2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Road Test and Review

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Front ・ Photo by Nicole Wakelin

The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E takes the Mustang name in a new direction. It’s not the iconic pony car you know and love, but don’t worry. That Mustang – the sporty two-door fastback – is still very much a part of the Ford lineup. Ford is not replacing the Mustang; instead, it’s expanding the Mustang lineup with an all-new electric SUV.

It’s a little hard to wrap your head around the idea at first, but stay with us for a minute. Power, performance, and style have always been a part of the Mustang heritage. The Mach-E is no different. It just takes that heritage and adds a responsive electric powertrain and the versatility of an SUV. Let’s take a look at the all-new 2021 Mustang Mach-E and see why this electric SUV might be the right Mustang for you.

Five Trims Including a Performance GT

The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is offered in five trims. The base Select has available rear- or all-wheel drive, wireless phone charging, 15.5-inch infotainment touchscreen, and a standard range battery at $42,895. The Premium is priced at $47,000 with 10-speaker B&O audio, heated front seats and steering wheel, and available extended range battery. Next is the California Route 1 at $49,800 with rear-wheel drive only, the extended range battery, and unique CA1 badging.

The limited First Edition is all-wheel drive only with the extended range battery, red brake calipers, metallic pedal covers, contrast seat stitching, and a “First Edition” scuff plate for $58,300. At the top of the lineup is the 480-horsepower GT with 600 lb-ft of torque, all-wheel drive only, the extended range battery, 19-inch brakes, and available suede accents from $60,500. This trim is also available in a Performance Edition with 634 lb-ft of torque.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Multiple Electric Powertrain Options

The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is an electric vehicle with a variety of electric motor and battery pack combinations. The base powertrain is rear-wheel drive with a 68-kWh battery, an electric motor with 266 horsepower, and 317 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive adds a second electric motor for 428 lb-ft of torque. Models equipped with the 88-kWh extended range battery get more powerful motors, giving rear-wheel drive trims 290 horsepower and all-wheel drive trims 346 horsepower.

The GT comes with 480-horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, while the GT Performance Edition increases the torque to 634 lb-ft. We had the opportunity to drive the Premium with all-wheel drive and the extended range battery. This is an SUV, but it has a sporty demeanor. It’s responsive when you hit the accelerator, especially when you opt for the Unbridled drive mode rather than Whisper or Comfort.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Standard or Extended Range Battery

Range is a concern with an electric vehicle, so the Mustang Mach-E is available with either a standard range or extended range battery. The standard range battery gets an estimated 230 miles per charge with rear-wheel drive or 211 miles per charge with all-wheel drive. The extended range battery increases those numbers to 300 miles and 270 miles, respectively. The GT, which is only available with the extended range battery and all-wheel drive, gets a targeted 250 miles per charge.

The Mach-E is compatible with DC fast charging to get you back on the road more quickly. This gives the extended range battery with rear-wheel drive roughly 61 miles of range in only 10 minutes. The standard range battery charges from 10 percent to 80 percent in 45 minutes. Either option makes charging your Mach-E a less time-consuming task. Along with the FordPass Charging Network, charging is an effortless affair.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

A Smooth, Quiet Ride

The ride in the Mustang Mach-E is expectedly quiet. There’s no engine noise to worry about — even with the accelerator mashed to the floor, it’s remarkably quiet. There’s minimal road noise, and wind noise is also kept at bay, a tribute to the Mach-E’s aerodynamic styling with all its swooping curves. The suspension nicely evens out rough road surfaces, and even the worst of winter’s potholes weren’t jarring to passengers.

While the Mach-E is quiet like a luxury sedan, it’s still a performance vehicle. It has crisp handling and a low center of gravity that give it the weight and stability of a sports car. It responds quickly to driver inputs without being so sporty that it becomes tiring or stressful spending time at the wheel. There’s a healthy balance between the performance handling you’d expect from a Mustang and the comfortable ride you want in an SUV.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Seating for Five

There’s seating for five people in the Mustang Mach-E with its open and airy interior. Front seats are supportive, but not stiff. Heavier bolstering gives them a sporty feel, but not so much that they become tight or confining. It’s easy to get comfortable and relax. The use of quality materials and a minimalist design give the Mach-E an upscale look and feel that encourages passengers to enjoy the ride.

Rear seat passengers have plenty of room; the seating's spaciousness will work for three adults without making anyone feel squished. There’s plenty of headroom and legroom so even taller folks won’t feel like the cabin is too small. The available panoramic fixed-glass roof adds plenty of light, enhancing the Mach E’s open, airy feel. It looks small for an SUV on the outside, but the inside tells a different story.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

New SYNC 4 Infotainment System

The Mustang Mach-E marks the debut of SYNC 4, the latest generation of Ford’s infotainment system. It shows off a new look and features a 15.5-inch vertical touchscreen in the Mach-E, offering the ability to customize the system to your individual preferences. Instead of the traditional menus, which can be annoying to navigate through, SYNC 4 features adaptive dash cards. This keeps the things you use most often in a row at the bottom of the main screen. You can even access the cards and use select features without opening them fully.

There’s also FordPass Connect, which includes 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity and cloud-based voice processing. This lets the system understand conversational speech rather than having to learn specific commands to work the system. It’s simplified yet fully featured, making it easier for driver and passenger alike.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Ample Cargo Room

The appeal of an SUV lies in its versatility for carrying both people and cargo. The Ford Mustang Mach-E offers ample room for cargo with 29.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats. Those seats split-fold 60/40 and expand cargo capacity to 59.7 cubic feet. There’s a wide rear opening to accommodate larger items and a low load floor so lifting up heavy cargo is less strenuous. There’s also a handsfree, foot-activated liftgate on select trims.

While that’s the end of the cargo story in most SUVs, there’s a bit more in an electric vehicle. Since there’s no engine, that leaves empty space up front for a small trunk. The Mach-E has 4.7 cubic feet for cargo in its front trunk, which is water resistant and washable, and it even has a drain. It’s a great spot for smaller items or anything wet or muddy.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Extensive Standard Safety

There is no shortage of safety features on the Mach-E. Standard Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0 features include reverse brake assist, reverse sensing system, post-impact braking, blind spot information with rear cross-traffic alert, pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, rear camera, and automatic high beams. There’s also standard Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist 2.0 which adds adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centering, speed sign recognition, evasive steering assist, and voice-activated navigation.

Ford Co-Pilot360 Technology, which is standard on all but the Select and GT trims, adds both active park assist and a 360-degree camera for a view on all sides of the vehicle. This is especially helpful in tight parking spaces or areas where low curbs might otherwise be missed. The Mach-E has a comprehensive suite of safety features offered across the trim lineup.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Final Thoughts

The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E takes Ford and the Mustang in a new direction. It doesn’t replace the existing Mustang, but rather expands upon it, turning what is a well-known and much-loved car into its own unique lineup of vehicles. It marries the versatility of an SUV with the sportiness of a Mustang in one vehicle.

That performance comes courtesy of an all-electric powertrain. It might seem a bit like heresy to turn the Mustang into an EV, but this is a natural evolution. Mustang has long meant performance and power, and it still does, just with the latest in powertrain technology. There’s also a comfortable and surprisingly spacious interior with quality materials that give this SUV an upscale vibe. The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E combines the performance heritage of a Mustang, the efficiency of an EV, and the versatility of an SUV in one beautiful package.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin