Got A Longer Test Drive Today

[deadduck]

Dealership basically said here's the key's have fun. I didn't go crazy but I got a much better drive than my first one where I could punch it, corner it and test more.

So some thoughts, as if there haven't been 500 of these by now.

1. The defining characteristic of this car is it's heavy. It wants to stop, even without 1-pedal. It's just heavy. My old car is so much lighter. In a way it's uncomfortable to drive because of that. It doesn't lack for power so it's a weird feel that I'm sure I'd adapt to.

2. There was a light rain and even AWD, I could chirp the tires pretty easily. I was pushing it but I could see a RWD doing that on a fast start pretty easily.

3. The RWD bias is clear because it wants to play. I kept hitting the gas in my old car when turning because the Mustang is like a puppy begging you to hit the gas in the corner. Please throw the stick / hit the gas. I liked that feeling, which I'm certain I'm supposed to.

4. Because I got a longer ride I was able to do some bad roads. It wasn't bouncy, as I define it, and it absorbs imperfections nicely, exactly as needed in this part of the country and much better than my Accord.

5. Headroom is good, something that's often an issue for me.

5a) However, because headroom is often an issue, I wind up with lowered seats, and lowered steering wheels, which was the case here, and some of the display was hidden by the steering wheel. There's room to raise the seats so that could probably go away. I'm a big fan of HUD's for this reason.

6) I didn't get a good test of the LKAS but the little I did I didn't like. It felt pretty far left. Distance from the car in front was fine. I'm not 100% sure here as fumbling at 70mph isn't the greatest idea so I didn't.

One piece of info, the dealer said they couldn't sell the car until 2,000 miles. I guess they may mean they'll be some slightly used Mach E's coming available in the next few months.

Anyways, not worth much now, as we have owner reviews but thought I'd throw it in the mix.

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[deadduck]

Just remembered one more thing, the sound system. Might have been the settings again, but it wasn't that great. I didn't play with it much so it could be better but it was almost tinny.

This was a premium so it's supposed to have the good sound system.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Just remembered one more thing, the sound system. Might have been the settings again, but it wasn't that great. I didn't play with it much so it could be better but it was almost tinny.

This was a premium so it's supposed to have the good sound system.

This is most likely the source you were tuned into. To my ears, most (all??) of the Sirius stations sound really poor. FM radio sounds better. FM radio streamed through iHeartRadio even better. And probably anything else (music on your phone, thumb drive, etc) will sound best.

 

[dbsb3233]

Just remembered one more thing, the sound system. Might have been the settings again, but it wasn't that great. I didn't play with it much so it could be better but it was almost tinny.

This was a premium so it's supposed to have the good sound system.

For me, it was about shifting most of the fade to the rear. The placement of those speakers on the dash facing the driver/passenger puts them so close to (and aimed at) the front occupants' heads that they overwhelm all the other speakers if not de-emphasized. And those are small speakers, thus more tinny.

I have to shift the fade to the rear by 4 or 5 clicks to get a good balance, and that brings more bass in too.

 

[macchiaz-o]

2. There was a light rain and even AWD, I could chirp the tires pretty easily. I was pushing it but I could see a RWD doing that on a fast start pretty easily.

I haven't observed any chirping on dry roads in my rear wheel drive, standard range Premium with the stock tires.

I DID observe chirping, without intending to, while test driving a Hybrid Ioniq several years ago. So I think it is mostly a matter of how the power output is tuned.

5a) However, because headroom is often an issue, I wind up with lowered seats, and lowered steering wheels, which was the case here, and some of the display was hidden by the steering wheel. There's room to raise the seats so that could probably go away. I'm a big fan of HUD's for this reason.

Not sure if I would like the HUD more... seems like it could be a distraction if not done really well. That said, I have the same issue. For the first few weeks, I'd set the seat and wheel such that I could see the whole IC. That was giving me a lot of shoulder pain. When I finally realized that was causing my pain, I readjusted to where I have a more comfortable grasp of the wheel but at the expense of losing my view of the top corners of the display. Fortunately I'm not missing anything important in those corners, so it's fine.

 

[dbsb3233]

Not sure if I would like the HUD more... seems like it could be a distration if not done really well. That said, I have the same issue. For the first few weeks, I'd set the seat and wheel such that I could see the whole IC. That was giving me a lot of shoulder pain. When I finally realized that was the cause, I readjusted to where I have a more comfortable grasp of the wheel but at the expense of losing my view of the top corners of the display. Fortunately I'm not missing anything important in those corners, so it's fine.

That's what I do, mostly because I like to sit higher, and have the steering wheel lower in my lap so I can rest my arms there.

Headroom is a non-issue in this car. Plenty of it. And I'm 6'1".

Like you, I do lose view of those upper corners, and have to duck a bit to see them. Almost wish Ford had mounted the 10" screen to the steering wheel column, where the eye scanner is now.

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