Ford Mustang Mach-E 2022 Review - International

Ford Australia still hasn’t officially confirmed that the Ford Mustang Mach-E will make it Down Under, but as we’ve reported, well-placed sources have told us that it’s locked in as one of the brand’s first five electrified models coming here by 2024.

The Blue Oval has also trademarked the Mach-E nameplate for our market, and the battery-powered Mustang SUV’s chief engineer told us at the car’s unveiling in November 2019 that the Mach-E will be built in right-hand drive for Australia.

What’s more, Ford Australia has also now organised for us to drive the high-riding electric pony car in Detroit! So let’s take it as read that it’ll be coming here…

We expect that when the Mustang Mach-E finally rocks up it will be offered with two lithium-ion battery options – 70kWh, offering a range of up to 439km, and a bigger 91kWh power pack that, in single-motor/rear-wheel drive guise, will cover up to 472km between top-ups.

The entry-level version should come with a 198kW/269Nm electric motor, but the longer-range rear-drive Mach-E will offer a bigger 216kW/580Nm unit.

Count on dual-motor/all-wheel drive versions being available, too. Currently, Ford offers a 258kW/580Nm version and, at the top of the tree, the flagship GT that with the optional Performance Edition pack musters 358kW and a thumping 860Nm of torque.

The smaller battery can be charged at up to 115kW, while the bigger battery pack can manage up to 150kW using a DC fast-charger, replenishing from 10 to 80 per cent in around 45 minutes.

That’s not bad, until you remember that the latest EVs from Hyundai, Kia and Genesis now offer charging at up to 350kW, dropping the recharging time to less than 20 minutes – if you can find a suitable charger.

Since we’re potentially still more than a year away from the Mach-E’s debut, it’s still too early for local pricing and specification.

As a rough guide, the 2022 Mustang Mach-E is priced from £50,830 ($A86,500) in the UK, though we’d expect Ford Australia to be competitive with the likes of the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (from $69,900), Kia EV6 (from $72,590) and Tesla Model Y (from $72,300).

The GT Performance Edition, meanwhile, rockets the price to more than $126,000 in UK-spec. But, again, the circa-$100K marker set by the Tesla Model Y Performance – which is also earmarked for the Kia EV6 GT – is the best current guide.

For that cash, you should have little, if any, reason to visit the options list.

As standard you get a panoramic roof, styling kit, 20-inch cast alloy rims, adaptive LED headlights, performance seats, a 10-speaker premium sound system, 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster and a 15.5-inch infotainment system that runs Ford’s latest SYNC4 software.

A wireless phone charger, 360-degree camera, gesture-operated tailgate and semi-autonomous cruise control are also among the headline features.

For those who tow, the base model can tug up to 1000kg, while those with the bigger battery can haul around 1500kg. Buy the fastest version and the towing capacity shrinks to just 750kg.

In some markets, the Ford Mustang Mach-E needs to be serviced every two years or 30,000km, whichever comes first.

Capped-price servicing is also expected that should offer owners maintenance costs at least half that of combustion vehicles.

In Australia, the all-electric SUV will be covered by Ford Australia’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory warranty, with coverage for the battery likely to extend to eight years.

Ford didn’t quite start from scratch with the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E – its GE1 architecture is actually a heavily updated version of the Focus’ C2 platform.

As far as size goes, the Mustang Mach-E measures in at 4713mm long, 1881mm wide and stands 1624mm tall (the GT Performance sits 10mm lower).

Those figures see it 38mm shorter, 40mm narrower and the same height as a Tesla Model Y, while the Tesla also monsters its rival for boot space. Where the Model Y offers 854 litres (plus 117L in the ‘frunk’), the Mach-E has only 402 litres of luggage space and a further 81 litres of storage up front.

Like any electric car with a decent range, weight is the enemy of the Mustang Mach-E, with the most powerful all-wheel drive version tipping the scales at a very portly 2263kg – a considerable 268kg heavier than the Model Y.

Despite this, the flagship version of the Ford EV remains exceedingly rapid.

Against the clock, the Mach-E GT Performance can launch from 0-100km/h in just 4.4 seconds and top out at 200km/h.

To be fair, even the cheapest single-motor version of the Mach-E offers plenty of pace, taking just 6.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint.

The mid-spec dual-motor/AWD Mach-E with 258kW also doesn’t hang about, taking 5.8 seconds to reach the performance benchmark.

Launching the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition from standstill is brutal. Hold the brake, flatten the throttle and simply release the big pedal.

Such is its ferocity you’ll barely notice the sound of the front tyres spinning on your first attempt.

Ford offers three driving modes – Active (normal), Whisper (quiet) and Untamed, which pipes a V8 soundtrack into the cabin in an attempt to ramp up the excitement.

One-pedal driving is available in all three modes but can be toggled off via the intuitive-to-use large infotainment system.

All three modes also adjust steering weight, throttle response and the adaptive dampers that come on the GT. There is no way to create an individual setting.

We spent the majority of our drive in the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, which also gets 10mm-lower springs to go with its standard 20-inch alloy wheels.

The good news is our car had precise steering and split its torque for a genuine rear-wheel drive balance.

The bad news is that any dynamic flair is masked by levels of ride comfort bordering on the woeful.

Granted, the Michigan roads we drove on might actually be worse than some of the horrid blacktop Australians are subjected to. But it was alarming how the Mach-E GT Performance set-up meant it never ever settled, even over some of the smoother sections of road.

We think it might be too much for most and suggest you try one on the smaller rims.

Things don’t get much better when you push on, as the Mustang Mach-E can never quite disguise the mass it’s burdened with. A Porsche Taycan it is not, and the heavyweight Ford struggles with prompt changes of direction.

At this point it’s worth mentioning that the Mustang Mach-E cars sold in the UK have a different suspension set-up that might prove more suited to Australian roads, but one engineer we spoke to admitted that stiff springs will always be necessary to support the weight of the 2.3-tonne SUV.

That, and Ford’s need to provide it with the athleticism demanded by the Mustang nameplate, but we’ll ultimately reserve judgement until the Mach-E lands in Australia.

Inside, there’s the double-hump dash from the previous-gen Mustang but it doesn’t feel as special as you might think, with hard plastic and cheap-feeling finishes aplenty.

At least there’s plenty of space in the front and rear and decent headroom, despite the standard panoramic roof, but the jarring ride means that over poor roads you may receive plenty of complaints from the second row.

As it stands now, the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E is far from being a one-trick pony, but it’s also far from being perfect against an ever-increasing crop of talented rivals.

We suspect part of this is due to Ford using an existing platform that was originally designed for combustion engines, which inevitably brings compromises.

Hampered by its excess baggage, the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition ultimately isn’t as good to drive as the very best all-electric SUVs out there, and by the time it lands in Australia it’s at risk of being outclassed by more modern alternatives.

However, we have faith that the appalling ride quality we encountered in Detroit will be addressed by further updates to the suspension tune.

Instead of facelifting it, Ford has so far chosen to constantly evolve the Mustang Mach-E.

To keep it relevant, we expect further updates could even see improvements to both driving range and fast charging, especially since the Mustang Mach-E is set to switch to lithium-iron phosphate batteries next year that are more resilient to rapid charging.

It all means that what we’ve experienced so far could only be a snapshot of the fast all-electric Ford SUV’s potential.

How much does the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition cost?
Price: $100,000 estimated (plus on-road costs)
Available: 2024
Powertrain: Dual permanent magnet synchronous electric motors
Output: 358kW/860Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 91kWh lithium-ion
Range: 489km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 21.2kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP 2021)