The Mustang Costs Less Than a Camry to Insure. Mostly.

Ford's own data shows the base EcoBoost Mustang qualifies for lower average insurance rates than a loaded Toyota Camry in several states. That sounds like a trick. It mostly isn't. The four-cylinder, front-engine coupe with a modest horsepower rating genuinely does not scare actuaries the way you'd expect a car with a galloping horse on the hood to. The GT is a different story. And the Dark Horse is a different story again.

That gap between trims, from boring-priced to genuinely expensive to insure and feed, is the most important thing to understand before you walk into a Ford dealership.

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What This Car Is and Who Should Actually Buy One

The Mustang is a two-door, rear-wheel-drive coupe or convertible sold in four trim levels. It is one of the last traditional American muscle cars you can buy new. The Dodge Challenger is dead. The Camaro is dead. Ford is the last one standing, which gives the Mustang a cultural position it has not held since the early 1970s.

Buy one if: you want a genuinely fun rear-wheel-drive car, you have a garage or covered parking, and you understand that a sports car with 480 horsepower will cost real money to insure and fuel.

Skip it if: you commute more than 30 miles a day, you live somewhere that gets real winter weather and you only have one car, or you are expecting the cargo space and visibility of a sedan. The Mustang's rear seats fit children or very patient adults. The trunk is fine but not generous. The rear visibility, especially in the convertible, is genuinely poor.

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Trim Levels and What You Actually Get

Ford sells the 2025 Mustang in four main trims. Prices below are base MSRP before destination, dealer markups, or options. Build your own at Ford's configurator.

Trim	MSRP (Coupe)	What You Actually Get
EcoBoost	$31,920	2.3L turbo four-cylinder, 315 hp, 18-inch wheels, Ford's SYNC 4 with 13.2-inch touchscreen, digital instrument cluster, cloth seats
EcoBoost Premium	$38,585	Adds leather-trimmed seats, B&O audio system, MagneRide adaptive suspension available, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
GT	$42,570	Upgrades to 5.0L V8, 486 hp, dual-zone climate control, larger Brembo brake option, active valve exhaust
Dark Horse	$59,565	Hand-selected 5.0L V8 rated at 500 hp, Torsen limited-slip differential standard, Recaro seats, larger front splitter, no back seat delete but cabin noise is significant

The convertible adds roughly $6,000 to each trim.

The jump from GT to Dark Horse is $17,000. For most drivers, it is not worth it on the street. Track regulars may disagree.

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Engines and Real-World Fuel Economy

Two engines. Simple.

The 2.3L EcoBoost four-cylinder makes 315 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. It is quick, not fast. EPA ratings are 21 city / 32 highway / 25 combined with the automatic. Manual transmission numbers are slightly lower. For full details, see fueleconomy.gov.

The 5.0L Coyote V8 in the GT makes 486 horsepower. The Dark Horse version is hand-assembled and rated at 500 hp. EPA ratings for the V8 automatic are 15 city / 24 highway / 18 combined. Real-world driving, especially if you use more than half the throttle regularly, lands closer to 16 combined for most owners. Plan on it.

At current national average gas prices around $3.40 per gallon and 15,000 miles annually: the four-cylinder costs roughly $2,040 per year in fuel. The V8 costs roughly $3,188. That $1,100 annual difference adds up over a five-year loan.

Both engines are paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic. The manual is the right choice if you care about the experience. The automatic is genuinely fast but disconnected.

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What the Mustang Gets Right

The interior quality is better than any Mustang before it. The 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster is clear and configurable. The 13.2-inch center touchscreen runs Ford's SYNC 4 system, which is not perfect but is miles ahead of the sluggish systems Ford shipped five years ago. Physical knobs for volume and tuning survived, which is more than can be said for many competitors.

The steering is honest. Most modern cars wrap the steering in layers of artificial weight and numbing assistance. The Mustang's electric power steering is not perfect, but you can feel the road through it. That matters.

The available MagneRide suspension, offered from EcoBoost Premium upward, makes the car genuinely livable on broken pavement without wrecking the handling. It is one of the better implementations of adaptive suspension in this price range.

The V8 sound is real. Ford offers an active valve exhaust that is loud when you want it and tolerable when you do not. The Dark Horse exhaust is too loud for casual daily use, which is either a feature or a problem depending on your neighbors.

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What the Mustang Gets Wrong

The base EcoBoost at $31,920 is a reasonable deal. The moment you start adding packages, the price climbs fast and the value logic softens.

The rear seat is a formality. Two adults back there for any trip over twenty minutes is a request for a formal apology.

Driver assistance technology is behind the competition. Ford's BlueCruise hands-free highway driving is not available on the Mustang. Adaptive cruise control and lane centering work, but they are not as polished as what you get in a Volkswagen Golf GTI or even a base Honda Civic. For a car pushing $40,000 to $60,000, that is a notable gap.

The convertible top, while looking good, has received mixed reliability feedback from early owners. It operates slowly and the rear window is plastic, not glass, on most trims. Plastic rear windows scratch and cloud over time. On a $45,000 car, that is a legitimate complaint.

Fuel economy on the V8 is simply bad. Ford knows it. Buyers know it. Accept it before you buy, not after.

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Safety Ratings: Not the Mustang's Best Category

The 2025 Mustang has not received a full NHTSA five-star overall rating as of this writing. Check current ratings directly at NHTSA's website as results may update.

IIHS has not awarded the 2025 Mustang a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ designation. The headlights on lower trims have historically rated poorly in IIHS testing. You can review current IIHS results at iihs.org.

Forward automatic emergency braking is standard across all trims. Blind-spot monitoring is available but not standard on the base EcoBoost, which is an oversight for a car with visibility this limited.

If safety ratings are your primary filter, there are better choices in this price range.

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First-Year Ownership Cost: GT Coupe

The GT at $42,570 MSRP is the volume seller and the one most buyers are actually considering. Here is an honest estimate of what year one costs beyond the purchase price.

Depreciation: New cars lose 15 to 22 percent of their value in the first year. On a $42,570 GT, that is $6,386 to $9,365. The Mustang holds value better than average for a sports car, so use the lower end of that range, roughly $6,500 to $7,500, as your working number.

Fuel (15,000 miles, V8 automatic, $3.40/gallon): $3,188

Insurance: This varies heavily by driver age, location, and record. For a 35-year-old with a clean record in a mid-sized city, expect $1,800 to $2,800 per year. Young male drivers under 25 should expect quotes that hurt. Get actual quotes before you buy.

First service interval: Ford recommends oil changes every 10,000 miles with full synthetic. A dealer oil change on the V8 runs $90 to $130. Budget $150 to $200 for the first year including a tire rotation.

Estimated first-year cost of ownership (excluding purchase price and financing): $11,638 to $13,688.

That is real money. Spread over 12 months, it is $970 to $1,140 per month in carrying costs before your loan payment.

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How It Stacks Up Against the Competition

Toyota GR86 / Subaru BRZ: The Mustang wins on power and interior space. The GR86 wins on handling precision, fuel economy, and the fact that it costs $12,000 less while being more rewarding to drive near the limit.

Chevrolet Camaro (remaining 2024 inventory): The Mustang wins on technology, interior quality, and the fact that it will still have a dealer network in five years. The Camaro wins if you find a heavily discounted unit on a lot, which you can, since GM discontinued it.

Dodge Challenger (remaining inventory): The Mustang wins on modernity and fuel economy. The Challenger wins on back seat room, straight-line drama with a HEMI, and the fact that you can buy one with significant discounts right now since production has ended.

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The Verdict: Buy It Knowing What You Are Buying

The 2025 Mustang is not a mistake. It is a genuinely capable, fun, reasonably well-built sports car that Ford has finally given a decent interior and a modern infotainment system. The GT is the right choice for most buyers. The EcoBoost is underrated and worth considering if you are honest about how rarely you will actually use 486 horsepower on public roads.

Buy it if you want a V8 rear-wheel-drive coupe, you have a second car for winter or bad weather, and you have budgeted honestly for the fuel and insurance.

Skip it if you are comparing it to a practical car and expecting practical-car economics. It is not a practical car. It never was. The mistake is pretending otherwise to justify the purchase, then resenting the fuel bills six months later.

The Mustang is the last of its kind. That has value. Just make sure you are paying for the experience, not the nostalgia.