 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Click image to enlarge |
| Test Drive: 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302
Manufacturer’s website Owner Reviews on autoTRADER.ca |
Review and photos by Jonathan Yarkony
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2013 Ford Mustang
After spending a week in the Ford Mustang Boss 302, the question I find myself asking is: “Is it a hero car or a villain car?” There is no question in my mind that it looks like a car designed for a movie, perhaps some futuristic steampunk-like interpretation of early 21st century transportation. It is both futuristic and current, yet overwhelmingly retro. It is its own temporal loop, the LED-accented headlights and nifty progressive turn signals in the taillights a modern touch on a design that borrows heavily on the Mustangs of the 60s (and the legacy of the 1970 Mustang Boss 302), while essentially perfecting the timelessly sinister gaping-maw grille with a nice chin spoiler to make sure there are no leftovers (and to provide aerodynamic downforce, too, no doubt).
 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Click image to enlarge |
If you haven’t yet guessed, I’m a fan of Mustang styling, and it doesn’t get much better than this. Call me any number of emasculating names, but I would drive the Boss over the Shelby GT500 in a heartbeat. As a collector’s item I won’t deny the 662-hp Shelby it’s rightful place in a trophy-case garage, it being Carroll Shelby’s swan song and a monumentally powerful menace to public roads, but it’s damn near impossible (for me) to drive the thing fast and to keep the nose pointing forward.
The Boss, while a handful when so desired, was an entirely controllable and manageable species. Those 444 horsepower are nothing to take lightly, and 380 lb-ft will light up the rear wheels on command, and that’s just it—the Boss 302 has everything ready and at your command. Short-shift your gears or start in second, and you can mosey along at a socially responsible pace while still sounding like you are unleashing holy hell in echo-chamber handbasket.
  2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Click image to enlarge |
This exhaust comes in three modes: loud, loud, and loud. Yes, the Boss is loud at almost any speed in any gear, but it never gets old. While the Corvette 427 saves its snarl for high rpms, the Boss is howling right from the get-go, and simply develops more and more aggression as the revs soar. Beauty.
The Boss derives its power and from a specially tuned version of the Mustang GT’s 5.0L V8 (305 cu. in., in case you were wondering), and the Boss package also includes a race-inspired six-speed manual transmission (read that as a stiff clutch and heavy, manly throws for the shifter), staggered 19-inch alloys (9.0 inches wide in front and 9.5-inch rears), interior package, and stripes—hood stripes and hockey-stick side stripes. Apparently, Sync is also included, but I didn’t once use my phone or the stereo in the car during my week with the Boss. Yeah, it sounds that good.
There were only three controls I cared about in this car: the steering wheel, shifter, and pedals (okay, that’s five if you count each pedal individually). As mentioned, the clutch pedal is stiff, and I luckily avoided any serious stop-and-go traffic, and the shifter requires deliberate effort to lock into any gear, but it is with a rewarding heavy duty mechanical embrace that it slots home. The steering wheel is also on the heavy side, but feels just right for the car, and offers sufficient feedback and precise turn-in. This is not a car that needs a Sport button (it is always on), and the low-end torque is plenty, so with the throttle delivery always on full alert, you have to drive this car rather than simply coast along on autopilot. Lack of attention will result in (inadvertent) burnouts or stalls—I was guilty moreso of the former and perhaps a couple of the latter.
     2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Click image to enlarge |
Boss braking is courtesy of, you guessed it, Brembo, to the tune of four-piston calipers clamping down on 14-inch (355-mm) ventilated front rotors and upgraded rear pads on the standard GT brakes in back. Brake feel is okay, but not as impressive as outright performance. Pirelli PZero summer tires measuring 255/40R19 front and 285/35R19 rear, translate the massive brakes and steering into immense braking and cornering grip, and I was lucky enough to enjoy it during some fine fall weather that allowed me to enjoy its grip on highway on-ramps.
Making power delivery even more precise was a torque-sensing (Torsen) limited slip differential, and allowing greater driver control were the race-ready Recaro sport seats that lock you in with high bolsters and grippy Alcantara seating surfaces. However, even with only several thousand kilometres on the odometer, the seats were already showing signs of wear, likely because of all the wiggling necessary to plant yourself firmly into them within the deep bolstering.
If you don’t yet know that the Mustang rides on an independent front suspension and live rear axle than you’ve been living in automotive oblivion for forty years (or if you don’t understand what that means), then you should probably be shopping for the Mustang Convertible V6 with the premium package as reviewed by Mike Schlee recently. And anyone who complains about the live rear axle is missing the point. The live rear axle gives the Mustang a touch of wildness that is implied right there in its name. This car isn’t called an Arabian stallion or thoroughbred or dressage horse. On anything but a racetrack, mid-corner bumps will result in a bucking back end, and even on straight roads, rough surfaces will result in greater than usual rotation and the hard ride also means you’ll feel all of these imperfections as much as you will feel the grip and rotation when pushing it on track.
While I planned to install car seats and take my daughter for a spin, I gave up after about five seconds trying to squeeze a seat into the deep buckets in back. The contortions it took to just get the seat inside the car were enough to discourage me. However, if you have kids out of car seats and the parents aren’t too tall, you might very well make your kid look like the coolest kid in school (assuming you’ve already bought them an iPad, iPhone, and every other iGizmo in the catalogue).
But back to my original question: is this a hero car or a villain car? On the one side, it’s painted School Bus Yellow, so it can’t possibly be all evil (and that is actually the name of the colour, not just a nickname we give it… and I swear I did not park the Mustang next to a school bus for those pics—it just drove right into my photo session). It also offers heroic levels of grip, but its menacing looks and megalomaniacal and constant exhaust cackle tended to bring out the most insidious and villainous, if not downright antisocial behaviour in me.
I guess that leaves this car as the antihero, an unconventional throwback that has trouble fitting with a modern landscape, but brings its old-fashioned power to bear in an honourable way even if it is on the wrong side of the law, occasionally. Okay, maybe I’m being a little theatrical here, but whether you think the Mustang is a menace or heaven-sent, it can never be accused of lacking in character, and this Boss 302, the alpha Mustang in the stable lives up to the name, a Boss in every way.
Pricing: 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302
Base Price: $39,299
Options: $11,400 (Equipment Group 500A: Boss 302 package, Sync – $9,500; Recaro Sport Seats, helical limited slip differential – $1,900)
A/C Tax: $100
Freight & PDI: $1,500
Price as tested: $52,299
