There’s an ongoing trend in the automotive industry that I can’t seem to fully get my head around. Mitsubishi resurrected its legendary Eclipse nameplate and slapped it onto an SUV. Ford seems to have followed suit and has unveiled the Mustang Mach-E. Yes, it’s an SUV based on the legendary Mustang and an electric one at that.
A stylish crossover, the Mach-E flaunts an aggressive facia and an enclosed grille with headlights that do resemble the muscle car origins it attempts to bring through. The interesting design is carried along to the rear where a rakish windscreen and coupe-like roofline are met with bulging fenders and concealed door handles.
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On the inside, Ford has developed a cabin that is fitting to an electric vehicle. A Mustang branded steering wheel sits in front of a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster while a vertical 15.5-inch infotainment screen takes center stage along the dashboard. The minimalistic design which could have been borrowed from the Tesla Model 3 is accentuated with sleek air vents and aluminum-like trim.
In terms of practicality the Mach-E has a front trunk (frunk) that provides 136-liters of storage and an impressive 821-liters in the rear luggage compartment. Fold the seats down, however, and that number quickly increases to 1,688-liters, which is plenty to carry your weekly groceries and golf bags.
As for performance figures, there are five variants of the Mustang Mach-E available to suit the tastes and budgets of a large set of buyers. The entry-level ‘Select’ grade is available with rear-or all-wheel-drive and features a 76-kWh battery that produces approximately 255 horsepower. While the rear-wheel-drive variant produces an impressive 414 Nm of torque, the all-wheel-drive variant bumps this figure up to 565 Nm.
Moving up the ladder is the Mach-E Premium which will be available in standard and long-range configurations, with and without all-wheel-drive. The larger 98.9 kWh battery will provide longer drive range but also pushes power up to 282 horsepower and 414 Nm in the rear-wheel-drive version and 333 horsepower and 565 Nm of torque in the all-wheel-drive version.
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The Mach-E California Route 1 is simply an extended range variant with rear-wheel drive and so it develops 282 horsepower and 414 Nm of torque. The Mach-E First Edition model is the long-range model with all-wheel drive and thus produces 333 horsepower and 565 Nm of torque while flaunting a range of approximately 435 km per charge. The range-topping Mach-E GT is the one to have, however, with 459 horsepower and a tire-shredding 830 Nm of torque.
Those interested in the 2021 Mustang Mach-E can start saving up as deliveries are expected to begin late next year.
