Author: Erchai

For many people, Mustang has always been the best representative of the American muscle car. In the past two decades of our generation, Mustang appeared in our favorite TV shows, movies and games. Whether it’s “Need for Speed” or “Transformers”, or the West Coast TV shows with golden sunlight, it appears in front of us with a passionate and fun face, “screaming” its rear wheels, stirring up the hearts of young people and igniting a white smoke of boiling hormones.

Because Mustang has left a deep impression on the world’s consumer forces, Ford decided to single it out as the best door opener for layout of electrification. If I make a new electric brand, people may not care, but if the brand name contains Mustang, the effect should be different, right?

To make the horse run and not eat grass, this contemporary saying of PUA in various fields has been successfully achieved on the Mustang Mach-E. After several years of careful preparation by Ford, how effective is this electric Mustang?

When you first see this Mustang Mach-E, you may also be curious about the positioning of this car. Although the official definition is a mid-size SUV, it is actually more like a crossover sports car or a coupe SUV. This car retains many classic designs of Mustang, which should be recognizable at a glance by those who are observant. For example, the iconic long hood of the Mustang logo, short rear end, large tilt angle A-pillar, top slip-back lines, wide track width, and the Mustang logo in the three-taillight and grille. Although it is an electric car that does not consume fuel, the muscle and power that Mustang has had for decades are not missing, and the two raised muscle lines on the hood are the best explanation.

The ground clearance of the Mustang Mach-E is not high, which is a clear difference from traditional SUVs. Ford wants a lot from this vehicle, both to broaden its acceptance and to retain the dynamic posture that the Mustang name deserves. The manufacturer has indeed done an outstanding job in this regard. Compared with other similar models such as the EC6 and Model Y, the Mustang Mach-E has a more streamlined and graceful appearance. Ford’s approach has created an electric Mustang that is unparalleled in the current electric vehicle market.

Many people are concerned about the headroom of the rear passengers under this sleek design. In fact, based on actual experience, the headroom in the rear of the Mustang Mach-E is not as cramped as imagined after design processing. In addition, the open feeling of the panoramic sunroof helps to reduce the sense of oppression. However, the longitudinal space in the rear of the vehicle is not as large as I initially imagined. Its wheelbase is close to three meters, at 2.98 meters. Nonetheless, it does not have a very exaggerated rear space, which is similar to the performance of many domestically-produced compact electric SUVs. This is largely because of the car’s four-wheel, four-corner design, which makes the wheelbase appear large, but the overall length of the vehicle is only 4.73 meters.

Talking about space with a Mustang is like talking about relationships with a playboy or marriage with a green tea. Although it is possible, it’s not the most important focus. If it’s a Mustang, the driving experience should be the most important aspect to focus on. This time, I was fortunate to drive the Mustang Mach-E GT version for four laps at the Shanghai Tianma Circuit. Although it was not a long time, there were still many impressive points.

As the most aggressive version in the entire Mustang Mach-E series, this Mustang Mach-E GT has a front and rear dual-motor layout, with a total motor power of 359 kW and a total torque of a terrifying 860 N·m. Actually, the exaggerated data of electric vehicles is not surprising to most of us nowadays. However, what is more important is the careful tuning. Wild power does not necessarily bring a great driving experience, which I have deeply experienced in the case of many domestically-produced electric vehicles.

The Mustang Mach-E GT is not the kind of mindless brute force car. Its throttle response is very delicate, even in the most aggressive sport mode, the power does not fully burst out as soon as you step on the pedal. Even with a 3.65-second acceleration time to 100 kilometers per hour, you can still feel the four wheels rhythmically pushing forward. It may be an overstatement to say that this feeling is still like the power of a high-displacement naturally aspirated car, but this delicate and proportionate acceleration experience is rare among current electric cars, at least not experienced on Teslas and new power brands.

The sportiness of the Mustang Mach-E GT is inherent. Its steering is heavy, even in the most comfortable rain mode, the steering feeling is heavier than most electric cars, but it is not as sly as Tesla’s. Instead, it feels long-lasting with a strong sense of proportionality. It feels like an old sports car with mechanical power assist. For those who love driving, this feeling is like a wonderful experience of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

The braking traction control system calibration of the Mustang Mach-E is biased towards the rear wheels. On the day of the test drive, the track was still wet from the rain, and it was clear that the four-wheel-drive system had a stronger power distribution to the rear axle. Later, when I asked the engineer, he confirmed that the front-to-rear power distribution ratio of the four-wheel-drive system can be adjusted to a 45:55 proportion in slippery road conditions like this. At the same time, thanks to the lower center of gravity and sporty tuning of the Mustang Mach-E GT, the suspension can restrain body roll very effectively even in intense track driving, and the chassis has the usual compact and flexible feeling of Ford’s sports cars. It can be said that the performance of the Mustang Mach-E in terms of dynamics is undoubtedly worthy of the glory of the past Mustang GT models.

Let’s talk about some rational content after talking about the emotional driving. As the most aggressive model in the series, Mustang Mach-E GT version has a range of 492KM, which is not the longest in the series. The long-range version of Mustang Mach-E has a range of 619KM, which is already at the upper-middle level among the current pure electric models, so the electric Mustang is not a pseudo sports and emotion model. At the same time, its price is also very sincere. Everyone speculated online that this car would sell for more than 400,000 yuan initially. However, the guide price for the long-range version of the infinite rear-wheel-drive model is only 2.82 million yuan, which is a direct challenge to Tesla Model Y.

Ford brings the electric Mustang to China with the slogan of bringing electric models with passion and driving pleasure. In terms of “passion” and “driving pleasure,” the electric Mustang is definitely one of the best models in the Chinese market (another impressive one is the Polestar 2), and its range and price, which are the most critical factors for electric cars, are also sincere enough. In terms of driving, Mustang Mach-E is truly worthy of the glory of all Mustangs through the years. Let’s hope that it can outperform its competitors in sales in the future.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.