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Ford Mustang Mach-E GT review: this £70,000 ‘untamed’ SUV is all power and not enough panache

Ford Mustang Mach-E GT review: this £70,000 ‘untamed’ SUV is all bark and no bite
Ford Mustang Mach-E GT review: this £70,000 ‘untamed’ SUV is all bark and no bite

The last time I was in a bright orange fast Ford, it was a second-generation Focus ST. It was brilliant: a wonderful blend of high-speed stability, dynamism and mid-range grunt, the latter thanks to a gutsy five-cylinder turbocharged engine borrowed from Volvo. It delivered just the right balance between the sophistication you’d demand from a modern hot hatch, and the lairiness you’d expect from a performance Ford.

The colour of that car was named Electric Orange. Today’s orange Ford, however, is electric under the skin instead. It’s the Mustang Mach-E GT, and with the exception of the GT supercar, it’s the fastest-accelerating model that Ford sells in the UK. However, it’s also the most expensive, and its whopping price tag of £68,000 puts it in the line of fire of some of the best premium SUVs out there. Can it hope to compete?

Costlier than a Cossie

'The Mach-E GT would leave an RS500 for dust,' says Robbins
'The Mach-E GT would leave an RS500 for dust,' says Robbins

That is, let’s be honest, an awful lot of money for a car with a Ford badge on the front of it. Even the Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth cost ‘only’ £19,995 back in 1987, or the equivalent of £60,000 or so in today’s money, and that was little short of a bona fide touring car chock-full of spangly, race-honed oily bits, with its roll cage removed and a set of carpets thrown in.

To be fair, though, the Mach-E GT would leave an RS500 for dust. You get not one, but two electric motors – one for the front axle, and one for the rear – which together churn out 480bhp and a thunderous 634lb ft of torque, and to keep all that power in check, the Mach-E gets its share of trick componentry, with magnetic adaptive suspension and huge Brembo four-piston brake calipers, acting on 15-inch brake discs.

“So what?” you’re thinking. “This is just another big-power EV. We’ve seen it all before.” And yes, you’re right – but Ford is counting on the Mach-E’s performance figures selling it to customers who’d otherwise choose one of the premium brands.

After all, it claims a 0-62mph time of just 3.7 seconds, and not so long ago, that would have been the exclusive reserve of supercars. But all is not what it seems here; pore over the brochure, and you’ll note an asterisk appended to that time, with a footnote which points out it was achieved using a one-foot rolling start.

Ford counts on the Mach-E’s performance figures selling it to customers who’d otherwise choose premium brands
Ford counts on the Mach-E’s performance figures selling it to customers who’d otherwise choose premium brands

Ford is not alone in doing this. In fact, it’s the method of acceleration testing favoured by the NHRA, or National Hot Rod Association, of America, which came about to overcome deficiencies in early drag strip measurement equipment. It’s also how Tesla achieved a 3.5-second 0-60mph acceleration time for its rival Model Y Perfomance. Ford is simply keeping up with the Joneses.

However, the actual 0-62mph time of the Mach-E GT, as shown in brackets thereafter, is 4.4 seconds. And this is important, because it means the performance differential over and above its premium rivals is far smaller than the headline figures would have you believe.

Massaging the figures

For example, the Jaguar I-Pace, which will cost you around £3,000 less. Or, if you’re willing to take a hit on interior space, the dual-motor Polestar 2 will set you back more than £20,000 less. Both of these cars hit 62mph – from a standing start – just 0.1 seconds more slowly.

The Mach-E GT will have to justify itself elsewhere, then. What about on range? Well, you get a big 88kWh of usable battery capacity, which translates to an official range figure of 310 miles (take that to mean anywhere between 220 and 250 miles in the real world), which is respectable enough, if not outstanding.

On the road: the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT
On the road: the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT

It’ll charge at up to 150kW, which again is OK, but both the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and Kia EV6 GT will boast 800V charging systems, and therefore be able to take on charge much faster.

Let’s try the interior, then. At first glance, it’s good news; you get a huge central touchscreen that controls all of the car’s functions. It’s positioned near enough for easy use, and the on-screen buttons are big enough and clear enough that you can operate it at a glance without being overly distracted from the road.

It’s very Tesla-esque, but unlike with the Model Y, Ford has broken out the major instruments and given them a small screen of their own in front of the driver, which is much more sensible. It’s small, neat, clear and easy to read, without frippery – all digital instrument clusters should be this way.

Plastic fantastic

Most of the dashboard is fitted with metal and faux Alcantara but it still doesn't match premium rivals for perceived quality
Most of the dashboard is fitted with metal and faux Alcantara but it still doesn't match premium rivals for perceived quality

Dig deeper, though, and there are problems. For instance, Ford has avoided the issue of plastics quality – a Mach-E bugbear – by slathering most of the dashboard with metal and faux Alcantara, so it looks suitably sporting.

But some of the switchgear – the indicator stalks particularly – still look as though they’d be more at home in a Fiesta. The leather feels rather bottom-rung, too, like the stuff you’d find in a posh Focus, and there are some distinctly utilitarian slabs of plastic if you cast your eyes lower down in the interior.

You do get plenty of space, though. You feel like you’re sitting in, rather than on, the Mach-E, unlike a lot of electric SUVs; indeed, it’s quite low for such a thing, which gives it the look from without of a jacked-up shooting brake, rather than an upright SUV.

The Mach-E features a huge central touchscreen that controls all of its functions
The Mach-E features a huge central touchscreen that controls all of its functions

It feels snug inside but there’s still lots of space, and the flat floor in the rear means plenty of legroom even for the middle passenger. The firm, protruding middle seat isn’t very comfortable, though, and is very much for occasional use.

The boot isn’t particularly big, at just 402 litres, and the shallow rake of rear screen means it isn’t ideal for bulky cargo or larger dogs, but the false floor is neat and can be set lower to increase the boot’s height, or higher to sit flush with rear seats when they’re folded down, which they do in 60/40 formation. There’s a 100-litre cubby under the bonnet, too, which is usually used for storing cables but is big enough for bags instead if you need it.

The boot is just 402 litres, which is not huge by big SUV standards, but there is another 100 litres of storage in the nose of the car
The boot is just 402 litres, which is not huge by big SUV standards, but there is another 100 litres of storage in the nose of the car

You also get an awful lot of kit. Even the standard Mach-E is fully loaded, with adaptive cruise control, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, a raft of safety kit, a powered bootlid, a B&O sound system, and a panoramic roof among the many items of standard equipment.

To this, Ford has added 20-inch alloy wheels, special bucket seats that really do wrap around both your hips and your shoulders, and a spangly bodykit unique to the GT.

Plus, of course, those whopping brakes and that fancy suspension. Indeed, these, really, are what you’re paying for most of all here. So are they worth it?

The power and the glory

The Mach-E can charge at up to 150kW, which will deliver a 100 mile top-up in around 10 to 15 minutes
The Mach-E can charge at up to 150kW, which will deliver a 100 mile top-up in around 10 to 15 minutes

Well, for starters, there’s no doubting that the GT is very fast. Off the line it has the capacity to make your stomach lurch as all four wheels grip, and hurl you down the road. The mark of its power, though, is that the GT still builds pace effortlessly even from higher speeds. Due to their single gear ratio, many electric cars feel less gutsy when they’re at or near the national speed limit.

There’s an artificial soundtrack, perhaps in an attempt to make the Mach-E GT feel more befitting of its Mustang badging, but isn’t entirely successful - the reedy warble sounds like someone playing a recording of a V8 at you on a mobile phone speaker down a long cardboard tube. But it does at least help to give some context to the sensation of speed, if nothing else.

There are three modes in which you can drive the Mach-E – ‘Whisper’, ‘Active’ and ‘Untamed’. Don’t bother with the first one of these. In an attempt to make the Mach-E feel gentler to drive it adds a bizarre and off-putting stiction around the centre of the steering travel, and a frankly unnerving delay to the braking. Thankfully, ‘Active’ does away with both of these horrible tendencies, and while the brakes still don’t feel entirely natural they’re fine for everyday driving.

The front storage space, or 'frunk' as it's sometimes known, is ideal for stowing charging cables
The front storage space, or 'frunk' as it's sometimes known, is ideal for stowing charging cables

The ride, however, is very firm even in this supposedly more comfortable mode; yes, it resists vertical movement very well and therefore soaks up large bumps without disturbing you. But the big wheels and slim tyre sidewalls pick up on smaller imperfections, resulting in a lot of side-to-side rocking over camber changes, so on some road surfaces you get tossed around quite uncomfortably.

On the motorway this becomes less of an issue, mind you, and while you do undoubtedly feel the texture of the road surface beneath you, the Mach-E smears along serenely enough that you can relax into a longer trip.

Wild at heart

It’s ‘Untamed’ mode you’ll need to deploy if you want to make the most of the differences between the GT and ‘normal’ Mach-Es. And when you do get it out onto a back road, you soon find that this is one of the quickest ways to get down it for the money.

The Mach-E’s driving experience is dominated by an immense amount of grip. Your first sense when you turn into a corner is of a nose that just won’t quit; even if you bundle it in at speeds that you’d normally expect to result in understeer from a big SUV like the Mach-E, it simply turns in as though you were doing 15mph.

So you push harder, turn in more aggressively, and still it just takes it. And even if you’re going some when you enter the corner, there’s still grip in reserve, so you can pile on even more power. If anything, this tweaks the nose in toward the apex further still, the whole car staying level before firing you out the other side at colossal pace.

If this sounds like an entirely one-dimensional experience, it isn’t; as you feed in that power you get a sense of the car shuffling power beneath you, enabling it to turn even harder into the corner, saying ‘OK, if you want to push harder, I’m game’.

The Mach-E’s driving experience is dominated by an immense amount of grip.
The Mach-E’s driving experience is dominated by an immense amount of grip.

And if you really do find its limits, the Mustang does respond with a very gentle dose of understeer, not even really pushing its nose ahead but just slackening off the grip on both outer wheels so that you know you might be about to do something silly.

And yet… and yet, there’s something missing here. Maybe it’s that same agility, the same fluidity, the same sense of feel you get with the best fast Fords. You might argue this is too much to expect in a big, heavy, electric car, but it is achievable, as cars like the Porsche Taycan and Jaguar I-Pace prove.

But more than that, what the Mach-E lacks is soul. In a hot version of a car with a Mustang badge on it, you do want to feel something, and that something has to be more than just ‘fast’n’grippy’, which is what pretty much every other performance electric car offers.

What you want to find here is character, and charisma. Maybe even some of the traditional Mustang’s charisma, which is born of its petrol engine, uncomplicated handling and square-jawed styling. All of that is hard to translate to an electric SUV, though, and while that was the challenge that Ford set itself by badging the Mach-E as it did, sadly it remains one which it has yet to overcome.

The Telegraph verdict

While this is a fast, competent electric SUV, it doesn’t feel as though that’s enough to justify the not-inconsiderable price tag.

And the thing is, the premium rivals are, by and large, nicer to sit in and more comfortable to travel in, too. You’d hope, therefore, that the Mach-E would deliver something else to justify its price; in short, you want it to really deliver on driver reward, with a bit of fizz and finesse from the handling as well as blunt pace. But on that front, it doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its badging.

A good Mk2 Focus ST can be had for five grand these days. So if I were you, I’d buy a normal Mach-E instead, and spend the change on one of those. I think you’ll have more fun, and you’ll definitely spend less money. And if you can find one in orange, you can joke to friends that you’ve managed to buy two ‘electric’ cars for the price of one.

The facts

  • On test: Ford Mustang Mach-E GT

  • Body style: Five-door SUV

  • On sale: now

  • How much? £68,030 on the road (range from £47,530)

  • How fast? 124mph, 0-62mph in 4.4sec

  • How economical? 3.1mpkWh (WLTP Combined)

  • Engine & gearbox: N/A

  • Electric powertrain: 2x AC motor (one per axle) with 88kWh battery, 150kW on-board charger, CCS and Type 2 charging socket

  • Electric range: 310 miles

  • Maximum power/torque: 480bhp/634lb ft

  • CO2 emissions: 0g/km (tailpipe)

  • VED: £0

  • Warranty: 3 years / 60,000 miles

  • Spare wheel as standard: No (not available)


The rivals

Jaguar I-Pace EV400 SE

396bhp, 286 miles, £70,220 on the road

Jaguar I-Pace EV400 SE
Jaguar I-Pace EV400 SE

Jaguar’s electric car might be getting on a bit but it’s still one of the finest-handling EVs around. It’s also endowed with a bigger boot than the Mach-E’s, not to mention a much more upmarket interior; true, you don’t get as many toys, even in this mid-range model, but it’s almost as quick, and much more comfortable.

Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor (with Pilot Lite, Plus, Performance packs)

402bhp, 299 miles, £59,050 on the road

Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor (with Pilot Lite, Plus, Performance packs)
Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor (with Pilot Lite, Plus, Performance packs)

Granted, this version of the 2 isn’t our favourite – we reckon the single-motor variant rides and handles more sweetly – but it still makes compelling financial sense. Even if you load it up with all the options packs, including the upgraded Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes, you still don’t get anywhere near the Mach-E’s price tag. It is a smaller car than the Mach-E, with less room inside, but not by much, and the interior is considerably higher-quality.

Tesla Model Y Performance

456bhp, 319 miles, £64,990 on the road

Tesla Model Y Performance
Tesla Model Y Performance

It’s faster, cheaper, and can go further on a charge so, on paper, the Model Y has the Mach-E’s measure. In the flesh, it isn’t quite as involving or as much fun to drive, and you get fewer toys, but it is roomier, with a far larger boot. And while Tesla has build quality issues of its own, the minimalist cockpit feels fresher and more modern than the Mach-E’s. What’s more, you get access to Tesla’s Supercharger network – a huge boon.

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