Ford broke the mold with the brand spankin’ new 2020 Mustang Mach-E. The Mustang name has been part of the Ford stable going back to 1964 and the arrival of a new Mustang model deserves The Autos Consultants attention. This Mustang is not like its predecessors. This is the first Mustang with 4-doors, sport utility ground clearance and AWD. More importantly this is the first fully electric vehicle from Ford with their target set on the Tesla Model Y.
With electric vehicles becoming more and more prominent in the market, we’ve seen manufacturers try many different vehicle designs. We’ve seen a wide range from Tesla’s futuristic designs to the utilitarian designs from Mitsubishi. Some OEMs have electrified vehicles in their current product range like the XC40 Recharge, while others have gone with unique designs for their electric vehicles like the BMW i3.
Ford’s decision was to marry their most famous nameplate “Mustang” with the hottest type of vehicle on the market, the crossover SUV. Ford will not be producing a traditional combustion version, from the ground up it was designed as a purely electric vehicle.
From a styling perspective the Mach-E is all Mustang. The front facia has been designed as though it is Mustang's 2-door sibling without a hollow grill. The vehicle has respectable ground clearance and the slowing roofline allows the vehicle to preserve its coupe-like silhouette. There are no exterior door handles, giving the doors an added level of sophistication, while also subtly hiding the fact that this is a 4-door vehicle. The tail lights are unmistakably Mustang sharing the retro themed three groove design.
The interior is truly unique and doesn’t feel like it came from the Ford parts bin. The most striking part of the interior is the giant touch screen in the center of the dash. There are very few physical buttons in the interior, the climate control, heated seats and infotainment system are all controlled by touch. The screens functionality works as expected and I think the physical volume knob will be copied across the industry. Fingerprints and glare were the only drawbacks to the screen and I personally prefer physical buttons to a touch screen. There is a chance that the screen functionality will be diminished in cold weather or with a glove hand. The Mach-E’s interior design is clearly inspired by Tesla, a compliment to the design of the new kids on the block.
The door panels and dashboard all felt very unique to the Mach-E, which is important to set it apart from the rest of the Ford lineup. If the goal is to attract Tesla buyers or other high end buyers, it was important that this vehicle not feel like a Fusion in the interior. Our only complaint regarding the interior is the quality of the seats. The lower portion of the cushions, used for thighs support, seem flimsy. The seats side bolstering is also lacking and is not what one might expect from the Mustang brand.
The rear seat level of comfort is better than expected for a vehicle with a sloping roof line. Our tester had the glass panoramic roof, which did not encroach on the head room in the front or back. The only drawback is that the glass roof is fixed and therefore does not open. The trunk space looks good for this type of vehicle and the back seats fold flat for extra cargo capacity.
Like most other Mustang’s, the Mach-E offers buyers a few choices of power outputs and drivetrains. The base model has a 68 kwh that produces 266 hp and 317 lb-ft sending all the power to the rear wheels and AWD is available as an option. Ford’s estimated range of the standard model is 355 km with RWD and the range drops by 30 km to 325 km when adding AWD.
If 266 hp seems a bit underwhelming for a Mustang, you can elect to go with the RWD extended range boosting output to 290 HP and the same 317 lb-ft as the entry level model.
The most powerful version of the car on sale today is the Extended Range AWD model with 346 HP and 428 lb-ft. Down the road Ford will introduce a top of the line performance model, the GT with 480 hp and up to 634 lb-ft. Ford claims this will send the Mach-E GT Performance from zero to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds.
Now to answer the number one question about this car, how does it drive? It does not feel like a Mustang Coupe with a big V8. That being said, the power and handling are both fantastic for a crossover SUV. We drove the AWD extended range version with above mentioned 346 hp. The handling is crisp and the car feels solid and agile. As expected with an electric car, the power delivery is immediate but lacks the engagement a performance oriented buyer might expect.
The Mach-E comes with three driver selectable modes. Another nod or possible homage to Tesla is that the three modes have more creative names than the usual recycled Comfort and Sport modes. Instead Ford has decided to call them Unbridaled, Whisper and Engage, the later being the most aggressive setting. Engage has the usual throttle response improvements and steering adjustments. The mode is also supposed to create more simulated engine noise but this feature did not work during our test drive.
With a starting price of $50,495 for the base RWD model in Canada the Mach-E undercuts the price of the Tesla Model Y by almost $20,000. The Tesla comes standard with AWD and almost doubles the range with an estimated 525km between charges. The base model Ford is a great value and even qualifies $8000 of provincial rebates in Quebec. https://vehiculeselectriques.gouv.qc.ca/english/rabais/ve-neuf/vehicules-neufs-admissibles.asp
Once you start to add features to compete with Tesla's power and range the value starts to shrink. We are excited by the overall look of the Ford and would consider it over the Tesla, if the price is competitive. If the payment is the same for the Mach-E and Model Y, it becomes tough to justify the Ford as the Tesla has more power and autonomy.
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