Ford Mustang Mach-E Is a New EV Lone Horse

The new Ford Mustang Mach-E may not be your typical Mustang, but think of it as a lone horse.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a brand-new electric vehicle that we have known was coming for some time. Still, Mustang enthusiasts may still not be used to the idea.

When the Cayenne came out, Porsche purists were outraged. When Lamborghini pulled the same trick with the Urus, the reaction was similar – although it was accepted much quicker. Porsche and Lamborghini are two well-known sports car icons. And although more affordable and less sophisticated, the Ford Mustang falls in a similar category.

And boy is it popular.

So to mash up the constant need for SUVs with an electric offering, Ford didn’t look at its fleet of SUVs. It took its winning horse out of the stable, lifted it and gave it some voltage.

Yes, it will be hard for purists to swallow the pill, and the “that’s not a Mustang” phrase will echo for a bit, but like the examples listed above, the purists will get over it. And the all-new Mustang Mach-E wasn’t made specifically for them anyway; it targets a much broader range of buyers.

“Leveraging an icon” is how Ford described the manoeuvre, and it signals an 11 billion dollars will be invested in electrification at Ford. Team Edison is one example of where Ford plans to spend the dough. It’s a kind of start-up old factory that focusses on solving problems related to EVs.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is offered in five trims: Select, Premium, First Edition, California Route 1 and GT Performance Edition.

Design

Is the Mach-E a car, an SUV, or is it a crossover? Call it what you want (who really knows what’s what these days in the auto industry). One thing is sure; it definitely borrows some design cues from the ‘ol ‘Stang.

Without going into details on what we love and don’t love about it’s looks – this is in the “each his own personal tastes” department, the Mach-E has a few key features worth mentioning. It doesn’t need a grille in the front, but on the lower part, active shutters have been added to help cool the battery, which lies under the Mach-E.

Also, doors are opened using a push button instead of the usual handle. In the rear, taillights are clearly Mustang-like, but they include a horizontal feature – a wink in the hyphen in the Mach-E name.

Inside the Ford Mustang Mach-E

The most striking part of the Mach-E’s interior is its “Zen” feel. Miles away from the other Mustangs in the stable in terms of flamboyant materials and features, the Mach-E follows the competition’s language in terms of look, feel and tech. A large tablet-like display takes care of pretty much everything the driver needs and is said to include a next-generation SYNC system.

Fiddling with the screen showed me that it is indeed pretty intuitive and simple to operate compared to the SYNC system in other Ford vehicles. Other interior features include Sensico leather and other materials that are “Animal-free” as Ford described it – unlike the King Ranch pickup trucks, for instance.

Performance

Whether we like the looks or not, or whether they are consistent with the Mustang or not, promised performance for the Mach-E is quite interesting, especially when climbing up to the GT Performance edition. Models are powered by one or two electric motors, a bigger 210 kW unit in the rear and a smaller 50 kW unit in the front. Both units work independently from each other, giving the Mach-E AWD capabilities on select models.

Power-wise, the weakest Mach-E will deliver 255 horsepower and 417 lb-ft of torque. At the other end, the GT Performance edition aims to please drivers with 459 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque. All variants use the same suspension system, which is a multilink unit in the rear and Macpherson struts in the front.

Battery range and charging times

Over 80% of people think that electric vehicles cannot be used in freezing temperatures, or that their range will be affected. The way Ford engineers see it is that most of the loss occurs during the use of the heater – which is pretty much like the element you have in your oven. But when leaving your Mach-E behind in the snow for a few days, the battery loss will be minimal, says Ford.

The Mach-E comes in both standard-range (75.7 kWh lithium-ion battery) and extended-range (98.8 kWh battery). These batteries are said to provide between 325 kilometres and 475 kilometres of range depending on the model and whether it is RWD or AWD.

As far as charging goes, plugging the Mach-E at home in a conventional 120-volt outlet will add a little less than 5 km to the range every hour. A household oven-type 240-volt outlet will add about 35 kilometres in the same time and the Ford 48-Amp, 240-volt will provide a little more than 50 kilometres in 60 minutes.

Pricing and availability

The Premium and First Edition will hit the market in late 2020, but the other variants will take a bit more time, until early 2021. In the U.S, you can purchase a Mach-E at the dealership as well as through an online platform that takes a 500-dollar deposit to secure your reservation. In Canada, sales will be done strictly through the dealership network.

Select models start at $50,495 Canadian dollars. A Premium model will cost you $59,495. The price goes up to $64,495 for the California Route. If you want a limited-quantity First Edition, you’ll have to dish out at least $71,995. And, finally, the range-topping GT Performance Edition starts at $ 82,995

Conclusion

Personally, I will have a hard time calling the Mach-E a Mustang. The nameplate strays from the pack for the first time in over 50 years, and it’s a big thing for my little purist heart. However, I’ll eventually get over it, like everyone else.

So either if you’re in the side of “Heck yes, finally a vehicle that can be useful, green, sporty and worthy of the name Mustang” or the side of “What the F*** were they thinking”, consider that Ford has put it all on the line to make it a winning horse. And the value for the money seems to be there. The big test will come when we get our hands on one of the first units and see how it gallops!