We’re deep in the transition to EV and with more manufacturers bringing their first full EVs to market the public is left to ask one very valid question: Are these first EVs from mainstream manufacturers worth my money or should I still hold out a little longer?
It’s a very valid question and one that we’ve been getting to the bottom of during our week of testing with the brand new Ford Mustang Mach E. Let’s dive in.
This is the 2021 Ford Mustang MachE and it’s the first full EV from Ford as they begin their shift toward electrification, but other big names like the F150 lightning are close to follow.
And while you have been able to go to your dealer and buy one of these for a few months, we have to mention this specific car is technically a pre-production version.
Now, ever since Ford peeled the wraps off this car it’s been getting a lot of attention, and for better or worse, but a big reason is because of the name.
If you’re confused to see a 4 door electric SUV wearing a Mustang badge you’re not alone, but Matt will address that in a minute.
What we have here from an objective perspective is a very good family SUV that happens to be electric.
This is The Mach E Premium AWD extended range which means it gets the biggest battery currently available
88 kilowatt hour battery pack means an advertised 270 miles of range with AWD, but in reality it’s been charging to about 256 miles
Power in the extended range is good for 346 hp and more importantly 428 lbft
This puts 0-60 under 5 seconds
Now in terms of charging, we’ve referenced this in other videos and we’ll make a separate video on our experience charging this thing, but the important thing to know if this uses the Electrify America network
This means you get access to a bunch of different brands of chargers like ChargePoint, EVGO, and a couple others.
If you plug it into a 120V house outlet expect like 3 miles of range per hour
If you upgrade to a 240V outlet you get about 20 miles per hour so if you’re going to buy this, dont think twice – upgrade your garage to the 240V
Over 90% of the time most people will be using their home charger to charge this thing, but if you are on the go you can use a DC fast charger to get 10%-80% in 52 minutes
Here’s the reality: That’s too slow.
Tesla has more chargers, they’re easier to use, and they charge more efficiently.
HOWEVER, for Ford’s very first – this is a great achievement
And with that let’s pass the keys to Matt to take you through the dynamics
Yes and like Paolo mentioned, we’re going to make an entire separate video to talk about the charging and infrastructure experience we had this week – but what I’m here to talk to you about is the Mustang part of the car
Obviosuly this is incredibly controversial, especially since it was as recently as 2015 that Ford gave the normal mustang independent rear suspension and as a result it’s actually become quite the good car
The current mustang isn’t just fast and loud, but it’s a true performer especially when specced properly so how does this hold upto the name?
The first thing you all want to hear about is acceleration
0-60 in 4.8 secondsd doesn’t sound incredibly quick, but the immediacy of the electric torque makes it feel incredibly lively and makes you almost forget about the almost 5000lb curb weight.
Let’s also keep in mind this is not the GT so think of this as the ecoboost 4 banger. When the GT gets here we’re going to see some ridiculous performance.
But i did mention weight a second ago and that is the biggest thing to overcome for any car trying to be sporty
The acceleration here is good and the brakes are bitey, but since there’s so much heft the first thing to give when you’re pushing it is the tires.
This not being the GT and Ford focusing on the range of this car means they’ve fitted skinnier, more eco friendly tires
And what that means is under braking and under throttle you’ll get terminal understeer
That really is my only complaint behind the wheel of this car.
The throttle response is sharp, the damping is appropriate, the weight of the batteries is low so there’s very little lean, and then braking (which i thought would be the biggest problem would be) is very strong and confident.
I would really like to see this thing drage race and do a road course against a stock GT with the Coyote motor.
So from a performance and Mustang perspective, I think the speed and everything is there…aside from arguably the most important part….the noise
Styling is for aero
Grille “cutout”
Radiator dam beneath
Frunk
Air curtains around wheels
Wheels and tires – firs thing to go
Sleek side with interesting door handles
Rear shape
Taillights
No exhaust
Build materials
seats
Steering wheel
Gauge cluster, no HUD
Infotainment system (portrait style, no internet browsing, but wifi enabled)
Connection issues
Wireless charging issues
Pano roof
Rear seat space
trunk space
So while the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach e isn’t perfect and the name is a little misleading is does come together to be a good EV, especially as a first gen one from Ford.
During our week with this Mach E I think we got more looks in this thing than we did in the Lexus LC we had just a couple weeks ago. The interest level was high, lots of people asking us questions so we cant wait to see how Ford evolves this over time