Ford Mustang Mach-E test drive: Is it worthy of the galloping horse badge?

The Ford Mustang Mach-E large SUV has been available in North America since the start of 2021, and reached Europe not long after. It has taken a bit longer to get to our shores, though. In fact, at one stage Ford had ruled it out for the Australian market. Thankfully, that changed earlier this year when Ford announced that by 2024 it would introduce ‘at least’ five EV models to Australia (and nine in Europe).

The Mustang Mach-E is built on Ford’s new GE1 (Global Electrified 1) EV dedicated platform with manufacturing plants in both Mexico and China. However Chinese production is limited to supplying the local market there, meaning the Australian Ford Mustang Mach-E is sourced from Mexico.

Offered here in three versions – the Select version I drove for the week is the ‘base’ version with a 72 kWh LFP chemistry battery and a 198kW motor supplying the rear wheels. Next up is the Premium with a 91 kWh NMC chemistry battery. The Premium is also rear wheel drive (RWD) but motor power has been upped by 18 kW to 216 kW.

The top of the line model is the GT. Also with the 91 kWh battery, but this time traction is provided to all four wheels with a total power output of 358 kW.

Pricing for the three was announced earlier in the year at $79,990, $91,665 and $107,665 before on-the-road costs. Mind-you, those prices were recently slashed – especially for the Select version. Pricing (before on road costs) is now $72,990 (down $7000), $86,990 (down $4675) and $104,990 (down $2675) respectively.

For this test I opted for the ‘poverty pack’ Select version as, based on the recent pricing changes, I suspect it may well become the volume seller of the three. (By the way: a review of the GT will be coming from Tim Eden soon).

First impressions:

So what do you get for your money? It certainly didn’t feel like a poverty pack when it comes standard with a full panoramic glass roof, dual zone climate control, power lift-gate (with foot wave opening/closing), 10 speaker B&O sound system, 39.4 cm (15.5 inch) centre display and a host of other features. Even the floor mats come standard. In fact the specifications for all three versions are remarkably similar – the key differences between the Select and the Premium being in the drive train. (Table 1).

Interestingly, when it comes to colour choice it would seem that Ford has not moved on from the Model T. Black is the no cost option with all other colours an additional $700. (The Model T was painted black only as it was the fastest drying paint and therefore moved faster down the assembly line. Henry Ford was reputed to have once quipped ‘you can have any colour you like, so long as it’s black’).

Interior:

I found the seating to be firm, but comfortable and supportive with 8-way powered adjustment on both front seats, plus reach/rake adjustment on the steering. By the way, although the seat and steering wheel cover material has the look and feel of leather – it is in fact an artificial look-alike called Sensico.

It is classified as a ‘Large SUV’, although in looks its swooping rear roof does lend itself to being called a ‘crossover’. Rear seating offers good leg and head room for all but the largest adult (I was comfortably clear of both the roof and front seat when seated in the back). However its swooped crossover-style rear roof line might lead much over 1.8m in height to struggle a little in the head height department.

Cabin storage was well catered for with a centre console bin under the arm rest, a good sized lower storage shelf under the phone charging shelf/cup holder area and storage slots on each of the doors.

With its EV-only platform, Ford have managed to squeeze in a sizeable 134 litre ‘froot’. (Froot being short for ‘front boot’. FYI to those who call it a ‘frunk’ – that is the American usage based on the rear storage are of a car being called the trunk. Given Australian usage for the rear storage are of a car is ‘boot’, the Australian English version is ‘froot’).

Speaking of boot space – with the seats up, there is 402 litres available with a reasonable depth. Mind-you, there is only a retractable cloth cover over the area rather than the more usual hard lid. With the seats down and piled to the roof, that expands to 1,420 litres.

The only minor niggle on my first few drives was the higher than usual side door sills. The first times saw me clipping these with my feet when getting in, but I did eventually adapt to not notice them after a full week of driving.

Driving:

Being an EV, the Mustang Mach-E naturally accelerates smoothly and instantly off the line. In base version form though, that take-off feels almost lackadaisical. That however is a function of my being used to EVs after many years of driving them: even in base trim, the Mach-E has a zero to 100km/h time of around 7.3 seconds. (The Premium by the way is only slightly quicker at 7.0 sec). If you want blistering performance – you would have to go to the GT which has an around 3.7 sec zero to 100km/h time.

The ride I found to be on the firm side, but not overly so. Both the Select and Premium by the way come with 225/55 tyres on 19 inch rims – again, there is no difference between the two except for the style of the 19 inch rim. Handling was also the sort of thing you would expect from a well sorted SUV. In Select guise, it is in no way a performance oriented vehicle, but it drove comfortably and predictably on windy roads and was smooth and quiet on the highway.

One curious touch is the option to select interior driving sound effects. This is perhaps a nod to the expected purchaser being someone stepping into their first EV after driving ICE all their lives and missing the sound of an engine. To me as a long-term EV driver, the silence of EV driving is one of the great bonuses to making the move. As a result, I was dreading the intrusion of unnecessary noise by selecting the option, but I needn’t have worried. It was all but inaudible on any setting!

A few things stood out to me as it being Ford’s first attempt at an EV – when charged to 100%, regenerative braking didn’t work till the charge level dropped to 98% (selecting the 1-pedal driving option did however still give a braking effect when lifting off the accelerator).

Another was I found it hard to come to a smooth stop: at the last it was easy to slightly jerk to zero. You eventually found the knack to pulling up smoothly with, as well as without, 1-pedal driving selected, but it took a bit of time to work it out. Many other makers manage to do regen braking better – so I am guessing Ford will not take too long to sort things like that out as they gain experience in EV technology.

Again – that may just be a function of my not being their intended buyer. The Mustang Mach-E is firmly aimed at first-time EV buyers and as such my braking behaviour, tuned to EVs for a long time now, probably wasn’t what Ford’s engineers would expect of an ICE driver moving to EV!

Controls:

I would have to say the adaptive cruise control in the Mach-E is the easiest I have ever used. One touch of a steering wheel button would turn it on and a simple up/down of the toggle next to the actuation button enables tweaking of the set speed in 1 km/h increments.

The centre screen was generally easy to use and, for previous Ford owners used to the interface, probably ‘more of the same’. The ventilation functions always stayed on-screen on either side of a physical dial. That dial by the way would switch from volume, fan speed and temperature depending on the function selected. I found this to be a nice touch, as well as making it easy to control those functions without looking away from driving.

Bluetooth connection of the phone was easy, and Ford include both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with the vehicle. In my case, Android Auto was easy to activate – however, not owning an iOS phone I can’t give a report for that system. Mind-you, I did find the navigation system in the car perfectly fine and in some ways better than Google maps via Android Auto, so I quickly reverted back to that.

Driving range and charging:

In Select form with the 72kWh battery, the WLTP driving range is 470 km. That extends out to 600 for the Premium with the larger 91kWh battery. For my test of the Select, my partner and I took it from Melbourne along the coast to Apollo Bay and return via the inland climb from Lorne.

It made it relatively comfortably within one full charge, with the range estimator doing a good job of adapting itself to give continuously accurate sounding estimates for the different driving conditions. Having had it for a full week, I became comfortable with the driving range predictions and came to trust them. (Unlike the GOM, or ‘Guess-O-Meter’, I had in my 2011 Leaf!)

Charging is via the usual Type 2 AC port at 7kW single phase and 11kW if using 3 phase power. It can also charge at up to 150kW using the standard CCS2 plug found on all DC chargers.

Towing:

What is it about rating cars in Australia for towing??? In European markets the Mach-E is rated to tow up to 1000kg, but has a zero rating for Australia. Given many of its competitors have tow ratings of 1500kg or more, this omission by Ford may put off some potential customers that otherwise would have considered it.

Summing up:

For buyers stepping from ICE to electric for the first time, the Ford Mustang Mach-E would be an easy car to get used to. It will comfortably carry 4 to 5 adults and has all the usual safety features one comes to expect from a new car. With a decent driving range even in Select guise, it would also seem one would need a very good reason to stump up the extra $14,000 for the Premium. (Especially as there is almost no difference in specification between the two except for the larger battery and 18kW more motor power).

So now to the elephant in the room: is it really a Mustang? In looks it gives a lot of nods to the current two door petrol version, however a two door sleek sports coupe it is not – and a lot of Ford purists have lambasted the manufacturer for putting the galloping horse badge on it.

However, many manufacturers formerly renowned for producing sports oriented cars now offer SUV versions. (Think Porsche Macan, Ferrari Purosangue or even the forthcoming Renault Alpine SUV). Seems Ford are not alone there.

As for putting the logo on the Select version when it is not in any way a performance vehicle? Well it does look like its faster GT sibling – and Ford do sell a six-cylinder ‘poverty pack’ version of the two door coupe too, so again, not a unique ‘misuse’ of the logo.

So yes, it is a marketing exercise to add the name ‘Mustang’ to the Mach-E, but other sports oriented vehicle manufacturers use their logos to push SUVs too. So if it makes it more attractive to add the aura of Mustang to their new EV line-up, is it really a problem? Plus the GT may very well live up to the Mustang name – but for that we will have to wait for Tim’s forthcoming review.

Specifications for the Mustang Mach-E: (Source: aeva.au/fact-sheets)

Seating: 5

Boot volumes in litres: (1 litre = 10 x 10 x 10 cm)

• Boot – seats up: 402 L
• Boot – seat folded/to roof: 1,420 L
• Froot: 134L (front boot: under-bonnet storage)

Dimensions:

• Overall length: 4,728 mm
• Overall height: 1,634 mm (GT: 1623 mm)
• Ground clearance: 172 mm (GT: 163 mm)
• Overall width (edge of doors):  1,881 mm
• Overall width (edge of mirrors): 2,097 mm

Battery:

Energy consumption: (WLTP test cycle)

• 17.8 kWh/100km (Select)
• 17.2 kWh/100km (Premium)
• 21.2 kWh/100km (GT)

Kerb weight:

Charging:

• 1 phase AC: 7.0 kW maximum.
• 3 phase AC: 10.5 kW maximum.
• DC: 150 kW maximum.

Charge port location:

• Front left side (in front of passenger door)

Drive configuration: 

• Rear wheel drive (RWD): Select and Premium
• All-wheel drive (AWD): GT

Towing:

• Not rated for towing in Australia.

Performance: