While the new V6 is a big advance for the Mustang, it was needed to keep pace with GM's Chevrolet Camaro which, since its reintroduction this year, has offered its own serious V6 option.
The base Camaro has a 304-horsepower 3.6-liter V6. With the Camaro's six-speed automatic transmission, it gets 29 mpg on the highway. In around-town driving, the engine is plenty potent. It even sounds good, with a nice throaty rumble.
To get all that power from less fuel, the Camaro V6 uses direct fuel injection. Unlike normal fuel injection, with direct injection, fuel is squirted directly into the cylinder rather than into the stream of air as it flows in. It might sound like a minor difference, but it allows for more controlled delivery of gasoline so less can be used to greater effect.
Pushing the gas pedal deep into the carpet reveals the differences between this engine and the Camaro SS's 422-horsepower 6.2-liter V8. At high revs necessary for tire-scorching acceleration, the V6 can't match the V8's roaring noise, of course, not to mention its thrust. But that may be a small price to pay for an engine that, the rest of the time, more than delivers the goods at a much lower cost.
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