The Ford Mustang will have hot hatches in its sights when it arrives in Australia later this year thanks to a starting price under $45,000.

The blue oval has revealed the full price list for the new coupe ahead of it hitting showrooms in December. And the headline number is $44,990 (plus on-road costs) the starting price for the 2.3-litre EcoBoost Fastback, with the automatic variant costing an additional $2500.

That price undercuts many hot hatches such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance, Subaru WRX STI and Renault Megane RS265, putting the Mustang in the middle of the hot hatch market.

The EcoBoost's 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine produces 233kW and 432Nm, which far outperforms most of the hot hatches in its price range.

The V8-powered Mustang GT is also keenly priced at $54,990 for the manual and $56,490 for the six-speed automatic.

While the GT is more expensive than Ford's XR8 - which starts at $52,490 - it is still competitively priced against other six-cylinder, two-door sports coupes such as the Lexus RC350 (from $66,000), Nissan 370Z (from $56,930) and BMW M235i (from $79,930). It is also comfortably underneath V8-powered coupes such as the Lexus RC F which is priced from $133,500.

Ford already has 1200 firm orders for the Mustang and has also received interest from more than 15,000 potential customers and believes that more customers will flock to the new sports car after the announcement of its competitive pricing.

"With such sharp pricing, we're signaling that there's a new Ford performance car coming and we intend to grab our rightful share of enthusiasts who value style, technology, performance and the history that the Mustang name brings," says Graeme Whickman, Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service.

Both variants come with the option of either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, electric power steering, 19-inch alloys, LED taillights, rain sensing wipers, sat-nav, reversing camera as well as Ford's new SYNC2 infotainment system which is accessible through an eight-inch monitor on the dash .

Initial customers will also be able to option their cars with racing stripes ($650), black painted roof ($975), 19-inch premium wheels ($500) and prestige paint ($500).

2015 Ford Mustang pricing*
Ford Mustang EcoBoost
Fastback manual - $44,990
Fastback automatic - $47,490(auto)
Convertible (auto only) - $53,990
Ford Mustang GT
Fastback manual - $54,990
Fastback automatic $57,490
Convertible (auto only) $63,990

*All prices exclude on-road costs

2015 Ford Mustang specifications
Ecoboost
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol
Power: 233kW at 5500rpm
Torque: 432Nm at 2500-4500rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual or automatic, RWD
Consumption: 9.4L/100km

GT
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 petrol
Power: 303kW at 6500rpm
Torque: 525Nm at 4250rpm
Transmission: 6-speed man or auto, RWD
Fuel consumption: 12.3L/100km

source: www.smh.com.au

whats the point of buying a 4 cylinder Mustang?

5.2 second 0-100 and 13.9 second quarter mile. The Mustang Ecoboost will shame plenty of V8 falcons.

As much as i love a v8 coupe, given the choice, I'd rather have a 2017 Focus RS.

320+ HP, torque vectored all wheel drive, and much lighter.. It would leave the V8 mustang for dead on the straights as well as around corners.

Having said that, if I could have any car to drive that I wanted, it'd be an XC cobra and speed/handling have nothing to do with the reasons. (My xr6t is already nuch faster and better handling than a cobra. But I'd swap at the drop of a hat.)