First experience using Unbridled.

[SteelMach]

I still find Unbridled to be quite tame, honestly. The throttle response still has significant feed-in lag, like they tried to simulate the delay when a slushbox auto needs to downshift to get the engine in the power band.

I wish they'd "enhance" Unbridled to remove that lag via OTA and make it much sharper.

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[DaMeatMan]

I found it a rather drastic change from the other modes. It was like having the car in low gear. As soon as I let up on the accelerator the car would immediately slow down. Is this normal?

This is perfectly normal and expected behavior. Unbridled mode has the strongest regen setting on "coast", such that when you release the accelerator peddle, the motors immediately start acting as a generator and very aggressively start to return power back to the vehicle which causes it to slow down as it takes that momentum and converts it to electrical power. This will be even more apparent if one pedal driving is enabled, however even with one pedal drive disabled, the slowing down of the vehicle is rather aggressive when "coasting" which in this case will not be much of a coast and feels more like gently pressing the brakes on an ICE vehicle.

If you put the vehicle in low gear mode with "L" setting in transmission on (any mode), it essentially does the same and maps to the most aggressive regen mode which to me seems identical to the default regen on unbridled mode. This would be ideal for going downhill as it converts allot of that forward momentum to the vehicle as electrical power to recharge the pack.

If you put the vehicle in "whisper" mode, the regen level is almost non-existent and removing your foot from the accelerator causes the vehicle to coast for what seems like forever, particularly on the highway lol.

For me personally "engaged" mode seems like the most familiar driving mode, in the sense that coasting behaves more like a regular ICE vehicle.

 

[Redundant]

I'm surprised that so many people have had their cars for days (or longer) and haven't tried Unbridled yet. I'll be trying all modes on my first test drive, and playing with them more on the first drive home from the dealer. To each their own.

Agreed. Tried it pretty much immediately. I keep thinking about someone who described the Tesla acceleration in the long range as a party trick for friends, but not all that useful day to day. After using unbridled, I couldn't agree more. I didn't even floor it, just heavy accelerator, for son and wife and giggles all around. Oh wait, my wife was shouting slow down, not giggling. None the less, It is so much faster than I will ever need. I am sure the GT will be amazing for acceleration, but if you want to drive legally on the streets, I just don't see the benefit. Running the GT on a track would be fun, but otherwise, no point.

 

[SnBGC]

I found it a rather drastic change from the other modes. It was like having the car in low gear. As soon as I let up on the accelerator the car would immediately slow down. Is this normal?

Normal. I think Unbridled is intended to drive like a sports car with a manual transmission. If you lift off the throttle in a sports car then you get a heavy engine retardation effect. The Mach-E in Unbridled gives the same sort of effect.

 

[DaMeatMan]

I still find Unbridled to be quite tame, honestly. The throttle response still has significant feed-in lag, like they tried to simulate the delay when a slushbox auto needs to downshift to get the engine in the power band.

I wish they'd "enhance" Unbridled to remove that lag via OTA and make it much sharper.

I agree, it seems like an artificial lag was introduced. But to me i would imagine this was done more to be gentle on the drivetrain, and to prolong the life of the components such that they likely never have warranty claims on the vehicle to cover their @ss. Hopefully as they get a bit more user data they start to ease off on these artificial limits.

To me though it seems like Ford is being incredibly conservative in terms of their charge curve (particularly after 80% which is ridiculous), locked reserve battery capacity, and artificial power restraint during acceleration from stand still, and even their expected depreciation stats for leased vehicles. This all sounds like they are really just testing out the waters and on what is obviously brand new territory for them and are being super conservative to keep the bean counters happy.

 

[agoldman]

I find that from a stop, and stomping on the gas pedal, there is a rather big instant jolt of an unatural feel. I wish that without introducing any lag, they could smootth this out a bit. Did not feel the same jolt in the Performance Y aside from the instant torque.

 

[dbsb3233]

Agreed. Tried it pretty much immediately. I keep thinking about someone who described the Tesla acceleration in the long range as a party trick for friends, but not all that useful day to day. After using unbridled, I couldn't agree more. I didn't even floor it, just heavy accelerator, for son and wife and giggles all around. Oh wait, my wife was shouting slow down, not giggling. None the less, It is so much faster than I will ever need.

And all the modes do regarding "fastness" is map the accelerator pedal to give more with less push. The car will go just as fast/quick in any of the 3 modes. You just have to push the pedal down further to get to the same amount of acceleration in Whisper and Engaged.

I prefer having more play in the pedal, which means being able to apply more fine-tuned finesse.

 

[zvez]

only one mode for me, unbridled!!

 

[dbsb3233]

I just got back from another drive. Tested all 4 regen levels this time. Here's my estimate for how much relative regen braking (from just lifting off the accelerator pedal) is applied on each:

Whisper with 1PD OFF: 0%
Engaged with 1PD OFF: 20%
Unbridled with 1PD OFF: 75%
1PD ON (any mode): 100%

If using either of the heavy regen modes, seems like one has to be pretty committed to do most braking with the accelerator pedal, finessing it with one pedal. Trying to coast and use the brake pedal like normal is just too harsh in those modes.

But if one wants to drive more "normally" (using both pedals regularly), the first 2 modes are the way to go. Whisper is literally just normal (full coasting), while Engaged allows you to pull your foot completely of the accelerator without any harsh slow-down. It's a nice, gentle slowing. It won't come close to slowing you near a stop though. It's like just a slight push of the brake in an ICE car.

So far I'm really liking Engaged. Best of both worlds for my tastes.

 

[Maquis]

I just got back from another drive. Tested all 4 regen levels this time. Here's my estimate for how much relative regen braking (from just lifting off the accelerator pedal) is applied on each:

Whisper with 1PD OFF: 0%
Engaged with 1PD OFF: 20%
Unbridled with 1PD OFF: 75%
1PD ON (any mode): 100%

If using either of the heavy regen modes, seems like one has to be pretty committed to do most braking with the accelerator pedal, finessing it with one pedal. Trying to coast and use the brake pedal like normal is just too harsh in those modes.

But if one wants to drive more "normally" (using both pedals regularly), the first 2 modes are the way to go. Whisper is literally just normal (full coasting), while Engaged allows you to pull your foot completely of the accelerator without any harsh slow-down. It's a nice, gentle slowing. It won't come close to slowing you near a stop though. It's like just a slight push of the brake in an ICE car.

So far I'm really liking Engaged. Best of both worlds for my tastes.

I have settled in to OPD in unbridled. To me it seems natural driving around town without having to move my foot between pedals. I have applied the brake pedal exactly one time while moving in all the time I've driven the car - admittedly only 4 days and 100-ish miles.

 

[dbsb3233]

One negative I have found for the Mustang is that it is rough riding. It is much rougher than my Prius was. That is surprising to me because it weighs almost twice that of the Prius and has a longer wheel base.
I did notice my tire pressures are 46 and the recommended pressure is 39. Is this normal?

That may be the biggest letdown for me so far. Love the car overall, despite the many Sync4 and charging quirks that I have faith will get fixed with OTA software patches. But the thing I assume is locked in is the suspension. Our Escape has a smoother suspension than the Mach-E. I wasn't expecting that, even though I knew the MME would have some sportiness to it. I hoped the ride would be as luxurious as the interior. It's not.

It does fine at high speed. Get it going at 60+ and it has a smooth highway feel. But anything much slower than that doesn't glide through very well. You feel the bumps more, and it's quick to start bouncing more.

My tires show 39 cold and 41 when hot. I wonder if dropping those to 35 or something would be safe enough and soften it a little? I can always pump them back up to 39 for a road trip to improve range. But around home range doesn't matter.

 

[Regularmache]

I tried to give OPD a chance, but for normal driving it seems to much work. I prefer the feeling of coasting. maybe for more aggressive driving in unbridled it would help, but I didn't really like OPD and probably would prefer not to" get used to it" I guess.

I worry about getting used to OPD and then hopping in my F150 and Rear Ending someone! But I guess if I can go from Manual, to Auto within the same day, OPD should be as easy!

 

[Orangefirefish]

Agreed. Tried it pretty much immediately. I keep thinking about someone who described the Tesla acceleration in the long range as a party trick for friends, but not all that useful day to day. After using unbridled, I couldn't agree more. I didn't even floor it, just heavy accelerator, for son and wife and giggles all around. Oh wait, my wife was shouting slow down, not giggling. None the less, It is so much faster than I will ever need. I am sure the GT will be amazing for acceleration, but if you want to drive legally on the streets, I just don't see the benefit. Running the GT on a track would be fun, but otherwise, no point.

? I have a similar experience so far. Son in car seat saying “weeee... faster Dad” and wife white knuckling the handle hanging on for dear life. Good times ?

 

[Thopter]

only one mode for me, unbridled!!

If you think you’re in control, you’re not going fast enough!

 

[Stang68]

I'm surprised that so many people have had their cars for days (or longer) and haven't tried Unbridled yet. I'll be trying all modes on my first test drive, and playing with them more on the first drive home from the dealer. To each their own.

Just like with my current car, I’m going to hop in, hit “Start”, then immediately hit “Sport mode” errr... ”Unbridled” ?

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