Chris Harris is an Englishman. That means he’s from a land called England, where people are sophisticated and erudite and enjoy tea with the finest selection of boiled meats. Until recently America’s Ford Mustang was just too rowdy for these genteel people, but that’s about to change.
For the first time in generations the all-new Mustang will be available in Europe, including right-hand drive models for England. That also means they get the mighty 435 horsepower Mustang GT, a car I myself rather enjoyed quite a bit.
But why listen to me, with my crude American tastes, as I sit over here swilling Bud Light Platinum and amusing myself by firing a shotgun into the old couch on the lawn outside my double-wide! Listen to Chris Harris instead. As a European person, he’s far better suited to tell you whether the Mustang GT is good or not.
And Chris likes it. At first he says it feels like a fish out of water, still too big and rough-riding for English roads. But that’s what makes it special, he says. It’s unusual over there, but people still know what it is, and they think it’s impossibly cool. He’s also a fan of the cabin and the sound of the 5.0-liter V8. It may not be as sophisticated as European sports cars but it has its charm.
Then Chris drives it on track, as he does. He says it’s big, but agile, with plenty of power and far better manners and more depth than most Mustangs that came before it. “It’s lovely,” he says as he drifts it. “It’s a big hug of a drift car.” I think he likes it.
You’re welcome, people of Europe. You’re welcome.
Contact the author at patrick@jalopnik.com.