Ford Mustang Mach-E EV Preview

On Saturday, October 24, I had a chance to preview the Mustang Mach-E at Haldeman Ford in East Windsor, NJ. Ford has a bunch of pre-production models touring the country to allow current reservation holders and potential customers the opportunity to check them out prior to demos being available at some point later this year. They had 2 cars available to view, one an all-black Premium AWD model and one a medium blue model - not sure of the trim level.

First, a couple of general comments. The gentleman showing me the car said he was the 'lead' for the Mach-E at this dealership, but didn't know when they would have a demo in. He also was unsure of the charging standard that the Mach-E uses (appears to be J1772). He did advise that they would have a 'service' loaner Mach-E 'soon' and that I could bring my current car in for an oil change and ask for that as a loaner - that's how I could get a test drive.... When I asked about the range of this particular model he didn't really answer but talked about the extended range battery available for about $5,000 more (it's estimated at 270 miles with extended battery and AWD). So, typical dealer nonsense - I mean, you KNOW you're getting 2 of these new vehicles in for people to check out - and there WERE quite a few people there - but your lead guy doesn't know the specs inside and out? 

Anyway, on to the car. Overall, I was very impressed with the vehicle. Size-wise, it seems a little smaller than the Model Y - especially in the storage, both trunk and frunk - and the interior seems a little more crowded. More on par with the Polestar 2 than the MY. (See me Polestart 2 test drive here) The black car had a black and ivory interior that was very attractive, and the dash - which is mostly one long soundbar - had a small display in front of the driver, about 2 inches tall and 9 inches wide - for various functions. Kind of reminded me of the horizontal speedometers from '60's cars. Very nice and doesn't block the exterior view at all. Also mounted on the dash is a large portrait-oriented touchscreen with a large knob in the middle bottom. The knob can be used to scroll through menus or adjust radio volume. Probably more functions as well. I did find that the screen was almost too vertically mounted - a few degrees of tilt might have made it a bit easier to use, although perhaps it is mounted like that to avoid reflections in the windshield. 

The seats were very comfortable and the legroom in the rear was sufficient. This particular car had a panoramic glass roof (fixed) that is part of the Premium trim level. Like the Model Y, I wonder about the heat coming through them in a New Jersey summer and making the A/C work that much harder thus negatively impacting range. There are aftermarket solutions for the MY (tinting and headliners) that I assume will also be available for the Mach-E. But polarized or not, my experience with the panoramic sunroof in our MINI Cooper makes me wish for a more conventional roof with maybe a smaller sunroof option on both cars. The Ford has a higher cowl than they Model Y, and the Model Y feels more roomy inside. It's a difference of 'airiness' in the MY and 'cocoon' in the Mach-E. The Model Y is something different from the norm; the Mach-E could be an ICE vehicle inside. The gear selection duties are handled by the same style of rotary knob on the console that exists in other Ford products.

Styling-wise, the Mach-E is definitely Mustang-like, from the front end to the pair of triple-vertical taillights. It's not bad looking by any means, but this tie to the Mustang brand doesn't really make sense to me. Obviously, someone deep in the Ford marketing department feels like this will be attractive to consumers looking for a medium-sized CUV (along with the incessant harping on 0-60 times, also echoed by the salesman). But I think they would have been better served to market it as an all-new vehicle not tied to ancient Mustang technology. Just another example of legacy automakers unwilling to let go of ICE marketing schemes. But the car looks very good, especially in black.

In terms of storage space, the Mach-E definitely has less than the Model Y, although we don't have numbers to prove it yet. The height of the trunk floor is more mid-thigh than knee height, and the under-trunk storage is shorter in depth. There are no side storage areas either. The frunk is smaller (the pictures show a probably-optional cargo management add-on) and not as deep. The MY benefits from a slightly longer length and width for more storage space, even though the wheelbase is about 3 inches less. I'm thinking that the packaging of the MY must be a little better than the Ford, as the Mach-E's higher cowl implies more space up front but doesn't deliver. But until we see some head-to-head comparisons we won't really know for sure. I haven't seen any interior passengers specs yet, to match up to the Tesla's but I suspect that the heavily styled Mach-E interior will have less volume - it certainly feels it.

Quality is one area where a number of folks are assuming that the Mach-E will be better then the Model Y. That's more a function of the hit-or-miss nature of the MY's panel gaps and alignment, paint quality and interior smudges, etc., than any inherent superiority of Ford quality, in my experience. The panel gaps and alignment looked ok on this car, but being that it was a pre-production vehicle, I didn't spend a lot of time looking for issues. I will say the front seats were comfortable but unless I was able to try the MY and Mach-E's seats back-to-back, it's hard to say whose are better.

As far as charging, the Mach-E comes with both 110v and 240v cables, and as noted above, appears to use the J1772 standard for fast charging. I did ask if there was any sort of free charging available, similar to what VW offers for the ID.4 and Lucid with their new Air (3 year free charging at Electrify America stations). The answer was, you can charge for free at the dealership from which you purchased the car. This dealership was 12 miles from my home, so not particularly useful. Maybe this will change.

So, the bottom-line is that the Mach-E appears to be a good competitor to the Model Y, especially for those that think the 'Mustang' moniker means something and like Ford products. I will definitely try to drive one when demos are available and see how it feels. When it comes to new BEV's, especially from legacy manufacturers, the more the better.

Let's Talk About Range Anxiety

 R  A  N  G  E    A  N  X  I  E  T  Y  !

It's a real thing for many would-be (and, I suspect, current) owners of electric cars. The idea that you can be caught in the middle of nowhere while your charge level drops and drops, with no charger in site! And if you do coast into a charging station on 'fumes' (not sure what the electric equivalent of that is - suggestions?) only to find it filled, broken or - horrors! - ICE'd by some Neanderthal in a lifted pickup truck.... What now?! 

I also have had this concern as I contemplate buying a Tesla Model Y. Although I live in an area that is pretty saturated with charging stations, and most of my road trips involve I-95, which has plenty of Supercharging options, it's still a concern, simply because there are gas stations everywhere but charging options are so limited.... Right?

Well, in thinking about this issue, I've come to some conclusions.....

First, I've had range anxiety in my ICE vehicles plenty of times. Crossing the GW Bridge on a return trip from Cape Cod, with gas below a quarter of a tank and anxiously monitoring the 'Range' function on the trip computer.... I was stuck in traffic approaching the Holland Tunnel leaving NYC in July, with a quarter tank, and I sat for literally 30 minutes in the same place and wondered if I should have filled up before I drove into the city.... And the flip side is, there have been plenty of times when I've stopped to fill up with a half tank, knowing I had a trip coming up the next day - even one that I know would only take a quarter of a tank. So range anxiety is real for ICE vehicles too! 

Of course, the accessibility and frequency of of gas stations IS more than the charging network now, especially if you have a non-Tesla and cannot access the Supercharger network. (The SC network is limited to Tesla vehicles, but a Tesla can also use any other charger if you have an adapter). And you can't get full range in an EV with a 10-minute fill-up of gas. That is true - right now. But you CAN get a significant range increase in 30 minutes with many EV's, and frankly, aren't we in a bit too much of a hurry some times? I expect as battery technology improves you'll be able to get much more range in much less time, fairly soon. 

Second, when I take a road trip in my 2014 Mazda CX-5 SUV, our current road trip car, I can get 300 miles on a tank of gas - and maybe a little more if I'm willing to be a little anxious about fuel level.... So say 320 miles with no traffic, no headwind, etc. A Tesla Model Y Long Range is rated at 326 miles on a full charge, which translates to probably 280-285 miles real-world. So we're not talking about a lot more range in my Mazda than in a Model Y. At 65 miles an hour average, we're talking about the difference between around 5 hours and 4 1/3 hours. So not much difference - driving to Florida from NJ, for example, means maybe another 2 hours time difference, accounting for charging time. Both cars would take a little over 3 stops (in my Mazda or a rental car, we would typically make 3 stops - 2 for gas, one for lunch/gas) and roll into St Augustine very low on gas. I would probably make an additional stop with the Model Y, just to not roll into town low on electrons. And there are plenty of Supercharger stations along I95, so finding fuel isn't an issue. 

Third, I rarely drive more than 60 miles a day in my current job as a Realtor. I looked back over my mileage logs from the past three years, and the most I ever did in one day was 174 miles; only 4 other times in three years, did I do 100 miles or greater. So no issues with my normal driving, especially if I have charging capability at home - which I will.

Finally, I've been watching some YouTube videos about Tesla road trips - some with towing a trailer, which REALLY affects range (as it does with an ICE vehicle). And I've come to the conclusion that I could spend too much time worrying about range and not enough enjoying the ride. There is one video series where a guy (Brandon Flasch, the EV Nomad) has an old Model S 70D with a limited range (under 200 miles) and he took trips from Minneapolis to Phoenix via different routes, and had no issues stopping every couple of hours to charge (sometimes short stops, sometimes longer, depending on the next leg of his trip to the next Supercharger). He enjoyed the trip, got lots of bathroom breaks (important to me at my age!) and didn't worry about having to be anywhere at a specific time. And isn't that the point of a road trip?