[ad_1]
There comes a moment, while driving a new Electric car with sporting pretensions, where you sit, take a sly look around, and pin the accelerator. Electricity runs from the battery to the motors, which spin the wheels with surprising ferocity. You feel that continuous torque surge and appreciate the brief hints of instability, the little jerks as the car feels like it’s about to break off traction, but still recovers instantly, like nothing is ever right.
I had many such moments behind the wheel of the new Mustang Mach-E during the Thanksgiving vacation when the roads were much quieter than normal for this time of year leaving plenty of room for evaluate the racy courier. The new car debuts this month, just over a year after its reveal. We already have reviewed the technology in detail, so now it’s time to try it out on real roads. The key questions: how is it as a car? How is that as electric car? And how is it as an electric Mustang?
First, a reminder: the Mach-E is available in standard and full-range versions, single-engine rear-wheel drive or two-engine all-wheel drive. Its permanent magnet motors deliver, in the AWD First Edition version I tested, 346 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque. It has an EPA validated range of up to 300 miles with the 88 kWh extended range battery pack, or as low as 211 miles with the standard 68 kWh pack with all-wheel drive. The First Edition model offers a range of 270 miles and a 0-60 second time of 4.8 seconds. The GT Performance version, due next year, will arrive with 480 horsepower, 634 lb-ft of torque and a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds.
Starting at $ 42,895 (the first edition is $ 58,300), the car is unmistakably a crossover, with a roomy rear seat, plenty of trunk storage and a bit more in the “frunk” under the car. hood. It features the sultry lines of a car modeled after an aggressive urban machine that has been redesigned for smooth aerodynamics and minimal wind noise. The look won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s distinctive and avoids the trap of trying to look too much like the model that inspired it. It really is his own business, to Ford’s credit. The grille treatment is particularly successful, solving a thorny problem of making the front of the car look adequately performance-oriented without the need for a bulky air intake. The pony logo is perfect there.
The Mustang is very comfortable and easy going, with a cleverly designed interior, but with slightly unintuitive button / handle combinations in place of conventional door handles. People have to watch them for a second to understand them. The new SYNC 4A infotainment system is, honestly, a revelation, offering one of the best and most user-friendly interfaces on the road, with a 15.5-inch display and a tile system that does away with the multi-layered menus that can drive people crazy. It adapts to each user’s preferences, including suggestions as they learn your routes, and it will be updated multiple times live.
Of course, it also has EV-specific functions built into the infotainment system. These include options to schedule charges during cheaper off-peak hours, battery status and charge rate, as well as controls that can prepare cabin temperature during charging to minimize burnout. from the battery once the trip has started. Most of the features can be controlled remotely through the smartphone app. The system also includes an efficiency analysis. On a 200 mile drive on freeways and suburban streets, I hit 2.7 miles per kWh, less than the 4.1 You’re here The Model 3 is capable, but compatible with many competitors, and reflects my fairly aggressive driving. In light use, I have consistently seen 3.2 miles per kWh.
[ad_2]