MPG-o-Matic 2013 Ford Mustang V6 Review Summary: With a starting price of $22,200, the base 2013 Mustang V6 delivers a whopping amount of punch for the dollar and great gas mileage, given the muscle that rumbles under the original pony car’s hood.
With a remarkably deep option list, you can easily increase the sticker price by a good fifty percent or so, as our test unit’s MSRP of $35,100 clearly shows. We found that some options may lead to a loss of fuel economy as a trade-off to increased performance that is not reflected by the window sticker.
The 2013 Mustang V6 is powered by a 3.7-liter naturally aspirated engine that produces 305 horsepower (HP) and 280 foot pounds of torque. The rear-wheel-drive (RWD) Mustang V6 is available with a standard six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic transmission.
The official fuel economy estimates for the 2013 Mustang V6 are 19 city / 29 highway miles per gallon for the manual and 19 / 31 for the automatic.
We rolled up over 600 miles in our week with a Gotta Have It Green V6 Premium Mustang and came oh-so-close close to the official mileage estimates, scoring an average of 30.3 MPG on the Interstate highway and 22.9 MPG combined with temperatures ranging from the forties through the sixties.
Interstate Mileage Testing:
- Cruise control set to 68 MPH, A/C off, windows up: 29.9 MPG
- Cruise control off, target speed 60-72 MPH, A/C off, windows up: 30.7 MPG
Our Performance Pack-equipped tester produced a 0-60 mile per hour (MPH) time of 5.8 seconds, as timed by the integrated Track Apps.
The center-mounted color LCD includes a thermometer style Instant MPG display and Fuel History bar chart to help squeak more miles out of every gallon … if you can keep your foot out of it.
The V6 Performance Package improves handling and acceleration at the expense of fuel efficiency. Handling is tightened up with a beefy strut-tower brace, a larger front sway bar and a SVT rear sway bar, along with different front springs and stability control calibration.
Here’s the rub. The base automatic V6 Mustang is equipped with low rolling resistance 215/65R17 Michelin Energy Saver all season tires on 17-inch wheels, while the manual is fitted with P225/60R17 BFGoodrich Radial T/A Spec performance all-season tires.
The Performance Pack option swaps in machined and painted 19-inch aluminum alloys clad with 255/40-19 Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar Max Performance Summer tires. Needless to say, if you live in a colder part of the country and have to drive that Performance Pack Mustang in the Winter, you’ll need to pick up an extra set of wheels and winter tires. A 3.31:1 gear ratio – compared to the the base model’s 2.73:1 – delivers more performance off the line but is likely culprit for those lost MPGs, along with the change in tires.
Our tester was also fitted with Mustang Club of America (MCA) option package, which replaces the standard honeycomb grille with a distinctive dark stainless steel billet grille that allows more air flow to the radiator but may sacrifice a bit of aerodynamic efficiency.
The MCA package also includes fog lamps, side tape stripes, a rear decklid spoiler, and automatic headlamps. (The MCA package’s 18-inch sterling gray metallic painted aluminum wheels were replaced by the Performance Pack’s 19-inchers.)
Interstate highway testing temperatures were in the fifties, with 68 MPH steady state cruising at approximately 2000 RPM. Our test vehicle just over 7200 miles on the odometer.
Highway driving range is good. The 2013 Mustang V6 is fitted with a 16 gallon fuel tank and is designed to run on regular unleaded gasoline. The base automatic coupe’s curb weight is 3,523 pounds.
The four-wheel ABS brake system uses 12.4-inch ventilated discs with twin-piston 43-mm floating aluminum calipers in the front and 11.8-inch ventilated discs with single-piston 43-mm floating iron calipers in the rear.
While the haters might whine, Mustang purists will revel in the fact that it’s still a solid axle out back. We had no qualms with the ride or handling, whatsoever. It’s more solid than stiff.
The Mustang’s retro futuristic cockpit puts the driver first with a six-way power adjustable driver’s seat and a beefy leather-wrapped steering wheel with integrated controls. (Leather-trimmed Recaro bucket seats are available in the V6 Premium.)
The six-speed Select-Shift automatic bypasses the more traditional slapstick or paddle shifters that are in vogue today for a thumb-operated pushbutton manual mode.
The Comfort Option Package provides heated side view mirrors with pony projection lamps to wow all the kids in the neighborhood, along with one-level front bucket seat heating. Leather seating surfaces and seven-color LED ambient lighting are standard with the V6 Premium, along with MyColor custom instrument gauge cluster illumination, Handsfree Bluetooth, and Microsoft Sync.
The V6 Premium’s eight-speaker Shaker Audio System includes a subwoofer and two external amps. Digital music player and smartphone integration is excellent with AppLink and Pandora.
The Electronics Option Package includes Sirius XM Traffic, 3D mapping, turn-by-turn directions, and a 10GB digital jukebox. The optional rear view camera is displayed on the LCD screen when so equipped, or on the rear view mirror when not.
A 12-volt outlet is located in the center console, along with auxiliary audio and USB input jacks to plug in your iPhone or Android device. Sync’s voice-control is among the best in the biz. (The video review includes a demonstration of Pandora voice control.) Phonebook download is automatic.
The sculpted rear seat is tight, as one can always expect in a Mustang. The coupe provides 34.7 inches of rear head room and 29.8 inches of rear seat leg room. (The Mustang Convertible’s headroom is slightly more expansive at 36.6 inches.)
There’s 13.4 cubic feet of cargo room in the trunk with the rear seat up. Folding the 50/50 split rear seat down provides plenty of space to carry longer items.
All-in-all, the 2013 Mustang V6 delivers a wonderful combination of performance, fuel efficiency, and American tradition. While it remains to be seen if this year marks the end of the road for the Mustang’s highly nostalgic styling, one thing is sure … the Mustangs to come will likely feature increasing levels of fuel efficiency through turbocharged engines and aerodynamic improvements.
Warranty Information:
Bumper to Bumper – 3 years/36,000 miles
Powertrain – 5 years/60,000 miles
Roadside Assistance – 5 years/60,000 miles
Assembly Information:
Engine Plant – Cleveland, Ohio
Final Assembly Point – Flat Rock, Michigan
– by Daniel Gray
2013 Ford Mustang V6 Premium Review
Daniel Gray
2013-11-25
Mustang always looks awsome, like this one. Great pictures.
Nice test. The axle ratio is a big problem with mileage.
With all the controversy surrounding the new Ford C-Max I’d love to see you review one. This is a model that interests me and I value your mileage oriented road tests.
Current vehicles are a 2000 6-sp Miata, 2003 Saab 9-5 auto, and a 2004 RX330 Lexus auto. I use a Scan Gauge to get accurate instant MPG readings and learn mpg driving tricks for each vehicle.
Thanks, Dave. I’m working on the C-Max review right now … rendering HD video takes way too much time on the old iMac … stay tuned.
I rented a 2013 Mustang recently with the V6 & automatic. The car felt like a V8, but I got 34 mpg on one tank. This was with driving in the mountains of Washington state. I prefer the 6 speed manual which I drove very recently, but the 6 speed didn’t feel as strong as the automatic. Great car.