At last, Motor Trend supplies a (somewhat) definitive answer to the question of the decade: has the new 2015 Ford Mustang improved upon the previous car enough to surpass the current-generation Chevrolet Camaro?
We say “somewhat definitive” because both cars are equipped with their respective performance packages: the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS with its 1LE package, and the 2015 Ford Mustang GT with its comparable performance pack. As Motor Trend‘s Associate Road Test Editor Carlos Lago points out, it’s more of a comparison between the two models’ respective packages than between the two cars, per-se.
Both the performance pack-equipped 2015 Ford Mustang GT and the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE post eerily similar zero-to-sixty and quarter-mile times; roughly 4.4 seconds and 12.8/12.9 seconds, respectively. By virtue of its marginally lighter weight, the Mustang has a slight edge over the Camaro in a straight line, but this is more than made up for by the Camaro’s slim advantage with regard to cornering. The Mustang managed a 0.96 G average cornering grip, to the Camaro’s boast of 0.98 G.
So how can the Mustang lose? By virtue of its softer suspension. Lago comments that while the 2015 Ford Mustang may have switched over to a modern, independent rear suspension, the switch still yields a minimal difference in terms of how the car handles on the road. Racing veteran Randy Pobst, who takes both cars on the track, has a somewhat more positive appraisal of the change.
In the end, however, the performance pack-equipped 2015 Ford Mustang GT is deemed the superior car to sit in, but both yield that the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE is still a tighter, more agile driving experience. The results of the two cars’ respective hot laps seems to back this up.
Watch the entire excellent episode of Head 2 Head below.
Comments
I take the Camaro over the Mustang.
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Camaro won.
If the current Camaro beat the new Mustang, the 2016 Camaro on Alpha and a new interior is going to annihilate it.
the new mustang is like a new corvette. completely new model, the strategy for both models, and they are definitely a big success. camaro this update which will now be helping camaro better but it is not a strategy like a Mustang or a Corvette in the case. I believe that in addition to the Camaro and now it will soon be following the same strategy as the new Corvette or a Mustang. Camaro still remains a very American 🙂
This Camaro which now come must be better than ever. and then the next revolution is like a Corvette or mustang.
who likes or not but hope for the best that you can sell more and more fans
It’s sad that mustang failed again though
It would be ignorant to say the Mustang has failed. It has done what it needed to do and that was to improve the product over what it was. Todays Mustang is clearly the best one they have had.
Now while it has made some gains on the Camaro it has not exactly leap frogged the Camaro. Yes it may have passed the Camaro in some areas but it still lacks in other areas and has not taken what I would call a dominate place in the segment.
I really had expected Ford to take this car to the next level and they just kind of got it to the better but not by much and not in all areas.
The next Camaro is already showing it is clear that it will address the few issues that linger on it.
The bulk of the model will be gone and make for a much easier car to drive.
It will have less mass and that will increase performance in not only the area of acceleration but also in handling and stopping with more MPG.
The Interior will be a given to be an improvement. Any new GM model has shown how they can do it much better now than even 5 years ago.
The ace in the hole is the Alpha. Cadillac has invested money here that Chevy would not have had to refine the platform. This trickle down has already paid off in the XTS to the Impala platform and we will see the same from The CTS to the Camaro. We know how well the CTS and ATS perform just wait to see this one go.
Add to this the people behind the Z/28 are also the ones tuning the entire new Camaro line. All levels of suspension should be top of the segment with out any question.
Finally we will get the DI V8 in this car in several version along with a Di V6 and DI Turbo 4. The only questions here is what HP we will see in the V8 and Turbo 4. I am not worried about the V8 but I do hope GM does put more than 300 HP in the Turbo 4 as they can do it easily and the car will really need it to be equal in class. This engine with say 310-315 HP should be very good affordable fun.
But for now be creditable and give the Mustang it’s due as it is not a bad car. But we all here will get the last laugh when it is out turn next year.
I truly see this version as a more appealing car to more people with more engines than ever. For many years it was the V8 or not much else. This one will have appeal to more people not just here but globally.
The next Camaro will be the best built the best performing, best riding and best interior it has every been,
PS See you In Detroit in January!!!!!
Yellow is not a good colour on that Mustang, it looks way more bad ass in black. As a Mustang guy I’m a little disappointed. I’m a Camaro fan also. Ford better hope GM prices them selves out of the segment. If they can keep the GT relatively competitive at a lower price they might have a winner. The new coyote has forged rods and crank I believe and will take to bolt ons better then it already has been. The extra savings might get them some upgrades. Like it or not most Mustang vs Camaro races are done in a straight line.
I pick the Camaro any day over the Mustang.
I just feel like Ford should of exceed the competitors in this class. While they have done that in the interior and IRS but the ride just kind of flops compare to the 5 years old camaro especially considering it’s a track pack for both cars… Now I would love to see just the regular gt compare to the regular ss just to see the ride and handling . And people could really care less about the technology that’s offered on the mustang because if you’re gonna drive these you won’t need the nannies. Also I would of expect that the coyote v8 would have better 0-60 time but I’m just so disappointed by this s197
I’m sure the mustang is the best one yet, you would think ford would have tried a little harder to make it beat the camaro knowing the new one is coming out , I’m not sold on the look yet ,maybe after a see a few more of them out, i sure thought the mustang would beat the camaro, the 5.0 motor has a lot more technology in it than the 6.2, but the LS the easiest to modify and make big HP, like i said before put a blower on the 1LE and its the best bang for the buck, will have to wait and see what other mustang models bring to the table, but think of a new Z/28, look out !!!
The LS is a great engine but remember its 1.2L bigger then the Coyote. The Ford modular motors are impressive. Every year there’s a competition called the engine masters. In 2013 they lifted the ban on Fords mod motors and they swept 1st,2nd, and 3rd. And then they banned them the very next year. The 5.0 has been well received by the aftermarket and are taking well to bolt ons, with forged rods and crank in the 2015s this will only improve. But you won’t see to many people swapping there LS out of they’re hot rods for one because of cost and the Coyote’s are HUGE. I’m curious if the aftermarket will jump on board with the ecoboost, tune, intake, and down pipe added to the track pack might be a pretty good recipe. Did I mention how good the white on the Camaro looks? As for yellow, I think Ford shouldn’t even make that an option.
By your own account the 5.0 is HUGE and the ls/lt is not, so how does the Ls3/Lt1 have the advantage by being larger? Displacement is one of many specs, when saying one car has a larger engine than another I think the size and weight is far more important. Newest 5.0 does seem like a good engine, almost as good as the ls3.
HUGE as in wide, weights are close between the two maybe even a tad lighter on the yote. Not sure why having a wider engine gives you an advantage or even if it weighd more. Please explain?
The only thing this proves is that the Camaro’s performance package is more aggressive and better tuned for the track than the Mustang’s is….the cars are in a dead heat acceleration wise. Put better tires and and stiffer springs on the ‘Stang and they’d probably be tied at the track.
You really don’t get it do you.
It is more than the tires.
The media has debunked this train of thought with a change of tires on the Z/28. They showed that the ZR1 tires that are harder and smaller leave little drop off on grip.
They found in doing the test that it is what goes in that makes the difference. The Tires play a part but only a small part.
You will get a GT350 later but we also will get a new Z models and 1LE on much better platform.
The new Mustang is the best they have put out. But I am surprised they left so much on the table.
Scott better tires with a little suspension work might work. It’s a closer match up this time around. Props to the suspension guys at GM, but I wouldn’t count Ford out from tweaking the new mustang in the next couple of years. Ford made that straight axel throw down some lap times that didn’t seem possible with the aging technology. I believe it was out handling the 2010 Camaro in 2011. If they can make a straight axel handle the way they did I’m sure they’ll be able to work wonders with the IRS.
I expect Ford to be competitive and not get left behind by any means.
Where I am surprised is the base GT did not go as far as it should have gone. It should have easily leaped over the Camaro at this point. Right now it is nearly on par with the old standard SS package.
GM I expect will leap over Ford on the new SS and will extend the lead with the coming performance models. The Alpha is that good in base form and lets face it we have yet to really see a full on performance version of it even from Cadillac.
The ATS and CTS both have been given thumbs up in the media to being more fun to drive than a BMW. They also have placed them to where they praise their ability to be driven faster and faster with little fear of putting a wheel wrong. This refinement will be passed on to the Camaro too.
I think Fords major mistake I they are taking a Ford and will make it a Lincoln like GM used to do with Chevy to a Cadillac. Today GM is making a Cadillac to a Chevy. The better cars trickle down due to better investment. You just never get the better car with trickle up.
The Mustang will be respectable but I expect more out of the 2016 Camaro just based on its breeding. Refinement will be nothing like we have seen before in this segment.
The C6 to a C7 is only an example of the kind of changes we will see. The C6 was a decent car but the C7 has taken refinement to the next level.
Lets put it this way. I would be very disappointed if the Camaro had come out this year and could not out perform a 5 year old Mustang in all areas.
Even worse is that the present Camaro is bases on an even older Holden make this worse.
Ford also needs to find a way to get the weight off. This has always been their ace card in this segment. They have now lost this advantage and soon will be at a slight disadvantage as the GT350 will only gain weight.
They should have saved some more aluminum from the F150 for this project.
I love the new Ford and feel it is the best ever. But I just don’t feel they moved the ball ahead as far as they will need it to be in a year from now. GM is not the same GM and this time they will finish the Camaro when it is introduced vs. bring it out and fix it for 10 years.
First of I am disappointed but I’m not surprised, the’ve underperformed in the category before. But still managed to move cars. Maybe they need to make the coyote a little wider, that should do her. LOL The faster the cars get the more money they cost , I’ve been waiting for today’s fox body to appear. I got exited when I heard of the BRZ. But then I seen the price tag. Ford has a great marketing team right now and sprinkled some of there ecoboost dust on the Mustang. Plus the extra marketing of the Hennessy, Roush, Saleen and so on. GM can only ride the transformer thing for so long. But maybe the times have changed. As for Ford making a Ford into a Lincoln, you may be right there. The Escape twin is doing pretty well from what I’v seen tho. Maybe its that Matthew Mcconaughey commercial. The fact is I’m not going to be buy any Mustang or Camaro, because my wife would kill me. I better just be responsible and buy something reliable from Japan with great MPG, Yamaha R1 maybe? That will keep her happy I think.
Ford has always “under- tired” the Mustang. The fox body’s had 225/50/15 from 1987 to 1993. While the Camaro’s of the same period wore 245/45/16, so go run and tell Ford too stop being stingy with rubber they put on their sportier offering’s.
The difference is GM has the best suspension guys in the industry and they are being turned lose to do things they were never permitted to do. The Z/28 is an example of this.
The ace on the Camaro has been Mark Stielow. He is the wizard who turned the old Holden chassis into the Z/28. He also is the one who did the Cobalt SS turbo and HHR SS turbo and made them as fast or faster than much more expensive cars with larger engines.
I expect Mark has been given a free hand on the new Camaro. In this case he will be starting out from the start with a better more up to date suspension and will tune it right from the start vs. just fixing older designs like he has been doing.
Too many people have been fooled to think the secret to the latest Camaro’s ahs been special tires. Well several magazines have debunked this and learned that while they play a part it is a small part as the cars lose little time on harder rubber.
This only make me expect 1LE handling on the next SS or even better.
The next Camaro may look like shades of the old one but it will be a totally new game.
So, all the new Mustang has done is catch up with the Camaro? That Alpha platform and a much improved interior will make the next Camaro a far better car than the Mustang and there should be a slaughter at the track and in sales! This will be awesome. 🙂
Very few people purchase a vehicle based on it’s track performance. Real world driving is much more important…….
Fellas i hate to break it to you. i am a bowtie guy, my first car was a 67 impala SS. I have recently decided to buy a new sports car for my midlife crisis. i settled on a 2014 corvette but i have test driven all of the new 2015 mustangs and the camaro’s as well as the challenger. performance numbers aside, when you guys sit in a new mustang you will be floored. all the camaro’s i test drove rattled like sacks of tin cans. interior bits came off one 2SS during the test drive. the second 1LE car actually had unidentifiable bits stuck in the paint, etc. on the other hand the fit and finish of the new mustangs compares favorably with my wifes Acura TL. nothing rattles period. the paint on all three cars i drove was very good the road noise is almost non existent and easily drowned out by the distant burble of the exhaust. the seats do not creak and moan like the camaro’s did. All the surfaces in the interior are very nice from the stitched leather to the chromed (aluminum/plastic?) the firewall is clean and painted body color. the carpet shows no seams and does not shed (Unlike the camaro’s) the visibility has been talked about Ad nauseum. all in all i am ashamed to say the camaro cant even hold the mustangs coffee as far a quality of construction, the 2015 mustang is absolutely nothing like the 2014 and earlier. it has more in common with a BMW 3 series (which i also test drove) as far as build quality is concerned
Yes, James. you are correct. I love high performance but a car’s interior quality and design is the most important factor for me. After all, the interior is what you see the most. This Mustang is a huge success in that area and is a reason to buy one. I would definitely buy a new 2015 Mustang. I do, however wish they could have shed a couple hundred pounds. NO car is perfect though.
people are always complaining that the Camaro is so wide, how is a width of 75 inches so much wider than the 73.5 of a mustang?