Living with the Ford Mustang Mach-E: Long-term review

2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E long term review

JUMP AHEAD

• Part 1: Welcome
• Part 2: WTF: What's that Ford?
• Part 3: A pony by any other name...
• Part 4: I think, therefore I am (puzzled)
• Part 5: Big Mach heads back

16

Welcome

• Model: Ford Mustang Mach-E
• Price as tested: $89,990 + on-road costs
• This month: 1100km

I have a feeling that this one might be a bit controversial. There just don’t seem to be too many fence-sitters when it comes to the Mexican-built Mustang Mach-E and that largely comes down to the idea of the car rather than the nuts and bolts of it.

I have to say that I don’t really buy into the Mustang branding. The Mach-E feels as if it has more in common with a latter-day interpretation of a Mondeo than a Mustang. It’s not cheap either. This single-motor Mach-E Premium was, at launch, lineball with the dual motor Tesla Model Y Performance, both wearing a c.$91K price tag.

That’s until Ford backtracked and slashed almost five grand off the asking price to make it a little more palatable to Aussie buyers who’d thrown their hands up in horror.

16

Thankfully it now comes in below the Luxury Car Tax threshold and is eligible for Fringe Benefits Tax exemption when bought on a novated lease. That’s a good deal smarter.

The ‘original’ asking price was a backtrack in and of itself. Back in 2022, Ford’s CFO John Lawler said that rising commodity costs had wiped out the profit expected on the Mach-E. It was profitable at launch in late 2020, then lithium prices went up by 144 percent and the whole project went into the red.

The price of the Mach-E shot up and, you’d have to say, the whole project looked emblematic of a huge company blundering into a rapidly moving market it hasn’t really got a firm handle on.

16

So it’s fair to say that this car has had a tough genesis and it would probably be understandable had the Mach-E proved to be a bad vehicle. But it’s clearly not.

Aussie-spec cars have been garnering cautiously decent reviews and in order to wrap my head around this intriguing vehicle, I figured that spending three months with one would give me the time to form an informed opinion to deliver to you, dear readers.

The child in me would certainly have opted for the top-spec dual-motor GT model, a car that at least delivers straight-line performance worthy of the Mustang branding, but given my unerring talent for running out of juice in electric cars, I figured it was probably a wiser decision to go for the Premium, the model with an extra 109km of range over the GT.

16

The Mach-E experience takes some keying into.

Yes, I’d do without all-wheel drive, and the performance is brisk rather than properly face-warping, but at least I’d give myself a fighting chance of demonstrating to my partner that there was more to EV ownership than skulking around the bins in the back of a dimly-lit servo at night trying to locate a charger that had long since gone unserviceable.

The Mach-E experience takes some keying into. At first, the cabin seemed a bit sparse, and I still don’t understand why it needs vast B&O door speakers that mean you can’t carry a bottle in the door pockets.

16

Likewise, it’s maddening that the two pads for mobile phones overlap at one corner, which means that you can’t sit two decently sized handsets flat on them.

Then there are the brakes. Whether it’s the handover from re-gen to friction braking or something else altogether, I found the brakes a bit snatchy. To that end, I’ve taken to switching the car into one-pedal driving mode and learning to drive it smoothly like that.

It means your pace will be more leisurely as a result, but I’ve come to enjoy that. I get more range from the car, I drive in a more considered fashion and everything feels agreeably serene. ¿Cómo está la serenidad?, as they might say in Cuautitlán Izcalli.

🔼 Back to top

Update 2: WTF: What's that Ford?

• This month: 1675km @ 16.9kWh/100km
• Overall: 2775km @ 16.4kWh/100km

Utter confusion. That’s been the overwhelming reaction to the Ford Mustang Mach-E from the public at large. I’ve yet to see another on Australian roads, so perhaps that’s understandable. “It’s a... Ford Mustang?” said the clearly befuddled man from the local pizza shop. “But it has four doors. Is it from China?” he asked, as if I’d casually ordered my Ford Mustang from Wish.com.

Driving along the freeway to work in the morning is to witness either furrowed brows of other road users trying to figure out just what it is, the odd thumbs up, occasional cameraphone snapping and, in one instance, a full-bore bit of limiter-banging from a guy in a ‘proper’ Mustang V8.

I can tell them what it is. It’s a very good, but still somewhat expensive, electric crossover and one that’s faced with a formidable competitor set. You have the Polestar 2, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6, the Tesla Model Y and, before too long, the Volkswagen ID.5 all battling for much the same business, and a barrage of new entrants will be cannonballing into that pool very soon. Patchy public recognition doesn’t appear to be something that the Blue Oval can readily afford.

16

What do I love about it? First and foremost, the range. I drive with the air-con operating pretty much at all times and this sees the overall range dip when fully charged, from a theoretical max of 600km to typically 550km. But I’m fine with that. The one-pedal driving mode is marginally more efficient and I’ve become accustomed to using that mode on a daily basis. The throttle tip-in is incredibly nuanced, and in slow traffic, you genuinely have to be aware of whether you are actually stopped or crawling forward millimetre by millimetre.

The one-pedal driving mode is marginally more efficient and I’ve become accustomed to using that mode on a daily basis.

On the other side of the ledger, there’s the fact that in an Aussie summer, a car with a combo of black ‘Sensico’ vinyl seating and a glass roof with no sunblind heats up. Like, seriously heats up, to the extent that I’ve taken to keeping towels in the car to prevent anyone in shorts or summer dresses searing their legs on the seats. Fortunately, the air-con blows cold air instantly, so it’s only an issue when you return to a car that’s been parked in the direct sun.

Then there’s the ride. I’ve been reliably informed that the first batch of Mach-E models to be sold overseas rode like trolley jacks, and that Aussie cars have the more yielding Irish tune to their suspension. I found it still fairly terse though, in a way that would have probably furrowed the brow of the late, great Richard Parry-Jones. Upon closer inspection, the tyre placard showed that when lightly laden, the Mach-E should have 35psi in the front tyres and 41psi in the rears. It was set at 40psi all round. I’ve since adjusted the pressures to a smidge below placard and it now rides a heck of a lot better.

16

The recent rains have opened up a number of potholes around Melbourne and dodging them in the Mach-E keeps you on your toes. Good job it’s a pretty agile thing, despite the 2098kg kerb weight.

I’m enjoying this car. Given its troubled genesis, it’s a vehicle that’s far better than it really has any right to be. No, it’s not perfect, and many will point out that, at 86 grand, there are some compelling alternatives. But in the meantime, I’m enjoying its soothing blend of qualities, its rarity and, yes, the trail of confusion it leaves in its wake.

🔼 Back to top

Update 3: A pony by any other name...

• This month: 1825km @ 16.2kWh/100km
• Overall: 4600km @ 16.3kWh/100km

Every once in a while, I’ll shlep along to the Highball Cars and Coffee meet at Bosch’s plant in Clayton. It’s a great opportunity to see what Melbourne’s magnificent car tragics will bowl up and it’s never boring. Someone will have plumbed a Barra engine into a Porsche or decide that driving six-wheeled army surplus represents a great way of spending Sunday mornings.

Figuring that some of the above might never have clapped eyes on a Mustang Mach-E, I parked the long termer next to a couple of Mustangs, who promptly left the event. Ah well. The Mach-E may have been unwelcome but on the plus side, life with it is rarely dull.

Aside from finding people staring at it in befuddlement most times you return to it, there’s also the fact that you need to be on point while driving it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve glanced right on the freeway at a dawdling overtaker, only to look straight into the lens of a phone’s camera. Therefore bed-head hair, singing to embarrassing music, wearing inadvisable sunglasses or being caught undertaking a nasal excavation project are all activities instantly rendered off-limits.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve glanced right on the freeway at a dawdling overtaker, only to look straight into the lens of a phone’s camera.

16

This is the first electric long termer I’ve taken under my wing and I’d be lying if I was to deny that my weekend circumference of leisure operations hasn’t contracted a little as a result. Those 250km round trips down to Phillip Island have been notable by their absence. With around 550km available from a full charge, they’re theoretically possible, but something still lurks in the back of my mind, wanting to save charge for another day.

Were you to drop $86K on a Mustang Mach-E, of course you’d spend two grand on a wallbox for your home. I haven’t and nor do most of my colleagues, which is why many EV reports from motoring writers are, firstly, obsessed with public chargers and, secondly, tinged with the resentful background hum that suggests the car’s a bit of a drag on their lifestyle.

What would I change about this car? Firstly, I’ve never driven a car that so badly needs seat coolers. That’s down to the glass roof, no sun shade and black vinyl seating. I’d also like a significantly less temperamental operating system, with Ford’s SYNC4 often freezing or failing to boot. To reboot it, hold down the volume toggle on the right spoke of the steering wheel for about 10 seconds while also holding the ‘next track’ button. The wireless charging pad also needs a redesign to fit two decently sized handsets.

16

The drive modes need to be easier to switch on the fly without recourse to touchscreen menus, the DC charging rate could be a little quicker and the price needs another haircut.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot that Ford has got right with the Mach-E and not a lot that’s a deal-breaker. It’s an easy car to get on with, it drives well and it looks good. Such a mild-mannered crossover wears its Mustang branding uncomfortably, but the GT model could be a different kettle of fish. More on that one soon.

🔼 Back to top

Update 4: I think, therefore I am (puzzled)

• This month: 645km @ 16.0kWh/100km
• Overall: 5245km @ 16.2kWh/100km

After some deliberation I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not very good at introspection. This realisation dawned on me after getting riled by coupe SUVs. You know, abominations like BMW X6s and Mercedes-Benz GLEs; those saggy-arsed horrors that blight our roads. It took my partner to point out, rather indelicately, that I was driving a coupe-SUV too.

This was followed by a rambling diatribe on my part about how they’re kind of okay if they’re not sold alongside an SUV ‘proper’. So I didn’t find the Mustang Mach-E offensive, nor the Porsche Macan, nor the Lexus RX. Which, when you pause to think about it, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. So I changed the subject to the safer topic of starlings nesting in our loft insulation instead.

In the interests of a rigorous and scientific approach to road testing, I haven’t cleaned the Mach-E of late. It’s had an interesting effect. Apart from the fact that there’s a faint odour of steak and onion chips inside, the radar cruise control increasingly picks up phantom objects when it’s peering through a thin film of dust. Thankfully, it doesn’t throw on the anchors dramatically while mooching down the freeway, instead decelerating gently as if you’ve driven into wet bitumen.

16

In addition, on dirt roads, it doesn’t take long for a message to flash up on the binnacle that the lane departure and front camera system has had a coma. A dusty road and, it appears, bright sunlight can cause some of the safety systems to wave the white flag.

The Mach-E is a car with a number of interesting quirks. Once in a while the electronic stability control will intervene while negotiating a corner at distinctly modest velocities. Now I’m all for ESC stepping in to save your blushes when it’s absolutely necessary, but the Mach-E will sometimes start graunching at an inside front wheel when bimbling out of a corner at pedestrian speeds.

You’ll hear it rather than feel any perceptible lurch, but it does make you wonder why the ESC algorithm decided it needed to put its cape on and fly to the rescue at that particular moment.

I remain impressed by the Mach- E’s real world range. So reliable is its reach that my partner, who was once firmly of the belief that we couldn’t take an EV down the road to Coles for fear of being stranded at the roadside, has taken to completely ignoring the range readout, taking it for granted that the Ford has the capability to get us where we want to go. Call her a convert.

16

Having driven a number of competitor EVs of late, I’m arriving at the conclusion that perhaps the Mustang Mach-E is short of a genuinely convincing buyer proposition. I’m really enjoying running it and it’s an endearing thing to amble about in, but if I had to construct a simple proposition that would brook no comeback in favour of buying one, I’d struggle.

It’s not the cheapest, nor the best to drive, nor the prettiest, nor the most comfortable, nor the most spacious and nor does it boast the longest warranty. Is it pleasant enough? The fact that these are so rare on our roads may well offer the answer to that particular question. It came flat last in our comparo this month. Yet I still enjoy driving it. There’s a lot to be said for that rarest of things; an EV with little in the way of range anxiety.

🔼 Back to top

Update 5: Big Mach heads back

• This month: 3880km @ 15.8kWh/100km
• Overall: 9125km @ 16.0kWh/100km

Do you drive a ‘best in class’ car? By that, I mean was your everyday driver widely acknowledged as the best car available in its category when you bought it?

I’m prepared to bet that most of you don’t and I love you for that. Wheels’ foundation is built on the mercilessly meritocratic foundation of the comparison test but it remains the case that if everybody’s purchasing decision was purely and absolutely rational, the world would be a wholly monotonous place.

16

Every time you see a quirky and interesting car go the other way down the road, someone walked into a dealership and bought a car that they found interesting or which fit their individual circumstances. I’ve been pondering this behaviour a great deal while running this Ford Mach-E, because it’s a car that I’ve grown very fond of while being able to absolutely accept that, for most, there are many better options available.

I like the fact that for a modern car, it’s refreshingly free from chimes, it doesn’t snatch at the wheel, flash panicked warnings onto the dash over the most minor of things, or get in your face if it doesn’t need to. Flop the rear seats down and it does a reasonable impression of a delivery truck. I even like the way it looks, even if the Mustang branding grates.

It clearly irks others too. I had a guy eye it derisively in my local supermarket carpark and ask me whether I peed sitting down. He didn’t look too thrilled when I asked whether he needed to sit down to think, but many people have opinions about the Mach-E – some good, some bad. I’ve had encounters with a few more polite people who are keen to look over the car, and I’ve had a bloke in a Navara gesticulating at me at a junction, giving the car two thumbs down. I don’t think I’d ever even register if I drove something invisible like a Tesla Model Y.

I had a guy eye it derisively in my local supermarket carpark and ask me whether I peed sitting down.

16

The Mach-E has gained a reputation as a slow seller in the US, and while this was the case, it seems that recent finance incentives have had the effect of tripling demand. So the problem of oversupply has been solved by tapping demand at a lower price point. I still think there’s room for Ford’s Australian arm to do likewise and deliver a yet more compelling value proposition. Seeing some on the roads is still the greatest advert. Pricing it below the likes of the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 and framing it as an EV for those who can’t countenance a Tesla could let the Mach-E find its niche.

Elsewhere this month I have had the indignity of using a public charger. I strive to avoid these where possible as they seem about as reliable as McDonalds soft serve machines or flood-damaged TVR Cerberas. The Evie 350kW charger that I did use was looking a bit sorry for itself with its non-functional screen. What’s more, the charging cable was so short that the only way I could plug it into the Mach-E’s nearside fender charging port was to park in the adjacent charging bay. This caused anger from a man who had rather inadvisedly bought a car with a ChaDeMo charging port and wanted my position, so this month has been like Confrontation 101 in Mach-E world.

16

In other news, I still haven’t found a scenario where I’d use the keypad on the Mustang’s B-pillar, the auto-dipping headlamps still have a propensity to stay dipped on pitch black country roads, and I’m still loving the fact that after a few thousand kilometres there is not one squeak or rattle evident.

Regular Wheels readers will know that the Mach-E has had a bit of a rough trot in recent comparison tests. On a purely objective basis, it’s a car that has shortcomings. That doesn’t preclude it from being an enjoyable thing to run. Balancing those two might require some modest logical gymnastics at times, but then that’s often the nature of products with divisive appeal. Until next time...

16

🔼 Back to top