2026 Ford Mustang

Overview

2026 Ford Mustang

James Riswick | 

6 min read

Ford

What's New for the 2026 Ford Mustang

The 2026 Ford Mustang gains a trio of characterful equipment packages. The new RTR package equips the EcoBoost model with performance upgrades from the GT and Dark Horse models, while the FX Package harkens back to the late 1980s with white trim, white wheels, plaid upholstery, and a rad teal paint job. Ford also partnered with Troy Lee Designs to create a limited run of 550 Mustang TLD Signature Edition Mustangs.

A higher-performance version of the Dark Horse also debuts for 2026, effectively replacing the previous Shelby GT500 variant. Called the Mustang Dark Horse SC, it adds a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 and myriad track-ready upgrades to create a more hardcore muscle car. As of publication, Ford had not announced power figures for the SC, but it should match, if not exceed, the previous Shelby GT500, which generated 760 horsepower.

Other Mustangs get only minor equipment and color-availability changes. As before, the 2026 Mustang is available as a fastback-style coupe or a soft-top convertible. In addition to Ford's EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder, a 5.0-liter V8 engine is available in two outputs (the 480-hp GT and 500-hp Dark Horse).

Pros

• Strong performance from all engines
• Available convertible body style
• Large trunk for this type of car    

Cons

• Small two-person back seat
• Four-cylinder not available with a manual transmission
• V8 fuel economy is only 19 mpg at best

Ford

2026 Ford Mustang Trim Levels

The 2026 Ford Mustang is a two-door, four-seat car available in fastback coupe and convertible body styles. The lineup is broken down by engine choice into EcoBoost, GT, Dark Horse, and Dark Horse SC trims. All are rear-wheel drive. 

The Mustang EcoBoost has a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that's good for 315 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. It's paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Ford equips the Mustang GT with a 5.0-liter V8 good for 480 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque. The Mustang Dark Horse has a different 5.0-liter V8 that produces 500 horsepower and 418 lb-ft. Both V8 engines offer a choice between a six-speed manual and a 10-speed automatic transmission. 

The new Dark Horse SC, meanwhile, has a supercharged 5.2-liter V8, but output was not available at the time of this writing. It is paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission.

The highlights of each trim are as follows:

• EcoBoost

The base Mustang comes with 18-inch wheels, LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and proximity keyless entry with push-button start. Dual-zone automatic climate control is also standard, along with cloth upholstery, a 12.4-inch digital instrumentation panel, a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and a six-speaker sound system. The convertible adds a lined power-retractable soft top and active noise cancellation. 

• EcoBoost Premium

This trim adds simulated leather upholstery, heated and cooled power-adjustable front seats, a heated steering wheel, app-based remote engine start, satellite radio, and a nine-speaker sound system. The EcoBoost's new RTR package includes suspension upgrades from the Mustang Dark Horse; steering, braking, and cooling upgrades from the Mustang GT; standard sport exhaust and improved throttle response; and design elements including special Tarnished Dark Anodized gray wheels and trim, Hyper Lime accents, and lit grille "nostrils." 

• GT

Besides its bigger V8 engine, the GT gains larger brakes, a special dual-exhaust system, fatter tires, a limited-slip differential, a rev-matching function for its manual transmission, and trim-specific styling elements. It is otherwise similarly equipped to the base EcoBoost.

• GT Premium

For the most part, this trim level adds the EcoBoost Premium's extras to the GT, plus the GT Premium's 19-inch wheels. While the EcoBoost and GT both offer various packages devoted to style and equipment upgrades (including the new FX package), the Performance Package available for both GT trims adds significant high-performance upgrades. These include Brembo performance brakes, heavy-duty front springs, a strut-tower brace, a larger sway bar, a Torsen differential, specific chassis and stability-control tuning, an electric hand-operated parking brake (called a "Drift Brake"), and a raised rear wing. MagneRide magnetically controlled adaptive dampers can be added to this package, but only with GT Premium trim.

• Dark Horse

This trim level comes exclusively in fastback form. Not only does the Dark Horse get its own engine, but it also gains higher-performance brakes, exhaust, cooling, and suspension (including MagneRide). It includes trim-specific tuning of various mechanical and electronic elements, a Torsen limited-slip differential, the Drift Brake, low-gloss 19-inch wheels, summer tires, an upholstery mix of cloth and vinyl, "performance suede" on the flat-bottom steering wheel, and a 12-speaker B&O sound system.

• Dark Horse SC

Final details for this new high-performance model were not available as of publication. However, we do know that in addition to its 5.2-liter supercharged V8, it gains unique suspension tuning, an aluminum hood, aerodynamic changes (including carbon fiber vents in that hood), and a variable traction control system. A Dark Horse SC Track Pack adds Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, carbon fiber wheels, a carbon fiber ducktail-shaped wing, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tires, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, and Recaro sport seats. It also replaces the back seat with a storage shelf.

Ford

2026 Ford Mustang Cargo Capacity

The Mustang coupe's trunk has a capacity of 13.5 cubic-feet. That's very good for a four-seat coupe, even if the trunk's opening is small and oddly shaped. The Mustang Convertible's trunk is smaller at 11.4 cu-ft, but that's still pretty good for a convertible. 

2026 Ford Mustang Fuel Economy

The Mustang's standard turbocharged four-cylinder engine returns an EPA-estimated 26 mpg in combined city and highway driving.

As expected, the V8 engines are not as efficient. The Mustang GT's 5.0-liter V8 returns 19 mpg combined with its 10-speed automatic and 18 mpg combined with the six-speed manual. The Mustang Dark Horse's 5.0-liter V8 drops down to 17 mpg combined regardless of transmission. As of publication, data is unavailable for the Dark Horse SC.

Ford

2026 Ford Mustang Safety Ratings and Features 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the Mustang coupe an overall safety rating of five out of five stars, and individual five-star ratings in the frontal-impact, side-impact, and rollover resistance tests. Of them, only the rollover resistance rating applies to the Mustang convertible. As of publication, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) had not completed crashworthiness safety testing of the 2026 Mustang.

The Mustang comes standard with the Ford Co-Pilot360 suite of driver-assistance technologies, including forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning, and rear parking sensors. 

A Co-Pilot360 Assist+ package is optional on the Premium trims and standard on the Dark Horse. It adds adaptive cruise control regardless of transmission, but with the automatic transmission (and therefore every EcoBoost), Ford upgrades the system with stop-and-go capability and lane-centering steering assist. 

James Riswick

James Riswick has been testing and reviewing cars since 2007, serving as an editor at Edmunds and Autoblog, and contributing to Autotrader, Car and Driver, AutoGuide, Auto Express, and Capital One Auto Navigator. You name it, he's almost certainly driven it. He has attended an auto show every year since he was 2 and has wanted to be an automotive journalist since high school. He owns a babied 1998 BMW Z3 2.8 in James Bond blue, a silver 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wagon (his idea of a three-row family vehicle) and a 2025 Cadillac Optiq because his wife would rather drive something from this decade.