The Polite 2018 Ford Mustang GT Will Allow You to Schedule Quiet Times

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Like a good neighbor, Ford Mustang is there.

We noticed last week that Ford’s more costly 2018 Ford Mustang GT offers an $895 Active Valve Performance Exhaust option. Only now, however, do we know just what that performance exhaust system entailed.

Sure, it can be loud, but the 2018 Mustang GT’s optional exhaust is more than just a baffle that opens under heavy throttle. Now you can hush your Mustang at the crack of dawn to avoid waking Dan and Mary next door; the pesky neighbors who mow their lawn at 8 a.m. on Saturdays but hate everything about your all-American muscle car.

Though we’ve yet to test the Mustang’s active exhaust system, it’s not difficult to see from Ford’s own video that this is a unique setup. While the Mercedes-AMG C43 Cabriolet tester we drove a few weeks ago featured a simple button that enhanced the twin-turbo V6 burble, the 2018 Mustang GT’s exhaust has four settings available in the instrument cluster, selected by buttons on the steering wheel.

Moreover, the Mustang’s Quiet Start is programmable, so the Mustang will know to ignite politely if startup time is prior to 8:30. Quiet Start lowers the Mustang’s volume by roughly 10 decibels.

Ford began to look into the possibility of these features when Steve von Foerster, the Blue Oval’s former head of engineering, left his driveway in a Shelby GT350 only to discover his neighbor called 911 because of the noise. “It sounds so cool,” von Foerster says, “but I thought, ‘There has to be a way to give people more control over the engine’s sound.'”

In addition to a quiet setting, the 2018 Ford Mustang GT’s Active Valve Performance Exhaust also features normal, sport, and track modes.

Timothy Cain
Timothy Cain

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  • Stingray65 Stingray65 on Aug 01, 2017

    We have a C2 Corvette 427 with factory sidepipes come down our street regularly, but the noise is very pleasant burble because he just idles the car in residential areas. When you have 400+ horsepower and huge torque there is no need to rev the beast on your way out of the driveway or down the street.

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    • Sportyaccordy Sportyaccordy on Aug 01, 2017

      @30-mile fetch On the other hand, there were folks like my neighbor growing up, who literally idled his Harley from 5 AM until whenever I woke up on weekdays on a regular basis. Mothers, love your sons, lest they become overcompensating Harley riders.

  • Ricky Spanish Ricky Spanish on Aug 01, 2017

    Yay! More weight and more complex electronics to fix when it inevitably breaks!

  • Burgersandbeer Burgersandbeer on Aug 01, 2017

    This is a cool feature. As much as I appreciate a nice bark on cold start and some burbling, it gets old fast. I had a neighbor with a Viper, and while he didn't start it too early, he would come and go several times a day and sometimes rev it in the driveway like he was making exhaust videos for youtube. I swear he was using it for random errands that he never consolidated. Certainly not the same category as a Harley at 6am, but I could have done without it.

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Aug 01, 2017

    His neighbors called 911 over the noise coming from a stock GT350 Mustang? First World Problems

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