Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Review
Words: Peter Anderson
Images: Blake Currall
Co-pilot: Mark Dewar
It's been a while since the Mustang nameplate was so sacrilegiously slapped onto the rump of a car that was a) not a two-door booted coupe and b) electric. Everyone got mad – I mean, seriously, get a grip – but that has, thankfully passed. For most people anyway. Folks who love high blood pressure are the only ones who care.
It also took a while for the Mach-E to reach our shores, as is often the case, with US, European and, weirdly, NZ (where they're everywhere) slurping up initial demand.
A recent trip to Florida in the United States – where I did not expect to see anything other than box-fresh Tesla Cybertrucks – underscored to me that the mithering, whining few don't decide how a car sells.
Being the performance-focussed website we are, we asked Ford for the top-of-the-line Mustang Mach-E GT to get us going on the sparky Ford journey.
How much is 2024 Mustang Mach-E GT and what do I get?
Mach-E Select: $64,990 (plus ORCs)
Mache-E Premium: $79,990 (plus ORCs)
Mach-E GT: $97,990 (plus ORCs)
There's a hefty price gap there between the models, isn't there? This is a bit of an EV thing where the performance version is far and away the most expensive. Separating the entry-level and range-topper by thirty-three large – or the price of a lightly-used GWM Ora –suggests it's fully-loaded. Given the reasonably generous spec on the Select, that'll take some doing.
It's worth reminding you, too, that when the GT landed here at the end of 2023, it was even more expensive, so any cut is good news.
It undercuts its most obvious rivals from Korea, sliding two grand under the EV6 GT and nearly fifteen under the Ioniq 5 N. It's a fair way over the Tesla Model Y Performance but that car is about as well-engineered as the MG4 X-Power, easily the worst of an otherwise excellent range. And, you know, who's buying Tesla these days?
Anyway, the GT's spec starts with all-wheel drive, meaning you get a whole extra motor to get you on your way. Quickly, as it turns out.
Look and Feel
I am not going to pretend that I think the Mach-E is very attractive, because it isn't, especially from the front. It does look its best in GT form with the monster wheels but that weird Tesla-esque blanked-out grille makes the front look unfinished and overfishy.
The profile is nice enough and the strong beltline gives it a bit of visual heft. I like the power bulges over the rear wheels but I think all three of them are let down by the SUV ruggedising of unpainted black arch extensions.
Still, it's not ugly, just not pretty. Or cool like its ICE namesake. The taillights do feature a pretty interesting re-interpretation of the signature three-light design of Mustangs past and present, which almost saves it.
The interior feels a lot like a Focus (RIP) which is to say well-built and well-made but not really matching the price. You could - again - say the same of a Tesla but I guess it's worth pointing out that Ford doesn't have a luxury arm or the luxury of a clean sheet.
I did like the seats, though, they're very comfortable and even the back seats felt pretty good.
Battery and Charging
The Mach-E GT ships with a 91kW lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery. That particular type of chemistry shows the age of the Mach-E but for all most owners care, it doesn't really matter. And it really doesn't matter.
Its charging port is found on the passenger side front guard and the best it can manage is 150kW. That means it'll take around 45 minutes to go from 10-80 percent. While that's no match for either of the Koreans, please send me a postcard from a working 350kW charger in any metro area.
Bonus points if that 350kW charger isn't being hogged by a retired white guy in a five-year-old Model S that has hit 100 percent but "he's just waiting for that extra little bit of charge." While reading the Australian Financial Review and talking loudly on the phone with some rando about the benefits of Premium Economy on Qantas for his next holiday.
Maximum AC charging speed is rated at 10.5kW, meaning that an overnight charge off a wallbox (assuming three-phase power) will easily fill the battery, quite cheaply in some places. At the lower end, 3kW will take quite some time to fill the battery.
Range
The GT has a claimed range of 490km on the WLTP cycle and I would have eased into 450km. And that's despite giving it plenty of welly and running the air-con in Sydney's sweatbox summer. I think that's pretty good going and indicates to me that you would get pretty close to 490km if you behaved yourself.
By comparison, the cheapie Select covers 470km with its smaller battery and RWD setup while the mid-spec Premium with the same battery as the GT has a WLTP range of 600km. That seems like the one to buy to me unless the GT's all-wheel drive and blistering straight-line speed is something you need.
Drivetrain
Because this bad boy is the fast one, it needs more than the Select and Premium single motor/rear-wheel drive arrangement. The Premium bests the Select's 198kW motor with a 216kW unit, both with 430Nm.
The GT has two motors - one at the front to join the rear - with a total of 358kW and 860Nm of torque. By any stretch, that's a galactic amount of torque and even when having to drag a 91kWh battery around, 358kW is not messing about.
It has a single-speed gearbox that makes sure the Mach-E GT slingshots its 2281kg kerb weight to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds.
Chassis
Rolling on Ford's Global Electrified 1 (GE1) platform, the Mach-E is a fairly conventional EV. More conventional than I realised, because there is a lot of Focus's C2 platform. Weirdly, it feels a lot like a high-riding, chunky and powerful Focus (more on that soon).
Magneride adaptive damping goes a long way to creating quite different experiences between the three drive modes. With 20-inch wheels shod with bespoke Pirelli P-Zero rubber, the springs and dampers have a lot of work to do.
What is the Mustang Mach-E like to drive?
Staring up and driving off, it could be any EV and I mean that in a good way. It's got a nice throttle modulation in the basic mode and it's all very straightforward. The ride is pretty firm, though, and you'll take a beating on potholes and speed bumps. This is a bit of a shame and makes me want to drive the lower models to see if a bit more sidewall and a bit less weight improves things.
Running up to highway speeds, the ride settles noticeably and is a much happier camper on the 80km/h trunk roads in Sydney. The steering improves a bit too, with the right weighting.
It's very quiet all the way to the legal limit, too. Blake and I chatted very easily in our trip down to the photo spot which includes all sorts of speed limits, road quality and road types. The punch from the electric motors is never short of breathtaking, either, enabling the usual slaloming around slow-moving weekenders.
Firing down my favourite bit of road, the Mach-E is also keen to play. Despite its weight, it has a good change of direction and is easy to get into a flow. Up to about eighty-five percent of my talent – which isn't inspiring, I hasten to add – it's great fun.
Things start to come apart a little as you explore it a bit further, though. The rear wheels will occasionally want to do their own thing and I don't mean start sliding. A very odd calibration of the traction and stability systems sees the brakes nipping and tucking in a weird way that breaks your rhythm.
The first time it happens, you think it was just a loose bit of gravel or something but it does keep happening when you're pushing hard. Its namesake would be swinging all over the place and being very entertaining in its low-grip way. The Mach-E has way more grip, deliberately so, and is better suited to brisk and swift rather than absolutely on it.
Which is perfectly fine. Not everybody drives cars like this the way I do and to think everyone does, even everyone who comes to The Redline, is plainly insane.
Redline Recommendation
This is a yes and no recommendation. I wonder if the mid-spec car is the way to go for most Mach-E buyers. It's quick, rear-wheel drive (although possibly afflicted with the wacky software), bound to ride better on its extra sidewall and will go a lot further on the same battery.
If you want the neck-snappy performance of the Mach-E GT and its attendant improved visuals, by all means. I think the EV6 GT is likely going to trounce you in most situation but the day-to-day stuff, it's pretty close.
I really liked it. Would I own one? Not sure. But it's very likeable and compared to its rivals, pretty good value.
