The new dashboard is a big mistake IMO

[KBR Stang]

Hey Jimmy Fallon liked it.....what more do you want?

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[angermgmt14]

Is it me or does the usable area of the "base screen" seem bigger? Specifically the gauge cluster

I think it's just the angle the pictures are taken.
Every Mustang comes standard with a 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster and a 13.2-inch center screen, with the option to have both displays integrated together in a single curved piece of glass

 

[angermgmt14]

And I wonder what the difference in function is for button number 5 (left to right) between the two?

 

[DRB]

Is it me or does the usable area of the "base screen" seem bigger? Specifically the gauge cluster

They're the same, but the premium is enclosed behind a single curved or bent glass panel.

 

[Spectre]

I think we really need to withhold judgement until we are sitting in front of it. Seeing a fully operational gauge pack could change a lot of minds. Hopefully mine as well.

This is my take on it as well. I'm generally not a fan of the "tacked on iPad" look utilized in modern Mercs, and the S650..... and it's the one misstep I've seen for what is otherwise a knockout design, inside and out. However, I've also seen some videos that get behind the wheel, and it appears as though it might bother me a lot less once I try it out for myself.

 

[Gnatsum21]

They should have integrated the bigger display properly and inconspicuously. Easily doable in a retro style with double brow but fresh and modern and with sufficient button support kept. I mean why not just copy Porsche 911 Could anyone protest?

Now I want a Porsche!

 

[MustangJoe84]

In my opinion I not only dislike the design but just as important to me is the choice of materials.
The plastic striped carbon fiberish trim all around the dash looks beyond cheap. (I believe it is the same pattern used in some trim levels of the MachE). My base 34K 2015 S550 even has an attractive silver pattern across the dash that I now appreciate even more. These new Mustangs will cost WAY more (perhaps twice as much). The materials just don't look like a 50-60K interior.
The button control panel below the center vents to me looks very low budget.
The steering wheel looks like they saved money by using a Bronco center piece with a Mustang logo.

 

[dethmaShine]

No Mustang driver needs a massive tablet in their car

I'll say right off the bat - this is a gross oversimplification and generalization. I do think different Mustang owners want it but this car is not just to sell to previous owners. People who bought the car in 19/20/21 are not all upgrading. This is a car for others who "want" a Mustang and now it comes with their favorite fidget spinner.

-x-

Moving along there are 2 main issues here:

- Not understanding the pure need for hardware toggles. Going the complete Tesla way.
- Slapping tablets like they are selling a dozen

Here are a few dash's that are actually not that bad:

Model X

Tesla Model S

Porsche new design

Technology will evolve. Digital will replace most things analog. The question is do you do it like how Ford did or how Tesla/Porsche did or something even better?

Ford will sell these new Mustangs super well especially with Camaro going away, no doubt. However, this is an absolute disaster of design - losing the Mustang aesthetic, poor ugly looking design, bad materials, bad use of materials and decreasing overall usability.

Mach E was a great direction by the company imo. I have no clue what the hell happened here.

 

[Strokerswild]

The solution is obvious - buy a Porsche.

I've always wanted one, maybe it's time to move beyond my 30+ year Mustang fixation since I've zero interest in the S650.

 

[Bikeman315]

In my opinion I not only dislike the design but just as important to me is the choice of materials. The plastic striped carbon fiberish trim all around the dash looks beyond cheap.

Considering you haven't sat in a production car yet how can you make are these assertions. Maybe it's best to wait until you actually see them before pronouncing them as "cheap".

These new Mustangs will cost WAY more (perhaps twice as much).

Please, where did you hear this? It's BS. The regular EB & GT will probably be 2-4% above the 2023. The Dark horse will more likely bring Mach 1 money. But twice as much is pure hyperbole.

The button control panel below the center vents to me looks very low budget.

Again a comment based on a picture of a preproduction car. Is there a reason for so much negativity? Can't you just say, "I don't like it"?

The steering wheel looks like they saved money by using a Bronco center piece with a Mustang logo.

A lack of knowledge is a wonderful thing. Here is the inspiration for the new steering wheel. Hardly a Bronco.

Just in case this doesn't look familiar its a $500,000 Ford GT.

 

[Firsttexan]

I am extremely happy with my 401A S550 dash. Just the right amount of digital screen tucked into a conventional dash (which I like the overall styling of).

The S650 had to have a more current dash system. Ford could have added cowling behind the screen etc..... But that's how it is in the digital age.

Over time most will come to like it. If they don't already.

 

[cgrant26]

I wonder how many broken out windows will result from dumb criminals trying to swipe those sweet tablets just sitting on the dash.

 

[socal2fast]

Okay, now that I got your attention, I think it's time to discuss the massive misstep that Ford has made with the S650 - which is the new dashboard.

Personally I think it is atrocious. It has completely ruined one of the key elements that makes a Mustang interior a Mustang and makes it look like any other Mercedes, BMW or Korean SUV.

Now I know that it's the industry trend, everyone is doing it, idiot millennial consumers can't live without it, bla di bla. But the fact to the matter is that this is supposed to be a Mustang and a Mustang has very distinctive design characteristics. Characteristics that Ford marketing brass can't stop talking about when it comes to praising the new design. So why in the world did they feel the need to do away with one of the most important of those very characteristics, which is the beautiful symmetric double brow dash? This is completely wrong. It serves no purpose other than cutting costs on HVAC and other switch gear, and one switch at a time it destroys ergonomics and makes the car unsafer to operate.

It is not out of the blue that other brands who started this stupid fad (like Audi) and who were criticized from day one on the ergonomic repercussions are already reversing this policy and bringing physical switches back in their latest releases. Ford however is running at the back of the field and wasting their time on fancy graphics for switching drive modes, instead of designing an even better positioned toggle switch.

No Mustang driver needs a massive tablet in their car. When you drive a Mustang you are concentrating on driving, on the road and your surroundings. The nicely integrated Sync2/3 screen of S550 did the job perfectly well. In the Mach-E they even did a wonderful and creative job on integrating a soundbar in the double brow, a truly innovative piece of design progress. But instead of bringing that into S650 we get this generic dud and now have to live in a world where Mach-E has a more true to Mustang dashboard that the real Mustang.

This is a disaster.

I was able to sit in the car for about a hour and it really fits around you. So much better then what we have now. Plus it feels so much more well made.

 

[Jjr36011]

Idk if Id want analog gauges in my 55k mustang guys although I understand the concern as theres always been one. Its 2024 model though not 2014.

I think once people sit in it and view it and the modes that an analog could never offer… more will like it.

 

[Hack]

I think the dash looks great in the images I've seen online so far. Having said that, I remember test driving a 2015 Corvette and I felt like there were too many big, bright screens in my face.

It might depend a lot on the relative height and distance from the driver whether I will like it or not. Also, it's going to need to turn waaaay down in brightness for night and low light driving. Cars need to be dark inside so they don't spoil the driver's night vision.

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