While chief rivals Dodge and Chevrolet have culled their two-door muscle car options, Ford is loud and proud about the longevity of its V8 Mustang.
The demise of the Challenger and Camaro means less to us as we never had those in right-hand drive in South Africa.
The continued existence and revitalisation of the brawny blue oval coupé, which came to South Africa officially in 2015, is something most petrolheads will rejoice over. It remains the only normally-aspirated, eight-cylinder performer of its kind.
This week we had a turn in the seventh-generation car on some of the Western Cape's stunning twisties through George and Knysna.
It costs R1.3m inclusive of a six-year/90,000km service plan.
According to Ford, chief rivals to the Mustang include all-wheel drive sophisticates such as Audi's S5 (R1,272,500) and BMW's M440i (R1,499,607), as well as the Toyota GR Supra R1,494,800.
These are all German picks (did you forget the Toyota was based on the BMW Z4?) and boast a far superior level of refinement and substance over the Mustang.
The Ford, however, has a rock ‘n roll essence that prompts fans to overlook some deficiencies when compared with European rivals. Nobody buys a Mustang because it is plush, luxurious or technologically advanced. They buy it for its heritage, thundering power source, ability to execute big, smoky burnouts and to fuel fantasies of being Steve McQueen in Bullitt or any other Mustang-driving protagonist you care to mention.
We will discuss those expected Mustang hallmarks later. For now, we talk about the areas of fine-tuning where the old, sixth-generation car was lacking.
Open the door to the new Mustang and you are greeted by materials of a decidedly fancier slant. Leather upholstery clads the seats, with a much richer texture than the plastic-like coverings of before. No longer do the surfaces exude a Tupperware-like sense of coarseness.
Central infotainment is handled by a 13.2" set-up with a 12.4" digital cluster ahead of the driver. You can customise displays with various designs, one of which echoes the analogue simplicity of the classic 1960s Mustang.
Safety kit and driver assistance features are comprehensive, with eight airbags, lane-keep assist, as well as blind-spot monitoring and autonomous emergency braking. This is a much safer Mustang but its playful streak has not been muted.
For example, you can start and rev the car remotely — a feature that exists for no reason you could think of other than to cause a nuisance.
Slide behind the flat-bottomed steering wheel, fire up the Coyote V8 and the new Mustang stokes an instant fire in those caveman parts of the brain. You see the long brow before you, feel the vibration of the motor and are compelled to hit the open road.
From standstill to 100km/h, Ford claims a sprint time of 4.9 seconds. While the 5l motor has 3kW less than before, it gains 10Nm of torque, with total outputs being 328kW/540Nm. As before, transmission is handled by a 10-speed automatic, which works perfectly fine left to its own devices but complies when you knock it into manual mode for extra control.
While newer iterations of European performance cars seem to get quieter as they evolve, the Mustang appears to have become louder. The V8 din is always prominent, hardly suppressed even at urban cruising speeds.
Ford might tell you it now handles with the same poise and decorum of Germany's alternatives, but take that with a pinch of salt.
Yes, it is a significant leap over the previous vehicle, with tangible enhancements in steering feedback, ride quality and suspension damping, but it is still a sledgehammer in comparison to a scalpel. What did you expect? Ford was not trying to turn the Mustang into a Porsche 718 Cayman.
Blasting down endless straights in the Karoo, stroking those higher velocities, the Mustang tends to fidget like an excitable bronco — and it has not lost the characteristic trembling bonnet. While the Audi or BMW will cosset you with inert manners that extricate you from the true feeling of high speed, the Mustang still tickles those receptors responsible for danger. Fans of the breed will appreciate that these textures have not been dampened.
About 4,082 units of the Mustang were sold in South Africa since release almost a decade ago and according to Ford, the famed pony lays claim to more than 80% of the traditional sports car segment.
Unlike the previous model, there is no manual option, neither will there be a four-cylinder or convertible for the time being. Ford will launch the more ferocious Dark Horse iteration later this month. Despite taking on more technology and a layer of refinement, the Ford Mustang is likely to keep purists happy.
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