Tuesday, February 14, 2023

2023 FORD MUSTANG MACH-E



MUSTANG MACH-E PUTS FORD 

AMONG LEADERS IN U.S. SALES OF EVS


It probably comes as no surprise to you that the sales leader in electric vehicles in 2022 was Tesla, which accounted for 65 percent of EVs sold in the U.S., according to the website electrek.com

But the runner-up may take some guessing.

I’ll save you time. It’s Ford.

The Blue Oval company reported sales of 61,575 electric vehicles last year to nose out South Korean manufacturers Hyundai and Kia for the No. 2 spot. The only other domestic manufacturer with an EV in the Top 10 was Chevrolet with the Bolt.

The bulk of Ford’s success can be attributed to its misnamed Mustang Mach-E SUV, which is not anywhere close in styling to the iconic Mustang coupe and whoever came up with that idea should be horse-whipped (OK. Not literally).



But I digress.

The Mach-E just missed the 40,000 mark with sales, reaching 39,458 in 2022, That trend continued this January with sales up to 2,626 vehicles, a 10.8 percent jump over January 2022 numbers.

Since being introduced in late 2019 as a 2021 model, the Mustang Mach-E has not changed much, so little that my press fleet manager said the 2021 model was able to stand as a valid test vehicle for the latest edition.



The 2023 Mustang Mach-E comes in four trim levels with the First Edition model from 2021 dropped for obvious reasons after selling out. Select and Premium trims are offered with a choice of rear-wheel or all-wheel drive while California Route 1 and GT models come with all-wheel drive only.

The GT trim, which serves as the basis for this review, adds specific styling touches and offers a bit more in the way of performance. But as with just about any EV on the market today, torque numbers on all Mach-Es are healthy and 0-to-60 mph times range from 5.8 (RWD) and 5.2 (AWD) seconds for Select models to 3.8 seconds for the GT trim.



Mustang Mach-E Select models come with a Standard Range battery pack that provides up to a driving range of 224 miles AWD or 247 RWD while the Premium is available with the Extended Range power pack to boost range to 290 AWD, an increase of 13 miles over previous models, or 306 RWD.

California Route 1 models with standard AWD and Extended Range Battery offer the longest driving range at 312 miles. The GT, which boosts horsepower to 480 and torque to 600 pound-feet, has a range of 270 miles.



There is also a GT Performance trim that matches GT horsepower numbers but increases torque to 634 pound-feet at a cost of 10 miles of driving range.

Ford has done a nice job of outfitting the Mustang Mach-E with enough tech tech and high-quality interior materials to give it a luxury feel. The huge touchscreen that dominates the dash serves a platform to operate all the infotainment features looks impressive but can be frustrating to work in real life. Thank goodness for voice recognition!

The 15.5-inch touchscreen includes navigation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All Mustang Mach-E models get Ford’s Co-Pilot Assist that includes adaptive cruise control and safety features like blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and lane-centering.

To finish with some good news: Ford announced in late January it was increasing production of the Mustang Mach-E while also reducing prices from $600 up to $5,900 depending on the trim.

MSRPs line up thusly (savings in parentheses): Select RWD Standard Range $45,995 ($900); Select AWD $48,995 ($600); Premium Standard RWD $50,995 ($3,600);  Premium AWD Standard Range $53,995 ($3,680); California Route 1 Extended Range $57,995 ($3,980); GT Exended Range $63,995 ($5,900).

Extra for Extended Range Battery was cut from $8,600 to $7,000, but adding the GT Performance Package to the GT trim stays the same at $6,000.

What I liked about the Ford Mustang Mach-E: Even the base model offers enough range to ease any anxiety about running out of power unexpectedly, and you can get over 300 miles on some battery packs. The interior is roomy and nicely done. Its brisk acceleration is one area whee the Mach-E lives up to Mustang standards. 

What I didn’t like about the ford Mustang Mach-E: Infotainment features all work off a huge, tablet/iPad-like monitor that seems to have impressed many critics but can be very distracting to operate. Some functions seemed slow to respond to touches and others are buried under obscure mode menus. Recharging the battery at a Level 2 station was impressively quick up to 80 percent but slowed to a crawl after that.

Would I buy the Ford Mustang Mach-E? I personally am not interested in buying or leasing an all-electric vehicle until charging stations are as ubiquitous as gas pumps so I’ll pass. But Ford has cut pricing up to $5,900 depending on model to make it a more appealing buy.




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