08/04/2022 Ford in an obvious marketing move has cashed in on the famous Mustang name to publicise its new electric car offensive. Ford has been ridiculously late in coming to the electric car market and this has annoyed a lot of its loyal customers. Ireland’s EV buyers have had a long wait to get a Ford EV – so does the brand deserve any support with its first right hand drive EV, the Mustang Mach-E or has it missed the boat?
With the Mustang, a car we are very well aquatinted with at Motohub. The car is synonymous with V8 petrol muscle car culture and when it was launched in the mid 1960s Ford created a new car class. It chopped a sedan and made a form of sports car for the people at a price blue collar workers could afford. Ford used the Mach name for special editions – to our eyes Mach Mustangs were always hard on the eyes, okay, plain ugly!
‘Mach’ name is a famous name in Mustang circles (Mach 1) but to most of us this side of the pond is meaningless but everyone knows the Mustang name. The addition of an ‘E’ is a clear indicator of its electric powertrain but non-believers will have to get behind the wheel of the new Mustang Mach-E to be convinced the car is a very good effort. With EV pricing still shockingly high for a variety of reasons the Mustang Mach-E is hardly a car for the average blue collar worker but it is right there in the mix of mid-sized EVs on sale right now. Size-wise it sits between a Tesla Model 3 and Y.
In the flesh the car has a crossover look to its exterior with a quite tall stance and proportionally narrow width profile – quite unlike the low and wide petrol Mustang. Like the Mustang there are no Ford badges just Mustang stallion emblems. Our test car is an ‘Edition 1’ model (€76,100) with as you’d expect loads of kit to help justify its price tag. The boot holds 402 litres and there is a frunk too that can take 81 litres or the cables if you want the added hassle of having of fiddling to release the bonnet with your hand after you pop the cabin release lever. Despite its utilitarian appearance the Mach-E is certified to tow a modest 750kgs. The cabin has a giant Tesla-like centre touch screen with loads of functions accessible through it. The cabin is full of familiar Ford switchgear and a surprising amount of hard plastics. I’m not convinced a Fiesta switch should be in a 70 grand car but hey-ho maybe that’s a nod to the badges blue collar heritage.
The battery at 98.7kWh (91kWh net) is quite large and our extended range model. It has a maximum range from full of 540km (we got nowhere near that – NB in winter). The car is weighty at over 2 tonnes and our car features AWD delivered from its dual motors. Performance is brisk and very entertaining with 351hp and 580nm of torque. There are the usual driving modes but with a Mustang twist. “Untamed” mode is a hoot and delivers the most sporty rear-based drive and a fake but enjoyable audible motor soundtrack delivered through the sound system. The ride is firm and you will feel quite connected on the open road. In the city the ride could be a bit more forgiving on poor surfaces. The entry Mustang Mach-E gets a single motor that powers its rear wheels. The entry battery has a capacity of 75.7kWh (71kWh net) and it can deliver a maximum range of 440km. The standard Mach-e with a long range battery has a 610km maximum range figure.
The Mustang Mach-E is good fun to drive. The Mach-e starts from €53,100, the AWD from €68,550 (both have standard and long range battery option) and a limited availability GT with a 0-100km time of 3.7/4.4 seconds (860nm and a 98.7kWh battery) costs from €82,100. Over a surprisingly brief period we even managed to forgive Ford for its abuse of the Mustang name, and now embrace the Mach-E as a clear sign there is hope for the conservative brand going forward with electrification. Michael Sheridan
