2024 Ford Mustang GT SHOCKER: Who Says You Need an EV OR Hybrid to Get Great MPG? 

The 30 MPG is great, but I'm actually most impressed by the fact that it runs perfectly on 87. This things is actually more economical than many sport compacts.

I went from Florida to Texas and back driving 72 to 75 MPH and averaged 29 MPG ( all basically flat land ) in my 2019 GT using 87 octane.

I'm glad that Mustang is still carrying the torch for American V8s

I had a 2019 Toyota Corolla LE, It gave me 32MPG. If this is giving you 30MPG for a 5L V8 then its freaking awesome. Great Job Ford.

somebody needs to tell Dodge that you can have a V8 with good MPG, and don't need to go all electric with fake engine sounds

These MPG numbers are the same reason I run a C5 Vette as my daily/long distance commuter. All day driving comfort with good economy at speed is a can't lose situation.

My 2016 Mustang GT gets 25 or 26 driving 75 to 80 mph on highway! People think just because you have high hp you are going to get bad mpg. The car is so light and engine is efficient you aren’t lugging the engine!

Love the V8. My Coyote in my F150 averaged 24.5 on a highway 2000mile trip. And that was running 70-80.

Ford should bring back the Crown Vic and the Lincoln Towncar, give them a Coyote V8, make them hybrids to make the MPGs even better and to eliminate the issue of high idle hours wearing down the engines and bring them back as cop cars, taxis, limos and comfy cruisers for the common man. And for the love of God keep them body on frame and RWD.

Definitely keep V8s. That was impressive

Proof that low end torque is king.

87 octane is our regular here in Chicago. 89 is mid; 93 premium.

Driving a 2008 Bullitt with a 4.6 and a 5 speed. I got about 27-31 mpg driving from Lockport, NY, to San Jose, CA. (Gas was $5 a gallon at the time.) Cruise control, consistent speed, and proper maintenance, any car should be able to do better than sticker.

Proof that it’s the driver as much if not more than the car! Power to weight also goes a long way! A powerful motor need not strain as hard to pull the same car, to the same speed, with the same rate of acceleration. I’d love to see something similar done between the ecoboost and the V8, drive the same route, under the same conditions, with the same rate of acceleration, to see the difference

Doesn’t recommend 87 at all…that’s just the lowest octane it should take

I’ve consistently gotten better mpg than what’s said my vehicle can do. Just by doing the speed limit.

But I notice that the gas used has "Dinocare," which everyone knows is an unfair advantage.

2018 GT Premium, Performance Pack 1, Active Valve Exhaust, 6 speed manual. 66,000 miles.I’m in North Dallas. Traffic can be bad. Around town, typical milage ranges between 16 and 20. However, on the interstate, with cruise control set to 72, I routinely get 32 +/- MPG. I’ve taken many road trips with this car. I try to avoid interstates. Typicality mountain roads, nation parks, small towns and rural America. Typical road trip milage 28 MPG. I use 93 octane where available, however, in much of the west only 91 octane is available. Secret to good mileage is “no race car driving”. Great car for a two person road trip. Happy motoring 🤠🇺🇸

CAFE standards for light cars is so high that it's easier just to make SUVs. That's why MPG for the common vehicle hasn't really changed in 40 years.

My 18 Mustang GT, with performance pack 1 and 10R80 trans get 24 mpg around town, and 35 cruising down the highway.

Mustang lives on.

Absolutely keep the big v8s around. I drive a 6.4L Hemi, in Australia, I ran from Melbourne up to Sydney in a day. It is mostly easy level running, no mountains no high altitude, but according to the on board trip computer it was achieving 8.2 ltres per 100 klms. Translated to old money that's better than 34 miles per gallon. That works out at more than 800 klms (500 miles ) on a tank of gas. Yes, I agree, a smaller car with a smaller motor will do much better, but the difference between them is not that much. Add in the fact that I am 1.9 metes tall (6ft1inch) and I don't really fit into a small car. Also add the fact that the big Hemi will carry on doing that for many years into the future, its a worthwhile deal, plus its a real easy effortless car to drive and the whole family fits in easily. What would I gain with a small car? Certainly won't save any significant money over the life of the car. Problem is, Hemi is long gone from the new car landscape. Mustang is the last of its type, hope the keep it going.

Ngl I was surprised by the mpg. 30 is pretty good for thirsty engine.

15 SRT 392 challenger used to get 27mpg highway on cruise at 70mph. Had it for 82K and always got the same mileage.

In my 2022 GT with the 10 speed auto, I drove 110.7 miles from the coast to home and got 31.2 mpg. Just driving normally, at the speed limit.

My '13 GT has 104k miles now. Still gets 29 MPG highway on long trips and 21 MPG in mixed weekly commuting. And, it's not boring like a Camry.

My 2004 LS430 which weighs 4000lbs, has a 4.3L V8 and a 6 speed automatic got me 27mpg on my roundtrip from Toronto to Montreal. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it did. With a lot of these V8s when you don't rip them at every corner and use them mainly for highway cruising, there really is no need to get something with a smaller displacement.

I'm not surprised by this at all. I drove a 2016 Mustang GT convertible with the six speed manual transmission. I live down at sea level and on the full on road trips I took with the car, I always averaged 27 to 27.5 mpg, my calculations. The trip computer generally ran 1 to 1.5 mpg optimistic relative to my calculations. The best I ever got out of the car had the computer saying 30.1 mpg with my calculations returning 29.1. My V8 Mustang (435 hp for the 2016 model) routinely came within 1 to 1.5 mpg to the 2013 Toyota Rav4 I owned at the same time. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the car. EPA estimates were 25 highway. My car obviously did well above that.

That V-8 Mustang gets 6 mpg more than my 2014 V-6 convertible Mustang. Pretty amazing.

That's really impressive, 30.6 MPG through the mountains, at elevation, with regular 87 octane fuel. And that 5.0L Ford motor is fairly reliable, not so sure about that 10-speed automatic trans. A manual gearbox would be sweet...

Mustang are great road trip cruisers. I´ve gotten about the same MPGs as you in similar trips but going all the way from 9 thousand ft. to sea level and back. I daily drive my Mustang and it is a great everyday car. Fun, comfortable, powerful and yes even fuel economy is not so bad in the city, with that awesome highway fuel economy.

30 mpg is impressive. Avoiding stop and go type driving is key to getting such a good number. My '13 GT (2d Gen 5.0 Coyote with 6 speed auto) would get mid 20s. Might even get mid 30s mpg on 91 or 93 octane.

i got over 30 mpg of pure hwy in a Hellcat Charger. Because of all the torque and the tall gearing the motor doesn't work hard at speed. For a 700hp 4500 lb car to get that kind of mileage was crazy. But over 30 mpg at high altitude with 87 oct is really impressive.

My Lincoln LS V8 gets 24 mpg. My V6 Firebird can go 411 on a full tank. My V10 now does eat Gas but 19 mpg. That is following the laws and speed limits.

Lifelong Chevy guy here, but this is very impressive.

All this time we needed better transmissions; not complicated flex fuel engines, really complicated hybrid engines or turbos for that matter. What a sad state of affairs! The V8 was vilified when in reality it was old outdated transmissions. 😢

I did a rally in my '21 LC500, Denver to Moab day 1, Moab to Vegas day 2. I returned via I-40 from Vegas to Albuquerque (Vail Pass had snow), at 83 MPH in 10th gear I was doing ~1700 RPMs getting nearly 33 MPG. Nearly 1100 miles in a day on two tanks of gas. These new 8-10 speed transmissions are game changers for highway cruising.

87? I didn't expect that

I never got close to 450 miles per tank in my 2020 GT. I could never keep my foot out of the gas pedal. I loved the sound of the coyote V8.

I don't need an EV, but I definitely WANT and finally have one.

Good result! I've a 2023 and the best average I've had was about 29.2 MPG on a run from Albuquerque, NM to Dodge City, KS. I don't recall the exact miles and I was not able to go from ABQ to Dodge City on one tank. Generally traveling about 70-75 and going through a number of towns along the route. So, yeah, it's possible based on my experience. The real ironic thing is that it has the gas guzzler tax and the pickups (which can't match fuel economy) don't!

I'm not surprised at your results. I live in Pennsylvania, and my Triumph Speed Triple that gets 45 mpg here gets 60 mpg in the Rockies. Of course, there's noticeably less power when I get on the throttle as well.

Great review

I have a'15 GT with PP1 and average around 26mpg on the highway. Keep in mind, you have 3.55 gears versus 3.73, so that will make a difference for sure. I also tuned mine to around the same power with intake, tune, X-pipe, and Borla mufflers and saw an increase from around 22mpg. Still pretty good for a big V8 though. Also, I am relegated to 93 with the race tune on my car and being that I am in Germany and have access to 94 all the time, it is a bit pricier to fill the tank. Overall, informative video.

Ford better never stop making this car. I don't have the room in my budget or my current life situation to get one again (had a 2001 when I was younger), but I will at some point so I better be able to still get my hands on one!

Neat! I feel I learned something, and any day that happens is a good day. Thanks! BTW, what is the "wait 30 seconds and top up" trick all about? That's the first time I've heard of this. Cheers!

Wow you got over 400 miles of range? That's amazing. Especially in a car like that. How much range does it say on a full tank?

That's a pretty damn solid video guys. I was pretty shocked by the mpg myself

MrBallen podcast… good choice! But I don’t know why you’re comparing it to a hybrid, 31 mpg is abysmal mileage. I get 60 mpg with my hybrid, and I’m always over the speed limit and often floor it in sport mode just for fun, so I’m in no way doing any hyper milling. If I was I’d probably be able to do 70 mpg. My old 2015 Dodge Journey did 30 mpg with 5 passengers and a pop up camping trailer in tow.

I owned a 1992 Buick Roadmaster, and I was getting 22mpg city and 30mpg highway. That’s with the 350 V8 and automatic. 🤨 Using AC and driving normally. I made some modifications though. Bigger exhaust, performance converter, iridium plugs, performance wires and coil, opened up the air box. I used it on long trips and the gas mileage was consistently great. Imagine if the car was designed by GM to be more fuel efficient. 🤷🏻

Great vid, well explained - keep V8s around!!!

*That's what I'm sayin'.* Just put a torquey V8 in a small-ish, relatively "light" car and you're golden. My '20 Camaro consistently hovered around 38 MPG on the interstate at around 80 MPH. Love the new Mustangs though, may have to snag one. Test drove a 6-speed the other day and it was excellent.

I get good gas mileage if I stay off the pedal, mostly highway and interstate some city. 6.2 V8 20-25mpg. But if I do all city 12mpg. Depends on driving style and where you live. Flat, hills curves, mountains. Old winters warming your vehicle up.

I vote that we keep the big v8s around. It's mainly people who either don't drive them or who drive them hard constantly who think they guzzle a ton of gas.

The extra point of compression over my 2013 5.0 ragtop (6 sp manual and 3:31 gears) and the addition of direct injection makes this one impressive! At a steady 60 mph on I-40 across NM and AZ I could count on 23-24 mpg but that was it. The direct injected Coyotes are definitely more efficient than my first gen version.

My 3.9 liter Impala barely beats my Camaro LT1 on mpg. The real difference is regular vs premium gas price

A fairly aerodynamic vehicle with a V8 at low RPM does get pretty good fuel economy. I had a 79 Firebird Formula with the carburated 301 V8 4-speed manual and 3.42 gears. It got about 12MPG on the highway and about 9 around town. Bought a 86 fuel injected 5.0 5-speed with 2.73 gears. The overdrive was .68 for a final drive of 1.85. My Mustang was able to get 27MPG on the highway and about 18 around town. Of course my mileage did vary, particularly once I modified it with 3.55 gears and Nitrous...

I regularly roadtrip my 2018 Mustang GT 6-speed manual between Atlanta and Detroit and achieve mid-high 20’s. I’ve moved my daughter to college in it, moved my mother in law into an independent living facility, it is one of my favorite road trip cars and I’m really going to miss the V8 when it goes extinct.

I just wish it came with a larger gas tank! Then you really don't have to worry about range! And YES on keeping the V8's.

The "fishy" thing is that the Mustang and F150 are rate about the exact same for fuel economy. This makes no sense and I wonder if the fuel economy ratings are skewed based upon some other factors?

I got 27.7mpg (hand calculated) staying out of boost the whole way in my 585whp 2011 GT500 performance pack to Lake Tahoe and back.

I’m jealous of that MPG. I recently bought an older trucklet as a runaround beater to try and keep the miles off of my ‘22 F150 Powerboost. The truck I got is an ‘08 Explorer Sport Trac 4X4 4.6L and I’m only getting about 13MPG. And that’s at sea level.

My 22 GT Premium can get 24 MPG when driven conservatively on stretches of highway. It also can get 8 MPG when driven enthusiastically up curvy mountain roads. Love that this car can do both.

One of the rattles since the ‘15 is in the dash panel center of steering wheel. Better tires would help quiet the ride noise. The 10R80 is a great advantage for mpg as well.

I consistently got 28-29 MPG in my 98 GT manual. I was putting 430 miles a week or so on it and not being gentle.

One of the most truthful video on RU-vid. Great job guys to display the truth about naturally aspirated engines. Toyotas and Hondas are missing out. Get back in the game with naturally aspirated engines that will be more reliable than the garbage Turbo engines, Hybrids and EV.

When you are cruising along on a highway gas vehicles can get impressive gas mileage. My 2.0 VW Jetta GLI is pretty quick and fun to drive but I regularly get in the high 30s on highway trips. I did a 120 mile round trip not long after i first got it and tracked the mpg both manually at the pump and also on the computer. I got 40 MPG on a mix of I95 and normal dual carriageway roads. On a recent 200 mile trip on mostly normal roads I got 36 MPG. I remember my 2011 V6 Mustang with the 3.7 and the 6 speed would get low 30s MPG on a highway.

What rear end is in that mustang? I’m guessing it’s got the 3.15 gearing. With 3.55 gears I’m lucky to get 24 mpg at sea level with my 2024 similar configuration.

I am running a 18 Mustang GT convertible with the 10speed. I am averaging 26.1MPG and right at 400 miles per tank of gas. Even with driving the TAIL OF THE DRAGON last week I still only dropped down to 25.7 MPG.

Remember my fox 302 I had done up heads can and carb tuned right she was thirsty when those secondary’s opened but would get damn near 38mpg cruising at 70 also had a lower end gear since it was a 4 banger car before

My 1980 Capri with a 400 HP 306 and T5 manual got 26 highway, when premium was $1.15 a gallon.

Pretty cool how far muscle cars have come. I lived in Crested Butte in the mid ‘90’s and daily’d a Porsche 944 year round (really fun). On drives to Boulder or Denver and back I could only muster around 28mpg, with what is relatively a small, light, 4 cylinder sports car with a really tall 5th gear. I really wish they would move forward and lose the ‘60’s retro look of this car (same with the Camaro, completely over the ‘67 Camaro look).

Nice visiting my favorite ski resort/ small town

I daily drive a Challenger Scat Pack with the 392 and the auto. I consistently average over 21 mpg in mixed driving. I've seen 28 mph crusing on the hwy.

I have a 22 gt with a manual. I do a lot of highway driving. I only use the higher octane gas because you could tell the difference in my 2009 Bullitt. Once in the habit, I never got out. I got around 30 mpg in 6th gear in the 22 but I have usually average less. I have a lead foot and until you hit 90 mph 6th pulls too few revs for good passing. 5th gives a good combo of mpg and passing power.

That’s awesome, my 2020 Volvo has a 4 turbo, with half the horsepower and I’m getting 31-32mpg at best.

I once drove my 19 GT across Colorado, and it felt like my 96 Probe GT. Yes I live at sea level back east😏😆

I just hit 9,000 on my 24 GT with performance package and active exhaust and averaging 18.1 mpg

V8's aren't as bad as people and the epa say. My 99 30th anniversary TransAm 6 spd gets 27 mpg on the highway at 70 mph in 6th gear while loafing along at 1700 rpm. I know but it's not 40. Who cares. I have a lot more smiles.

Wish they came out with an AWD version or 4 wheel to 2 wheel drive so you can go back to 2 when you want. I hate suvs but with some winter weather rear wheel only just sucks in the snow without adding a bunch of extra weight in the trunk giving you worse gas mileage.

I love this, because it means we can get good mpg with big engines, i mean the maxima has a 3.5L v6 and gets roughly 30mpg for a big sedan. Big engines, long gears, good mpg🤙

My 2019 will get 28-30 mpg’s, hand calculated by the way. That was on long trips on mostly highways with 65-70 mph speed limits.

Great number! It would be cool if you guys compared this Mustang against smaller displacement engines on the same loop, on the same day. Something farther than Denver 100....

interesting subject guys!

I got 28.5 MPG with my 2021 mustang GT going to fairplay on 285, then buena vista, then to leadville, and then cruising back down into denver over the weekend using 91 octane fuel. 6-speed manual. It was really windy as well. Pretty good mileage.

My s550 gen 3 does great fuel mileage as well. Ford has the recipe for success it you wanna daily your v8, which I do

Impressive MPG's out of the Coyote especially with the 87 octane. Better than my 23 WRX on 93!

Super efficient for a V8 with almost 500 ponies on 87 octane. My 2002 Lexus ES300 gets 30 mpg average on straight highway driving on 93 octane Mobil gas. It calls for premium 91 or higher. Has 183k miles with about 2 years old DENSO plugs & ignition coil packs. Always love mustangs, but not a fan of those 2 screens on the dash. They should go back to a driver oriented dash with conventional round gauges

I use 87 octane in my VW Jetta and average 36 mpg driving at 60 mph. It has a 5 cylinder engine.

this is really impressive considering for ditched cylinder deactivation

So basically I should coast along when on the highway?

If they dared to add the battery from the Maverick, they can eliminate the most gas using function of the car, starting from a dead stop. Maybe the weight distribution can improve too. Could that make up for the battery weight?

V8 Power, everyday, all day, it's hard to beat!!!

We had a Dodge Charger as a rental for a month in 2018. Pretty new, and a V6. Decently quick, and averaged 32 mpg over the month. Respectable.

I'm burning down my prius, will change it for a more efficient F150 coyote V8, by the way, the earth is flat😂

Thanks for sharing this video! Transmissions make a huge difference for both large and small engines. I have a theory that higher altitude = better MPG (at least for NA engines) because the engine must use less fuel in order to compensate for less oxygen, and because there is less wind resistance -- especially at highway speeds. With all this in mind, I still think that a good modern V8 with an appropriate transmission can achieve excellent highway MPG. I'm looking forward to seeing more videos like this. Keep up the great work! 🙂👍

Although it doesn't make nearly as much power, my 05 mustang gt is great on the highway. I've gotten 26.8 mpg driving solely freeway and my wife got 28 mpg when she drove it. In the city though it is pretty bad, I get usually 18 mpg combined but I usually rip it 3 or 4 times each tank.

I got the premium performance package. Fill it up and the gauge reads 196 miles to empty. Get out on the road and get it into 6th gear then a few miles later the computer starts calculating and you make gas lol. 312 miles to empty.😅

My wife owns a Mustang convertible with the 2.3 liter four cylinder engine. It consistently delivers 30+ mpg.

I have 800+ miles on my 2024 Mustang GT (manual) AVE. Around town, I'm getting 15.3mpg. I haven't been able to get it to sixth gear and keep it there for more than a minute or two. No long trips.