Ford Mustang Mach-E review: is it worthy of the Mustang name?

Aiming to bring the pony into the electric age, eyebrows were certainly raised in 2019 when Ford announced their intentions to utilise the famed Mustang name as an all-electric sub-brand. But is the Mach-E worthy of the name? Let’s find out…

Mustang Mach-E exterior

When the Mustang Mach-E was announced as an SUV, purists certainly had a right to raise their eyebrows even further than when Ford announced they were co-opting the Mustang name. In spite of that though, the Mach-E retains subtle hints to the most recent design of the V8 Mustang including a steeply raked coupe-esque rear window and rear light design. Perhaps one of the craftiest design choices is the use of two-tone colours on the sloping roofline to play a trick on the eye and make it seem more coupe than SUV in shape. The theme continues to the front where the long sculpted bonnet brings to mind the most recent V8 model too, but the central solid grille with fake vents and pony logo end those comparisons pretty quick.

TLDR: it’s an impressive evolution of the classic Mustang design.

But if anything the exterior of the Mach-E is defined by its innovations. For example, there are no door handles: instead, when you approach your vehicle, it recognises your key fob and a button is illuminated on the door pillar which you push to open. Similarly, when your hands are full and you need to put shopping in the boot, it detects your key is in range and all you have to do is simply use a gentle foot movement under the centre of the rear bumper for it to open hands-free.

Mustang Mach-E interior and tech

As you can see, the Mach-E’s interior is dominated by an overbearing and unsubtle 15.5-inch iPad-esque infotainment unit. Visuals are as high-def as you’d expect from such a monstrous unit, and the touchscreen element is highly responsive, with Ford’s SYNC 4A powering it and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring available too. The fact there’s a physical volume dial bolted onto the bottom of the touchscreen is certainly one of the most bizarre stylistic choices we’ve seen in recent times too, especially when you can just control the sound from the steering wheel anyway.

In comparison, the 10.2-inch landscape driver display unit is subtle and never gets obscured by the steering wheel, with visuals and key information put in your eyeline no matter how you have the steering wheel set up.

Away from the plethora of tech, the Mach-E offers drivers and passengers alike a really nice, upmarket feel cabin. A gear selector sit in easy reach in front of the arm-rest, with wireless phone charger tray also sitting beneath the dashboard. Moving to the rear, the massive wheelbase comes into its own and adds an element of space not really seen in the segment, giving rear passengers plenty of leg space across the whole bench and plenty of headroom due to the flat floor. On top of that, the refinement is next level with some of the comfiest passenger seats we’ve sat in. Boot space comes in at 502-litres or 1,420 with the rear seats laid flat. Another nice extra is the adjustable load floor which can be lifted up or down. Moving to the front, Ford has also included 81-lites of space where the engine would be which is the ideal size for stowing charging cables.

Mustang Mach-E driving and performance

The Mustang Mach-E offers a super smooth drive and is also one of the quieter EVs we’ve test driven with very little road noise evident. Steering doesn’t necessarily feel sporty, but its manoeuvrability around corners and bends in the road is more performative than the likes of the Audi e-tron. However, as with all EVs, it’s a very heavy car and no matter how hard Ford’s engineers have tried it can’t replicate the drivability of a traditional Mustang.

Three driving modes are available on the Mach-E, with Active being the default setting, Whisper offering the tethered performance of eco mode, and Untamed prioritising instantaneous performance. Each driving mode subtly modifies the throttle and steering response, and also changes the sounds produced by the electric motor. All of these can be accessed from within the infotainment.

One-pedal driving is also available as an option within the infotainment, allowing you the ability to simply stop the car without ever touching the brake unless it’s an emergency. When you lift your foot off the accelerator it will coast before coming to a complete stop while also saving energy regeneratively.

0-62 can be achieved in 5.8sec leading up to a top speed of 112mph. Total power is 258 kW with total torque of 428 lb-ft.

Mustang Mach-E efficiency and range

The driving range of the Mustang Mach-E offers an efficient and official driving range of 335 miles according to Ford which works out at around 250 miles combined range. Efficiency-wise that equates to 3.6 miles per kWh which is pretty great and above industry standard currently.

When it comes to charging, the Mach-E can be charged in over 14 hours using a 7.4kW AC wallbox at a rate of 19 miles per hour of charge. Rapid Charging using a 50kW DC charger takes 89 minutes to go from 10-80%.

Ford Mustang Mach-E model details