John_C
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- John
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2020
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 76
- Reaction score
- 193
- Location
- Woodside CA
- Vehicles
- 2021 Premium RWD Ext Range Infinite Blue 3/3/2021
- Occupation
- TV
- Thread starter
- #1
This is a quick note on today's Road Show Day at Towne Ford in Redwood City, CA.
They had two models: a Standard in White with black/charcoal gray interior, and a Premium in Infinite Blue with white interior. We focused on the Premium model because this is the one we have on order. I'll post some photos below.
My overall in-person reaction is that Ford has managed to make the Mach-E feel sleek, fast and elegant all at the same time. The overall feel is extremely high quality. The fit and finish of everything is first rate. The rear design just screams "Mustang." I didn't get this from the photos alone, but it's just so obvious in person.
IMHO it's definitely *not* an SUV, definitely *is* a crossover, but slightly larger than the word "crossover" suggests. On the way home we all agreed that the size and shape looked more like a 2020 Porsche Cayenne than anything else. But the front end of the Mustang is much sleeker and nicer.
The thing looks fast just standing still.
The interiors of both models were incredibly comfortable.
Even though the back seat looks sort of "benchy," it's snug and very comfortable.
Lots of room, both front and back. The 9-way seat will set you up as a driver any way you like. Same with the passenger side. Ample leg room in the back seat.
The seat upholstery in both models was very high quality. The white Standard model had the dark charcoal seats with white stitching. Very sharp.
The white interior on the Premium model also looked great.
I'm not a white-interior fan myself, but it makes a great impression for those who are.
Huge amount of room in the back seat.
The view up through the roof and out through the front is unlike anything I've experienced. It's like riding in a small stadium.
Standard model rear hatch opens manually.
Premium model rear hatch is auto-open and close.
The screen offers so much customization of the vehicle that it's impossible to totally experience it all in a brief amount of time in the car. My summary would be-- Ford has retained physical switches and buttons where it makes sense and moved everything else into software via the screen.
For example, this set of switches on the door will look very familiar:
So will the switches on and around the steering wheel.
(Ignore the little pinkish-red LED light on the panel that sits on the steering column. My phone's camera picked that up-- it's not visible to the naked eye.)
The screen for drive customization is especially detailed.
I know there are lots of questions circulating on the forum about the level of drive customization you can achieve in each of the 3 modes, and I'm sorry I didn't get to explore all of that in this visit.
The screen I'm showing here is *not* the drive customization screen. This is merely the top-level drive choice screen.
The customization settings are accessed by pressing the Mach-E icon in the upper left corner. That icon is the portal to a huge number of customization settings on all car systems
Climate control is one thing that I *did* explore on the screen.
It's very detailed. Air flow can be customized by vent, and the screen animates air flow on the screen to show what's happening. This is accessed by touching the settings icon, which is the second from the right on the second row up from the bottom.
This was in the Premium model. I don't know if that feature is enabled on the Standard model.
We got a detailed walk-through of adaptable cruise control and auto-parking mode. This is all totally state of the art and as good as anything Tesla currently offers on any model.
The Bang Olufsen sound system in the Premium model absolutely blew us away.
Even with all four doors and the rear hatch open it was studio quality. Can't wait to experience it in a closed cabin.
I agree with other posts that the electric charging pad in the front console is large enough to fit large phones. USB port is very accessible there.
Wheels are large and handsome.
They look really substantial in the showroom.
As others have noted, the pony is everywhere.
Some nice surprises:
The entire owners manual is accessible on screen.
Navigation is easy to set up and, as mentioned elsewhere, includes an opt-in to show charging stations along the route (pictured above).
Center console is really deep and includes a cubby for the key fob.
Variable interior lighting is nice and bright when on full setting. Full brightness is impressive even in daylight.
The frunk would be very roomy without the insert.
There was some uncertainty among the Towne Ford staff about whether the car ships with the insert installed or is a delivery add-on.
Some nits:
I was a little disappointed at the steering wheel customization choice that Ford made here. They've retained the manual lever on the steering column for up-down adjustment (lower left side of the column). There is no telescoping adjustment. To me a high-end feature would be electronically telescoping and up-down controls that become personal settings to be saved along with seat position. (NOTE: I've since learned that the wheel does indeed telescope. I just didn't figure it out.)
The two-thirds / one-third split seat in the rear can only be raised and lowered manually from the rear doors, not from the rear hatch. The ability to power lift seatbacks from the rear hatch is a nice feature in other SUVs / crossovers (e.g. Cadillac).
-----
This is very top-line. Sorry I couldn't answer the huge number of sub-level questions that are being posted in other Road Show threads. This demo day was very busy and lots of people had shown up to a small showroom for the preview. And we had booked for the first hour!
We've lived out here in Tesla country from day one of its existence, and I'm going to be so proud to drive this Mach-E around Silicon Valley. To me it's far more handsome and sporty than anything Tesla has on the road. It really lives up to the Mustang heritage. I think the head-turning quotient is awesome.
Happy to answer questions, if I can, about anything more we learned or saw ... John
They had two models: a Standard in White with black/charcoal gray interior, and a Premium in Infinite Blue with white interior. We focused on the Premium model because this is the one we have on order. I'll post some photos below.
My overall in-person reaction is that Ford has managed to make the Mach-E feel sleek, fast and elegant all at the same time. The overall feel is extremely high quality. The fit and finish of everything is first rate. The rear design just screams "Mustang." I didn't get this from the photos alone, but it's just so obvious in person.
IMHO it's definitely *not* an SUV, definitely *is* a crossover, but slightly larger than the word "crossover" suggests. On the way home we all agreed that the size and shape looked more like a 2020 Porsche Cayenne than anything else. But the front end of the Mustang is much sleeker and nicer.
The thing looks fast just standing still.
The interiors of both models were incredibly comfortable.
Lots of room, both front and back. The 9-way seat will set you up as a driver any way you like. Same with the passenger side. Ample leg room in the back seat.
The seat upholstery in both models was very high quality. The white Standard model had the dark charcoal seats with white stitching. Very sharp.
The white interior on the Premium model also looked great.
Huge amount of room in the back seat.
Standard model rear hatch opens manually.
The screen offers so much customization of the vehicle that it's impossible to totally experience it all in a brief amount of time in the car. My summary would be-- Ford has retained physical switches and buttons where it makes sense and moved everything else into software via the screen.
For example, this set of switches on the door will look very familiar:
So will the switches on and around the steering wheel.
(Ignore the little pinkish-red LED light on the panel that sits on the steering column. My phone's camera picked that up-- it's not visible to the naked eye.)
The screen for drive customization is especially detailed.
I know there are lots of questions circulating on the forum about the level of drive customization you can achieve in each of the 3 modes, and I'm sorry I didn't get to explore all of that in this visit.
The screen I'm showing here is *not* the drive customization screen. This is merely the top-level drive choice screen.
The customization settings are accessed by pressing the Mach-E icon in the upper left corner. That icon is the portal to a huge number of customization settings on all car systems
Climate control is one thing that I *did* explore on the screen.
It's very detailed. Air flow can be customized by vent, and the screen animates air flow on the screen to show what's happening. This is accessed by touching the settings icon, which is the second from the right on the second row up from the bottom.
This was in the Premium model. I don't know if that feature is enabled on the Standard model.
We got a detailed walk-through of adaptable cruise control and auto-parking mode. This is all totally state of the art and as good as anything Tesla currently offers on any model.
The Bang Olufsen sound system in the Premium model absolutely blew us away.
Even with all four doors and the rear hatch open it was studio quality. Can't wait to experience it in a closed cabin.
I agree with other posts that the electric charging pad in the front console is large enough to fit large phones. USB port is very accessible there.
Wheels are large and handsome.
They look really substantial in the showroom.
As others have noted, the pony is everywhere.
Some nice surprises:
The entire owners manual is accessible on screen.
Navigation is easy to set up and, as mentioned elsewhere, includes an opt-in to show charging stations along the route (pictured above).
Center console is really deep and includes a cubby for the key fob.
Variable interior lighting is nice and bright when on full setting. Full brightness is impressive even in daylight.
The frunk would be very roomy without the insert.
There was some uncertainty among the Towne Ford staff about whether the car ships with the insert installed or is a delivery add-on.
Some nits:
The two-thirds / one-third split seat in the rear can only be raised and lowered manually from the rear doors, not from the rear hatch. The ability to power lift seatbacks from the rear hatch is a nice feature in other SUVs / crossovers (e.g. Cadillac).
-----
This is very top-line. Sorry I couldn't answer the huge number of sub-level questions that are being posted in other Road Show threads. This demo day was very busy and lots of people had shown up to a small showroom for the preview. And we had booked for the first hour!
We've lived out here in Tesla country from day one of its existence, and I'm going to be so proud to drive this Mach-E around Silicon Valley. To me it's far more handsome and sporty than anything Tesla has on the road. It really lives up to the Mustang heritage. I think the head-turning quotient is awesome.
Happy to answer questions, if I can, about anything more we learned or saw ... John
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