12/15/2023 0 Comments Cross over mustangWithin the first 24 hours of this car reaching my driveway, I had three separate neighbors imploring to go on ride-alongs. It comes in one of seven exterior paint colors, even the most muted of which turned heads when I pulled up to stop lights. It’s far enough off the ground that you don’t have to constantly worry about scraping the bottom of the door on curbs or require a deep squat to get into it, but not so high you need a step ladder for assistance (looking at you, every full-sized American pickup built since 2009). Once acclimated to its dimensions, I came to appreciate the Mach-E’s height. While it may not much resemble its progenitors, the Mach-E’s design makes it easy to spot in a busy parking lot - similar to a Tesla Model 3 but taller with a wider, more aggressive stance. You'll also find USB-A and Type-C outlets in both the front and rear rows so as to keep the jockeying for charger space during road trips to a minimum. Aside from the bigger battery and Star White metallic tricoat paint, everything on this Mach-E came standard - that includes the 10-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system, Qi wireless charging pad, 4G hotspot and Ford Co-Pilot 360 driver assist system. It offers 346 HP, 428 lb-ft of torque, and a range of approximately 270 miles. My specific model was the Premium with AWD and the extended 88 kWh battery pack which would retail for $56,400 if it wasn't a loaner. The Select starts at $44,995, the Premium will put you back around $49,000, with the Route 1 coming in at $53,500 and the GT at $61,600. Those batteries should give you an EPA estimated 230 to 300 miles of range, depending on options and drive types, and anywhere from 266 HP from the Select to a gut-punching 480HP from the AWD GT. They can be spec'd as RWD or e-AWD, and with a choice of standard 68 kWh or larger optional 88 kWh battery pack (a $5,000 option). The Premium that I received on loan is one of four optional models (not including that short-run “First Edition” which is, again, already sold out): the Select, the California Route 1, the Premium and the GT. That begs the question, what actually makes a Mustang, a Mustang? I’ve just spent a week behind the wheel of the 2021 Mach-E in an effort to find out. Still, the Mach-E has already won the title of 2021 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year and saw pre-orders for its “First Edition” sell out almost immediately after its debut, so clearly the EV crossover has piqued the interest of American automotive enthusiasts. Now, nostalgia is a hell of a drug, so when I first laid eyes on Ford’s electric Mustang Mach-E at the 2019 LA Auto show, my reaction was a resounding and heartfelt “hard pass.” With its crossover styling, the Mach-E certainly didn’t look like any Mustang of my youth and, given its whisper quiet EV propulsion system, sure as hell didn’t sound - or smell - anything like the carbureted 255 HP, 4.7-liter Windsor V8 I remember from my childhood. Some of my favorite childhood memories involved spending our Sunday afternoons cruising around San Francisco in it. When I was still a kid, my old man owned a 1965, sharkskin blue Mustang 289.
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