Ford Mustang Mach-E Long-Term Test Drive: Is EV Driving Addictive?

Forbes

3 days ago

Ford Mustang Mach-E
I love test driving EVs. They're fun thanks to instant acceleration, a quiet ride, more horsepower than similarly sized vehicles and modern, often minimalist design. Most hug the road thanks to the 'skateboard' style battery pack and front and rear motors that deliver all wheel drive for even more capability.
But would I love owning one? They come with some reputational baggage and uncertainty: People complain that public chargers are often broken, that not all cars are compatible with all chargers, that it can be costly to outfit a home with an EV charger. Cold temperatures can reduce range; hot temperatures and a high speed driving can eat up your battery power. Can you take a long trip in an EV?
I wanted to know. So, I asked Ford to loan me a Mustang Mach-E and to leave it in my driveway for several months rather than the usual week. They agreed.
The view from the driver's seat in the Ford Mustang Mach-E
Why The Ford Mustang Mach-E?
When Ford introduced the Mustang Mach-E it was a bigger moment for the company than many realized: A passion-fueled project, it targeted the EV market that Tesla had cornered by understanding why customers love their Teslas: it's not a car, it's a lifestyle. A different way of driving, yes, but a different way of thinking.
Tapping the deep emotional ties between Mustang and its drivers, Ford drew on the brand's heritage, design language, and power/trim lineup (good, great, exhilarating). Then they added features and options to further build on the Mustang mystique.
The result was—and still is—a much sought-after compact hatchback SUV that has legions of fans and fan clubs and some celebrity owners including Wall Street Journal tech writer Joanna Stern. Mach-E continues to increase sales each year and finished 2024 as the third best selling EV behind Tesla Y and Tesla 3.
But I needed to know more: what it's like to live with an EV's novel features, such as an app that allows you to drive without a key and pass it to other drivers, that monitors your charging, that allows you to use Tesla Superchargers. To use Blue Cruise hands-free highway driving on my regular commute, which entails a lot of traffic on the highway. And to master one-pedal driving—which you know you've done when your passengers don't know you're doing it.
Would the Ford Mustang Mach-E change me as a driver?
The Pony icon on the Ford Mustang Mach-E
Driving The Ford Mustang Mach-E Is Effortless, Unlike Any Other Car
I knew this about driving an EV: it's effortless. There's little need to use the brake, shifting gears is quick and simple, many don't even require you to tap a start button (though the Mach-E does).
What I didn't realize is that I'd quickly become addicted to it, and that driving other cars would seem like a lot more work. One-pedal drive mode allows you to mostly just adjust your foot on the accelerator to slow and even come to a complete stop. Yes, it also recharges the battery a bit but that's a nominal reason for using it; the sheer lightness of never having to smash the brake is liberating.
And once you stop, you're stopped thanks to auto hold (which is a toggle on the control screen). No need to continually press the brake of an anxiously-powered car that will creep ahead when you lift your foot. You can rest your foot on the accelerator and sprint ahead instantly when the light turns green. This little tidbit is delicious, and it's something you'll never know until you try it.
And you can still smoke the starting line. More than a few times a loud, rumbly gas-powered car would roll up next to me in traffic and check out the Mustang Mach-E's silhouette, clearly wondering if it's as fast as it's rumored to be. A quick tap of the accelerator and that V8 is a speck in your rear view mirror while his turbo is still scrolling up power.
Charging the Ford Mustang Mach-E
Using Tesla Superchargers Is A Game Changer
My long term test drive came with a gift from Jim Farley, Ford's CEO: A Tesla-style NACS adapter. This meant that I could pop it onto the end of a Tesla charge cord and charge the Mach-E.
I liked that I could charge with the cool kids, and that this access opened up literally thousands and thousands of charge stations nationwide. I also like that Tesla and Ford worked out the software handshake without a third party complicating things so it works easily and reliably. Last, Tesla's stations are nicely maintained and reliable, so I didn't expect (and didn't experience) any non-working plugs.
In all, it was convenient, yes, but there are caveats, too: The location of the Mustang Mach-E's charge port and the short cords that Tesla installed on most of their charge stations means you have to straddle two parking spots and pull as far forward as possible to make the Tesla charge cord reach. I only did this in charge stations with a lot of open plugs and it took me a couple of tries to get it right.
To use the Tesla Supercharger you have to add your payment information to your FordPass app, then when you want to charge, use the app to find a charger and activate the plug you want to use; it'll start charging when you connect the plug to your car and when it's done, it'll process payment; you'll get a notification on your app. This is really convenient but you need to know this before heading to your first Supercharger.
The Lectron charger app proved very helpful in charging the Mustang Mach-E
The Thrifty Work-Around That Made Charging At Home Easy
The ability to 'fuel' your car at home is one of the main reasons the idea of driving an EV appeals to me. I hate going to the gas station: It's not convenient, it's not fun and it's always expensive. But charging at home? I regularly added 40% to the battery, about 100 miles, for about $3. That would cost $13 at the gas pump (and, public charging is about the same price as gas where I live in Texas).
It sounds cheap, but does the math work out if you factor in a $4,000 power wall added to your garage? If you're not using all its benefits—connecting to solar panels, selling extra power to the grid or using your car to power your house, then it's probably not worth it.
For me, the answer was to add a level 2 charge cord; I went with a cord from Lectron and hired an electrician to install an outlet. Once installed I realized I still and an issue: The car drew about 40 amps but the largest circuit in my electrical box was 30 amps; when I plugged in the car it tripped the circuit.
A friend advised rather than dealing with the electrician again, which would cost $150, I should get a wifi-enabled smart charger; with the charger's app I could select the charging current I wanted to use; I set it to 24 amps and the Mach-E charged beautifully. It recharged 40% in just a few hours but took 14 hours to get to 100%. I could see when charging started, when it stopped and how many kilowatt hours were used in the Lectron app.
Estee takes the wheel of the Ford Mustang Mach-E
Putting The Naysayers To The EV Test: What My Family Thought
In my household cars are not personal, they are communal: My husband and daughters drive them as needed, taking each other to the airport, going to dinner, road trips and more. The Mustang Mach-E needed to be part of the community, too.
So everyone drove it. And everyone loved it, but for different reasons. I was honestly surprised: My Luddite husband, a man who's challenged to change a lightbulb but can deliver a lightning quick in-depth analysis of almost anything, is loath to give up something he loves for a new-and-improved version. I thought he would hate the Mustang Mach-E.
Turns out he loved the effortless experience of driving it and one-pedal driving as much as I did. It made him feel even more accomplished and polished behind the wheel. He also loved the open-cabin design and he got used to the large multimedia screen. He didn't learn to use Blue Cruise hands free driving or 'hello Ford' voice activation but … Luddite.
My older daughter loved the easy drive experience but not one-pedal driving; every time she took the Mach-E she immediately turned off one-pedal driving for a more usual drive experience. Even her boyfriend, a Ram 1500 driver, was impressed by the Mach-E.
My younger daughter also loved it, scooting around town to ferry me to appointments and take me to lunch. If it means spending time with my kids, I'm happy to let them drive me. Throughout the test drive the one question in our family chat was, 'when will you need a ride to the airport?' meaning they could drop me off and then take the Mach-E while I was gone.
The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E that served as my long term test drive
I Never Want A Car Key Again… And Other Lessons From Driving The Mach-E
One of the things I liked most, and there were a lot, was never needing to bring a car key. My phone was all I needed. I never even needed to lock the car; it would lock automatically when I walked away with my phone and unlock when I approached. I could pass the key to a hotel or restaurant valet; I could hand it off to one of my kids. I left the car at the airport and didn't need to dig through my things to find the key when I returned; it simply unlocked as I approached.
I also loved charging the Mach-E in my garage. When I realized I needed to fuel the car I just popped out to the garage and plugged it in. I could plug it in at night and let it fully replenish over night. Unless I was on a road trip I never charged it anywhere other than home, which was as refreshing as it was thrifty.
The Mach-E's 240 mile range was just fine. The longer range 312-mile battery adds $4,250 to the price, but unless you have a specific need for more range, it's not worth it. I road tripped twice and never felt range was an issue.
What else did I fall in love with? The panoramic sunroof; the open, airy cabin. Hands-free highway driving. 'Hey Ford' voice assistance. Having guests in the car; the cabin is so chic and comfortable it's a great place to have coffee with a friend or do a Zoom call (which I did quite a few times).
And I liked how I was as a driver: more focused on the road and the journey and less on managing the machine. Or maybe, I became more one with the machine, more hand-in glove than hand-on the wheel. Whichever it was, I'm addicted and can't wait to do it again.