Ford Mustang: Love it, hate it

Opinions were divided among my neighbours when I rolled up in the 2011 Ford Mustang with its unmistakably American-sounding idle. The ex-Jaguar owner was particularly unimpressed, although you have to question his motives since the Ford era at Jaguar is still a bit of a fresh wound among those British motoring loyalists who found the cavalcade of Rollers to be the most transcendental facet of the royal wedding. On the other side of the, er, pond, my Canadian neighbour was happy to see the ‘Stang's hulking mass in the driveway. "I'm going to get one of those some day, only I want a rag-top," he smiled from behind the steering wheel of a borrowed Honda City (his own car, which is incidentally American, I should note, is set for the trash heap and sits unused in a far corner of our shared lot). Dubai really is a bit of a car nut's paradise, if only because misery loves company and we have plenty of both here. Wait, that didn't come out right... what I mean is that we have plenty of awesomely powerful supercars whizzing around, enough to make us feel miserable about our own wheels (unless you've got your own Veyron or McLaren, in which case my hat's off to you). But we also have some great roads and an all-important wealth of fellow petrolheads and general car lovers with whom to exercise that other automotive necessity; jawing about cars. This is an area where the Mustang really edges out the competition, and not by a nose; it offers by far the highest ratio of unsolicited feedback to cost, of any car that I've driven here in the UAE. Now part of this is down to the love-it-or-leave-it looks of this, and other American muscle cars, with their retro-modern styling and undeniable Americanness. As I always say, you have to have thick skin to be a Yank, particularly since the term Yankee actually refers to those braying northerners of New England, a group you don't want to be associated with unless your name happens to be Kennedy. So, like me, the Mustang is met with a fair measure of friendly derision and (not so much like me) an equal measure of compliments. In my experience, the car has a fabulously comfortable and stylish interior that is absolutely ridiculous for my family of four — the back seat is tiny to start with and adding a car seat with an Isofix base renders all but the driver's seat uncomfortable. Actually that's not wholly true since the baby seemed as comfortable as ever. We've suffered through it as a family since, well, we've grown to love the ‘Stang, even dubbing her (rather obviously) Sally. Maybe it's because we're moving back to the States soon, but this car just feels like home, something that is actually a tad surprising to me as I've never actually owned an American car. Maybe it's time to rethink that? Week 5 facts Driven by Liam Start mileage 4,184km Recent cost Fuel Average fuel economy Approx 13 litres-per-100km Highs Distinct styling, comfy interior Lows Not the best choice as a family car The progress Week 4 A few rattles and squeaks begin bothering us. But there's always a way to forget those; step on the pedal! Highs Power, looks, comfortable seats Lows We're detecting some funny noises Week 3 Plenty of space in thecabin even with a sixfooter on board. Will get 13 litres-per-100km — respectable for a muscle car. Highs Roomy interior Lows Still not as economical as claimed Week 2 Ford did extremely well to come out of the financial slump unscathed. And this new-found confidence can be seen in its cars, including the Mustang. Highs Ford has guts again Lows Tone the guts down a notch Week 1 With updated styling, a new 3.7-litre 305bhp V6 engine and the promise of low fuel consumption, Dh120K for a ‘Stang never made more sense. Highs A lot of horsepower for the money Lows None so far