Try it, Ford Mustang Mach-E: the electric SUV with a double soul

Try it, Ford Mustang Mach-E

Mustang Mach-E is the sporty SUV from Ford, able to take the lines of an American muscle car, softened and rounded, in this full-electric interpretation, for aerodynamic purposes. Despite the changes, all Mustang's "somatic features" are recognized, with the exception of the roar replaced by the subdued whistle of the two electric motors located on the front and rear axles, capable of unleashing a maximum equivalent of 350 horsepower and 580 Nm of torque. The acceleration is powerful, as with all electric cars that aim for performance, despite the over two tons of weight. Mach-E, with its length of 4.71 meters and width of 1.88 meters, offers a spacious and comfortable interior, both in front and behind; the trunk of 402 liters becomes 1420 liters by folding down the rear seats, to which are added a further 81 liters of the front compartment. In short, it is a large, comfortable, quiet SUV, but not particularly soft with the road surface due to a more rigid and sporty structure than other vehicles of the same category.

The handles disappear, replaced by a button that unlocks the lock and opens the door slightly. On the front door pillar there is also a digital numeric keypad that allows, through a combination, to open the door (the moments in which it can be used are not very clear, since it only serves to open the passenger compartment and does not allow you to put the door on it. car in motion). The tailgate is electro-activated and a double bottom allows you to hide the charging cables. The front one, on the other hand, is mechanical and opens only if you keep the driver's door open (a singular choice) and it is difficult to close (you will have to push it hard).

Once on board we find ourselves in front of a small digital screen 10.2 inches in width, but very thin, which is proposed as a digital instrument panel. The information shown is very basic, in addition to speed there are ADAS indications and little else. On the other hand, the 15.5-inch tablet positioned vertically in the center of the console is huge, with the volume knob positioned on the screen near the bottom edge; it is an unusual but appreciated solution. The first impact is not the most positive, considering that it is installed very vertically and without any type of inclination on the horizontal axis; furthermore, the fonts are very large, considering that the CarPlay icons, for example, are about 5 × 5 cm each. It seemed to be dealing with a system that was not very optimized for its dimensions, but after a few hours driving this choice is appreciated because it allows you to interact very easily with fast and careless gestures, which in any case always hit the mark. In addition to compatibility with CarPlay and Android Auto (wireless), this tablet interacts with the vehicle settings: you can change the driving mode, activate or deactivate the one-pedal drive, automatic high beams, control the air conditioning, seat heating or cooling, steering wheel heating and all other system settings. The on-board equipment in terms of accessories and comfort is extensive, and the passenger compartment is comfortable both in summer and in winter.

The steering is extremely soft, perhaps too much, and three modes are available. guide: Whisper manages the delivery in a delicate way and Mach-E accelerates slowly, without jerks. The "Untamed" mode is the most aggressive, while the middle ground has been dubbed "Active". Whether you want to go slow or go fast, Mach-E does not disappoint. Good supply of driving assistants that allow Mach-E to maintain the lane and speed of travel according to the vehicle in front of us and to facilitate parking. There is blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition and automatic emergency braking. The maintenance of the lane is however a bit abrupt in the changes of direction and, in various situations, it was not able to recognize the road markings, deactivating itself. The same goes for the possible collision detection system, which comes into action a little too often, apparently judging a slight acceleration too severely when there is a vehicle in front of us moving at a lower speed. In any case, we have never seen sudden braking for no reason.

What is not exciting is the autonomy, at least in winter. Our test model was equipped with an 88 kWh battery pack, we recharged it three times during the test drive week and we traveled around 250/280 km each time. We did not drop below the minimum battery 20% and at this percentage we were notified of a residual range of about 80 km. The total real autonomy therefore settles on 330/360 km. We mainly traveled urban and extra-urban roads, a few tens of kilometers on the motorway in whisper mode, without sudden acceleration and never exceeding 90/100 km / h on high-speed roads. This means that the autonomy we have found is the one that can be obtained in optimal conditions. Hard acceleration and high speed would lower these numbers further. These data are far from those defined by the WLTP cycle, which ranges from 500 to 610 km depending on the version. We must specify that the Mach-E test took place in these weeks at the end of November, with an external temperature always below 10 degrees, and this involved the use of heating and, in some cases, also heating the seats and the steering wheel rim. . We have noticed that the data reported by other newspapers, which have tested the car in months with higher temperatures, are much higher than what we have found. We must therefore deduce (we carried out three charging cycles and obtained the same results) that the cold season and the heating on greatly affect the amount of road that can be traveled, probably even more than the air conditioner affects in summer. Probably in milder temperature conditions it is possible to add from 50 to 100 km of autonomy more.

Excluding the configuration that the Mustang brand can generate combined with an electric engine instead of a V8, Mach-E it is very beautiful to see and drive. The cockpit is well finished, much more than we usually find on a classic Mustang, and the choice of the large vertical central screen proved to be a winner. Aggressive and fast but also soft and delicate, Mach-E drives as you prefer and performs well in all situations. The most sore point is the autonomy, which on average settles at 350 km (for the model with 88 kWh battery). Probably with a mild temperature, very light foot and a lot of motorway travel at low speed they can improve this number, but don't expect new records.

Our experience leads us to recommend Mach-E to those who can mount a wallbox for recharging in their own box, or those who live in an area with many fast recharging stalls. For everyone else, managing autonomy will be a more complicated situation. Prices start at 49,900 euros for the basic model, to almost 70,000 euros on the more powerful model, with extended battery and many accessories.