2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E: Not yet a good Mustang, but a very good EV

[MUSIC] Never in my life would have thought that I would be talking to you from the inside of the Mustang that happens to be electric ganda crossover but life is full of surprises. So here we are in the 2020s 21 Ford Mustang Maki [MUSIC] Maki may not entirely drive like the Mustang. Things that you and I are used to I have to admit I am pretty darn impressed with this thing. Now most variants of Mustang do a pretty commendable job offering a balanced handling experience with the power to overwhelm the rear end in a hurry. When When you want it, but things are a little bit different here in the Machi despite some impressive power figures, take for example my first edition tester here we're dealing with about 332 horsepower and 417 pound feet of torque and those numbers aren't really anything to sneeze at, but with four driven wheels and the power trains bulk about as literally as low as it can be. It takes an awful amount of work to settle this thing. Now, the Mark is from the truck in the corners. Thanks to that low center of gravity. In addition to things like nicely weighted steering and that instantaneous electronic torque, but it's not really a tail happy maniac. Like you assume most Mustangs can be, or in some cases are, although I imagine the GT and rear wheel drive trim should kind of shake that cup up. Little bit. Honestly, it's not an outright sports car in this trim but, comes closer than anything else in the segment. [NOISE] But a fix dampers on my first edition trim are actually surprisingly soft giving a bit more body roll in the corners, then i would probably say I'd like but it's still more on the composed side than on the outright soft side. It doesn't feel like i feel Anchor. Some appreciative stiffness would probably bolster that Mustang connection a bit better. But sadly if you want the cool Magneto rheological adaptive dampers, you're stuck springing for the expensive gt trim. The Rockies instant on electric torque does make for some exciting starts, but I wouldn't exactly call this brutal or anything that you normally hear Associated with EBS, smash the accelerator from a stop and I do get pushed back into my seat but it's never really overwhelming. And the more normal driving situation, there is a good amount of throttle manipulation so you can kind of roll on to it as you get out of the corner for a nice smooth exit. Now the GT is gonna be more of the proper bullets. So if you're looking for something that's kinda hard edged. That's the trim to go for. The performance of this all wheel drive model I would say is probably a bit more akin to the Mustang EcoBoost it's plenty of power for most people, but it's not exactly the end all be all. In the Maki three different vehicle modes are available. Whisper as you can imagine prioritizes smoothness, With an accelerator that's more reluctant to accumulate speed in addition to a little bit looser of a steering field. In the middle of the road, we have engaged which kind of sharpens everything up a bit but the top mode on bridled pretty her really sharpens things up even further. Given the suspensions preference for smoothness Honestly, I think whisper is my preferred mode. No matter the mode you're in Maki also includes a fun little replacement for the engine note that you are probably missing. That increases in intensity as you ramp up the accelerator and as you change vehicle modes, and that's just a fun little touch doesn't really do anything but it's a nice little thing to have especially When most DV's just have that low speed noise meant for pedestrians. That's the fun things. [MUSIC] Like most DV's, regenerative braking is along for the ride here in the [INAUDIBLE] and it's pretty darn good. There's a setting that enables one pedal driving and to be honest Whether I'm on the highway or country roads, I have almost not had to even touch the left side pedal. Sadly when I do, it's not my favorite. There is a pretty obvious change and deceleration rate between the regenerative and When the friction breaks, and I really hope Ford smooths that out with the GT because I have to imagine that would be the one owners will be chucking in the corners the most. Now my time with Maki is sadly on the limited side so I haven't been able to give it a full range rundown so let's just kind of go through some numbers. The EPA rates this first edition variant here with all wheel drive in about 270 miles Things to it's larger 98.8 kilowatt hour battery. Sadly though getting into this thing on a chilly late November morning, my range is showing a little bit closer to 220. And now that the snow is picked up and everything, it's kind of dipping even lower Lower than that. And when it comes time to charge the Maki will accept up to 150 kilowatts of juice which is pretty darn quick. That will give you the charge time of ten to 80% about 38 to 45 minutes depending on your battery size. Once again, my experience was a little more tepid. Than that. I went to a local [UNKNOWN] charger which promises up to 50 kilowatts of juice, but a third of the max power however, I was only able to get about 35 out of it. So in about 45 to 50 minutes, I only managed about 18 kilowatt hours to top off. [MUSIC] While we're sitting here juicing up, let's talk tech We'll start small, well, small ish with the 10.2 inch digital gauge display. Now it's pretty straightforward and really only gives you the information you need. By default you have what gear you're in the range and your speed. And that's about it. If you turn on lane change assist, everything kinda shuffles to the side while the car appears in the middle and lets you know with colors when you gonna deviate out of the lane. Turn on turn by turn directions as well, and everything once again kinda shuffles over and you get the next turn displayed on there too. Now it's all super straightforward and easy to suss out, even while you're at speed because turning the features on and off really doesn't move stuff around too much. That brings us to the meat and potatoes this honking 15.5 inch portrait display running Ford SYNC for infotainment system. Now if you're familiar with later iterations of sync, this one should act as second nature. I'll be it with some minor changes for the shape of the display and the fact that we're in the Maki. But even newbies should find it pretty easy to suss out to. The entire top half is dedicated to basically one setting, whether it's your map or your audio and you have these little tiles underneath so you can kind of swap between the two depending on what you wanna manipulate. On the bottom half of the screen you have your h back controls along with a cool knurled integrated volume., Knob here. Then no matter what I'm clicking, the display is responsive and everything is sized so that distracting hyper precision isn't really necessary when you're driving. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Ways Integration are all standard, as is a 4G LTY hot spot through AT&T Now my absolute favorite bit of this infotainment system, and I know this will sound super weird is the settings menu. Click the little Maki at the top left here and you get a Litany of things to change whether you want to engage various vehicle modes or turn driver aids on and off. But that's not the cool part, the cool part are these little I buttons right here. You know how when you get new a new car, all the settings kind of see nebulous and with some marketing terms, you're not entirely sure what some of those settings actually do. Well, Ford's figured out a solution. Just click a little eye here on the right side of whatever setting you have and all of a sudden, boom, a straightforward no nonsense explanation of what it does. I mean, honestly, it's Brilliant.>> In addition to the wireless charger in the center console USB ports are bound. Both rows of the Maki receive one USB A and one USB C port. So unless you're rolling five people deep and they all have red battery indicators you should be plenty fine on juice Nowhere is coops like the regular Mustang are kind of cramped on the inside and they have to really squeeze every inch of usability out of what little space is actually in there. All the Maki feels like children the concert hall by comparison. It is super roomy in here eight in part by a glass roof up above, and it near total lack of mechanical bits below. Now even with the windshield that's still a little on the short side in the rear glass that's even a little more scrunched. This is still a light Neri place to be with plenty of visibility where it counts. Now I'm an absolute sucker for fabric interior trim, so I was geeked to find it here on the marquee. Not only does it adorn pretty much the entire width of the dashboard, it does double duty on the door panels where it hides some potent B and O speakers. It's a warm fuzzy your kind of compliment to the colder harder plastics that I find here on the a pillar and a little bit lower on the door panel. Hopefully because this is a pre production prototype those plastics will soften up because in my opinion, not really befitting of a $45,000 car. But on the whole, this is a great compliment to and otherwise kind of straightforward, simple dashboard design. Since there is no transmission or a drive shaft to worry about there is an absolute boatload of space in this thing for storing just about whatever you need. Up front here underneath the infotainment we have not one but two tiers of storage with the top tray containing a wireless device charging. Pull up the center armrest you have more than enough space in this cubby for a purse or gloves or mask. What have you. And in the door cards will be up more cup holders and more space believe it or not and the trunks pretty good to despite the cut roofline out back. It is a surprisingly deep trunk more than enough to hold say a family's worth of groceries or Weekender bags. Now Comfort absolutely abounds in the maquis the front leather seats here are supportive without being tight, but it's really the back row that caught my attention the most. Given the shape of the roofline, I kind of thought there'd be a little bit that issue getting tall people back there, but my awkward six foot Gumby frame has no issues with head or leg room. I mean, heck, the Maki is wide enough to where writing three impressions be much of an issue. Cram three people back there to show you but. The thing. [MUSIC] Now perhaps my cynicism about the whole Mustang connection thing is a little overblown, at least for style is concerned. The mache does have Mustang influences all over and something tells me that when the next generation Stan comes out in the year two there will be even tighter connections. We'll start up here in the front with some pretty cool looking headlights. But the grill is where most of the tenuous Mustang connection comes in. Although I guess you can't really call this one much of a grill. Sure the little mustachioed bit around the end pulls in air and you get some extra airflow down here thanks to the active grille shutters, but on the whole it might not be to Mustang but still looks pretty darn good. Now, the real connection start as you work your way back here with a cut roofline, that is well Kupo brushes can be along with some fat rear fenders that I think would be at home on any two door sports car. But the real bit of fraternal twin comes right here at the taillights, you've got the traditional Mustang triple stack tail lights, although on the marquee, they bring these new kind of protuberances that Bring the rear end together a little bit makes it seem a little less to see thick than it would otherwise. So if the machi isn't really much of a Mustang Then what is it? Well, with prices ranging between $43,000 in this first edition tester here coming in at about 60 and given the way it drives, I call it more of a sensible Evie that dares towards Grand Touring rather than sport. Ford likely has more hardcore stuff in store for the upcoming GT. As it stands, this Maki would be great for road trips or regular daily use in a way that most Mustangs aren't. And it's real world range should keep folks pretty content. Honestly, the 2021 Ford Mustang Maki sets a fantastic baseline not only for cars in this segment, but for all of Ford's future TVs in general. [MUSIC]