Los Angeles, CA – Mach 1. Boss 302. King Cobra…EcoBoost?

The first three should be recognizable to any Mustang enthusiast; indeed, they represent Mustang models that were at the top of their game for the time. They had the biggest, most powerful engines, the biggest tailpipes and the biggest presence.

The fourth brand on that list, though—EcoBoost—is kind of “anti” in that it actually represents the Mustang’s latest smallest engine.

It’s not its least powerful, however; its 310 horsepower, 320 lb.-ft. turbocharged four banger making more power than the base V6 (300 hp and 280 lb.-ft.). Oh, there’s a 435 hp V8 too (up 15 hp from 2014) that's wickedly fast, but that's for another review.

The story here is that while depressing the “go” pedal in a Mustang and hearing little more than air and a faint whistle as the turbo spools up may sound strange, forward progress is a lot swifter than the anti-turboists would have you believe. The story here is that Ford's done a four-banger Mustang once again and I'm giving it a big thumbs up.

We spent most of our time in the mountains just outside of Los Angeles, CA and if any environment was to really test a turbo’s chops, this is it.

You see, as elevations become higher, air becomes thinner, making it harder for the turbo to “breathe” and deliver that same accelerative punch you get at sea level. While that may have been the case here, we may as well have been none the wiser; even in these conditions, forward progress was fantastic.

We’d see a steep grade approaching in fourth gear—the kind of climb you always downshift for—but we wouldn’t, and it would just continue to pull. Heck, we’d even select fifth just to try and cripple the thing, usually to no avail.

Of course, two less cylinders means less weight up front, so the EcoBoost car becomes eminently tossable as well, even if the steering does feel a little aloof when you’re on tilt.

I will say, however, that the optional Performance Pack ($3,000) mostly makes up for the sometimes incommunicado steering. It provides a bigger rear sway bar, a 3.55 rear-axle ratio and performance chassis tuning. You also get a set of stealthy 19-inch black alloys with the package, meaning it’ll be tougher to sneak up on people with your hot(ter) ‘Stang.

There are four selectable driving modes (and three steering modes that can be selected independently of those), but even in the most hard core track setting, there’s a little more numbness off-centre than we’d like.

That’s OK, though; Mustangs have always been cars that were just as comfortable cruising as they were carving curves, so we can forgive the slightly wooden steering. For the 2015 version, I felt it was even more comfortable to cruise in thanks to Ford finally kicking the live rear axle to the curb.

While the new independent-link rear suspension adds weight, the rewards are felt as soon as you hit that set of washboard undulations that used to have your ‘Stang pogoing into the shrubs. It’s not quite luxury-car smooth, but it’s massively improved. Improvements have also been made went it comes to wind buffeting (my drive partner and I conversed at regular tones with both windows wide open), rear trunk space (it no longer gets compromised by a big sub if you order the special audio package), an easier-to-use clutch and smoother lever action.

It’s an altogether more refined car, but one that still manages to look like a Mustang even if the curves are a little softer than before. The cabin does come modernized and less ‘retro’ thanks to the addition of more soft-touch materials on the doors and a set of faux-aluminum toggle switches that control your drive modes. You still get the old-school, deeply-recessed gauges, though, which is a nice touch.

Oh, and if you want a little more rambunctiousness, go ahead and select the V8 GT (it starts at $36,999, the EcoBoost at $27,999). It even provides what Ford calls “Line-Lock”, but what may as well have been called “Burnout Buddy” for the way it locks the front brakes as you plant the throttle when activated, releasing them once you laid an appropriate length of rubber.

The only problem I can really think of with regards to that EcoBoost star of the show, however, goes back to the opening lines of this tale.

You see, Ford has spent years marketing EcoBoost motors for their fuel-sipping manners under the hoods of Fiestas and Escapes; it’s not ever really been a performance tool, this side of the Taurus SHO. I wonder if the stigma attached with the name “EcoBoost” would cause some people to have pause. Maybe just “Mustang Turbo” would do (seems to work just fine for Porsche).

I wouldn't let “EcoBoost” deter you, because it would be a shame to miss out on this wonderful powertrain.