Having earned my license 55 years ago, I can say that I’ve driven probably every generation of Mustang beginning with Lee Iaccoca’s mid-‘60s original. But in college, I discovered cars from Germany, England, Sweden and then (Datsun 240Z) Japan, and I’ve been a sports-car snob ever since. I particularly liked to make fun of the ol’ Mustang as all show and no go, while the Mustangs that did go preferred to do so in a straight line. Other than interstates 90, 91, 93 and 95, New England roads rarely run straight for more than half a mile or so. 

After decades of this (and a few exceptions, after the Mustang finally got independent rear suspension, in 2015), I have to shut up and say that the ‘21 Mustang Mach 1 is a paragon. It can tear up a winding, narrow, potholed road at a rate well beyond my ability (and courage) without a single oops. It can potter down to the store for Red Bull and Cheetos. And it can pull off a four-hour run to Boston in the hottest weather and thickest traffic in near-perfect comfort. All this with a trunk full of golf bags, groceries or luggage, and without embarrassing a driver whose hair has gone silver. 

Other recent Mustangs such as the GT350 and GT500 are bona fide performance machines, but they’re not for daily use. (The GT500 has 760 horsepower and costs close to $80,000. The GT350 and GT350R are no longer available.) Like most extreme cars, they demand sacrifices in comfort, driving ease, convenience, fuel efficiency, utility, you name it. This Mach 1, the new top dog in “street” Mustangs, is less powerful but much more useable and better rounded. I’d garage it through the snowy months, but I’d be fine driving it every day the rest of the year. I’d expect close to 22 MPG on the highway, too, thanks to computerized fuel management and modern aerodynamics. 

Ford calls this a four-passenger sports car, but the rear seats are just overflow for items that won’t fit in the trunk. If you’re fantasizing about the Mach 1 as a young-family car, yes, you could put child seats in the back, but accessing them will quickly exhaust your patience. So the Mach 1 isn’t truly, fully domesticated. (That’s what crossover SUVs are for.)

Toggle through the drive-mode menu and you’ll see what I mean. From Normal, the settings progress to Sport, Sport+, Track and Dragstrip. (No Economy or Snow modes.) The digital instrument panel changes its look, data output and colors to suit—also maybe to remind drivers of what they’ve unleashed. The transmission has its own Sport mode, which I prefer everywhere except on the highway, and the steering independently adjusts from Comfort to Normal to Sport. 

Full disclosure: Our Mach I has an automatic transmission, not the standard Tremec 6-speed manual gearbox. The automatic has 10 forward speeds, which seems to be three or four more than necessary, given that the 5.0-liter aluminum V-8 is rated for 480 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. The transmission changes gears positively and quickly (if too often), but not harshly. The shift paddles behind the steering wheel are unnecessary—the computer knows what it’s doing. Zero-to-60 runs reportedly take just over four seconds. This is no longer earth-shaking acceleration, but it speaks to a judicious balance between power and livability.

Especially now, with high-output electric motors trickling down from the upper end of the car market, V-8s (never mind naturally aspirated examples, with no superchargers or turbos, like this one) are vanishing even from the performance world. Petrolheads will miss this one when it’s gone; it makes a lovely rumble that stops short of obnoxious. It’s genuine, too—there’s no “enhanced” sound piped through the stereo system. It makes the Mach 1 enjoyable to drive even at idle speeds, and it makes me think of the “big stick” that Teddy Roosevelt advised us to keep in reserve. 

But the Mach 1 isn’t perfect. The cabin—even with the optional Recaro sport seats—is still disappointingly low-rent. It’s functional and outward visibility is good, but everything is drab black and the small computer screen and digital graphics are mediocre. Every Ford pickup truck of recent memory, even those slathered in chrome, had a much nicer interior than this “halo” car does.

The tab comes to $59,390. That’s $51,720 MSRP for the Mach 1 Premium Mustang plus $1,195 for delivery, $1,595 for the automatic transmission, $1,595 for Equipment Group 700A and $1,295 for the Elite Package—and then $1,000 for the Mach 1 Appearance Package, $595 for voice-activated navigation and a final $395 for 19-inch aluminum wheels. There are less expensive Mustangs, but there are no better Mustangs.