Ford Mustang Mach-E GT test: a missed opportunity

Test Ford Mustang Mach-E GT it reached 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds. This is for a family SUV, or rather a crossover, in a way bizarre, but not more than the acceleration of the Tesla Model Y Performance. Both models drive perfectly straight, but the Ford surprisingly shows even a bit more trouble in this area.

But let's go in order so that there is no confusion, that the arguments are clear and that I am not scolded. I present to you the typological testing - in a series of records and video tests - of my first electric car.

Exterior design

I'm big on coming up with new car models "fan" of design, which leans on history. That's why I have to admit that I do Ford Mustang Mach-E GT liked from different angles. It has many attractive design details. It may be the least attractive when viewed directly from behind, but overall I have no complaints about the fluidity of its design. The sides of the car are dynamically designed, and the muscular look is not exaggerated, but just subtle. I like the car, although it is not the most beautiful in the world. Some things are quite unique, like getting into a car with the touch of a button, without door handles. Interesting and one of the more imaginative solutions, which, however, has some opinions, but is logical. Everything is done to achieve the drag coefficient 0,28, which is good for a car of this shape and size. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the Tesla Model Y scores much better - 0.23 cv, with similar dimensions of the car. At Ford, they tried to make the car at least a little different from the design average, and for that they deserve praise. Even if they didn't quite succeed aerodynamically.

I gave the car 7.5 out of a possible 10 points, mainly due to the fact that in certain angles it does not work convincingly and even a little awkwardly. Mulc called it an American hot dog, which is not such a wrong assessment. At the same time, I must emphasize that cars that have a cv above 0.25 will never get a higher score than 8 - regardless of the design of the car. This harsh limitation is part of the reality of e-mobility and a necessity for the utility of the vehicle. Rating 7.5/10.

Build quality

In recent years, the quality of cars has often decreased, so I think this category is important. So we can praise producers who are really trying. It's a Ford Mustang e-mach a typical American car, which means that it has all the typical shortcomings of American cars. At first glance, the body is well put together, but some details could be improved. V there was condensation on the rear lights, and the front tailgate only closed with greater force. They were appearing inside occasional screeching noises, and one of the rear shock absorbers could be heard screeching at larger potholes. All these things for a car that showed on the odometer 18,000 kilometers, indicate that the owner should take the car to a service center to correct these problems. Because of these problems on the test car, in this category it receives only rating 6.5/10.

Interior design

The interior contrasts with the organic and fluid exterior quite swedish and conservative. The design of the dashboard and certain details of the car are attractive. However, for a model with the GT designation and almost 500 horses, everyone would have expected some sporty accents inside, but they were somewhat lacking. The steering wheel is the same as the classic one Ford Mustang Mach-E and seems too thin and unsporty. I could compare my feelings with Audi steering wheels from 2014. The dashboard is quite "Scandinavian", which is not bad, but it is a bit boring. There is a commendable amount of space, which is a logical consequence of the Ford Mustang e-mach being an all-electric car, without an internal combustion engine version. The floor is flat and spacious. However, I had trouble finding a comfortable seating position as it sits quite high, in a very SUV-esque way. This is also annoying due to the high position of the driver's center of gravity, which increases the feeling of vibrations and lateral movements. More on that later. The trunk is moderately spacious and allows for storage 402 liters of luggage, which isn't a little, but for a car the size of the Mustang e-mach, it's not a lot. But it has a middle trunk - frunk - 81l. But when we learn that the Tesla Model Y has a trunk with volume 854 liters, we find that Ford missed an opportunity to impress families. The materials are at the level of competition such as the Volkswagen ID.4 or the Tesla Model Y. For all of the above, I rate the interior with a z rating 7/10.

Information system

Information system it is one of the bright points of the car and is quite easy to operate. The car connects well with the smartphone via Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Operating the system is intuitive, as the user quickly gets used to it and finds all the car's settings, i.e. assistance systems and the like. Still, some things are a bit complicated. For example, I could not find an option battery charging limits to 80% only. I had the same problem with the app, so I always charged the car up to 100% at my home charger. Perhaps the difference between "gross" and "net" battery capacity is large enough for Ford to tolerate charging up to 100%. The system is responsive, but worse than the competition.

In the context of the infomatic system, I must especially praise the high-quality sound. Cooperation with Bang & Olufsen has delivered an excellent soundscape that audiophiles will appreciate.

Nevertheless, there are elements that you use with the information system that are not completely clear. For example, selecting the “Active”, “Whisper” and “Untamed” driving modes produces an artificial sound from the speakers that is supposed to simulate the roar of an American V8. This is poorly executed and unnecessary, since it is, after all, an electric vehicle. Personally, I didn't notice a difference in the vehicle settings between these modes, with the exception of artificial sound from the speaker and some graphics. The most annoying thing is that it is not specified what, if anything, changes to the vehicle. Since this was not completely clear to me, and since there are no clear explanations online, I criticize this part of the settings.

Nevertheless, the infomatic system is among the simpler ones and therefore deserves a high rating rating 8/10.

Smart electric car

When evaluating the smart car segment, I take into account the connectivity of the car with the vehicle management application as well as intelligent route planning, including the planning of charging stops. So, is the car really smart and how tall is it electrical IQ. This category is particularly highlighted, as it also includes all options, such as preparing the battery for charging and the like. Ford Mustang Mach-E GT in this area, like most traditional manufacturers, they sin and do not understand the essential problem of e-mobility: the user's anxiety about the expected range of the vehicle. This is practically the only problem in the user experience of an electric car, which is undoubtedly worse compared to a classic car. Ford has not made much progress in this area.

The navigation does find charging points, but from there the process is complicated and unsatisfying, just like with anyone who doesn't drive a Tesla. So I turned to the app PlugShare, which is also very bad. This route planning issue is in dire need of improvement in the future. There is no way to choose a provider for example - as it is Ionity, as a selected network of charging stations for routes to the destination because this is immutable. That's right the phone app itself is very bad, so you can hardly tell if the car is charging. You have to wait for the battery "percentage" to change. There is no clear message that charging has started and when it started. The fact is that the allication was not developed specifically for this car and least of all for e-mobility. I also did not find an option to, for example, start the air conditioning and cool the car remotely. I haven't found an option to limit the car charging speed to extend battery life and such. At least not in an easy way. Of course, a charging limit is possible. However, by binding to a specific location. Anyone can understand. Also, there are no electricity consumption graphs or anything similar in the infomatic system. It's a kind of consumer graphic, but as a car driver I'm not really interested.

Ford it also fails at basic things in the smart car segment, such as unlocking and locking the car. I had to reach out several times by car key, because the car did not unlock automatically. The car must also be turned on and off with the push of a button. Which is bizarre for an electric car in 2023. Namely, most of them wake up when the driver gets behind the wheel of the car.

In any case, I have to praise the "autonomous driving" system of the so-called smart cruise control - it is supposed to be the second level of autonomy, which keeps the direction perfectly and proves to be a top assistant in the vehicle. Even the brakes and other functions are quite "human", which makes people quickly trust it. This system is one of the few bright spots of the vehicle in terms of "smartness". But the autopilot itself is no better than the basic Tesla autopilot without extra charge. This needs to be emphasized, because in my case he did not know how to adjust the speed to "restrictions" and signs. Again, maybe it's my fault because I didn't pay too much attention to the setup.

However, to summarize, Ford Mustang Mach-e  it is, in a sense, a completely classic car, without any pronounced "smartness". It is by no means a computer on wheels, as many claim for electric cars. I'm sorry that they just don't copy solutions that work at Ford. For example, those at Tesla. But they are also bad at copying BMW, as most of the above problems exist on almost all models, including the BMW i7. This is not the only manufacturer, but quite a large majority.

The Ford Mustang e-mach has a short wit, so it gets rating 6/10. Enough to use, but no more than that.

Location on the road

American cars have never been known for exceptional driving dynamics. The classic Ford Mustang, for example, has never been characterized by excessive responsiveness or agility, especially compared to European competition. Otherwise, it drove perfectly in a straight line, but it often showed its weaknesses in corners. S Ford Mustang Mach-e the story continues: it doesn't even drive particularly well in a straight line. Due to the extremely high position of the driver's seat, the driver's head is well above the level of the road, which, together with the strange oscillations coming from the car's chassis, causes the sensation of head rocking back and forth. The feeling is similar to driving a pick-up truck with no cargo in the trunk. The car therefore oscillates longitudinally and otherwise does not lean excessively even in corners. This is not drastically disturbing, but it is definitely quite unsporty and more reminiscent of driving Damages EnyaQ, than a car that can carry 500 mustangs on the road.

Despite the fact that they are Brembo brakes usually excellent, in this case I can only scold them, as they need a lot of getting used to. I haven't encountered such a distinctly responsive brake for a long time, so it's very difficult to brake gently. Almost 500 horsepower and the GT model quickly takes control in all driving modes, without the option of limiting power. I would not recommend this car for a female driver, although she is otherwise a great driver, especially not in wet weather as it only takes a little carelessness to make the car jump out of control.

I also have to fault the single-pedal ride setup, which has no more adjustment options. And it works pretty rough. However, you get used to the management relatively quickly. Also, the dosing of "gas" is quite jerky with minimal movements in the parking lot. So all in all it is not satisfactory and could be better.

Acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds it's crazy fast for a car that weighs 2,350 kilograms, of which approx 485 kilograms represents the weight of the battery. This is almost the same as the Ford Ranger Raptor, except that the Mustang is a family crossover or SUV. And that's certainly one of the reasons why it drives relatively poorly, especially compared to the Tesla Model Y Long Range, which weighs just 2,000 kilograms. More comparisons can be found at this link… https://insideevs.com/news/666124/2023-ford-mache-tesla-modely-comparison/

It should be noted that this Mustang will not tow a large trailer. Only those up to 750 kilograms.

I rate the driving dynamics of the Ford Mustang e-mach with 6 out of 10 points. That's still a good rating based on what I've experienced in practice. But I have to admit that due to the weight of the car, I didn't drive too much into corners or look for limits. The car simply does not invite you to do this. Rating 6/10.

Drive

Ford Mustang Mach-e, designated as GT, it boasts a 487 "horses", or 358 kW of power, which are transported to the road 860 NM of torque, thankfully to all four wheels – AWD. The car reaches a mere 100 km/h 3.8 seconds and continues all the way to electronically limited 200 km/h. Personally, I would like the top speed to reach a kilometer or so more. Realistically, this car does 400 kilometers on the combined cycle during the summer months, or about 320 highway kilometers. On the highway, the consumption will not be below 25 kWh at 100 km/h. I'm talking about a speed just below the 130 km/h limit. If you choose a braver pace, it is 30 kWh the reality of consumption itself, taking into account temperatures of around 20 degrees. I'm talking about classic highway driving, when we exceed 130 km/h here and there for a short time.

The car faces two challenges: weight and aerodynamics that prevent it from achieving better results. On a 1,000-kilometer test circuit, half of which was done on the highway and the other half on regional roads, the car at a temperature of 25°C consumed an average of 22-23 kWh per 100 kilometers. Without the heat pump, the consumption would be below 10°C grew by a good third. This means that this car could use 30 kWh and more in winter temperatures. This is unacceptable and once again highlights the fact that manufacturers should not be supplying cars to the market under any circumstances without heat pump technology. Namely, this greatly affects the comparable usability of the car in all seasons. In a native way. Reduces range by about 1/3. Ford is not the only one at fault here. VW and the rest are also capable of supplying the car without a heat pump, although this is practically the only mandatory equipment of an electric car. Even the Mercedes Benz EQS does not have a heat pump as standard. Or rather, it was not installed in all cars until some time ago. But hand on heart - a heat pump is a necessity of emobility. For these reasons, the Ford Mustang GT e-mach receives 6 points out of 10 possible. Any car without a heat pump, which is the basis of our tests, regardless of everything else, cannot receive more than 6 points.

Battery, charging

The car's battery is huge, with a nominal capacity of 98.7 kWh, of which 88 kWh is usable capacity. The charging architecture is 400V, and the battery is based on lithium-ion technology. In the test, we recorded a maximum charging speed of 150 kWh with a half-full battery, which is a good result. Even more impressive was the charging curve, which maintained a satisfactory charging pace all the way up to the 80% battery charge. The car charged from 50 to 80% in 19 minutes, adding 28 kWh. Thus, at least at ideal temperatures of around 23°C, the car charges relatively quickly and without problems. With such a car, such values and such battery capacity, I would like to charge it with at least 200 kWh.

Since we haven't tested the car in winter, I can't assess the battery's ability to charge in colder temperatures. So in an ideal scenario, it works out well. However, since the car does not have a heat pump and at least a clear "button" to prepare the battery for fast charging, I expect it to be quite average in this area. The annoying thing about fast charging is that the charging of the vehicle really slows down when the battery reaches 80% of charge, to just over 15 kWh. This could mean that it would take as much as 2 hours to charge the remainder. This is the first time that the charging speed has dropped so drastically against the 100%, usually the numbers here are around 25kWh. When you cover 1000 or more kilometers with your car on the highway, you would like to have the possibility to charge the vehicle up to 100% with a "relatively" fast mode due to the relatively poor infrastructure. And maybe make a longer stage. This is not possible with the Mustang e-mach.

The battery gets a good rating mainly because of its size, so it is rating 7 actually good and generous. Vehicles from manufacturers such as Audi or BMW with a huge battery would also get a similar rating. Better battery management and faster charging are missing. Thus, in this field, Ford is somewhere in the gray average among other manufacturers.

The first car in the family

Right now, our family is on the hunt for a new electric car, and the Ford Mustang e-mach is one that, based on the numbers on paper, would definitely make the top six when compiling a list of eligible candidates. Also because of the iconic look. My primary gripe is its relatively small boot space for an electric car, although I do praise the fact that the front boot – frunk – holds 81 litres. The large battery makes it useful, but the lack of a heat pump and the resulting greatly reduced range in the winter nullify this. Since the car has to be useful even on trips that exceed 1,000 kilometers, and these are not few in our family, it bothers me that it does not charge faster, or at least as fast as the fastest in the industry.

I'm also worried that I don't know if the car can prepare the battery for fast charging. The information on the Internet is vague, and I also did not find any special function in the infotainment system of the car. Therefore, I conclude that this is not possible. Additionally, the car wobbles oddly, causing our otherwise untroubled child to have a bout of nausea or two during the days we tested it. This is also why I am lowering the rating of the car to 7 out of 10 points.

Value for money

In America, the Ford Mustang Mach-e is directly compared to the Tesla Y. This means that Ford has determined that they cannot be more expensive than the Tesla Y. So the entry-level Ford Mustang e-mach in the US is about $42,000, which is similar like the Tesla Y. The problem arises in Slovenia, where the entry-level model that I can find on the avto.net website or at the dealer is 54,000 euros, while the "comparable" Tesla Y is around 47,000 euros.

Even in Europe, in my opinion, the price should be more balanced in order for the car to attract buyers. I'm talking about the test car, the "listed price" of which was exactly 96,870 euros, but I didn't find the car more generously equipped compared to the standard Tesla Y Performance - that is, in the basic equipment. The GT model somehow fits in this price range. However, it is true that in Slovenia - the country where I come from - you can get this car on sale for around 72,000 euros with discounts. Still, I don't think this price is fair. This very Ford Mustang GT e-mach, would be competitive only with a price of around 60,000 euros. So a few thousand euros below the Tesla Y Performance model. The price would "nullify" some of its minuses and make it competitive with the Tesla Y. At that time and at this price, I would consider buying it. And even overlooked all his minuses.

So my rating - value for money - 6 out of 10 possible points.

Rating - Ford Mustang GT Mach-e

The Ford Mustang GT Mach-e is exactly like its fossil-fuel sibling: attractive to look at, but the feeling about it remains quite mixed. This means that I personally have a hard time calling it a good electric car. If Ford included a heat pump, improved navigation for electric vehicles, updated the mobile app and added some key functionality, and of course lowered the European price to Tesla Model Y levels, it could even put the car on the list of serious contenders. Unfortunately, I can't recommend it, even though I like it in a way. The Ford Mustang e-mach kind of left me cold and a little angry at the manufacturer for missing an opportunity to seriously shut down Tesla. The latter makes boringly good electric cars. And it would be time for someone to step on their toes.

If I were to rate the Ford Mustang GT Mach-e solely on the emotions it evokes in me, I'd easily give it a 7.5 out of 100. So, it will have to earn that rating with improvements in the future. But among all the models, it is definitely the most competitive and interesting entry-level model with a selling price of around 50,000 euros, which competes strongly with other European competitors (on the link). I myself would choose the one that has most of the equipment of the test vehicle and a smaller engine. The price is conditionally speaking - favorable and competitive, for example - Renault Megan e-tech.