Ford Launches Mach-E U.S. Road Tour [Register Inside]

[JamieGeek]

I was very surprised to hear that pretty much everyone I talked to there loved the color in person, although they themselves had an order in for a different color. I'm usually a sucker for blue, I wanted to like it, but glad I got to see it in person first. It's unique for sure!

Dealer employee I talked to said they had more orders in for infinite blue than black, and not many for black actually.

There is a picture of a black one (either on this thread or the other roadshow review thread) that looks amazing almost enough to make me change....but no LOL.

Black in winter with snow/salt all over the car (yeah I know gasp "you'll drive it in winter??" especially since its a CA Rt1 RWD only; double gasp) doesn't look very good. That IB will probably look the same with snow/salt all over it LOL.

Sponsored

 

[NEMuskRat]

Registration seems to be broken at the moment. Maybe call the dealer.

Excellent. Thanks.
I just read on one of the posts that they were not letting people in without a reservation.

 

[Redundant]

I was at Fullerton Ford in Somerville, NJ today. Lots of folks there. Here are a bunch of photos. The car is very impressive - actually better than I thought! Clean lines, nice interior, plenty of room (not as much as my Nissan Murano but more than I expected for a smaller footprint and more than enough for my needs).

They had THREE there! Premiums in Black, Infinite Blue and Star White.

Frunk is about 36" across in back, about 24" across in front, about 16" deep (see photo). There are some 'bump outs' that will limit what you can store. Not huge, but nice.

Back trunk is about 40" wide and 32" deep with about 27" of clearance from deck to top of opening. There is also shallow storage underneath that holds the charger, etc. that offers a nominal, but nice amount of extra space.

Seating is very comfortable and adjustable. About 27" from ground to bottom of drivers seat when I had it raised to accommodate my height (I'm 5'8"). I was talking to others there and some folks that were in the 6 foot - 6'2" range felt comfortable in both back and front.

Sorry I couldn't get more measurements and photos, but it was pretty crowded.

Saved best for last...

Actually was able to take about a 10 minute (passenger) test drive. I t was waaay better than I expected. It rides really nice. The handling is great, really quiet and firm over bumps. Acceleration was ridiculous (and the driver said she was not even pushing it).

In short - it is an amazing vehicle for a ground-up first of its kind. I'm sold...

I want to add to the good work of @SoriceConsulting to show that the Frunk is really, really small. See my comments in yellow on his already provided photo.

 

[SoriceConsulting]

I want to add to the good work of @SoriceConsulting to show that the Frunk is really, really small. See my comments in yellow on his already provided photo.

I agree on the size - it is pretty small and tapered. It would be great if it was closer in size to the actual opening. The shelf, which has 2 "cupholder" looking indentations, cuts out a lot of space. Wish they could get rid of it.

 

[Davedough]

I want to add to the good work of @SoriceConsulting to show that the Frunk is really, really small. See my comments in yellow on his already provided photo.

so with the shelf, are we thinking medium sized shrimp and not jumbo?

 

[ChasingCoral]

I want to add to the good work of @SoriceConsulting to show that the Frunk is really, really small. See my comments in yellow on his already provided photo.

Still large enough for a decent sized 36" duffle that can flex around the inner shape and definitely should fit a carry-on sized airline roll-aboard bag.

 

[ajmartineau]

New dates were added this morning, but I can't get the Registration button to take me to the times available.

 

[pb3]

The Mach E Road Tour was at my local dealer yesterday - Perry Ford Lincoln of San Luis Obispo. The dealer did an outstanding job hosting the event. There were a dozen or so classic and modern Mustangs -- all very nice. They catered food provided by a quality local BBQ company -- it was all very nice. The "tour guides", Joe and Alfred, were Ford Marketing contract employees. One said he worked "almost exclusively" for Ford and had been on the Mach E project since the beginning, even spending several days with the development team. My son (who also has a Mach E on order) and daughter-in-law are visiting from out of state, so they and my wife and I all attended. Our 12 pm time slot had no one else, so we were able to spend plenty of time in and around the cars without being rushed or crowded.

There were two cars - one in Rapid Red Metallic and the other in Infinite Blue Metallic. Both colors looked beautiful in the Central California Coast sunshine, but I particularly liked the blue. Both cars were pre-production models.

My first impression was "wow". The styling and proportions of the car are very attractive. My other first impression was that the car is lower than I expected. Others have commented on measurements, so I won't repeat them. Opening the doors is easy and intuitive. My son noted that the door opening button seemed to have a camera in it (see photo), so perhaps that's where one of the 360° cameras is hidden.

For me, getting in and out of the car is very easy. The driver's seat is extremely adjustable, even in height -- probably 4 inches up/down. I'm 6' long legs/arms, short body -- my wife is 5'7" long bodied and we both had no problem finding a seat position that worked for us. Unlike my Lincoln MKX, the steering wheel reach and tilt is manual. So, although seat position memory is part of the personalization, wheel position isn't --one of my very few disappointments in the car.

Controls reach and access is good. I've included photos of the door and steering wheel controls. I thought that the stalks were slightly spindly. Not exactly fragile, but not substantial either. Maybe this is due to the need to save a little weight here and there, which all adds up. Having said that, the switch action was good and positive.

It's a very nice car to sit in. The cabin is light, airy, and uncluttered. Trim material, fit and finish is very good. Front seating is excellent. The Active X seats are very comfortable -- not too firm, not too soft. Not surprisingly, I sat quite a bit lower than my "about to be retired" 4Runner, but was also probably 4 inches lower than my MKX. So, you sit lower than a CR-V or Escape but somewhat higher that a normal sedan, but not "SUV" high. Given that, I asked why the car wasn't termed a crossover, and was told that Ford is working towards entirely eliminating the CUV term from their lineup.

Rear seating is very good. With the driver's seat adjusted for me, I still had plenty of headroom and legroom sitting in the back "behind me". The passenger seat adjusts further back than the driver's and, when all the way back, I was barely able to sit behind it. My feet were under the front seat, and my knees were touching the back of the front seat. But, under normal circumstances, the right-rear passenger would be comfortable and uncramped. Headroom wasn't a problem at all.

Driver's overall visibility is very good. I didn't have any problems with front, around the A-pillar, views. Rear visibility isn't as good. You can see from my photos (one attempted through the rear-view mirror) that the rear seat headrests get in the way. There is also a very large blockage from the C-pillar into the rear hatch structure. The tiny little quarter lights aren't any help.

Random thoughts in no particular order:

One of my concerns -- the glass roof -- was amazingly non-problematic. You can see from my photos how significantly darker it is than the cabin windows. And not just darker. Despite the nearly cloudless, very bright sunshine, I couldn't feel any heat from the bright California sunshine being transmitted from the roof into the cabin.

Another of my concerns, main screen legibility, was not an issue. The screen is bright and clear with good contrast. I don't see there being any problem with it getting washed out by bright sunlight. I won't go into HMI details because there's been plenty of discussion on this forum. I was able to see the electronic "owner’s manual". It was indexed, easy to navigate and appeared very comprehensive. The 360° camera is very well implemented. Menu navigation was quick and snappy -- much better than the Sync-3 system in my MKX.

The wheels are attractive. The tires are Michelin Primacy 225/55-R19 rated 103H with a pretty hefty, nearly one ton, load rating. The speed rating of 130mph is okay, but not GT territory. I wonder if this tire will make the production cars, and if the GT tires will carry a different rating.

The frunk is released by a “pull twice” lever at the driver’s left footwell. Pull once to release, and pull again to open. There is no additional latch at the front opening of the frunk. The frunk was somewhat disappointingly small. Not big enough for my classic Coleman Polylite 48 cooler, but large enough for a smaller picnic Igloo and smaller luggage. The divider was a crudely injection-molded insert. I'm assuming crude because it’s a prototype. I was told the reason for the insert was for safety. Originally the car didn't have a hatch release inside the frunk. That's been added, which you can spot in my photo. With the addition of that safety release, I was told that the divider will be removable, but he didn't know if that meant screws or some other easier-to-use fasteners.

Lots more to tell, but I'll stop here -- too much TLR – but will end by saying "I want mine NOW".

 

[generaltso]

The tires are Michelin Primacy 255/55-R19 rated 103H with a pretty hefty, nearly one ton, load rating.

I think you've got a typo there. The tires are actually a fairly narrow 225/55R19. The wheels are also fairly narrow at 7 inches. Hopefully, there won't be any issues with 8 inch wheels fitting because 19"x7" wheels will be hard to find for winter and I don't really want to go down to 18".

 

[pb3]

I think you've got a typo there. The tires are actually a fairly narrow 225/55R19. T

Thank you for pointing out the typo. Fixed it.

Agreed re: wheel size, although I have to say that in person the wheels/tires don't seem small or out of proportion to the car. At least that didn't leap out at me.

 

[back_at_it_19]

The Mach E Road Tour was at my local dealer yesterday - Perry Ford Lincoln of San Luis Obispo. The dealer did an outstanding job hosting the event. There were a dozen or so classic and modern Mustangs -- all very nice. They catered food provided by a quality local BBQ company -- it was all very nice. The "tour guides", Joe and Alfred, were Ford Marketing contract employees. One said he worked "almost exclusively" for Ford and had been on the Mach E project since the beginning, even spending several days with the development team. My son (who also has a Mach E on order) and daughter-in-law are visiting from out of state, so they and my wife and I all attended. Our 12 pm time slot had no one else, so we were able to spend plenty of time in and around the cars without being rushed or crowded.

There were two cars - one in Rapid Red Metallic and the other in Infinite Blue Metallic. Both colors looked beautiful in the Central California Coast sunshine, but I particularly liked the blue. Both cars were pre-production models.

My first impression was "wow". The styling and proportions of the car are very attractive. My other first impression was that the car is lower than I expected. Others have commented on measurements, so I won't repeat them. Opening the doors is easy and intuitive. My son noted that the door opening button seemed to have a camera in it (see photo), so perhaps that's where one of the 360° cameras is hidden.

For me, getting in and out of the car is very easy. The driver's seat is extremely adjustable, even in height -- probably 4 inches up/down. I'm 6' long legs/arms, short body -- my wife is 5'7" long bodied and we both had no problem finding a seat position that worked for us. Unlike my Lincoln MKX, the steering wheel reach and tilt is manual. So, although seat position memory is part of the personalization, wheel position isn't --one of my very few disappointments in the car.

Controls reach and access is good. I've included photos of the door and steering wheel controls. I thought that the stalks were slightly spindly. Not exactly fragile, but not substantial either. Maybe this is due to the need to save a little weight here and there, which all adds up. Having said that, the switch action was good and positive.

It's a very nice car to sit in. The cabin is light, airy, and uncluttered. Trim material, fit and finish is very good. Front seating is excellent. The Active X seats are very comfortable -- not too firm, not too soft. Not surprisingly, I sat quite a bit lower than my "about to be retired" 4Runner, but was also probably 4 inches lower than my MKX. So, you sit lower than a CR-V or Escape but somewhat higher that a normal sedan, but not "SUV" high. Given that, I asked why the car wasn't termed a crossover, and was told that Ford is working towards entirely eliminating the CUV term from their lineup.

Rear seating is very good. With the driver's seat adjusted for me, I still had plenty of headroom and legroom sitting in the back "behind me". The passenger seat adjusts further back than the driver's and, when all the way back, I was barely able to sit behind it. My feet were under the front seat, and my knees were touching the back of the front seat. But, under normal circumstances, the right-rear passenger would be comfortable and uncramped. Headroom wasn't a problem at all.

Driver's overall visibility is very good. I didn't have any problems with front, around the A-pillar, views. Rear visibility isn't as good. You can see from my photos (one attempted through the rear-view mirror) that the rear seat headrests get in the way. There is also a very large blockage from the C-pillar into the rear hatch structure. The tiny little quarter lights aren't any help.

Random thoughts in no particular order:

One of my concerns -- the glass roof -- was amazingly non-problematic. You can see from my photos how significantly darker it is than the cabin windows. And not just darker. Despite the nearly cloudless, very bright sunshine, I couldn't feel any heat from the bright California sunshine being transmitted from the roof into the cabin.

Another of my concerns, main screen legibility, was not an issue. The screen is bright and clear with good contrast. I don't see there being any problem with it getting washed out by bright sunlight. I won't go into HMI details because there's been plenty of discussion on this forum. I was able to see the electronic "owner’s manual". It was indexed, easy to navigate and appeared very comprehensive. The 360° camera is very well implemented. Menu navigation was quick and snappy -- much better than the Sync-3 system in my MKX.

The wheels are attractive. The tires are Michelin Primacy 225/55-R19 rated 103H with a pretty hefty, nearly one ton, load rating. The speed rating of 130mph is okay, but not GT territory. I wonder if this tire will make the production cars, and if the GT tires will carry a different rating.

The frunk is released by a “pull twice” lever at the driver’s left footwell. Pull once to release, and pull again to open. There is no additional latch at the front opening of the frunk. The frunk was somewhat disappointingly small. Not big enough for my classic Coleman Polylite 48 cooler, but large enough for a smaller picnic Igloo and smaller luggage. The divider was a crudely injection-molded insert. I'm assuming crude because it’s a prototype. I was told the reason for the insert was for safety. Originally the car didn't have a hatch release inside the frunk. That's been added, which you can spot in my photo. With the addition of that safety release, I was told that the divider will be removable, but he didn't know if that meant screws or some other easier-to-use fasteners.

Lots more to tell, but I'll stop here -- too much TLR – but will end by saying "I want mine NOW".

Thanks! I’ve been asking around... what’s the leg room like for 6’3” do you think?

 

[ChasingCoral]

New dates were added this morning, but I can't get the Registration button to take me to the times available.

It's working for me now.

Nice. Now there's one at Koons Ford in Baltimore (sister to my dealer in Silver Spring). I've reserved there too.

 

[1pt21Gigawatts]

If the Register link does not work that means the event is full, correct? Bummer, just noticed one in Schenectady, NY just down the Thruway from me.

Might as well call

 

[pb3]

Thanks! I’ve been asking around... what’s the leg room like for 6’3” do you think?

I would say that you have nothing to worry about. I'm 3" shorter than you, but have very long legs and had no trouble getting comfortable.

 

[ChasingCoral]

The Mach E Road Tour was at my local dealer yesterday - Perry Ford Lincoln of San Luis Obispo. The dealer did an outstanding job hosting the event. There were a dozen or so classic and modern Mustangs -- all very nice. They catered food provided by a quality local BBQ company -- it was all very nice. The "tour guides", Joe and Alfred, were Ford Marketing contract employees. One said he worked "almost exclusively" for Ford and had been on the Mach E project since the beginning, even spending several days with the development team. My son (who also has a Mach E on order) and daughter-in-law are visiting from out of state, so they and my wife and I all attended. Our 12 pm time slot had no one else, so we were able to spend plenty of time in and around the cars without being rushed or crowded.

There were two cars - one in Rapid Red Metallic and the other in Infinite Blue Metallic. Both colors looked beautiful in the Central California Coast sunshine, but I particularly liked the blue. Both cars were pre-production models.

My first impression was "wow". The styling and proportions of the car are very attractive. My other first impression was that the car is lower than I expected. Others have commented on measurements, so I won't repeat them. Opening the doors is easy and intuitive. My son noted that the door opening button seemed to have a camera in it (see photo), so perhaps that's where one of the 360° cameras is hidden.

For me, getting in and out of the car is very easy. The driver's seat is extremely adjustable, even in height -- probably 4 inches up/down. I'm 6' long legs/arms, short body -- my wife is 5'7" long bodied and we both had no problem finding a seat position that worked for us. Unlike my Lincoln MKX, the steering wheel reach and tilt is manual. So, although seat position memory is part of the personalization, wheel position isn't --one of my very few disappointments in the car.

Controls reach and access is good. I've included photos of the door and steering wheel controls. I thought that the stalks were slightly spindly. Not exactly fragile, but not substantial either. Maybe this is due to the need to save a little weight here and there, which all adds up. Having said that, the switch action was good and positive.

It's a very nice car to sit in. The cabin is light, airy, and uncluttered. Trim material, fit and finish is very good. Front seating is excellent. The Active X seats are very comfortable -- not too firm, not too soft. Not surprisingly, I sat quite a bit lower than my "about to be retired" 4Runner, but was also probably 4 inches lower than my MKX. So, you sit lower than a CR-V or Escape but somewhat higher that a normal sedan, but not "SUV" high. Given that, I asked why the car wasn't termed a crossover, and was told that Ford is working towards entirely eliminating the CUV term from their lineup.

Rear seating is very good. With the driver's seat adjusted for me, I still had plenty of headroom and legroom sitting in the back "behind me". The passenger seat adjusts further back than the driver's and, when all the way back, I was barely able to sit behind it. My feet were under the front seat, and my knees were touching the back of the front seat. But, under normal circumstances, the right-rear passenger would be comfortable and uncramped. Headroom wasn't a problem at all.

Driver's overall visibility is very good. I didn't have any problems with front, around the A-pillar, views. Rear visibility isn't as good. You can see from my photos (one attempted through the rear-view mirror) that the rear seat headrests get in the way. There is also a very large blockage from the C-pillar into the rear hatch structure. The tiny little quarter lights aren't any help.

Random thoughts in no particular order:

One of my concerns -- the glass roof -- was amazingly non-problematic. You can see from my photos how significantly darker it is than the cabin windows. And not just darker. Despite the nearly cloudless, very bright sunshine, I couldn't feel any heat from the bright California sunshine being transmitted from the roof into the cabin.

Another of my concerns, main screen legibility, was not an issue. The screen is bright and clear with good contrast. I don't see there being any problem with it getting washed out by bright sunlight. I won't go into HMI details because there's been plenty of discussion on this forum. I was able to see the electronic "owner’s manual". It was indexed, easy to navigate and appeared very comprehensive. The 360° camera is very well implemented. Menu navigation was quick and snappy -- much better than the Sync-3 system in my MKX.

The wheels are attractive. The tires are Michelin Primacy 225/55-R19 rated 103H with a pretty hefty, nearly one ton, load rating. The speed rating of 130mph is okay, but not GT territory. I wonder if this tire will make the production cars, and if the GT tires will carry a different rating.

The frunk is released by a “pull twice” lever at the driver’s left footwell. Pull once to release, and pull again to open. There is no additional latch at the front opening of the frunk. The frunk was somewhat disappointingly small. Not big enough for my classic Coleman Polylite 48 cooler, but large enough for a smaller picnic Igloo and smaller luggage. The divider was a crudely injection-molded insert. I'm assuming crude because it’s a prototype. I was told the reason for the insert was for safety. Originally the car didn't have a hatch release inside the frunk. That's been added, which you can spot in my photo. With the addition of that safety release, I was told that the divider will be removable, but he didn't know if that meant screws or some other easier-to-use fasteners.

Lots more to tell, but I'll stop here -- too much TLR – but will end by saying "I want mine NOW".

Did you get a shot of the license plate or build plate inside the door? I'm still tracking these demos.