The 2025 Ford Mustang convertible just reeks of a car built a specifically for rental car fleets. It’s somewhat sporty, pretty decent looking, and a complete polar opposite of the SUV you drive back at home.
Unfortunately, it’s fairly obvious that they tried to build it as cheaply as possible. The interior is extremely spartan, and it creaks and rattles over bumps in a way that would make a certain Yugoslavian automaker from the 1980s cringe.
It’s my least favorite Mustang of the past 15 years.
First impressions
Walking up to this base model Mustang at the rental car lot at Honolulu Airport for the very first time made me wonder if I made a bad choice. I mean, if ever there was a way to exaggerate my pasty white mainlander vibe, this was it.
Style and design
Even though I like the way that the 2025 Mustang convertible looks, it’s not nearly as attractive as the previous generation 2021 Mustang I recently drove. This version (which came out in 2024) looks like they tried to freshen up the previous design but quickly ran out of ideas.
The 2025 mustang is long and sleek (something I couldn’t say about the previous generation). And you know what? I think it looks just as good with the top up as it does with the top down. I can’t say that about all convertibles BTW.
Interior
It’s almost as if the designers over at Ford took a look at the interior of the 2025 Kia K4 and said “yeah, let’s do that.” The only problem is that, despite their efforts, they couldn’t quite pull off a minimalist interior design as successfully as Kia did.
The entire gauge cluster of the 2025 Mustang is a single flat panel digital screen. This horizontal screen, which spans 3/4 of the length of the dashboard, also contains functionality for the climate control system, navigation, and the stereo.
The thing that bothers me the most about the interior is that it no longer looks like a Mustang interior. The iconic double hump dashboard design is gone. It now looks like something you’d find in a very cheap (and very generic) car.
Convertible functionality
I’m far from being the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I was able to figure out how to put down the top in just a few seconds. It’s extremely intuitive, and I promise you’re not going to have any issues figuring it out.
Raising it (and locking it into position) is just as easy. It’s probably the best feature of the entire car in my opinion. Which is saying a lot considering that I’m not a convertible guy at all. They’re just not my thing.
Engine and transmission
The base model 2025 Mustang convertible is powered by a turbocharged 2.3 L 4-cylinder engine producing 315 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. It’s actually one of the strongest feeling four cylinders that I’ve ever driven. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
The transmission is a 8-speed automatic which, thankfully, is not of the continuously variable (CVT) variety. Shifts are snappy. It feels correctly geared. No complaints from me.
Performance and handling
It makes me feel like less of a man when I say this, but I actually think the 4-cylinder mustang is fast enough. It’s a quick car. Ford claims a 0 to 60 time of 5.1 seconds, but I was able to do better at 4.7 seconds. Maybe this car was just happy to be in Hawaii? I don’t know.
The handling isn’t as impressive as the acceleration. It feels soft in the corners. The rear end steps out over bumps under hard acceleration. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence on tight winding roads. Then again, the convertible mustang weighs in at 4567 lbs, which ain’t exactly light.
Gas mileage
I was able to get a respectable 22.5 miles per gallon out of this mustang. Keep in mind that nearly 85% of the driving I did was on low speed windy coastal roads on the island of Oahu. The other 15% was spent on the freeway cutting across the island to get back to the airport in time. I may have or may not exceeded the speed limit. I’m not telling.
Build quality
This was the first Mustang that I’ve driven in a while which had me scratching my head. What happened to the build quality? I get that it’s a convertible, and it’s supposed to be a little more creaky and rattly than usual, but this car (with less than 2,000 mi on it) felt as if every bolt was coming loose.
I do have to say that I was impressed with the build quality of the convertible top however. It was extremely tight, and made no scary noises when putting it down or bringing it up.
Pros and cons
This is the worst Mustang of the past 15 years in my opinion. Another way to say that is that I much prefer my 2012 5.0 Mustang GT due to how comparatively simple it is. The 2025 version feels like they tried too hard to incorporate the latest tech simply for the sake of trying to incorporate the latest tech.
Pros
- The convertible top works surprisingly well. Not only that, it’s extremely easy to use.
- It’s fast! No really, I’m being serious.
- You’d never know it’s a base 4-cylinder model just by looking at it. The V8 GTs don’t look much different than this.
Cons
- The interior is a huge step backwards IMHO. It’s too simple. There’s too much tech. There’s nothing “Mustang” about it.
- The hood might actually be difficult to see over if you’re not anywhere close to being 6 ft tall.
- Everyone’s going to think that you’re driving a rental car. Worse yet, you may even be labeled as a pasty white mainlander (even in Alabama).
