Mach-Lee
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Lee
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2021
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- Location
- Wisconsin
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- 2022 Mach-E Premium AWD
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- Sci/Eng
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Part two of the 2024 launch experience focused on the new Mach-E Rally, which is arguably the spiciest Mach-E yet. This was a “special project” inside Ford that supposedly started after someone made a social media post showing a rendering of an off-road Mach-E. That concept ended up being show to the head man himself, and soon after Farley gave the project the green light.
What’s Different?
The Rally is essentially a modified Mach-E GT with specific off-road enhancements. The Rally comes with the Performance update installed by default, so you’ll get the full 700 ft-lb and 480 HP combined output with the new rear motor.
The biggest difference compared to the GT is a modified suspension and damping setup. The ride height has been increased 1” compared to the GT for better ground clearance. Total suspension travel is unchanged, the neutral point was just raised. Ground clearance is only around 6”, so no crazy off-roading here (a Subaru Crosstrek has almost 3” more ground clearance for comparison). Springs are softer than GT. Most of the magic happens with the MagneRide dampers, which were modified slightly for the Mach-E, and have their own unique calibration for off road performance. These enable the special RallySport drive mode.
The stock tires are Michelin CrossClimate2’s, which are an all-weather tire, not something you typically see stock on an EV. The aggressive tread pattern will do very well on snow, mud, and gravel surfaces where the Rally will thrive, while still providing decent range.
Other functional changes include a revised front splitter for better approach angle, a metal underbody shield to better protect the drivetrain components, and a special paint protective film on the rocker panels to help protect against rock chips. There is also a front tow recovery point behind the cutout in the bumper.
The rest of the changes are aesthetic—special wheels, an extra large rear spoiler, black front grille with LED fog lamps, unique side graphics, and a unique interior cosmetic package.
RallySport Mode
Replacing Unbridled Extend, RallySport is a special drive mode that changes the entire character of the vehicle for off-road driving. Ford made their own rally track in Michigan just to work out the tuning for this mode. First, it changes the throttle response to be more linear, which is important for critical performance driving. The steering boost is also enhanced greatly to support quick wheel movements. Stability and traction control are modified to support more angle of yaw without intervention for greater rotation in turns. Throttle bias also favors the rear for enhancing yaw in turns. And last, the MagneRide dampers are controlled in an optimal way for off-road driving. They allow a little more movement but also give more damping at times to help deal with big bumps or dips in the road. Ford is also using an electronic bump stop (EBS) algorithm in the shocks to help manage movement near the ends of travel. The electronic bump stop can be tweaked more than a physical bump stop to better manage large suspension movements.
The overall result here is the Mach-E Rally is actually the best-riding Mach-E, according to the engineers. From my short time with it, that seemed to be true. They spent a lot of time doing dirt track testing to tweak the MagneRide calibration on the Rally.
Test Drive
After donning a helmet and strapping on a Mach-E, we all took our runs on several test courses at DirtFish Rally School. It was time to drive a rally car that happens to be a Mach-E. You start your run by flooring it, the car takes off with impressive speed, wheels spinning and gravel being thrown up behind. Brake for the first turn, but not too much or you’ll ruin the fun. Back on the throttle, wheels spinning again and now you finally get some sideways yaw. Stay in the power for the remaining curves, making steering corrections to maintain the slide through the turns. Before you know it, it’s over and you wanna do it again.
We moved on to a larger track “The Boneyard”, where you could actually build up some speed before some of the turns. That one was a bit more of a challenge to drive fast without hitting the cones or going off the track. Luckily I did not. But once again, it was a blast to drive but it’s over before you know it! I don’t have rally driving experience (other than “winter” here), but the car seemed easy enough to control. Most of us were beginners and there were no major incidents.
Finally, for the last run on they put in a professional driver for the difficult course and had us ride along. I got Collete Davis, one of Ford’s pro drivers. This time, HOLY COW, she can drive! Huge amount of speed and yaw going into the turns, you’re basically looking out the side window while going sideways. Great braking and acceleration performance even on gravel. That was quite an experience.
Again I’m not a rally expert, but the car seemed pretty capable for a stock vehicle. Definitely a lot of fun if you get the chance to take it off road and can drive it safely. Whenever I got out after a run, people were telling me how big a smile I had. I think everybody there had a great time.
Summary
The Mach-E Rally ($59,995) definitely showed its off-road chops. It’s a unique looking vehicle with the huge rear spoiler and aero wheels. EPA estimated range still comes in at 265 miles, only 15 miles less than the GT, which is impressive. Other than the off-road tweaks, everything is the same as a GT.
What’s Different?
The Rally is essentially a modified Mach-E GT with specific off-road enhancements. The Rally comes with the Performance update installed by default, so you’ll get the full 700 ft-lb and 480 HP combined output with the new rear motor.
The biggest difference compared to the GT is a modified suspension and damping setup. The ride height has been increased 1” compared to the GT for better ground clearance. Total suspension travel is unchanged, the neutral point was just raised. Ground clearance is only around 6”, so no crazy off-roading here (a Subaru Crosstrek has almost 3” more ground clearance for comparison). Springs are softer than GT. Most of the magic happens with the MagneRide dampers, which were modified slightly for the Mach-E, and have their own unique calibration for off road performance. These enable the special RallySport drive mode.
The stock tires are Michelin CrossClimate2’s, which are an all-weather tire, not something you typically see stock on an EV. The aggressive tread pattern will do very well on snow, mud, and gravel surfaces where the Rally will thrive, while still providing decent range.
Other functional changes include a revised front splitter for better approach angle, a metal underbody shield to better protect the drivetrain components, and a special paint protective film on the rocker panels to help protect against rock chips. There is also a front tow recovery point behind the cutout in the bumper.
The rest of the changes are aesthetic—special wheels, an extra large rear spoiler, black front grille with LED fog lamps, unique side graphics, and a unique interior cosmetic package.
RallySport Mode
Replacing Unbridled Extend, RallySport is a special drive mode that changes the entire character of the vehicle for off-road driving. Ford made their own rally track in Michigan just to work out the tuning for this mode. First, it changes the throttle response to be more linear, which is important for critical performance driving. The steering boost is also enhanced greatly to support quick wheel movements. Stability and traction control are modified to support more angle of yaw without intervention for greater rotation in turns. Throttle bias also favors the rear for enhancing yaw in turns. And last, the MagneRide dampers are controlled in an optimal way for off-road driving. They allow a little more movement but also give more damping at times to help deal with big bumps or dips in the road. Ford is also using an electronic bump stop (EBS) algorithm in the shocks to help manage movement near the ends of travel. The electronic bump stop can be tweaked more than a physical bump stop to better manage large suspension movements.
The overall result here is the Mach-E Rally is actually the best-riding Mach-E, according to the engineers. From my short time with it, that seemed to be true. They spent a lot of time doing dirt track testing to tweak the MagneRide calibration on the Rally.
Test Drive
After donning a helmet and strapping on a Mach-E, we all took our runs on several test courses at DirtFish Rally School. It was time to drive a rally car that happens to be a Mach-E. You start your run by flooring it, the car takes off with impressive speed, wheels spinning and gravel being thrown up behind. Brake for the first turn, but not too much or you’ll ruin the fun. Back on the throttle, wheels spinning again and now you finally get some sideways yaw. Stay in the power for the remaining curves, making steering corrections to maintain the slide through the turns. Before you know it, it’s over and you wanna do it again.
We moved on to a larger track “The Boneyard”, where you could actually build up some speed before some of the turns. That one was a bit more of a challenge to drive fast without hitting the cones or going off the track. Luckily I did not. But once again, it was a blast to drive but it’s over before you know it! I don’t have rally driving experience (other than “winter” here), but the car seemed easy enough to control. Most of us were beginners and there were no major incidents.
Finally, for the last run on they put in a professional driver for the difficult course and had us ride along. I got Collete Davis, one of Ford’s pro drivers. This time, HOLY COW, she can drive! Huge amount of speed and yaw going into the turns, you’re basically looking out the side window while going sideways. Great braking and acceleration performance even on gravel. That was quite an experience.
Again I’m not a rally expert, but the car seemed pretty capable for a stock vehicle. Definitely a lot of fun if you get the chance to take it off road and can drive it safely. Whenever I got out after a run, people were telling me how big a smile I had. I think everybody there had a great time.
Summary
The Mach-E Rally ($59,995) definitely showed its off-road chops. It’s a unique looking vehicle with the huge rear spoiler and aero wheels. EPA estimated range still comes in at 265 miles, only 15 miles less than the GT, which is impressive. Other than the off-road tweaks, everything is the same as a GT.
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