2018 Ford Mustang facelift unveiled in the US

Ford has unveiled the 2018 facelift of the Mustang in the United States. Changes on the new model include a sleeker front fascia, some technological feature additions, as well as a few mechanical tweaks.

The Mustang facelift borrows the same silhouette of the earlier model, while the front and rear have been redesigned. The car gets a low-slung nose, new upper & lower grilles and new position for the hood vents. But the biggest change on the 2018 Mustang is the presence of all-LED front lights. This makes it the first Mustang model to get such a setup. At the rear, the updated model gets tweaked LED taillights and a redesigned bumper.

The new Mustang comes with Ford's first 12-inch all-digital LCD screen, which acts as the instrument cluster. Since the system is all-digital, it can be customized and personalized in order to display a specific set of information to the driver. Moreover, the fully-digital instrument cluster also offers three different displays for different driving modes: Normal, Sport and Track.

The 2018 Mustang gets an optional active valve exhaust system that allows the driver to modulate the car's exhaust note. It also comes with some new driver-assist technologies, including pre-collision assist, lane-departure warning, lane keeping assist and driver alert system. Moreover, the car's Ford SYNC connect system now features FordPass that allows drivers to locate, start, lock and unlock the car using a smartphone app.

Mechanical upgrades include upgraded shock absorbers, a new cross-axis joint in the rear suspension and tweaked stabilizer bars. Ford has also dropped the 3.7-litre V6 engine from the Mustang line-up, citing poor sales. The Mustang facelift thus comes with two engine options: 2.3-litre, 4-cylinder EcoBoost and 5.0-litre V8. Both these power plants are now offered with a new 10-speed automatic gearbox. Ford claims that this new gearbox will provide quicker shift times and will reduce friction losses. The gearbox can be controlled with steering-mounted paddle shifters. Manual transmissions are also on offer on both engines. On the V8, the 6-speed manual gearbox has been redesigned to house a twin-disc clutch and dual-mass flywheel.

Ford is expected to internationally launch the new Mustang by early next year.