when it is released on the irish market
Murray Hamilton wrote on August 12, 2014 - 12:21am
The GT should easily outperform the ecoboost on a road coarse. The weight savings on the ecoboost won't offset the GT's many advantages; 125 extra hp (more speed down the straights), bigger 6 piston brembo brakes with cooling (later braking means carrying more speed off high speed straights), K member + strut tower brace + stiffer front sway bar (better handling), Torsen diff (better acceleration out of turns), and wider rear tires. Sorry, but I will bet the GT blows the doors off the ecoboost on track.
Patrick Rall wrote on August 12, 2014 - 11:17am
Ford reps have specifically stated that the lighter front end of the EcoBoost model yields better handling due to the fact that the car is better balanced from front to rear. You are correct that the Mustang GT would outrun a Mustang EcoBoost on a road course, but i expect to see better "handling numbers" such as skidpad and slalom figures once these cars are tested by third party groups.
bill wrote on August 12, 2014 - 4:52am
Doesn't the perf pack come with a different rear ratio that only helps in first gear, adds more noise (higher rpm), and decreases mpg? I'm all for the perf pack, but I don't plan on turning tires into smoke at atop lights. Any way to opt out of the different rear ratio?
billb wrote on August 12, 2014 - 6:14am
Doesn't the performance pack come with a different drive ratio which effectively makes each gear lower? I can see it for those who want to burn rubber launching from a standstill. Seems like many would prefer less noise, less rpm, and better MPG. After all a lower gear is just a shift away (unless you are in first). Any way to get the perf pack without the different ratio?
Patrick Rall wrote on August 12, 2014 - 11:15am
The EcoBoost Performance Package comes with a 3.55 gear ratio, which will slightly decrease fuel economy, but it does far more than just allow you to "burn rubber" and realistically, the EcoBoost Mustang should have no problems smoking the tires with the standard gearing. Increasing the gear ratio improves acceleration through every gear...not just in 1st gear...so a car with a 3.55 gear will be faster in every way than the identical car with the standard 3.31 gear.
Bill wrote on August 12, 2014 - 5:33pm
"car with a 3.55 gear will be faster in every way than the identical car with the standard 3.31 gear". That doesn't make sense to me. Acceleration is dependent on engine power. Engine power is determined by RPM. Assuming the tires aren't spinning RPM depends on what gear you are in and what the final drive is. So sure in 3rd gear a car with 3.55 gear will have higher RPM then a car with a 3.31 in 3rd gear. But of course the car with the standard 3.31 could downshift for an even lower gear. Of course if the car with the 3.31 is at the optimal RPM (peak HP) then the 3.55 car would be running the engine past the peak HP and be slower. So "always" faster assumes the same gear and that the standard 3.31 isn't already at the optimal engine rpm. The practical side is that if you use the transmission to keep the optimal RPM that the final gear ratio only matters when you are in 1st gear or top gear. Otherwise you can just shift to get closer to the peak power. Right?
Murray Hamilton wrote on August 12, 2014 - 10:23pm
Bill, at any given car speed, you will be forced into a finite rpm based on what gear you can choose. The closer the gear ratios, the better selection you will have to be at the optimum rpm. The taller the gear ratios, the greater the rpm drops between gears, lets say 2nd to 3rd gear. Shorter gears are faster because you have less rpm drop between shifts, keeps you in the power/torque band. You can't assume you have an infinite choice of rpm's to choose. Look up some gear ratio charts that show speed vs rpm, it will help explain.
Bill wrote on August 13, 2014 - 6:23pm
I think your confusing terms. Closer ratios do help keep the engine closer to the peak HP. But that means that the ratio for gears are closer to each other. I.e. close ratio for 3rd being 1.67 and 4th being 1.24 vs less close ratio being 1.7 and 1.1. The further the gears are apart the further you get from the peak HP when you shift. This has nothing to do with the final drive ratio. Lets make up an example for the sake of discussion. Lets assume peak HP is at 6000, and at full throttle the car the car shifts at 6700 RPM which drops you to 4900 RPM post shift. Changing the final drive will shift the speed for each gears peak HP, but not how much power you get. So ignoring the first gear launch you get to 6700 RPM, down to 4900 RPM in 2nd, back up to 6700 RPM, back down to 4900 rpm in 3rd, etc. Sure the final drive will move the MPH of those shift points. But at any given RPM you are getting the same HP regardless of final drive ratio. So where's the benefit? You get lower max speed in every gear (including top speed if RPM limited), you end up shifting more (which is slower), more engine noise, more engine wear, less MPG. Sure if you shift 3 times to get to a speed you hit the 6000 RPM peak 3 times instead of 2. But you also hit the minimum HP at 4900 RPM 3 times instead of 2. In either case you should spend the same amount of time at each RPM... assuming infinitely fast shifts. The only advantage I see is that if you move that 4900 rpm in first gear lower, it's easier to get to without abusing your clutch. For any other gear if you aren't between 4900 and 6700 you shift. Thus race cars often have much higher final drive ratios than street cars, but tighter ratios so then can stay as close as possible to peak. Muscle cars historically have focused more on acceleration than handling, thus the mustangs solid real axle... until now. Cars with a focus on handling don't normally have options for different final drive ratios. Right?
Murray Hamilton wrote on August 14, 2014 - 10:48am
With all do respect, you're pretty confused. The boss 302, 302S, and 302R all come with a 3.73 rear. Why? Because it provides BETTER PERFORMANCE. Why do you think the folks at Ford Racing did that? Maybe you should set them straight.
Murray Hamilton wrote on August 12, 2014 - 12:39pm
Performance package targets those who will likely track or autocross their cars. Really not needed for daily commuter (but way more fun). The shorter and closer gear ratios allow you to keep your car in the optimum (higher) rpm and torque range throughout the road coarse. This allows for better acceleration out of the turns, down straights, and better throttle modulation to keep the car balanced. That's why many of the high peformance dual clutch and auto trannys are going to as many as 8 speeds, very tight ratios. The compromise is that shifting costs some time. You can afford 8 speeds with lightening fast shifts.
Murray Hamilton wrote on August 12, 2014 - 12:56pm
Patrick, I agree with you that the ecoboost should be a better balanced and neutral handling car. Should be a blast to drive. Track times are not everything. Good example is Motor Trends comparo of 2013 V6 mustang vs the Subaru BRZ....mustang was faster around track despite not being as well balanced and having much higher center of gravity. Randy Pobst would rather drive the BRZ.