Used test: BMW M235i vs Ford Mustang
A used BMW M235i is an excellent buy for its six-cylinder sophistication, but can the V8 brawn of a pre-owned Ford Mustang beat it?...
What will they cost?
This is where the Ford Mustang really struggles, because it cannot match the M235i in terms of running costs. Road tax for a 2016 example will cost you £555 per year, whereas the M235i will only cost you £290. Fuel economy isn’t much to write home about either, because the Mustang's official average is only 20.9mpg, against the 34.9mpg of its rival.
The Mustang offers more equipment as standard, though. Both cars have Bluetooth, a DAB radio, xenon headlights and leather seats, but the Mustang also gets power-folding door mirrors, cruise control, a reversing camera and keyless entry.
It also has driver and passenger knee airbags, which you couldn’t get on the M235i, although the latter is the only here that offers automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance as options. Security experts Thatcham Research has awarded both cars the full five stars for resisting theft and four for resistance to being broken into.
Ford fared much better on our reliability survey than BMW which languished near the bottom of the table. Both cars came with a three-year manufacturer’s warranty when new, meaning they both have one year left in their covers. In the case of the Ford Mustang it’s restricted to 60,000 miles. The M235i’s warranty has no mileage restriction and its assistance cover was for three years, so there’s still a year left in that, too.
