Ford Mustang Mach-e: review and impressions from who really has it | Video

For the review of Ford Mustang Mach-e we have chosen a choral approach: the opportunity to test the RWD Extended Range version, rear-wheel drive with single engine and more battery; capacious , yes & egrave; intersected with the recent delivery of the same model ordered by our Stefano who, as owner has compiled a first list of & quot; promoted and postponed & quot; and will allow us to then to follow this car over the years by analyzing coupons, maintenance and software updates that could improve its autonomy and functions.

• COCKPIT AND TRUNK
• INFOTAINMENT AND ADAS TEST
• BATTERY AND CHARGING
• ROAD TEST RWD EXTENDED RANGE
• REAL CONSUMPTION AND AUTONOMY
• PROMOTED AND SNAPPED (BY STEFANO)
• PRICE AND PROMOTIONS
• VIDEO

COCKPIT AND TRUNK

Gi & agrave; analyzed during the first contact on the track, Mach-e offers a spacious passenger compartment where comfort for rear passengers is; ensured by the long wheelbase son of the dedicated platform. Stefano also immediately noticed the advantages of the electric car floor in terms of habitability: flat floor, space for the fifth passenger, air conditioning vents and USB sockets (one traditional and one USB-C): c & # 39; & egrave; everything .

The roof cut, which winks at the world of SUV coup & eacute ;, reduces the vertical space for passengers more & ugrave; high, but this does not mean proposing a habitability & agrave; limited: & egrave; It is true that there are other electric crossovers that manage to maximize the light in height, but in general the electric Mustang is; however very generous.

The trunk undergoes the style of the bodywork and is not the most absolutely spacious, but offers 402 liters which become 1,420 liters by folding down the seats. To this volume is added the & quot; frunk & quot; (from front trunk, front trunk): unfortunately & egrave; still present the traditional manual release lever for the hood that limits a little versatility; and risks getting more dirty; hands easily than Tesla's system. There are 81 liters divided by a standard and removable divider.

The quality & agrave; passenger compartment & egrave; good, we note the particular attention reserved by Ford for this model that embodies the will & agrave; to grow in category. We do not find the classic elements shared by other Fords, and this is; a first signal. Also, there is a greater variety; of materials and, while lacking the typical finishes of the luxury world, the leap towards the top is perceptible.

To access by car there is the numeric keypad which is very convenient in terms of key dematerialization: via the FordPass app you can & ograve; use your smartphone and leave the remote control at home but, compared to other models, the tactile area on the central pillar allows you to deal with any problem related to loss or loss of the phone.

The anti-crushing pistons are also additional safety for everyone: they are activated immediately after pressing the keyless button and protect the fingers when opening the doors.

INFOTAINMENT AND ADAS

Mustang Mach-e reaches Level 2 of the guide ( semi) autonomous . At its full potential, Ford's electric crossover can & ograve; autonomously manage the accelerator, steering and brake even in slow and traffic jam situations (such as & quot; Traffic Jam Assist & quot;). On the motorway it is excellent, always punctual in assisting to bring us back into the lane or to keep us in the center.

They exist for & ograve; some situations in which the steering wheel highlights what is then & egrave; the behavior of the steering actuator: many (too many?) multiple small corrections in situations where the speed & egrave; reduced or when the curves become more & ugrave; marked. The Germans and Tesla have more management. fluid and predictive.

BATTERY AND CHARGING

For recharging there are the classic options: AC up to 11 kW three-phase, DC up to 150 kW (45 minutes from 10% to 80%). The subscription to the reduced rate of IONITY is; free for the first year and allows you to pay only 0.33 & euro;/kWh instead of 0.79 & euro; of the basic rate according to consumption.

Ford allows you to use 88 kWh net against a 98.7 kWh gross package . Between the capacity usable by the user and that of the accumulators, the delta of almost 11 kWh & egrave; of the important ones. On the one hand, there are many manufacturers who have decided to keep a margin to unlock in the event of a loss of performance, on the other the reference in the sector, Tesla, has shown that it is able to better manage the cells because it offers an almost identical net worth to gross.

Here we enter the field of hypotheses, but the choice of Ford can be; be read as conservative or evolutionary . In the first case the hypothesis is that of a & quot; ability & agrave; bearing & quot; important that it will ensure; to the user its 88 kWh net even after several years of use, gradually unlocking portions of that “ reserve '' from 11 kWh. In the second case, however, we could hypothesize an increase in autonomy as the battery management system (BMS) becomes; more sophisticated with software updates.

HOW DO YOU GO? ROAD TEST

Used to electric with the double engine and fresh from various tests with similar cars (Model 3 LR, Model Y LR, Kia EV6 with all-wheel drive and so on), the rear-wheel drive Mach-E is inevitably less brilliant. The first impression with the AWD is; was positive because & eacute; the electric Mustang, with the two engines, & egrave; able to entertain also for the management of the distribution that favors the rear axle, thus ensuring power to sell in acceleration and that rebellious effect when cornering.

Mach-E RWD Extended Range & egrave; instead pi & ugrave; progressive in acceleration, more sweet in discharging its power to the ground but absolutely performing because & eacute; sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in a respectable time of just over; of 6 seconds. Those arriving by a petrol or diesel car, therefore, will not stay not disappointed with this performance.

On a dynamic level we run into the usual dilemma: can it & ograve; a 2.2-ton SUV be interesting to drive? The electric proved to us that it is possible, both because & eacute; the center of gravity & egrave; very low, both because & eacute; crossover setups today are much more; refined of the SUV driving to which it can & ograve; be used to those who bought a high wheel twenty years ago.

The most important thing; interesting of Mach-e & egrave; the unique character , the signature that Ford & egrave; managed to give this model. Mustang in name and in fact, because & eacute; that tendency towards more driving dirty and less precise cornering c & # 39; & egrave; all. The sensations are those even if the session is; more high.

Tesla Model Y & egrave; more sharpened steering and the chassis with the unique fusion has an extra gear; in terms of stiffness, BMW iX & egrave; precise and comfortable, like a true flagship, but it doesn't tempt us to look for a sporty drive, much less dirty. IONIQ 5 & egrave; more a traditional SUV: comfortable in absorption but prone to roll. Kia EV6 stiffens more than its Korean sister but does not have the character of the Mach-e, & egrave; more neutral and in some ways more & ugrave; “boring”.

In short, Mustang Mach-e can & ograve; be less accurate than some of its competitors but it does not lack character, it is not; boring and leaves us room to lose the rear when cornering by delaying the electronic controls: that fun within everyone's reach and staying safe.

Compared to the American competitor, Mach- & egrave; earn more in setup soft that makes the difference for the passengers and manages to filter out the roughness better; of the road . With such a variety of responses to driving, despite being all “ electric SUVs '', there & # 39; & egrave; practically the right car for each of us.

To improve, but I'm waiting for the GT test, the part relating to steering that can & ograve; be slightly more direct and the option of one-pedal guide . On Mach-e & egrave; done well, you can & ograve; actually giving up the brake pedal but lacking the perfection that I find in the Tesla and Nissan world, plus & ugrave; progressive towards the final part of the braking thanks to a curve that intensifies the regeneration arriving more and more; incisive at the stop.

Subtleties from those who have tried them all, mind you, for & ograve; if with the top of the market I am forced to use the brake only in 5% of cases, with the Mach-e I have to use it more; often at parity; driving and conditions.

REAL CONSUMPTION AND AUTONOMY

In addition to the comparison table with real consumption in the BrianzaRing (here all the details on how the test works), in this review we can add another data thanks to the experience of Stefano who reported, from the purchase, a general average of 18 kWh/100 km.

With such a result you get almost 490 kilometers of range with one charge in a use that includes the highway as a marginal element.

The reliefs after the toll booth show at least 24 kWh/100 km at 120 per hour, with peaks of 25-26 kWh/100 km when the load increases. At 130 km/h we find ourselves with 350 kilometers of real autonomy between a fast recharge and the other, using the Mach-e in a travel context in which we drive exactly as we were used to with our diesel or petrol.

MUSTANG MACH-E: PROMOTED AND POSTPONED

After two months of use, the judgment on a new car cannot be done. be definitive, even less if the (definitive?) transition from endothermic to electric is sanctioned with this car. Mustang Mach-e & egrave; the first electric of my life. And the first electric, you know, is never forgotten. For better or for worse.

Definitive judgments, it was said, cannot be given, but & egrave; equally true that a pretty clear idea about this that I feel like promoting and rejecting – postponing, perhaps it would be more; correct to say – I have it. Also because & eacute; the wait is been stretched by the pandemic and the chip crisis, and I've had plenty of time to set certain expectations. What, then, are the aspects that convinced me? Which ones have even surprised me? And what promises have (for now) been broken?

NOTE: the model in my possession is; the 98.8kWh Extended Range RWD with a range of 610km according to the WLTP cycle

PROMOTED

• internal dimensions – & egrave; the aspect that surprised me the most. One account & egrave; read the measurements on the brochure, another & egrave; experience the Mach-e from within. There are 5 of us in the family, so the space is; a fundamental parameter. Having bought it in a closed box – based solely on renderings, photos and previews, but without having seen it live – the risk is; was big, but for this reason I was amazed by how generous the internal volumes are.
  From the outside you do not fully realize it, but once you open the door you enter an environment with totally revolutionized balances compared to an endothermic car of the same segment. For passengers sitting at the rear, the absence of the central tunnel strongly affects – an element that guarantees comfort; even to three people, including the one in the middle. And the long wheelbase allows for plenty of legroom, even when the driver's seat is; completely set back.
• driving pleasure – who said an electric car is boring to drive? Seeing is believing: Mach-e offers three different driving styles – Whisper, Active and Untamed – each of which returns different emotions, from relaxed to sporty. Until now, no car has allowed me to feel this way. at ease behind the wheel, I immediately felt it was sewn on me. The exclamation point is; the one pedal drive: I set it out of curiosity; just got out of the dealership and never have it again deactivated.
• consumption on urban and extra-urban roads – here I would like to be little theoretical and very practical, reporting my experience. By consulting the on-board computer, in the approximately 3,000km traveled so far I have consumed an average of 18kWh/100km, or 5.56km/kWh. On average, in fact, between motorways, state roads (including some trips to the mountains) and city traffic. Translated, from the 610km & quot; promised & quot; from Ford with 100% charge I found an effective range of 544km.
  In general I consider myself more; that satisfied, considering that for a Reggio Emilia-Bologna round trip along the Via Emilia I have extremely low consumption (and below the average), with the battery that drops by about 25 percentage points to cover a total distance of 140km (70 go , 70 come back).

RIM GONE

• SYNC 4 still immature with poorly optimized use of space – the mega tablet in the center of the cockpit is simply gorgeous, & egrave; the reference point for everything from infotainment to car data. It also supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, allowing you to quickly and easily access all functions. I do not therefore criticize the latest interaction of Ford, which with SYNC 4 made a huge step forward compared to the previous generation, but rather the management of the spaces on the screen, not very optimized. According to the different modalities in some cases some empty areas remain, which would be decidedly more; useful if they were filled with other information. In short, we are confident that with future updates, unedited functions may arrive, but also more management; smart of the huge space that Ford has made available on the tablet.
• consumption on the motorway – I do not give the responsibility to Ford, & egrave; a generalized problem of electric cars which, like it or not, like to drive along city or suburban roads and, on the other hand, do not tolerate motorway sections when the speed is slow; increases. And with the speed consumption also increased, and not a little. The same journey RE-BO-RE on the A1 requires me 35% of battery, and without even reaching the fixed 130km/h. In short, on the motorway you have to measure the pressure on the accelerator well, maintaining a speed; moderate that allows the battery not to run out too quickly.
• ventilation system – s & igrave ;, & egrave; postponed, because & eacute; to date I have not yet found a balance that allows me to maximize comfort on board. And the settings for airflow management require too many maneuvers on the tablet, risking to distract attention from driving. I would perhaps have preferred a more advanced system; traditional (after all also the volume wheel & quot; physical & quot; to facilitate interaction). Tesla has a similar solution, but on his side he has the fact that the direction of the air flows is also managed in a modal way. touch. On my car the operation is doubled: first go to the tablet, then manually you have to adjust the vents.

PRICE AND PROMOTIONS

Waiting for new incentives, Mustang Mach-E & egrave; offered at a slightly discounted price list thanks to ongoing promotions: the basic version costs 49.900 & euro; but is offered starting from 48,680 & euro; , different figures than those that lowered the price by at least 10,000 & euro; with scrapping and incentives.

Below, then, the list prices that must then be adapted according to when you read this sheet and which national or local bonuses will be in effect:

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MUSTANG MACH-E ONLINE CONFIGURATOR

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