Groundhog Day MME Test Drive - Ann Arbor, MI

1. It was better than I had expected; even though I was driving the Select SR AWD. I have a Premium ER AWD on order, and I expect that one will be even more fun to drive.
2. The seats were perfectly comfortable; these aren't fully-supporting wrap-around-your-ribcage sports seats, but they don't have to be.
3. One-pedal driving was perfect. This is only my second time driving a BEV (first time was a Tesla Model Y about six weeks ago), and I adapted to it quickly. I hardly used the brakes at all on my test drive.
4. Comparing this to the Model Y (not apples-to-apples because I drove the base version), I would say that the key difference comes down to the structure of the vehicle. The MME feels firmer, tighter, and is quieter (no unwanted frame/panel noises that I got in the Model Y). Also, the interior is just better than the Tesla.
5. This is more subjective, but I really like looking out the windshield to a multiple-ridged hood. The view from the windshield gives the car its personality from the driver's perspective, and seeing the big Mustang ridged hood makes me feel more confident behind the wheel; it's just more pleasing to see all that metal in front of you, especially when it's shaped the way it is. Kudos to the MME design team for granting us that simple pleasure!
6. Steering was responsive...even under Unbridled mode, I didn't find the steering too stiff. I spent only a few minutes under "Engage", and that was fine too.
7. Suspension was firm yet comfortable...I'm used to driving a BMW 3-series, and that car is very stiff, so I have a unique frame of reference here.
8. I was on the highway and needed to get around a car to make the exit. I floored it while going 70 mph and quickly found myself at 100 mph before drifting back into the right lane just in time for the exit. I applied the brakes once fully onto the ramp...the braking came off as a bit harsh. Fortunately, once I released the brake pedal, the regenerative braking took over and continued the rapid deceleration necessary to get me from 100 mph back to local street crawl. In other words, the transition from braking to regen was very smooth.
9. As I said above, the braking needs a bit of fine-tuning, which is also a common complaint among professional reviewers. Hopefully this can be addressed in an OTA. I'll be relying on 1-pedal, as I think they nailed it.
10. Creeping motion (to finalize parking position or nose ahead at an intersection) is really smooth. I was afraid of the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal under Unbridled mode, but when you're stopped or creeping along, you don't have to worry about hitting it too hard or jerking forward too quickly. The car is nice and gentle when it needs to be, and responds as an ICE car would in this situation.
11. My 11-year-old son, who came along for the ride, absolutely LOVED it. He was sad that we didn't get to take one of the Rapid Red Premiums out for a ride.
12. I started with a 100% charge, showing only 137 miles. However, I think the car was really sandbagging here; after I returned (upon driving about 10 miles), it showed a range of 135 miles.
13. I'm 6'-4", and I had absolutely no issue with my knee bumping into the 15.5" display (see photo). The only people who will have that problem are tall people who insist on moving the seat too far forward.
14. In summary, I would say my test drive experience was: YUMMY (and I can't wait to get my own MME!)

BadgerGreg said:

My 11-year-old son, who came along for the ride, absolutely LOVED it.

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BadgerGreg said:

I called my dealership today, and they had a RWD Standard Range (Select Model) on the lot; it was an orphan because the person who ordered it decided to order up to a Premium AWD ER. Even though there are several Premium MMEs on the lot, they're all customer orders so no test drives

.

However, the 'orphan' was available for a test drive, so I took the opportunity to get in some back road driving this afternoon on rare sunny winter day in Ann Arbor. My thoughts are as follows:

1. It was better than I had expected; even though I was driving the Select SR RWD. I have a Premium ER AWD on order, and I expect that one will be even more fun to drive.
2. The seats were perfectly comfortable; these aren't fully-supporting wrap-around-your-ribcage sports seats, but they don't have to be.
3. One-pedal driving was perfect. This is only my second time driving a BEV (first time was a Tesla Model Y about six weeks ago), and I adapted to it quickly. I hardly used the brakes at all on my test drive.
4. Comparing this to the Model Y (not apples-to-apples because I drove the base version), I would say that the key difference comes down to the structure of the vehicle. The MME feels firmer, tighter, and is quieter (no unwanted frame/panel noises that I got in the Model Y). Also, the interior is just better than the Tesla.
5. This is more subjective, but I really like looking out the windshield to a multiple-ridged hood. The view from the windshield gives the car its personality from the driver's perspective, and seeing the big Mustang ridged hood makes me feel more confident behind the wheel; it's just more pleasing to see all that metal in front of you, especially when it's shaped the way it is. Kudos to the MME design team for granting us that simple pleasure!
6. Steering was responsive...even under Unbridled mode, I didn't find the steering too stiff. I spent only a few minutes under "Engage", and that was fine too.
7. Suspension was firm yet comfortable...I'm used to driving a BMW 3-series, and that car is very stiff, so I have a unique frame of reference here.
8. I was on the highway and needed to get around a car to make the exit. I floored it while going 70 mph and quickly found myself at 100 mph before drifting back into the right lane just in time for the exit. I applied the brakes once fully onto the ramp...the braking came off as a bit harsh. Fortunately, once I released the brake pedal, the regenerative braking took over and continued the rapid deceleration necessary to get me from 100 mph back to local street crawl. In other words, the transition from braking to regen was very smooth.
9. As I said above, the braking needs a bit of fine-tuning, which is also a common complaint among professional reviewers. Hopefully this can be addressed in an OTA. I'll be relying on 1-pedal, as I think they nailed it.
10. Creeping motion (to finalize parking position or nose ahead at an intersection) is really smooth. I was afraid of the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal under Unbridled mode, but when you're stopped or creeping along, you don't have to worry about hitting it too hard or jerking forward too quickly. The car is nice and gentle when it needs to be, and responds as an ICE car would in this situation.
11. My 11-year-old son, who came along for the ride, absolutely LOVED it. He was sad that we didn't get to take one of the Rapid Red Premiums out for a ride.
12. I started with a 100% charge, showing only 137 miles. However, I think the car was really sandbagging here; after I returned (upon driving about 10 miles), it showed a range of 135 miles.
13. I'm 6'-4", and I had absolutely no issue with my knee bumping into the 15.5" display (see photo). The only people who will have that problem are tall people who insist on moving the seat too far forward.
14. In summary, I would say my test drive experience was: YUMMY (and I can't wait to get my own MME!)

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generaltso said:

Thanks for the write-up. Just so you know, that Select is actually an AWD model.

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Gimme_my_MME said:

I thought you were about to say your 11-year-old son loved driving it as well

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BadgerGreg said:

I called my dealership today, and they had an AWD Standard Range (Select Model) on the lot; it was an orphan because the person who ordered it decided to order up to a Premium AWD ER. Even though there are several Premium MMEs on the lot, they're all customer orders so no test drives

.

However, the 'orphan' was available for a test drive, so I took the opportunity to get in some back road driving this afternoon on rare sunny winter day in Ann Arbor. My thoughts are as follows:

1. It was better than I had expected; even though I was driving the Select SR AWD. I have a Premium ER AWD on order, and I expect that one will be even more fun to drive.
2. The seats were perfectly comfortable; these aren't fully-supporting wrap-around-your-ribcage sports seats, but they don't have to be.
3. One-pedal driving was perfect. This is only my second time driving a BEV (first time was a Tesla Model Y about six weeks ago), and I adapted to it quickly. I hardly used the brakes at all on my test drive.
4. Comparing this to the Model Y (not apples-to-apples because I drove the base version), I would say that the key difference comes down to the structure of the vehicle. The MME feels firmer, tighter, and is quieter (no unwanted frame/panel noises that I got in the Model Y). Also, the interior is just better than the Tesla.
5. This is more subjective, but I really like looking out the windshield to a multiple-ridged hood. The view from the windshield gives the car its personality from the driver's perspective, and seeing the big Mustang ridged hood makes me feel more confident behind the wheel; it's just more pleasing to see all that metal in front of you, especially when it's shaped the way it is. Kudos to the MME design team for granting us that simple pleasure!
6. Steering was responsive...even under Unbridled mode, I didn't find the steering too stiff. I spent only a few minutes under "Engage", and that was fine too.
7. Suspension was firm yet comfortable...I'm used to driving a BMW 3-series, and that car is very stiff, so I have a unique frame of reference here.
8. I was on the highway and needed to get around a car to make the exit. I floored it while going 70 mph and quickly found myself at 100 mph before drifting back into the right lane just in time for the exit. I applied the brakes once fully onto the ramp...the braking came off as a bit harsh. Fortunately, once I released the brake pedal, the regenerative braking took over and continued the rapid deceleration necessary to get me from 100 mph back to local street crawl. In other words, the transition from braking to regen was very smooth.
9. As I said above, the braking needs a bit of fine-tuning, which is also a common complaint among professional reviewers. Hopefully this can be addressed in an OTA. I'll be relying on 1-pedal, as I think they nailed it.
10. Creeping motion (to finalize parking position or nose ahead at an intersection) is really smooth. I was afraid of the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal under Unbridled mode, but when you're stopped or creeping along, you don't have to worry about hitting it too hard or jerking forward too quickly. The car is nice and gentle when it needs to be, and responds as an ICE car would in this situation.
11. My 11-year-old son, who came along for the ride, absolutely LOVED it. He was sad that we didn't get to take one of the Rapid Red Premiums out for a ride.
12. I started with a 100% charge, showing only 137 miles. However, I think the car was really sandbagging here; after I returned (upon driving about 10 miles), it showed a range of 135 miles.
13. I'm 6'-4", and I had absolutely no issue with my knee bumping into the 15.5" display (see photo). The only people who will have that problem are tall people who insist on moving the seat too far forward.
14. In summary, I would say my test drive experience was: YUMMY (and I can't wait to get my own MME!)

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RonTCat said:

First OTA is supposed to include adjustments to the range calculation.

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Maric said:

Just curious, where did you hear this? I'm really interested in what the 1st OTA pkg will include.

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RonTCat said:

Suppose there's a post to evaluate the furniture in your house.

Half the people here will argue with you about the topic, and swear your couch isn't brown, even though you told them it is. And they've never seen your house. "How do I know it's your house?" "How do I know your couch is safe?" "How do I know you won't stop supporting your couch?"

I mean, this is expected normal skepticism. Unless you can conclusively prove it's your house, I would be skeptical, too. You are just some somebody making guesses.

Some people will eventually put the pieces together, and figure it out you aren't guessing, or that your guesses are just "too good". Some, though, will never be convinced, for whatever reason. That's perfectly OK. I mean, it's the internet.

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DaveRuns said:

I really hope it's some kind of error in the system to show 100% charge being 136 miles. That would be unsatisfactory to most.

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BadgerGreg said:

This is an issue that keeps coming up in many MME reviews. The indicated range seems laughably low at a full state of charge, and they end up getting significantly more miles than advertised. Seems like the current software is being overly conservative out of the gate.

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BadgerGreg said:

This is an issue that keeps coming up in many MME reviews. The indicated range seems laughably low at a full state of charge, and they end up getting significantly more miles than advertised. Seems like the current software is being overly conservative out of the gate.

Click to expand...