Test Drive: 2022 Ford Mustang Crosses Generations (Herald-Review)
Since April 17, 1964, the Ford Mustang has been in existence and ascended to nearly iconic status nearly instantly. The 2022 model year is part of the sixth generation of Ford’s iconic pony car.
My tester week is the 2022 Ford Mustang, with the 2.3-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost, wearing Mischievous Purple paint.
All Mustangs, even four-bangers, are fun to drive, as they were intended to be. Additionally, as a Mustang historian and author of the book Mustang by Design, I always pay close attention to things like the headlights and the taillights to see how those design elements change and hold up generation after generation.
For me, nothing is more iconic than the three-slash headlights and taillights. Those were key design elements on the original Mustang, as designed by my friend Gale Halderman. Gale’s design cues still were evident on the 2022 Mustang, which is mostly unchanged from the previous model year. But why change something so iconic?
Under the hood, the 2022 Mustang has three powertrain options including the aforementioned Ecoboost 2.3-liter engine and a 5.0-liter V8 and a supercharged 5.2-liter V8. My tester, with that four-cylinder turbocharged engine is rated at 330 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. Even as the least powerful, there’s still nice exhaust tune to this engine and it certainly still sounds like a muscle car.
(photo credit: Herald-Review)
