Yesterday I was given a tour of the new all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E, which was announced last month. It's one of only a few pre-production models doing the rounds and, as such, it was requested that I took no video or photos. Fair enough. The last thing Ford want is people online highlighting slight imperfections or talking about design elements which might not find their way into the finished product. Although you can place an order on the Ford website now, don't expect to take delivery of the car until late next year.
Available as rear wheel or all wheel drive, prices will start at around £40,000 and climb to £58,000. Range is quoted as an impressive (up to) 370 miles. How that plays out in the real world remains to be seen. Performance is stated at an initially disappointing "less than 7 seconds" for the 0-60mph sprint, although we were assured that this is an extremely conservative figure and the final time should be much lower. I suspect it'll need to be if it's to compete with the likes of the Tesla Model 3 (which sits in the same price bracket) and, above all, prove itself worthy of the Mustang moniker.
The name is an odd one for me. It was suggested that 'Mustang' found its way onto this vehicle because of its performance credentials, but it seems weird seeing the iconic muscle car name attached to an electric SUV. That aside, the car itself looks good in the flesh - certainly better than in the pictures, I think. The removal of the front grill (not required as there's no engine to keep cool) looks a bit strange and I have the feeling it'll lead to some healthy sales of paint touch-up sticks from irritating, and unavoidable, stone chips. The familiar galloping horse sits on the front of the car and, behind that, the creased bonnet is one attractive element which fails to stand out in the released photos.
At the rear of the car you can see the styling cues taken from its coupe stable-mate, in the form of the very distinctive lights (and another galloping horse badge). The way the two tone roof sweeps down helps to lend the impression that this is a sleek sports car rather than a boxy SUV and it works well. As you'd expect, there appeared to be plenty of storage space. A decent sized boot is accompanied by a "front trunk", in the space where the engine would be in a traditional car. In a car like this, the batteries are kept low in the chassis to keep the centre of gravity down and weight distribution as ideal as possible.
When I drove a V8 Mustang I was fairly critical of the interior. Elements of it felt a bit cheap and that's probably because they are. You can't expect to pay Mustang money for a honking great V8 muscle car and get top-end German build materials included in the mix. If anything, Ford should be congratulated for ensuring the budget is spent on the bits which matter most: those which directly affect driving enjoyment. Anyway, the interior on this model looks a step up. The materials and equipment look impressive, and the obligatory huge (15.5 inch) screen doesn't look as obtrusive as it does in many electric cars. I'd certainly like to hear the huge B&O soundbar which appears to run across the entirety of the dashboard...
In summary, I went to see this new Mustang with mixed feelings. I'm not an SUV fan and, although it might be the future, I'm not fully sold on electric cars yet. However, what I saw looked impressive. Ford have produced an attractive and practical car, which should provide good range and performance, at a competitive price. You can argue whether it deserves to wear the Mustang badge, but I'll certainly be interested in taking one for a spin once they're available.
Finally, special thanks goes to Chris at
Hartwell Kidlington Ford for arranging this preview.
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