Ford Mustang Mach-E 2024 review: Select long-term | Part 3

It’s our last month with the Mach-E, and this car has made its mark.

In my mind, it’s worked its way from a cynical use of the Mustang badge to possibly the front-running electric SUV in its class.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not as affordable as some of its rivals, and it also objectively doesn’t have the same value list of features as, say, the Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5, but there’s something much more subjective about this car.

It’s more than a list of features, it’s an EV which is so lovely to drive. I’m not even talking about things like ride quality (which continues to be very good), or the enthusiastic steering. It’s even the fact it is 9.0mm less wide than an EV6, and therefore much easier to park in the confines of a unit block or underground parking garage.

It’s also the styling which has grown on me. At first, I found the curvy lines off-set with the square three-bar lights at the rear a somewhat awkward mish-mash of Ford’s European SUV line-up and its American influences, but the more I looked at it over the three months I had it, the more I liked it.

I also looked forward to hopping in its plush interior, which is also a step above its Korean rivals in terms of comfort and finish. It proved a comfortable tourer on the long journeys of part two of this review.

Which Mustang Mach-E is the best value?

This one. The base Select ($72,990, before on-roads) has everything you really need in the Mach-E range. Honestly, the ridiculous 600km range available in the mid-grade Premium ($86,990) feels unnecessary, especially given this base one gets close to its 470km claim in the real world (see part two for more on that).

It’s one thing to have plenty of range for cruising on the freeway, but at the same time I didn't feel a constant need to charge the Mach-E to cover daily duties.

With the range as it was, I only needed to charge it once every three or four weeks if I wasn’t venturing outside the city. You might get longer out of the larger battery option, but why? It doesn’t seem like it’s worth the extra outlay unless you’re a frequent interstate traveller.

Inside is a plush interior, which is a step above its Korean rivals in terms of comfort and finish. (Image: Tom White)

The performance on offer is also on-point. Yes, the Mach-E is heavy and feels it, but the 198kW/430Nm available at the rear wheels is plenty, and certainly enough for a little oversteer antics when called for.

Again, the top-spec GT’s absurd 358kW/860Nm is way more than anyone needs, complete with grippy tyres and all-wheel drive.

While it’s dollops of fun (I sampled it at the launch), it demands track velocities to stretch its legs.

The Mach-E is heavy and feels it, but the 198kW/430Nm available at the rear wheels is plenty. (Image: Tom White)

How does it compare to its rivals?

It’s more expensive, for one, but it’s also well equipped, very sharp to drive, and importantly rides well. I had the chance to drive its latest opponent in the mid-size EV SUV category, in the form of the Subaru Solterra.

The Solterra comes in all-wheel drive only and is more affordable than the Mach-E Select in its base form, and it’s one of the few EVs which actually rides better, too.

But it also offers nowhere near the range or performance, so it’s better suited for buyers who don’t value those traits as much.

The EV6 and Ioniq 5 are more tech-y, offering faster charging courtesy of their 800-volt architectures, as well as external V2L features and internal three-pin outlets. Great for powering household appliances, or even just your laptop when you’re on the road.

This is one feature I missed in my time with the Mach-E, as I’d often spend time while charging working on my laptop with the air conditioning on in the EV6 or its smaller Niro sibling.

Actually, one thing which continually stood out about the Mach-E is how it reminded me of a certain locally-built Ford. It has much of the same rear-wheel drive long-distance touring character, and occasionally cheeky attitude.

What didn’t we like about the Mustang Mach-E?

A whole bunch of little things, but no deal breakers. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the glass roof, which has no cover and heats up the cabin rapidly on a hot day, is one. The buttons in place of door handles are another. Sounds like an unnecessary fuss if the power is drained down to nothing.

I also found the expansive bodywork and gloss black highlights started to look particularly gnarly after a layer of grit built up on them. It takes away from the car’s overall design, and proves it will be hard to keep clean as it would only take a few days before the shiny factor wore off after each clean.

I also frequently ran into a small but very annoying glitch with the wireless Apple CarPlay where it would work fine except for the audio connection. To be fair, this might be a fault with CarPlay’s software or some firmware issue which Ford isn’t entirely responsible for but it doesn’t tend to do it on other models. 

The glass roof has no cover and heats up the cabin rapidly on a hot day. (Image: Tom White)

It could only be overcome by completely re-starting the car or forcing it to forget your phone completely and re-connecting it. Frustrating at times when you want to just hop in and listen to a podcast.

Also, the greyscale interior, dominated by the huge portrait-oriented touchscreen, continued to divide those who I took for a ride in the car. Some because it didn’t look or feel like a Mustang and others because it was just too much touchscreen for them.

Another issue I ran into was placement of the charging port. It’s behind the front left wheel arch, which can present problems when it comes time to plug in.

Upfront of the Mach-E is a huge portrait-oriented touchscreen. (Image: Tom White)

Often, the large, heavy DC cables had trouble reaching, particularly if the pylon was on the right-hand side of the vehicle.

This occasionally led to some situations where I’d have to park on an awkward angle to even get the cable to reach, or have to reverse out and try another bay.

It’s an annoying but surprisingly frequent issue for longer electric vehicles.

The placement of the charging port was problematic at times. (Image: Tom White)

Is the Mustang Mach-E efficient?

We covered a total of 2678km in our three months with the Mach-E and it spent a while kicking around town, but also a significant amount of time on freeway journeys.

While I’ve seen higher and lower on a trip-by-trip basis, the Mach-E’s total overall average consumption landed at 16kWh/100km.

This is impressive, not only because it’s better than the combined claim of 17.8kWh/100km, but also because of the amount of freeway travel (which should be less efficient given the lack of regen).

  The base Select has a 470km range available. (Image: Tom White)

For reference, anything below 20kWh/100km is ahead of par for a big, heavy EV like this, and I’d expect the achieved 16kWh/100km on a much smaller vehicle.

This speaks to the Mach-E’s efficient motor and rear-wheel drive set-up, its low drag coefficient and appropriate temperature management for its battery, all of which have a significant impact on consumption.

The trip computer also has a neat feature which shows you where your high-voltage energy was spent. Mine said seven per cent went to climate use, eight per cent went to powering accessories, and three per cent was lost to the exterior temperature needing to be compensated for.

The Mach-E’s total overall average consumption landed at 16kWh/100km. (Image: Tom White)

I also found, thanks to the sheer size of the battery and accurate range, I would simply let it drain down to below 20 per cent before using a fast DC charger, rather than constantly maintenance charging on a local 11kW AC unit.

I have no way to charge it at home, but thanks to some forward-thinking charging infrastructure at my local shops, this didn’t present a problem.

At the max 150kW charging speed this process takes a little over 30 minutes, while on a 50kW unit, which I used more often, it’s a little over an hour.