Ford Mustang GT v Holden Commodore SS-V v Chrysler 300 SRT comparison review

Now is a very good time to buy a V8.

Petrol prices may not be what they used to be and environmentalists will frown at you, but when it comes to choice right here, right now is a great time to celebrate the good old bent eight.

After more than 50 years of waiting, Ford has finally delivered the Mustang down under. And it couldn't have come a moment too soon, with the demise of the locally-made Ford Falcon on the horizon and the Holden Commodore SS-V to follow next year.

This is like a fantasy sports clash come to life - think Pete Sampras vs Roger Federer, Michael Jordan vs LeBron James or Ayrton Senna vs Lewis Hamilton.

American icon vs Australian classic - the all-new Ford Mustang GT going up against the Holden Commodore SS-V Redline.

This is the ultimate Ford vs Holden head-to-head. But we couldn't leave it as just a simple two-car fight. Not when Chrysler is offering an equally potent 300 SRT with a mean Hemi under the bonnet.

Not to preempt the result, but there are no losers in this contest. All three of these V8s are fantastic cars that any muscle car lover would be proud to own. But which one stands ahead of the pack?

Ford Mustang GT

To see a Ford Mustang sitting above a sun-kissed Aussie beach is something surreal. For more than five decades the 'Stang has come to define American performance cars. It is famous around the world, despite never really leaving American shores.

But now it is here, on Australian terra firma and tearing up Australian roads.

Never have I driven a car that turns so many heads. I lost count of the amount of people I saw mouth the words "it's a Mustang" and from an incredibly diverse cross-section of society - young, old, male, female, etc.

But looks and heritage are one thing - backing it up is something else entirely.

On paper the Mustang GT makes a good start. There's a 5.0-litre V8 under the bonnet that produces 306kW of power and 530Nm of torque.

Our test car was mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, but a six-speed manual comes as standard, and a limited-slip differential.

It rides on black 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero rubber that is staggered, measuring 19x9- up front and 19x9.5-inches at the rear.

Ford has kept the specification simple, with the GT only available with minimal options (racing stripes, black roof, Lustre Nickel finished rims). It is priced from $60,115 plus on-road costs for the automatic version.

Standard gear includes ambient lighting, reversing camera, dual-zone climate control, leather trim, heated and ventilated leather seats, nine-speaker sound system, SYNC2 with eight-inch infotainment touchscreen and Track Apps including an acceleration timer - but no Line Locker function, aka 'Burnout Mode'.

Safety-wise there are plenty of airbags - front, side, curtain and driver's knee but there are no active safety features like autonomous emergency braking.

But all those details become secondary when you slide behind the wheel of the Mustang. All the classic styling cues are there - the thick, three-spoke wheel, twin dials with 'Ground Speed' and 'Revolutions Per Minute', retro switches and so on - but there are modern touches too, like the SYNC infotainment screen.

The majority of the materials are nice but there are some noticeable sections of cheap-looking, hard plastics that take the ambience down a notch.

The sports seats are supportive and comfortable but the rear seats are too small for adults and a three step process to move them out of the way makes getting in the back a pain. Put simply, don't buy the Mustang if you plan on taking more than one passenger on a regular basis.

But the Mustang isn't a family car and as soon as you press the starter button and the V8 rumbles into life you forget about the back seats.

However, that initial feeling of excitement about the V8 is dampened by its low rev performance - or rather the lack thereof. The 5.0-litre is missing a real punch below 4000rpm which is disappointing. Rev it to 4000rpm and beyond and the story changes, as it roars and offers up excellent top end performance.

Ford doesn't offer an official 0-100km/h time for the Mustang but during our testing our car did the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.6 seconds, the slowest of this trio.

But unlike America's obsession with straightline performance Australian customers demand a muscle car that turns corners with equal talent.

In that regard the Mustang does a good job. The steering has three modes - Normal, Sport and Comfort - and there are four driving modes - Normal, Sport, Sport+ and Track - so you can tailor the car to suit the conditions.

Despite playing with the settings the Mustang never truly feels settled on Australian roads. It isn't far off but it lacks the composure of the Commodore. The Pirelli tyres grip well though and the steering is responsive so you can push pretty hard in the corners and it hangs on.

If you want to have a spirited drive it is best to flick the gearbox into Sport mode and shift with the steering wheel-mounted paddles, as the automated Sport mode prefers to move to the taller gear too soon.

Despite those criticisms overall there is a lot to like about the Mustang. The V8 is great in its sweet spot, it handles well and it has on-road presence few cars can match.

Ford Mustang GT price and specifications

Price: $60,115 plus on-road costs

Engine: 5.0-litre V8 petrol

Power: 306kW at 6500rpm

Torque: 530Nm at 4250rpm

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Fuel use: 12.6L/100km

Holden Commodore SS-V Redline

With time running out and family buyers making the switch to SUVs, Holden has unshackled the Commodore in its final iteration to be the best it has ever been.

The biggest change is under the bonnet where the old 260kW/571Nm 6.0-litre V8 has been dumped and replaced by the 6.2-litre 'LS3' previously only found in the HSV range; lifting performance to 304kW and 570Nm.

But that's only part of the story because Holden also worked on making it sound better. A bi-modal exhaust is now standard along with a sound tube from the engine bay and a special hole with the exhaust itself to help pump the V8 soundtrack directly into the cabin, rather than trying to isolate it.

Holden has also been generous with the value; even fitted with the optional six-speed automatic gearbox the SS-V Redline undercuts both the Mustang and 300 with a starting price of $56,690.

For that, you get leather seats, keyless ignition, navigation with live traffic, nine-speaker Bose sound system, MyLink, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, colour head up display, sunroof and launch control.

The Commodore also wins points for safety with standard forward collision warning and lane departure warning plus six airbags to protect all occupants.

The interior remains spacious and sporty with some high quality materials, and leather and Alcantara trim, to lift the ambience. However, some of the stitching isn't arrow-straight, and that spoils the premium feel slightly.

Holden also tweaked the suspension tune for the SS-V Redline to help it ride and turn better as well as adding staggered Bridgestone Potenza tyres on black 19-inch alloys. The result is arguably the best Australian car ever made.

The LS3 pulls hard across the rev range and makes a fantastic noise in the process. Paired with an intuitive six-speed automatic the SS-V Redline has excellent performance; it recorded a 5.3 seconds 0-100km/h time, despite carrying an extra pair of doors compared to the Mustang.

The changes to the suspension are only subtle - a longer but thinner rear anti-roll bar - but they all help the SS-V ride more comfortably and maintain its responsiveness in the bends.

Coupled with nicely weighted steering and strong Brembo brakes the well balanced chassis is easy to play with both on the road and the track. The SS-V Redline has really elevated the Commodore and made it one of the best sports sedans on the market.

Holden Commodore SS-V Redline price and specifications

Price: $56,690 plus on-road costs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8 petrol

Power: 304kW at 6000rpm

Torque: 570Nm at 4400rpm

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Fuel use: 12.9L/100km

Chrysler 300 SRT Core

Speaking of great sports sedans, the latest 300 SRT Core is our final car of this trio - and a worthy contender in this America against Australia struggle.

Although the Core is the cheaper model in the SRT line-up and thus misses out on some equipment, it does get the most important element - the 6.4-litre V8.

Pumping out 350kW and 637Nm the 'Hemi' is the undisputed king of grunt in this contest. Paired with an eight-speed automatic and with cylinder-deactivation it is a thoroughly modern muscle car drivetrain.

At $59,000 the Core gets a decent amount of standard gear including 20-inch alloys with Goodyear Eagle rubber, Brembo brakes, limited slip differential, leather steering wheel and the SRT Performance apps.

It does miss out on some luxuries that the more expensive 300 SRT gets, like adaptive suspension, leather seats and a 19-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system.

But the stereo is almost superfluous when the engine sounds as good as it does in the SRT. The big V8 is surprising docile around town, happy to just tick over, but as soon as you squeeze the accelerator the big beast growls into life.

In our testing the 300 SRT was comfortably the quickest 0-100km/h, managing it in just 4.9 seconds. An impressive time when you consider just how big the 300 is in every dimension.

Unfortunately, there was a slight shudder from the powertrain in our test vehicle that raises some question marks, but it was only minor and didn't detract from the awesome performance.

The eight-speed auto is a pretty slick unit most of the time but if you want to extract the best performance it is better to use the paddle shifters. The rotary dial shifter feels a little cheap too.

Where the SRT falls slightly behind the Ford and Holden is in the bends, in large part due to its sheer size.

It rides well, despite its 20-inch rims, and hangs on in the corners but it doesn't change direction with the same poise and precision as its smaller rivals.

You can feel the weight as you try to slow it down, even though the Brembos bite hard, and the steering can be a fraction slow to react.

It just doesn't feel as home in the corners as its rivals but as soon as the road straightens it has the legs on them.

Chrysler 300 SRT Core price and specifications

Price: $59,000 plus on-road costs

Engine: 6.4-litre V8 petrol

Power: 350kW at 6150rpm

Torque: 637Nm at 4250rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Fuel use: 13.0L/100km

Verdict

As we said at the beginning, there are no losers here. In fact, the perfect muscle car is probably a combination of all three; the Chrysler's engine, the Mustang's looks and the Commodore's ride and handling. But we're here to pick a winner, so we have focused on performance and driving enjoyment above the other factors.

With that in mind the Chrysler takes third place. The engine is awesome but it is just a step behind its rivals when the going gets twisty.

Which leaves the Ford and Holden and splitting these two is hard.

The Mustang is unquestionably a fun car with a feel-good factor few can match. But ultimately it lacks the performance and precision of the Commodore.

In the SS-V Redline Holden has taken the locally-made sedan to its zenith, a performance car that is, dollar-for-dollar, one of the best sports sedans in the world.

When you factor in the Mustang's lengthy waiting list and the impending end of the Aussie-made Commodore, picking the Holden seems like the obvious choice for anyone who loves a great V8.

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