Ford Mustang Mach-E 2023 Review

Almost four years after this controversial car was officially revealed, Ford has finally ignited its EV campaign in Australia with three versions of the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E: the Select, opening at $79,990; the Premium, priced from $92,990; and the GT, with a dual-motor powertrain, starting from $108,990 (all plus on-road costs).

Despite the six-figure price tag, Ford expects the hard-core GT version to be the most popular with buyers initially, given it’s the most powerful and sportiest car in the range. And, for the record, it’s around $44,000 more expensive than the outgoing V8-powered Mustang GT coupe (from $65,290).

Key battery-electric mid-size SUV rivals include the Kia EV6 – carsales’ 2022 Car of the Year – and the Hyundai IONIQ 5, along with Australia’s (and the world’s) top-selling EV, the Tesla Model Y, which starts from $65,400 plus ORCs.

Ford says it has no plans for a more affordable entry-level version of the Mach-E, while the GT-based Mach-E Rally is also not yet locked in.

Supplies of the Mach-E are said to be good, with plenty of cars to satisfy the hundreds of orders already taken. Thousands of expressions of interest have been lodged and Ford is not anticipating long delivery delays.

Warranty provisions are middle of the road with five-year/unlimited-kilometre backing, but general after sales coverage is pretty good, with a free auto club membership, roadside assistance for up to seven years (if serviced with a Ford dealer) and a courtesy car whenever the Mach-E goes in for a service at a Ford dealer.

Speaking of which, service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, and the Ford Australia website lists prices of $135 and $180 alternately annually for 10 years, which is pretty sharp – although not as good as some EVs which only require servicing every two years.

The battery warranty is fairly standard too, listed at eight years/160,000km.

Ford has taken a similar approach to the Mercedes-Benz EQE with the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E by equipping all three model grades with very similar interior features.

Ultimately, you’re shelling out extra clams for higher e-motor performance and an extended range that comes with a bigger battery.

Therefore, all Mach-E cars are handsomely equipped, fitted as standard with a jumbo 15.5-inch central touch-screen and a 10.2-inch digital driver’s display, eight-way power-operated front seats with synthetic ‘Black Onyx Sensico’ upholstery, a premium 10-speaker B&O audio system with a subwoofer, wireless phone charging pad, a large panoramic glass roof and powered tailgate.

The Mach-E is a ‘fully vegan’ vehicle, according to Ford, with no animal products used in its making.

On the outside you’ll find 19-inch alloy wheels with plastic aero cladding, novel E-latch door handles, an acoustically insulated windscreen, LED headlights and a rear roof spoiler.

The Mach-E Premium adds metallic scuff plates, red brake callipers, different 19-inch alloy wheels (without aero cladding) and more advanced projector-type LED headlights with auto high beam. Inside, there’s black headlining, red contrast seat stitching and multi-colour ambient LED lighting.

The high-performance flagship Mach-E GT has a body kit, bigger 20-inch alloy wheels with grippier Pirelli P Zero tyres (245/45R20), stronger Brembo brakes, adaptive suspension and an extra drive mode (Untame Plus) designed for racetrack use.

Inside, there’s more aggressive front sport seats finished in synthetic leather and suede, but they delete the centre head airbag.

There are seven colours available across the Mach-E range, with Shadow Black the only no-cost option. Star White, Space White, Vapour Blue, Rapid Red, Carbonised Grey and the hero Grabber Blue Metallic are all $700 extra.

Other than that, there are no factory options.

The 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E has a five-star ANCAP safety rating, but this is restricted to single-motor versions. The dual-motor GT is officially unrated, due to the fact that its front-end structure is significantly altered with the second e-motor. This will require additional testing.

Notably, the Mach-E GT also misses out on the centre-front airbag found on entry- and mid-level model grades due to its sportier seats. That still leaves nine airbags protecting occupants, compared to 10 in the Select and Premium models.

Safety systems are par for the course for a modern EV, with driver assist highlights including active park assist, a 360-degree surround-view camera, blind spot monitoring (with cross traffic alert and braking), active lane keep assistance and intelligent adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go.

There’s also evasive steer assist, speed sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring, reverse brake assist and post impact braking.

Despite being on sale overseas for a few years, where it has proven to be very popular, the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E has plenty of tech and a befittingly futuristic vibe.

The first thing drivers will encounter are the E-latch door handles. Well, technically the car has no door handles (in a bid to improve aerodynamics), so instead you push tiny circular buttons, which activate electric servos in the doors to pop them open. They work well but if you get a flat battery you’ll face a couple of a hurdles.

There’s also a ‘beach mode’ where you can leave your keys in the car and use the 10-digit keypad built into the door to open it later, a feature that surfers will love.

Once inside the cabin, the eyeballs are instantly drawn to the massive 15.5-inch central touch-screen which runs Ford’s SYNC 4 operating system brimming with features and functionality, along with pretty good voice recognition controlling a wide array of functions.

Most owners will probably choose to run Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, wired or wireless, and there’s also a single wireless charging pad along with one USB-C and one USB-A port up front.

Ford has included a sleek 10.2-inch digital driver’s display that looks awesome but has the customisability of a painted pebble. Beyond battery charge, range readouts and road speed, there’s few other trip details. Average energy economy? Nope. Average speed? Nada.

Economy data is available on the central screen but there’s no head-up display, which is disappointing.

Like most modern cars from the Blue Oval brand, the Mach-E has an integrated modem that works with the FordPass smartphone app, allowing for various remote functions such as door lock/unlock, preconditioning cabin temp, checking the charge and even locating the vehicle remotely with a mapping feature.

The entry-level 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Select (198kW/430Nm) and mid-spec Premium (216kW/430Nm) versions of Ford’s new all-electric mid-size SUV are fitted with a single e-motor driving the rear wheels.

The flagship GT gets dual motors (358kW/860Nm) that pump out double the torque/thrust of its scrawnier siblings. This all-wheel drive Mach-E GT blitzes the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 3.7sec.

All the motors are permanent magnet synchronous type spinners and all models connect powerplants to the wheels via single-speed automatic reduction gears, but they get different batteries.

Going by Ford’s figures, the entry-level 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Select can travel up to 470km (WLTP) on a single charge of its 71kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which uses lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry and is supplied by CATL, the biggest battery-maker in China.

The mid-spec Premium and top-spec GT models use a higher-density 91kWh battery, with lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistry. It’s supplied by Korean brand LG and offers claimed ranges of 600km (WLTP) and 590km (WLTP) respectively.

According to Ford, the 71kWh Mach-E Select offers an official energy consumption rate of 17.8kWh/100km, which is slightly less efficient compared to the 91kWh Premium at 17.3kWh/100km. The 91kWh GT comes in at 21.2kWh/100km.

On the launch drive we didn’t get an opportunity to drive the base-grade Select, and the best we could manage in the Premium was 20kWh/100km and just over 22kWh/100km in the GT.

All models feature a Type 2 charge cable and have a maximum charging bandwidth of 150kW, which is below average. Many rivals offer 200kW and even 350kW charging speeds – such as the Kia EV6 – and the Tesla Model Y is rated at 170kW.

Ford says that with an ultra-fast DC charger at 150kW charging speeds, the smaller battery will go from 10 to 80 per cent in 32 minutes, while the bigger batteries take a claimed 45 minutes.

The most obvious and pleasing characteristic when driving the 2023 Ford Mach-E is the steering. The moment you take the helm and starting moving there’s a meatiness and weight to the steering that few other EVs come close to.

It instantly brings you into the moment and connects car and driver in a very agreeable fashion.

The single-motor Mach-E models are not exactly firecrackers in terms of acceleration – in fact, even the mid-spec Premium can feel a bit sluggish off the line – but the passive (aka non-adaptive) suspension tunes deliver pretty good ride and handling qualities.

You won’t feel too many bumps and lumps pounding their way into the cabin acoustically or physically thanks to reasonable ride comfort.

The firm and unforgiving ride quality we experienced on an international drive in Detroit last year were in US-market models that feature stiffer suspension, while Aussie-spec models are fitted with the more compliant European suspension tune (thankfully).

Meanwhile, the handling dynamics are rather moreish.

Granted, these vehicles are not light, the single e-motor versions tipping the scales at roughly 2.1 tonnes and when push comes to shove – or you just dial up the tempo around a roundabout – the Mach-E Premium can start to list and lean over, tyres squealing in protest.

But on a twisting mountain road the engaging steering, rear-drive propulsion and weird (but intriguing) synthetic ‘V8 burble’ add a nice dollop of character and generate a more memorable driving experience than most EVs in the segment can muster.

For all that, these SUVs still don’t feel like a Mustang. Not even the top-spec GT.

While the twin-motor, all-wheel drive Mustang Mach-E GT with its stump-pulling 860Nm of torque retains rear-biased propulsion traits and its adaptive dampers provide greater dynamic scope and better body control (despite its whopping 2.3t mass) than its single-motor siblings, it’s got about as much Mustang DNA in its look and feel as a red herring.

The big 385mm Brembo brake rotors (up from 362mm non-Brembos in single-motor Mach-E models) provide strong stopping power but pedal modulation is described as ‘very touchy’ in my notes. They feel like they’re on or off – almost binary – and you must be ultra-delicate with pedal pressure.

That said, the GT is impressively rapid on road and track, the Pirelli P Zero tyres (245/45R20) doing a top job of maintaining traction. Its potent yet predictable on winding roads and is unquestionably one of the more satisfying EVs to drive enthusiastically.

Even on the sodden Norwell Motorplex circuit near Brisbane – windscreen wipers on full tilt – the GT was a hoot, hooking into corners with as much resolve as you’d expect from a 2281kg SUV whose snout is emblazoned with the hallowed prancing pony.

Testing the 0-100km/h sprint in torrential conditions, complete with moody thunderstorms, the Mach-E GT’s front wheels spin momentarily before apportioning torque to the rear wheels, regaining traction then blasting forward with breathtaking pace.

Like all EVs, the Mustang Mach-E can also be a fairly quiet cruiser and delivers a premium feel when pottering around.

Adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist systems function as expected, making freeway driving very relaxing by keeping you on the straight and narrow.

It can, but it’s not advised. The 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Select and Premium models have 172mm of ground clearance, which is just enough to hop a kerb in the ’burbs, let alone take on the Oodnadatta Track.

Mach-E GT models slice another 9mm off that with ground clearance of just 163mm.

If the Ford Mustang Mach-E had landed Down Under in early 2021 like in some markets, it would’ve been an absolute belter. As it stands, with its 15.5-inch central touch-screen and 10-speaker B&O stereo with sound bar integrated into the dashboard, it still makes quite the statement.

There are a couple of quibbles, like the cheap steering wheel stalks borrowed from the Ford Fiesta runabout and the lack of a physical shade cover for the large glass roof, but overall the Mach-E presents really nicely and makes a positive first impression.

Seat comfort on Premium and GT models is good and ergonomics throughout the cabin are sound, making for an easy-going experience from the moment you hop in. There’s loads of storage nooks and crannies and rear seat room is fairly good, too.

There’s a large 134-litre storage bucket under the bonnet, which is fully washable, waterproof and has drainage holes. Good for wet beach gear or just throwing some ice in there with cold drinks.

Unlike the cavernous Tesla Model Y, however, boot space is average. Considering the length of this vehicle (GT is 4743mm bumper to bumper), the 402-litre cargo capacity feels a bit undercooked.

The space increases to a maximum 1420 litres when the rear seats are folded. There’s no spare wheel, just a ‘tyre mobility kit’.

You can spend all day arguing whether Ford made the right call in leveraging the famous pony car brand to create the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Yes, it’s an electric SUV and it’s unlikely to get legions of V8-loving Ford performance car fanatics to take the plunge. Company execs readily admit the Mach-E will attract buyers who have never before considered a car with a Blue Oval badge.

But is the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E any good? For sure.

Despite being more expensive than rivals from Tesla, Hyundai and Kia, the Mach-E delivers on its promise of an entertaining experience for drivers.

The GT in particular is charismatic and one of the most engaging electric vehicles this side of the Porsche Taycan and the incoming BMW i5 M60.

2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium at a glance:
Price: $92,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 216kW/430Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 91kWh lithium-ion (NMC type)
Range: 600km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 17.3kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021)

2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT at a glance:
Price: $108,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Dual permanent magnet synchronous motors
Output: 358kW/860Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 91kWh lithium-ion (NMC type)
Range: 490km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 21.2kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested