Zander Drives Cars

In 2016, the world’s biggest question was “Trump vs. Clinton.” In 2023, however, the world’s biggest question is “is the Ford Mustang Mach-E a real Mustang?” Well, as much as I’d love to answer that question here, it would add an extra 6,000 words to do so. So, I’ll give my full thoughts on that sometime later. For now, whether you think the Mach-E is a ‘stang or not, let’s take a look at the electric horse? No, that sounds like something you’d get an ad for in the New York Post. Wait, I got it: let’s take a look at the regular Mustang’s electric stablemate. There are going to be a lot of horse puns in this.

The Mach-E (get used to me calling it that for civility’s sake), is a 5-door crossover! Yes, but reign it in with your complaining before you stirrup trouble. This might be because of my above 6-foot height but this car isn’t huge. It is like the opposite of how the Hyundai IONIQ 5 looks in real life. It is deceptively low. Think of this as a car the size of an Escape that got carelessly squatted a few inches. Hay, it isn’t at sedan height, but this thing doesn’t ride high.

The Mach-E’s interior tries very hard to be funky-premium-electric, and in some ways, it does accomplish that. For one, the suede material on the seats and dash is very nice to run your fingers along and does look nice compared to other materials in the car, plus the weird diamond-like pattern on the dash is a great visual texture contrast to the rest of the car. That being said, some of the materials on the door and lower parts of the dashboard feel very barn-like. Is that a horse pun? Who knows. What I do know is that like a lot of EVs, the rear legroom is pretty good, but the huge sports seats in front do chop off a couple inches on your knees. So if you’re very, very tall and see yourself sitting in the back of a Mach-E, steer clear of the GT.

The Mach-E comes with Ford’s signature vertical Sync system which, like this car’s name, has had mixed reactions from consumers. Some claim that its portrait style is easier to use as it mimics your phone display and doesn’t have you reach as far to find functions. Others say that it looks weird and the functionality is neigh. I think that compared to something like the Explorer, this screen works better as it is much larger, and therefore I don’t think it’s all that bad. The recent over-the-air update to make this center scroll wheel work as volume controls help this screen tremendously. And while I foolishly forgot to snag a picture of the backup camera, the layout doesn’t make it laughably small. Otherwise, Ford’s Sync system is not super difficult to use, and everything is there for you where you need it without having to endlessly scroll through menus.

One of the main drawbacks that the Mach-E has is its lack of a customizable driver’s display. Actually, if we want to get broader, it’s the lack of a good driver’s display. See, the screen this car has is a small horizontal strip that has just enough space to show battery life and speed. I get why they did it, the screen is easy to see as its small size makes it hard for the steering wheel to block it, but not being able to have a space to readily see what media is playing or where you’re going is a bit annoying. But hay, at least it’s better than the Model Y’s no driver’s screen.

As for equipment, the Mach-E has about everything you’d expect to be competitive in this space. You get heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, USB-A/C ports, wireless charging, a B&O sound system, adaptive cruise control, Bluetooth, CarPlay, Android Auto, a handsfree system, available Blue Cruise partially autonomous driving, a blind spot monitoring system, lane-keep assist, forward collision warning, a 360-degree camera, and best of all, the optional Performance Pack.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is powered by a 91 kWh battery that produces 480 hp and 634 ft-lbs of torque and sends that power to all four wheels. This 4900 lb crossover goes from 0-60 in galloping 3.5 seconds, which for all intensive purposes is absolutely insane, regardless of your opinion on the car. The range is a bit of an issue as with this Performance Pacl, you only get 260 miles, compared to the roughly 300 miles of the ID4 and the over 300-mile range of the Model Y. But, I’ll always be more lenient towards EVs with bad range if they’re fun to drive, and damnit this thing is.

In corners, this car feel absurdly planted and I never once felt like any part of the car was about to fly off the road. The steering feel in Unbridled Mode is very heavy and makes you work for the direction you want to go. I will say that the 0-40 sprint is blistering, but 40-60 houses a noticeable power decrease, which is odd because this thing could probably hit an even lower number if all useable power was… well… used. I do have to say, while I haven’t driven the ID4, this thing is far more comfortable than a Model Y. The seats and ride are much, much better.

For what it’s worth, the Mach-E is a very impressive car. For one, it is a fun crossover which is a crazy thing to a lot of people, and two, when you’re not being an irresponsible idiot, it is a great car to drive like a normal person. But, the lack of a competitive range and some missing features like ventilated seats and a good driver’s display screen make it slightly less awesome than it could be. Is this car perfect? Neigh. Is it still a very fun option if you’re looking for a driver’s EV? In the words of a horse that can speak English” Yes.”

Huge thank you to Craig and Elliot at Plaza Ford for letting me come down and drive the Mach-E. They’re a great dealership to work with and they always let me drive the really fun stuff. They also have a great inventory of new Ford vehicles that not a lot of other dealers have, so go check their website out here.