When Ford gave the Mustang an independent rear suspension for the sixth-gen 2015 model year, many critics labeled it as a strong move into bona-fide sports-car territory. The Blue Oval is once again moving the needle by changing up the EcoBoost ‘Stang’s Performance Package, which now includes revised suspension bits, updated aero, and critically, more horsepower. With 330 ponies under the hood, has the four-cylinder Mustang evolved the nameplate beyond its muscle car roots?

Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth

Like countless other good ideas, the updated 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package started as the pet project for a bunch of engineers. The concept was simple - how would the Mustang handle the turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder from the Focus RS? Apparently, rather well, as Ford eventually signed off on it as an official package option to help celebrate to arrival of the Mustang’s 55th anniversary.

With the newly tuned 2.3-liter engine under the hood, Ford claims it made the “highest-performing production four-cylinder Mustang ever.”

The heart of the matter is under the hood, where you’ll find a die-cast alloy block mated with a high-performance cylinder head. There’s a new spec for the twin-scroll turbo too, including a 63 mm compressor, which is 5 percent larger than that of the outgoing model. The Package also includes a bigger radiator, as it did for the outgoing 2019 model year.

All told, the Performance Package now bumps the EcoBoost Mustang to 330 horsepower, making for “the most powerful four-cylinder sports car offered by an American automaker,” according to Ford.

Regardless, the package adds 20 horsepower over than the standard 310-horse EcoBoost Mustang (which also comes with a turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder, by the way).

Engine

Ford Performance-tuned 2.3-liter engine

Horsepower

330 HP

Torque

350 LB-FT

0 to 60 mph

4.5 seconds

Top Speed

155 mph


In terms of peak torque, the 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package holds steady, with 350 pound-feet on tap to match the standard EcoBoost Mustang and last year’s Performance Package.

However, the delivery of that 350 pound-feet is closer to the Focus RS, with a much fatter curve to play with compared to the standard EcoBoost Mustang. Thanks to the new tune, the ‘four makes as much as 90 percent of available twist between 2,500 and 5,300 rpm, a 40-percent gain compared to the standard EcoBoost. We have yet to drive it, but something like that is sure to make the 2.3-liter Mustang feel much beefier, squirting off corners with the same enthusiasm as a larger displacement engine.

Properly motivated, the 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package can hit 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds. That’s just a few tenths slower than the Mustang GT’s 0-to-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds, and over half a second quicker than the standard EcoBoost Mustang’s 5.1-second 0-to-60 mph time. It also more or less matches the Focus RS’ time of 4.6 seconds.

That’s a 10-mph upshot compared to the previous 2019 EcoBoost Performance Package, and a full 34 mph faster than the standard base-level EcoBoost Mustang. It also matches the restricted top speed of the V-8-powered Mustang GT, but it’s 10 mph slower than the Focus RS.

It’s also worth mentioning that Ford will offer the 2020 Performance Package with support for both the 10-speed automatic transmission and six-speed Getrag manual, both of which come with unique tuning to make the most of the extra power and fatter torque curve.

Performance Comparison

Model

0-60 mph

Horsepower

Torque

Top Speed

2019 Ford Mustang EcoBoost (standard)

5.1 seconds

310 hp @ 5,500 rpm

350 lb-ft @ 3,000 rpm

121 mph

2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost (Performance Package)

4.5 seconds

330 hp

350 lb-ft

155 mph

2019 Chevrolet Camaro Turbo 1LE

5.1 seconds

275 hp @ 5,600 rpm

295 lb-ft @ 3,000 rpm

145 mph

2019 Ford Mustang GT

4.3 seconds

460 hp @ 7,000 rpm

420 lb-ft @ 4,600 rpm

155 mph

2018 Ford Focus RS

4.6 seconds

350 hp @ 6,000 rpm

350 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm

165 mph


Not Just For The Straight And Narrow

More power is nice, but the 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package is more than that - it also includes a host of chassis, suspension, and aero bits to make sure it’ll go around a corner, too.

It all starts with the ‘Stang’s fully independent suspension, which now gets a 32 mm sway bar in front, and a tubular 21.7 mm bar in back, as well as an alloy strut tower for even more front-end stiffness. For reference, the previous Performance Package included just new front springs and a larger rear sway bar.

The previous Performance Package also came with larger rotors and four-pot calipers.

The rest of the spec is a carryover from the 2019 model year, and includes:

-* new power steering tuning

-* new ABS tuning

-* new stability control tuning

-* a 3.55:1 limited-skip rear axle

-* package-specific 19x9-inch wheels

-* high-performance 255/40 summer tires

If you want to maximize your Mustang’s potential in the corners, Ford is also offering the EcoBoost Handling Package, which throws in semi-metallic brakes and new MagneRide dampers, plus more rubber thanks to 19-inch aluminum wheels that are a half-inch wider than the ‘19s you get with the Performance Package. Wrapping the Handling Package’s fresh rollers is a set of super-sticky 265/40 Pirelli P Zero Corsa4 summer tires.

The Performance Pack’s Torsen 3.55:1 limited-slip diff is included in the Handling Package as well, while a larger 24 mm solid rear sway bar replaces the Performance Package’s 21.7 mm unit.

If you want the Handling Package, you can only get it on the coupe, while the Performance Package is offered on the coupe and the convertible.

The Right Style To Match

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To help is stand out from it’s more basic brethren, the 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package adds a new black front splitter, plus a new belly pan and brake cooling ramps, both of which are sourced from the Mustang GT Performance Package.

You’ll also find a metallic gray hood stripe, Magnetic gray side mirrors, a rear blade spoiler, and an active exhaust system with quad tips. The nose is outfitted with a new blacked-out grille, while “2.3L High Performance” badging is found in the flanks.

While we doubt any of the aero upgrades actually help a whole lot in terms of “real” downforce, they certainly add a tasty aesthetic all the same.

Moving into the cabin, the Mustang’s retro-tastic layout is spruced up with an aluminum instrument panel, which includes gauge readouts for oil pressure and turbo boost - just like the outgoing Performance Package. There’s also a serialized dash plaque in case anyone doubts your car’s authenticity.

How Do I Get One?

No word on pricing, but for reference, the current 2019 Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package is $2,495, which brings the Mustang’s price tag up to about $29,000 before adding more options. If we were to guess, the new features and engine tune will probably add at least a few thousand bucks, bringing the final price tag to about $31,000.

Should I Get One?

The 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Performance Package makes for an interesting proposition. While it isn’t as obvious an answer as the classic V-8 Mustang GT, it may do well to tempt buyers who want extra performance from their Pony Car, but either can’t afford a GT, or simply don’t want a V-8 engine.

I can practically hear you yelling through my monitor - “Who the hell would prefer a four-cylinder Mustang?!”

Well, a lotta folks, actually. Nearly half of all Mustang sales are with an EcoBoost engine under the hood, with stuff like fuel prices and insurance costs making the ‘four-powered option far more attractive to some.

With that in mind, it makes sense that Ford would want to give the EcoBoost a little extra optional muscle. However, the really big reason can be found in the Chevy camp.

Late last year, Chevy added its 1LE track pack to the turbo four-cylinder Camaro, and clearly, Ford took notice. The Bow Tie’s package includes:

-* upgraded suspension

-* Brembo four-pot brake, with 13.6 discs in front and 12.4-inch discs in the rear

-* upgraded cooling

-* new limited-slip rear diff

-* 20-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric tires

Chevy only offers the package on coupe models with a six-speed manual transmission, so the EcoBoost Performance Package is definitely the more accessible in that sense, as you can get Ford’s package on both the coupe and convertible, and with either a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic.

The Ford option is also more powerful, as the Camaro Turbo 1LE produces 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, 55 ponies and 55 pound-feet less than the Blue Oval. The end result is a much-slower 5.1-second 0-to-60 mph time and lower 145-mph top speed, which is 0.6 seconds and 10 mph slower than the specs on the Mustang.

However, the pricing difference remains up in the air until Ford confirms the 2020 Performance Package’s MSRP. For now, the Chevrolet Camaro Turbo 1LE starts at $30,995.

Regardless, we’d certainly love to see these two battle it out on the track, possibly on an autocross course. Ford even specifically mentioned autocross in its press release, so you can see what it’s going for here.

If the new package did indeed transform the Mustang into a sharpened cone-dodger, we’d be delighted, but we’ll believe it when we see it. We originally didn’t include the Mustang on our list of best autocross cars because it tended to be a bit nose-heavy and a bit archaic in terms of handling dynamics. Granted, the sixth-gen’s independent suspension made the Mustang more of a sports car, but the end result was still definitely a dragster in our mind.

These upgrades could change our minds on that, especially when you consider the EcoBoost is about 160 pounds lighter than the V-8. Perhaps all it needed was more torque, stiffer suspension, and better tires.

What do you think, dear reader? Would you get the Mustang with the latest Performance Package? Let us know in the comments section below.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford Mustang.

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford Mustang RTR.

Read our full review on the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro.

Muscle Car Melee - Mustang Vs. Camaro

Read our full driven review on the 2016 Ford Focus RS.