2021 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Premium Convertible Reader Rental Review – California, Not Quite Dreamin’
John Muir once wrote, “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark,” and when you’re pushing 60, as I am, “the dark” isn’t just an abstract concept anymore – it’s quite real.
Thankfully, being a guy-of-a-certain-age also has its’ perks, one of them being the means to pack your bags and get the hell out of town at will, so while the good folks here in Denver were dealing with weather best described as “winter hell,” my lady and I were enjoying a couple of sunny days at Disneyland, and a lazy Sunday with absolutely nothing to do before our early-evening flight home. It was a perfect opportunity for a day trip, and a peek at the Hertz website revealed a perfect ride: A Mustang convertible. A few clicks later, we’d booked the car and a Lyft to John Wayne Airport to pick it up.
Fifty-eight years here on Earth have taught me that there aren’t many things in life more wonderful than experiencing wanderlust, and if you love cars, I hope you get the chance to find yours gazing down the long hood of a drop-top Mustang, with early morning California sunshine kissing your forehead, your love at your side, and nothing in front of you but eight hours of nothing to do. We toyed with hitting the tourist sights in L.A., but the breeze pointed us west, towards the ocean, and that’s the way we went – first to Huntington Beach, then down the Pacific Coast Highway.
As perfect car days go, one spent cruising top down on the PCH is one for the books – the weather and scenery are spectacular, and living all the weirdness and wonderfulness of southern California with someone you love is something you should experience. Unfortunately, I can’t quite say the same about our Mustang, which proved to be an alternatively delightful and cranky travel companion.
The Mustang in question was a 2021 EcoBoost Premium, with the same 2.3 turbo-four found in a wide variety of Ford products, mated to a 10-speed automatic. As you can see, the car’s as drop-dead sexy as the driver. In fact, I’d say this generation of Mustang is one of the best-looking cars you can buy for just about any price. As an old Jaguar ad once proclaimed, “gorgeous gets away with it,” and the Mustang’s looks make its inherent limitations – mainly, a non-usable back seat and a tiny trunk – a lot easier to overlook. But for a carefree day spent cruising in California sunshine, does that stuff really matter?
The Premium trim included ventilated “ActiveX” (read: Fake leather) seats, a big touchscreen with inscrutable HVAC controls (which thankfully weren’t needed), and selectable drive modes. The toggle switches on the console were a nice touch, as was the tongue-in-cheek “Ground Speed” marking on the speedometer. So equipped, our renter would retail for $40,515, per Ford’s build-and-price website.
The convertible top is a breeze to use – a single pull and twist on the lever behind the rear-view mirror releases the top, and it folds electrically behind the rear seats quickly and silently.
With the top down as the Almighty intended, the drive mode switched to “sport,” and “Green Onions” on the stereo, it was off to Huntington Beach, the town Jan and Dean made famous as “Surf City”.
To my surprise, the “Surf City” thing wasn’t just PR – no, there weren’t two swingin’ honeys for every guy, but there were plenty of surfers out there on that morning, riding waves in the frigid water. One surfer struck up a conversation with us.
“We don’t have this back home,” I said, and after no doubt noting our distinctly non-California-esque bodies and untanned skin, he guessed we were from Minnesota. When I told him we were from Colorado, he reflected for a moment, simply replied, “cool,” and hit the waves again.
The local surfer-dude vibe isn’t accidental. Huntington Beach proved to be a somewhat funky, laid-back sort of place – further up the beach, there was a playground, a grassy knoll with hammocks, and a church service led by a guitar-playing pastor. It’s the kind of place that a non-Californian like me would think of as “typical So-Cal,” but the day would prove that there is no typicality to this place at all.
Where next from Huntington Beach? We looked north on the beach, where you could clearly see the haze of Long Beach harbor, an unmistakable sign of Los Angeles’ nightmare sprawl, and decided to head to the clearer southward skies and Newport Beach.
The Mustang was proving to be a comfortable cruise partner on the PCH drive, but the segment to Newport Beach, which was done in moderate traffic, exposed some nasty character flaws in its powertrain setup.
On paper, the ingredients for solid performance are there – the turbo-four produces 310 horsepower and a not-inconsiderable 350 lb-ft of torque, and TTAC tests of the manual version of this car found it to be a legit performer. Even with the automatic, instrumented tests show EcoBoost Mustangs are capable of 0-60 runs in the low-five-second range, which should have made our renter a tad quicker than my own car, a Jetta GLI, and that car’s no slouch. But in traffic, the Mustang felt out of sorts and slow – there was always a touch of turbo lag, followed by the 10-speed trying to figure out its next move, which was almost inevitably to hold the current gear or upshift, even in “sport” mode.
Accelerating was distasteful for the gearbox, but decelerating made it downright cranky – it led to an unseemly “bucking” feel, not unlike the dreaded “Power Shudder” sensation you got from the old DCT units in the Focus and Fiesta, which pleased only class-action lawyers. Our rental had paddle shifters – a highly useful performance driving tool that, when executed properly (as they are in my GLI), provide about eight- or nine-tenths as much transmission control as you’d have with a manual – but the Mustang’s transmission just kept shifting no matter what, making the paddles into decorations. The transmission caused the Mustang to develop a split personality – a sexy, powerful, highly competent, and comfortable cruiser that wants to go fast and has the talent to do so, with an Eeyore transmission that tells it not to.
But just as the Mustang’s transmission was throwing us curves, so did the PCH – the friendly funkiness of Huntington Beach faded behind us, and we entered Newport Beach. In retrospect, I wasn’t quite prepared for the display of ridiculous wealth that unfolded in front of me.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t resent money. I grew up in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in St. Louis, in a home that would go for a million bucks today (and if you’re familiar with St. Louis real estate, you know the kind of house a million buys), with two Benzes in the driveway at any given time. Denver certainly has more than its share of wealth on display as well. Money shouldn’t be a culture shock for me, but I was more than a bit gobsmacked by the ridiculous, over-the-top “Platinum AMEX” feel of Newport Beach – the squads of Range Rovers and Teslas, the Ferrari and Maserati dealers a few hundred feet from a McDonalds, the yacht marina just off the PCH, and the endless procession of $3 million stucco McMansions.
Imagine a Neiman-Marcus store transformed into a city, and you have Newport Beach. And like a Neiman-Marcus, the antiseptic, generic feel of it all was striking – everything was perfectly manicured, buttoned-down, designer. Every blade of grass trimmed, every hair on every head coiffed. You could feel the snobbery just driving down the street. The spoiled-brat kid at McDonald’s who took our order for Shamrock Shakes didn’t even thank us. She was probably upset that her mom and dad made her earn her own money when everyone else at the day school is getting two-grand monthly allowances (a point that my inner adolescent finds eminently fair). Would someone surf in Newport Beach? Absolutely, if there was a Botox clinic on the beach.
Looking back, if there had been anything in the Ferrari dealership to look at (there wasn’t), we’d have stuck around Newport Beach for a bit, but pretentious wealth isn’t our thing, and we were happy to leave the place behind. So was the Mustang. As the road opened up a bit on the way to Laguna Beach, our pony got a chance to show its cruising chops, which are considerable – it’s a relaxed, refined driver, and even with the lousy transmission and without the V-8, the torque makes it feels effortlessly powerful, as a car like this should be. The Mustang’s conversion from coupe to convertible is well executed – with the top and windows down, wind buffeting and cowl shake were minimal. Overall, our 20,000-mile-old Mustang was solid and rattle-free. I never got to open the Mustang up, but I did note that the chassis’ sinews were evident, and the steering had appropriate heft and decent feel. This is a big car that never feels big, and transmission issues aside, it can be delightful to drive.
The next stop on the PCH split-personality parade was Laguna Beach, which is probably just as monied as Newport Beach but doesn’t like showing it. It reminded me of a California version of Boulder – a place where people who have gobs of money think of themselves as unpretentious as they drop 10 grand on a trail bike or $300 on shoes made from responsibly sourced materials and hand-assembled by indigenous Costa Ricans (who generously donate 3.8 percent of the proceeds to climate-change protection). Still, it was a breath of fresh(er) air after the Nip-Tuck ostentation of Newport Beach.
From there, it was on to Dana Point and San Clemente, probably best known as the place where Richard Nixon spent his winters planning out fiendish payback against all of his real and imagined political opponents. San Clemente had its own “touristy” charm but still felt more down-to-earth than the places we’d been. In town, the roads get twisty and narrow, and despite being a big car, the Mustang handled it all with ease.
After a late lunch in San Juan Capistrano, it was time to start heading back toward town for our evening flight, and we decided to try out a little California Freeway Life on Interstate 5. Surprisingly enough, traffic was light – truth be told, I-25 on a typical Sunday afternoon in Denver is far worse. The Mustang proved to be an excellent highway cruiser, and with the top down and windows up, noise levels were low enough to hold a conversation at 75-80 mph. I tried some passing maneuvers to see if the transmission issues were an “in traffic” thing, but the gearbox proved its rock-solid consistency by being mule-headed at highway speeds as well.
With the coming of sunset, it was time to figure out some supper (which turned out to be dessert at the Cheesecake Factory), gas up our Mustang and get it back to Hertz and begin the regrettable process of going home. Transmission issues notwithstanding, the Mustang had proven itself a first-rate partner for our California adventure.
A couple of hours later, our 737 left the ground. My girlfriend put her head on my shoulder and dozed off, and as the lights of Southern California and our little PCH playground receded behind us, with nothing but the dark of the desert Southwest ahead, that Muir quote ran through my head again.
I’m not going to be here forever; the same may even be true of Mustangs. Whether you’re talking about your own mortality, or the mortality of pony cars – at least as we know them – the dark is out there. But it can be chased away for a spell, and cruising the California coast in a drop-top Mustang with your love is a great way to do it. Next time, maybe we’ll chase it away going north, towards Santa Barbara, or maybe we’ll check the mid-mod houses in Palm Springs.
But no matter where we go next, if we rent a Mustang again, it’ll have a V8.
Postscript:
The old journalism major in me was vexed by the transmission issues in our Mustang after I got home. Was our renter a bad apple? Did Hertz “de-tune” it to keep it from being abused? The latter seemed possible, and would make sense – a few years back, National was dumb enough to rent me a V8 Challenger while I was in Florida on a three-week business trip, and the first thing I did after leaving the rental agency was to perform the first of 148 lurid smoky burnouts I did during the trip. Clearly, it’d be smart to guard against dingbats like me.
So, in the name of journalistic fairness, I decided to test out an automatic Ecoboost Mustang from a local dealership. The one I tested wasn’t quite as bad as our renter, but it had many of the same behaviors – even in sport mode, it was quick to upshift, slow to downshift, and “bucked” when decelerating.
A bit of research indicates that this appears to be a known issue with this car, according to Ford forums. Perhaps some of our renter’s issues stemmed from a hard-knock life at Hertz, but this is a performance car, so I’d argue that hard driving should be “engineered in,” so to speak. If 20,000 miles on the clock caused the transmission issues our example had, how bad would it be at 50,000 miles? I’d say the best answer to that question would be to avoid the automatic model altogether.
At this point, you’re saying, “who cares – the Mustang to get is the one with a V8 and a stick,” and you won’t get any argument from me there – I drove one a few years back and it was great. But choice is always good, and if you want to save a few bucks, a manual EcoBoost model is a fine-driving car in its’ own right and an excellent performance value.
[Images courtesy of the author]
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Good review FreedMike I feel like I was driving this car myself. I know what you mean about the DCTs I use to drive a fleet Ford Focus and I never could get use to its shifting. I always felt the transmission would go out at anytime and I would be stranded. This Eco-Boost Mustang would be a nice drive with a manual.
Good write-up, Freed.
“the Mustang’s transmission just kept shifting no matter what”
That would be maddening in any car, let alone a ‘sports car’. Even econoboxes don’t do this.
I agree with your assessment of Huntington Beach. I’ve had the good fortune to be sent on business (twice) to Costa Mesa. The cross-country travel was no fun, but the destination is most pleasant. I recommend Duke’s Restaurant there, which tastes better on the company dime.
But homes cost at least 5x for the same living space, and still lack the yard and basement I’m accustomed to in the East.
As for the Mustang, it will never be on my list, unless it’s a 67-82.
Thanks for the write-up – great commentary on both the area and the car!
Thanks!
Nice read ..A north to south trip on the Pacific Coast Highway is on my “bucket list”
I used a 15 EB Mustang automatic as a daily driver for nearly four years. Yes.. Turbo Lag was there, though a huge improvement over earlier Turbos. To squeeze the 310 HP out of the 2.3 required premium fuel .. In my experience if your looking for V8 performance buy the V8..If you attempt to duplicate V8 performance the EB is just as thirsty as any V8.
Oh yeah, and you even think you may need to drive in ice or snow.??? Very expensive Michelin X ice and snow tires are a must..
Given how badly the transmission was behaving, it was hard to discern if there even was turbo lag going on.
As a long-time local who drives that route often, I found your account a bit amusing. The areas immediately adjacent to PCH mostly represent the stereotypical image of those cities, though as with most stereotypes, there’s some reality to it (personally I find Newport people much nicer than HB folks, though). PCH isn’t much of a technical driving road, so if you had the opportunity to drive some of the canyon routes, there probably would’ve been a bit more to discover about the ‘Stang.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go too far off the beaten path due to time constraints. I was also unfamiliar with the area in general). I’d love to dig a bit deeper next time I’m out there. And I’d love to wander L.A. as well.
Too bad to hear that Ford still hasn’t solved its transmission tuning woes. I suspect a Camaro V6 would be a nicer choice for around the same money for a buyer wanting an automatic.
I agree with you that the current Mustang is a very appealing design, and if you’re OK with the four-cylinder sound there’s not a thing wrong with the 2.3 EB engine. A 2.3/manual Stang is a great performance deal.
A few years back, I was getting my track time fix by renting cars, as my daily driver isn’t trackable. The first time I got an EB Mustang, the second time in an V6 Camaro. Both were enjoyable rides, but yeah, the Mustang shifts too much. The Camaro combination of the V6 and six speed automatic worked very well, and the Camaro drove quite well on the track. The problems with the Camaro are livability issues, poor outward visibility and bad access to the trunk. If I were going to buy such a car, I’d get the EB Mustang with a stick.
The Camaro V6 shares this exact same 10-speed as the Mustang, this itself a huge improvement over the problematic GM 8 speed. 10 speed is a Ford/GM codevelopered and shared trans
I’ve rented them a couple of times as well as a Camaro convertible. Mustang is far better car compared to the Camaro. That said it is just too big and fat. Never driven a MX3 but I’d test that as well.
Nice review. We have had 6 Mustangs through the years with 4 of them being convertibles. Bought the first one in 1989 out of the showroom of the Manhattan Beach Ford dealership (1989 GT Convert.).
What’s still here is my daughter’s 2014 Mustang Premium Edition coupe and my 2005 Mustang convertible. Hey, at 79 years young, I still love my drop tops!
Good read, nice work FM.
Bangin! Yeah there’s a distinct California rudeness by service employees that would get you fired anywhere else. Newport Beach is a place like no other. There was a pizza joint there that sold by the slice, but omg, like 4 inch tall, amazing i think it was BJ’s, but a busy 7 days and 2-level diner.
From Capistrano Beach in I recommend the snaking hwy 74 winds through some forgettable towns except for a mile high Alpine style, tourist village then 74 continues to the notable Pines to Palms section that ends in the Palm Spring greater area. You could waste half a day but you could easily spend that much time on the 91 and 60/10 staring at tail lights.
If you ever see a new Mustang parked next to a Fox Mustang, the size difference is mind blowing.
As someone familiar with those surroundings (used to go on business trip on a monthly basis) I got thrilled with your story.
The rentals I got from the cheapskates company I used to work were nothing compared to a Mustang but spending the days there was an overall nice experience. Lots of nice places to lay down and have a nice dinner as well as shopping.
IMHO, both Irvine and Newport Beach were the most in your face upscale places around. I can relate how some of the people I visited in the Irvine lab did not live there close due to the rents being about twice compared to nearby Lake Forrest or Santa Ana.
If you like food, there might not be too many better places in the country than coastal OC. Santa Ana has endless Mexican, Westminster has endless Vietnamese (when I mean endless, I mean hundreds and hundreds), the South Coast area has every kind of chef driven food imaginable.
Next time try a Camaro convertible instead. I managed to rent both the Mustang and Camaro convertibles back to back on a recent trip and found the Camaro to be a much better driving car. Handling is better, Camaro is smaller so easier to maneuver both in city traffic and mountain roads, and performance about the same (the rental Camaros come with a 275hp turbo four but it weighs less than the Mustang). It’s 8 speed auto doesn’t lug like the Mustang (that seemed to always want to be in 10th gear). And the top is even easier to use. No handle to twist. Just press a button.
Only downsides to the Camaro is its back seat and trunk. Neither is useful for its purpose. I used the back seat for my luggage. Trunk can hold maybe a school backpack at most.
Excellent article, FreedMike. Thanks for sharing it.
I know this is an apples to basketballs comparison, but the 2.3L EB and 10-speed is the same drivetrain in my wife’s ’19 Ranger. It may be a different transmission though. I realize the engine mapping would be quite different in these vehicles, but I wanted to mention how sluggish I find the transmission. Shifts are slow enough to trip the transmission up occasionally.
It sounds like the manual is the way to go with the Mustang, though I do recognize that your DSG-equipped GLI is bit quicker and faster than mine with the manual. We’re roughly the same age and I don’t think either of us are doing 0-60 runs regularly anyway.
Keep up the great writing!
Excellent review, F-M-: informative, enjoyable.
Coastal SoCal is a special area; I grew up in Austin, but never went back, as I fell in love with San Diego weather from my Navy officer days post UT and with the (mostly) egalitarian, low-key atmosphere. Even the fancy folks in La Jolla, where we lived for 12 years while our kids were in school, were very nice folks, nearly across the board.
I am 60, and have slowed my aging by eating well. I eat ‘whole foods, mostly plant based’ (if you are interested, subscribe to Dr. Greger’s free daily newsletter). I have not required a visit to a physician, prescription drugs, or a dentist in over 13 years. I am at my high school/college/Navy weight — 165 lbs. on a 5′ 11″ frame — without trying and with only modest exercise. No aches, no pains, low blood pressure and resting heart rate, excellent energy, etc. Just ‘food for thought.’
Keep up the fine submissions!
Another great write up, Mike. Thanks for sharing/posting.
I’m going to channel some Ford hate…. why can’t they get their transmissions sorted? Doesn’t matter if it’s dual clutch, regular auto or manual. It’s like a never ending congo line of problems. Inexcusable at this point.
Also, is this the first time a reader review included a picture of said reviewer? The Baruths would appear in some pictures from years ago, but that was years ago.
Good pictures of the area as well.
Excellent job FreedMike.
A friend and I had done the coast highway trip in the early 80’s in an almost new Ford Escort. We were around 20 at the time. We got lost in East LA. We did not know that was a bad thing. My buddy stood out like a sore thumb. A very pale white 6 foot 2 bean pole gringo. Me, I was stocky and tanned easily. I was very dark skinned and with thick curly black hair and a beard, I looked like a local. We both spoke French so we were able to understand most of the Hispanic. We got directions to the coast and returned north on the PCH and Oregon coast.
Good review.
This is my issue with these 8 and 10 speed transmissions. Everyone knocks Mazda on their 6 speed which I think works great, but then every other car with these high number geared transmissions just don’t seem to be all that great.
When where you drive requires lots of speed changes: The combination of a rather slow shifting transmission, lots of gears, insistence that every gear has to be selected in succession, and a strategy aimed at keeping the engine as far away from its most responsive powerband as possible, makes quick, efficient shifting hard to accomplish.
At steady state driving, more gears mean you can run at slightly more efficient revs more often, than fewer gears. But that goes out the window once you need to rapidly run up and down the box.
Of course, clumsy shifts don’t get penalized in silly EPA type tests, so who cares? Sane people buy manuals anyway :)
Drive something with the ZF 8 speed. That’s a transmission done right. I don’t see how it could be improved, that’s how good it is. Why Ford most of all can’t get their transmissions to work right is a mystery to me. The GM/Ford 10 speed seems OK in GM cars, so why not Ford too?
The ZF8 is great, even in its own right.
At least part of its goodness, stems from generally being fitted to more expensive, hence higher margin, cars.
The way modern car sales work, is that more expensive cars are designed to appeal to buyers.
While less expensive ones, are designed to appeal to the EPA. In order to provide more room in silly CAFE “budgets,” for ensuring that more expensive cars appeal to buyers.
There’s no direct “profit” in cheaper cars anyway. So, those instead have to make themselves worth vile, by contributing to making sure cars with a margin, can be made more attractive.
Of course anyone even remotely sentient immediately recognizes such cross subsidization is nothing but the crassest of economic four letter words. But anyone even remotely sentient, also recognizes CAFE is similarly a game designed and supported only and solely by nothing but the most atrociously idiotic of all possible life forms. So, in the DumbAge, that’s what car makers, and consumers of gearboxes, are stuck having to accommodate.
I have a 2019 with the same 2.3/10A combo and I only get the “bucking” sensation if I try to accelerate extremely lightly with the gas pedal. Once in the 18k miles I have owned the car, I had an extremely hard downshift that sounded and felt like a hammer to my back. I was trying to pass on the highway going from about 55 to 80 and when I went to press down, I felt a delay and a very confused transmission and then WHACK! The whole car vibrated and shuttered. Never had a problem after that and zero codes or errors were found at the dealer. Hopefully will be rid of this car for a Bronco(2.3/10A) soon! Just need Ford to build my Bronco. Hopefully before the Spring!
Torque converter going in and out of lockup, maybe? I noticed a little chuggle on my 2019 10-speed Accord the other day as I was coming around the curve going to my driveway—on and off the gas at maybe 15mph. Less noticeable than a normal shift.
Nice feature, Mike! The cultural and driving impressions were both enjoyable to read.
I think the Mustang *can* be made to obey the paddle shifters, but there is a special secret handshake and dance you need to do first. I read about it here (though, I confess, I am still a bit fuzzy on the details): https://themustangsource.com/forums/f806/do-you-use-paddle-shifters-545755/
Thanks FreedMike, nicely written.
Couple of comments
(1) I had a V8 10 speed as a rental a couple of years ago, and the transmission performed brilliantly in all kinds of driving over a couple thousand KMs. I don’t know if it’s the same transmission.
(2) with the learning that goes on with transmissions these days, it’s entirely possible that the car was confused based on different driving styles. I’ve noticed that my 2016 CTS can be clunky around town for a while after a long highway drive, or after some hard driving. After it relearns the city driving, it’s fine.
Last month I had a 2022 Ranger Lariat 4×4 rental in Las Vegas. I found similar issues with the Ranger as it too had the 2.3L EcoBoost. Quick to upshift, which takes the turbo off boil, and slow to downshift, exacerbating the feeling of turbo lag. I was used to it however, My wife’s ’20 MDX AWD with the 9-speed behaves much the same way, with the addition of a series of clunky downshifts as the vehicle slows to a stop. It’s been to Acura several times, reflashed on two occasions and in every case returned with the note, “performing as intended”. I really find 8 speeds to be the sweet spot for autoboxes, the 9 and 10 speed gearboxes have ratios that are very closely spaced, which doesn’t do much for economy but does create a lot of needless cog swapping generating the jolts and clunks. Every manufacturer should just buy the ZF 8-speed and admit defeat!
Great trip!
Appreciate you giving us a “bucket list trip” in real life!
The wife and I did a bucket list trip a few years ago!
Bought a Turbo MR2 via an online auction and flew to Santa Barbara where the seller lived.
Headed South toward San Diego and the zoo. The coastline and its natural beauty was a showstopper! Hit the famous muscle beach and we dropped big bucks on a simple lunch with a nice view.
Made our way to The San Diego Zoo and their wilderness park.
Great places to visit.
Drove North back to Santa Barbara for a family visit with a niece that lived there. Then North to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Here again, the sights and sounds of the coastline were magnificent. Even caught the Monarch butterflies as they filled the trees in a state park just outside of Santa Cruz!
As we headed back to our home in Florida, we saw the Beautiful Yosemite Park and even hit Zion and Bryce Canyon as well.
Words cannot describe the Natural Beauty of the USA!
And the Turbo MR2 did flawlessly!
Thanks to JimK the seller who made sure the car was truly ready to go across country!