A Month With a Mustang
The first time I drove it home, I was white-knuckling the wheel at 50 on I-94, praying nobody would come near my car.
Let me back up. Through work, we leased a brand new 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Premium fastback: 10-speed automatic, Oxford White with a racing stripe. Sticker between $40,000 and $45,000, a 24-month lease, and a deal that still doesn't sound real: employees got to drive it for a month at a time. My month was April 2024. For a kid who grew up in Michigan, this was the dream with my name on the schedule.
Being Seen
I drove that car everywhere. To the west side of the state a few times, to work every day, to church on Sundays. You name it. You bet I wanted to be seen in this thing.
And the Mustang wants to be seen too. When you open the door, it illuminates a pony on the ground at your feet. A car that lights the pavement on fire for you before you've even sat down understands exactly what it is.
The Fun Part
This was my first time driving a sports car, and the pickup speed is wicked fun. Two doors, paddle shifters, and exhaust settings for quiet, sport, and racing, with the dashboard changing its whole personality as you toggle between them. The quiet mode never got used. I'm just doing my job as a reporter and telling you it exists. The sneaking-out days are behind me, and in this car, I never would have been done driving in time to sneak back home anyway.
There's a heads-up display for your speed, and my favorite feature of all: the adaptive cruise control. Say what you want about a sports car with adaptive cruise. On the third trip to the west side of the state, you say thank you.
The learning curve was real, though. The nose of the car is massive, a completely different world from the Honda Civic I was driving at the time. The car is heavy but easy to drive; I just had to get used to quick turns and needing to slow down more than I expected. Hence the white knuckles on I-94. By week two, I was taking the long way home.
The Tech (You Knew This Was Coming)
This car had everything necessary and nothing that got in the way. The dashboard was easy to consume, with a handful of cool digital display options, and Apple CarPlay was a pleasant, no-fight experience. Regular readers know that's the highest compliment I give.
But for the record: I am against replacing physical gauges. A lot of cars now are all digital. No more needle. Luckily, my Edge still has the needle, and I plan on defending it.
The Verdict
I loved driving that car. I would absolutely drive it again, and it planted an idea that hasn't left: someday, when I'm older, a weekend driver like this is happening.
But the thing I'll remember most isn't the speed or the screens. It's how good that car sounded starting up.
And the best way to hear it? Windows down.
In April, in Michigan, not for too long.
