- we rode shotgun in a ford mustang mach-e premium prototype equipped with the extended-range battery and all-wheel drive.
- ford is claiming the high-performance mach-e gt, not out until spring 2021, will go from zero to 60 mph in the mid-three-second range, similar to its numbers for the mustang shelby gt500.
- it starts at around $45,000, with the first models slated to be available in fall 2020.
ford says its new electric crossover is a mustang, as evidenced by its mustang badges. but does it offer that mustang feeling from behind the wheel? we can't quite say yet, but we did ride along in a prototype and experienced a zero-to-60-mph launch, a slalom run, and some city driving. while we learned a bit about how the mach-e drives, we're mostly eager to try it ourselves and see if it's actually worthy of wearing that legendary name.
we rode with one other passenger in a premium trim prototype equipped with the extended-range battery and all-wheel drive. when our test driver did a zero-to-60-mph launch, we didn't feel as much of a shove from the instantaneous torque as expected. it didn't quite feel as quick as when we put the pedal to the floor in our long-term tesla model 3. it did, however, feel balanced on a slalom course, and we could see why ford is claiming that the mach-e will be its best-handling suv to date.
the version we rode in doesn't sit at the top of the mach-e food chain, however. ford is claiming that the higher-performance mach-e gt performance edition, not out until late 2021, will offer a zero-to-60-mph time in the mid-three-second range. that's similar to its claims for the 2020 mustang shelby gt500, which ford claims will launch to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds.
the mustang mach-e features three driving modes called whisper, engage, and unbridled. we experienced the latter, which activates a throaty yet subtle propulsion sound that kicks in at 30 mph. each driving mode has its own gauge cluster graphics, and the unbridled mode features orange borders on the speedometer that pulse while driving.
these are clever touches, but whether they say "mustang" is something we won't be able to decide for sure until we've spent some time behind the wheel.