This week we are reviewing the Ford Mustang Mach-E 4x First Edition. Our vehicle was assembled at the Cuautitlán plant in Mexico and has an MSRP of 71695.00 CAD before EV incentives.
Fun Factor: 8
Can it Family: 8
Fuel-Friendly: 10
HWY-warrior: 8
Karaoke-Friendly: 7
Baby-Friendly: 7
City Cruising: 10
Let's get this out of the way as it's what is on everyone's mind: Is the Mach-E deserving of the Mustang name? Most would answer "no" to this question. While they might not be wrong, they are not right either. Ford has given the Mach-E a Mustang personality, starting with its excellent handling, an electric sound mimicking the Mustang rumble when accelerating and naturally its exterior design.
Our Mach-E "First Edition" came with a stunning Grabber Blue Metallic that indeed grabbed a lot of people's attention. We cannot recall a time such a quiet vehicle has turned so many heads. Ford stroke a home run with the Mach-E bold design.
The Mustang comes in 2 different powertrains (RWD or AWD) and offers 2 different battery sizes (68 kWh or 88kWh). The standard battery will provide a range of 440km in its RWD configuration and 400km when configured with the AWD system. While the extended battery will reach an astonishing 610km with the RWD option, this number goes down to 420km with the AWD one. Depending on the power train and battery you have selected, you will find 4 different power outputs going from 266hp up to 480hp in the GT variant available later this year. Our First Edition came with the most powerful engine currently available with a respectable 346hp and an astonishing 428 lb-ft of torque. Making it possible to achieve a ground speed of 100km/h in an effortless 4.8 seconds, the GT targets 3.5 seconds to 100km/h making it faster than the Shelby GT500.
Can the Mach-E be a family vehicle? No doubt it can; Ford surely had this in mind with the Mach-E. We were able to fit 4 adults comfortably. And yes, those rear seats are useable! Our 3 kids found them wide enough not to stumble into each other's bubble. Front passengers get wireless charging for one device and 2 USB ports, one being a Type-C. The same setup is also available to passengers in the back. Front seats are heated but not ventilated; the steering wheel is also heated. The trunk will be larger enough to fit a stroller and is reasonably roomy for a family. The interior is so refined it would be hard to tell you're in a Ford product. When it comes to the interior, the Mach-E is worthy of the Mustang badge as its interior feels like a premium product and will be enjoyable on longer journeys.
During our HWY test, we consumed an average of 22kWh/100km driving it enthusiastically; sure, we could have driven it slower and consume less; however, that would not have been as much fun. Strangely Ford announces an average electric consumption of 25kWh/100km for our model. Either the person testing had even more fun than we had, or Ford provides an electric consumption closer to our winter testing, resulting in a very honest consumption which is not always the case with other electric car manufacturers. We averaged /kWh/100 during our 1000km test, with an average of 16 kWh/100km in the city. Ford announces 21.8k/kWh in the city and a combined 23.2/kWh.
Our main disappointment with the Mach-E is its sound system. The Bang & Olufsen sound system is not base-rich as the Shaker systems found in traditional Mustangs. While we could forgive the Mach-E's underwhelming base, the system does not provide a rich and warm experience for the audio enthusiast. Now onto the infotainment; the 15.5-inch screen is massive and looks stunning; it responds pretty quickly. We like that the volume knob is a physical button and not a sliding cursor and wished for the same when it comes to the climate controls. Although the graphics are stunning, it will require a period of adjustment; we had to ask our co-pilot to turn it off; otherwise, we'd have to take our attention away from the road for too long. The best feature of this system is that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are offered wirelessly and will also charge your phone wirelessly. These can often be problematic; during our week of testing, we did not experience any connectivity issues or any problems when multiple devices entered the vehicle.
We are always happy when installing car seats is a breeze, which is true of the Mach-E. The Isofix ports are slightly hidden within the seat and remain easily accessible, facilitating latching a car seat. If the doors opened wider, it would be perfect, as it may require a little playing around for larger car seats to fit the compact door frame. We had no issues fitting different car seats within the Mach-E and even the rear-facing car seat without taking away precious comfort from the passenger in front. Now onto the access for young children; the first thing is that you will always have to press on the door opening button for pre-school-aged kids; they may also require help getting into the vehicle due to its height. The interior door handles are not traditional either; our children found them user-friendly and could operate them without our assistance. The same goes for the belt buckles that have been laid out so that younger children in a booster seat can buckle themselves with ease.
In the city, the Mach-E provides a reassuring driving experience. First thought the possibility of driving of one-pedal driving, only requiring the breaking pedal in emergency instances. The brakes are very responsive, maybe a little too much for our taste. Especially since the acceleration pedal modulates our foot input so precisely, it can feel unnatural to use the breaks. The Mach-E will alert if a vehicle has abruptly halted in bumper-to-bumper traffic and flash a red sign to engage the braking system. Even if it's not activated, when you slow down the vehicle by removing pressure from the accelerator pedal, it will engage the breaking safely to avoid a collision.
Why would we buy the Ford Mach-E and what we like: Great real-life range. We have seen up to 460km of range during our test; no sweat car seat installation, instant acceleration, build quality is up to par with premium manufacturers.
Why would we not buy the Ford Mach-E and what we did not like: The sound system is a disappointment, it's a big vehicle, and Ford has hidden it aesthetically very well; it cannot hide its weight around corners.
Ford has loaned us this vehicle to facilitate this review. We have no affiliation with Ford Canada. The above is a recollection of our personal opinion of the car referred above.
Photos by Vince P. Szigeti & LCB Photo
