2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E

We’ve been talking about the Ford Mustang Mach-E ever since it debuted at the 2019 L.A. Auto Show. Well, 12 months, a global pandemic and presidential election later, we finally got our time behind the wheel of the Blue Oval’s first all-electric SUV.

Yes, if you’re just now returning to the grid, Ford is using the Mustang name on a battery-electric, four-door utility, which was recently EPA certified for an estimated range of 300 miles in Premium Extended-Range Rear-Wheel drive form. Premium all-wheel drive models rate 270-miles while base rear and all-wheel drive versions come in at 230 and 210-miles respectively. 

For those concerned more with speed than range, the GT Performance Edition pumps out 480-horsepower and zips to 60 in 3.5 seconds. 

We met our Premium All-Wheel Drive Mach-E on a snowy Michigan morning and immediately jumped in the back seat where head and leg room are much more abundant than the profile’s sloping style suggests. Opening the door is done with the push of a button rather than a pull of the handle and forget the key, all you need is your smartphone.

Looking forward from the driver’s seat, the view of the steering wheel and slim gauge cluster is delightfully minimalist, yet still comprehensive. The vertical tablet-style touch screen dominates the dash and is extremely user-friendly. Not quite as sleek as what you’ll find in the Tesla Model Y, but less intimidating to drivers who don’t work in the computer technology field, and it has a volume knob.

"First things first, let’s talk about those drive modes. Whisper, Engage and Unbridled. Bonus points for thinking outside the box a little bit. I gotta say, even though I don’t love the name Whisper mode, I do like driving around in it. It’s quiet and really smooth over some not so smooth roads here in Detroit.

Going up to Engage, which is that middle level, it engages you a little bit more, there’s some pumped in noise, it’s a little bit quicker. And then at the top of the line for you performance junkies is Unbridled. It gives you the most acceleration you can get from the three modes and really pumps in that fake engine noise."

In this spec, it takes the Mach-E under 5 seconds to reach 60, which isn’t “ludicrous” but still pretty fast.

"It’s easy to get caught up in the whole argument about whether or not the Mach-E should be called a Mustang...what I know is that argument gets in the way of a really nice all-electric SUV. It’s comfortable to drive, it’s quiet, which is really important for an EV. And, more importantly, as an SUV, it’s totally competitive in this segment." 

Pricing is also competitive with base models starting at $43,000 and the 300-mile Premium Extended Range model taking off at $47,000 before tax incentives.

And we’ll have much more coming up soon on MotorWeek.