Mach-E Impressions from a Tesla owner

[t12g]

THE only problematic difference: “Floor the Tesla at 60 and you’re thrown back into your seat again, not so much on the Ford.” ??????

True. But that can be fixed with the upcoming GT...

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[BMT1071]

Tesla's control design is for a video gamers mindset, but that's not appropriate for a vehicle. If you crash in a game you just restart, in real life, not so much.

Putting the car in gear faster is likely to apply to people who want to get the car moving faster, but are they checking carefully before moving the car? The sensors cannot be relied upon exclusively, it says so in the instructions, and any small object between sensors are generally hidden from them.

Based on statistics, over the period 1990-2014, about 3400 children 14 years old and younger are killed in non-traffic incidents, mainly parking lots and driveways.

https://www.kidsandcars.org/2017/09...ic-injuries-and-fatalities-in-young-children/

65% of the deaths are due to moving vehicle reasons, that didn't include injuries or anything outside the US.

https://www.kidsandcars.org/how-kids-get-hurt/vehicles-set-in-motion/

Those stats are why back up cameras are mandatory now. I don't think I could live with myself if I ran over one of my kids.

 

[physib]

It is rather hard to believe that infotainment systems in 2021 can't even run at 30 frames. That is probably my biggest gripe with the MME.

 

[agoldman]

I can't argue with any of the minuses comments form the first post. Pretty spot on. But overall, the ME still gets my vote as the better car overall, for me at least.

 

[SnowMach]

I think with the power button, stalk and other buttons Ford is trying to bridge the gap between the non EV converts to seem not so much different than the ICE vehicles they have been used to. Tesla‘s tech and presentation i think is too scary for some people if they aren’t into the latest tech so that type of person would never consider Tesla as an option.

 

[agoldman]

I think with the power button, stalk and other buttons Ford is trying to bridge the gap between the non EV converts to seem not so much different than the ICE vehicles they have been used to. Tesla‘s tech and presentation i think is too scary for some people if they aren’t into the latest tech so that type of person would never consider Tesla as an option.

I don't mind the power button at all. When I leave the car I want it powered off. When I get in, I don't always want it on. I know the car does some background stuff when off anyway, but I like having the button.

 

[SnowMach]

I don’t have my MME yet but I agree.

 

[oadesign]

Surely it can't be too much trouble to at least offer other paint colors though. Always thought white\silver\gray was boring and was never interested even through all of the trends.

Obviously a very personal choice though as I bet probably 80% of the Model 3s I see out there are white

Agreed! And then there's the price premium they charge for certain colors. This may explain why so many boring colors are out on the road.

 

[EVS]

I think with the power button, stalk and other buttons Ford is trying to bridge the gap between the non EV converts to seem not so much different than the ICE vehicles they have been used to. Tesla‘s tech and presentation i think is too scary for some people if they aren’t into the latest tech so that type of person would never consider Tesla as an option.

The start button and some of these other user interfaces (having a dedicated rain wiper stalk, A/C button etc.) have nothing to do with the drivetrain. No one is cranking the gas engine manually to start it. Electric starter motors took over that function 100 years ago! It's all done by the 12V battery; an electrical system. How else do the hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines come on and off without the driver doing anything?

So we should not associate this 'Start' button and other UI choices to the drivetrain at all. Some of the gimmicks that Tesla does is to make people believe that it is more technologically advanced than it actually is. And partly it is to cut costs and make it a bare bones cheap econobox, sometimes unsafe. Like not having a dedicated volume button, not having a screen in front of the driver, or even a wiper stalk. It seems Tesla is mainly driven by cost cutting and gimmicks; the driver be damned.

There is really no need to reinvent the wheel and make it a half-rectangle.

 

[Maquis]

THE only problematic difference: “Floor the Tesla at 60 and you’re thrown back into your seat again, not so much on the Ford.” ??????

I might not have believed this had I not recently ridden in a buddy's Model 3. He floored it on an open stretch of road and I was both impressed an humbled. Of course, I never said anything! ?

 

[Mirak]

Let’s talk automation differences! Here is my understating but perhaps @Forensic can fill in some gaps and correct some misunderstandings.

Setting aside “Full Self Driving” a $10,000 add that isn’t actually self-driving, it sounds like….

1. Both CP360 and AP have adaptive cruise control and both work well.
2. They both have lane keeping (which Tesla calls “auto steer” - man Tesla and these over-hype names!) which both work well.
3. Unlike CP360, AP’s auto steer disables above 75mph.
4. AP will slow you down on off-ramps. CP360 won’t do that. Nice feature.
5. AP will make lane changes with a flick of the gear stick. CP360 won’t do that. Neat feature.
6. CP360 has cross-traffic sensors. AP doesn’t (important and weirdly lacking).
7. CP360 will soon offer hands free driving on pre-mapped highways with “Blue Cruise.” Not even Tesla FSD offers that.

 

[snikt]

Let’s talk automation differences! Here is my understating but perhaps @Forensic can fill in some gaps and correct some misunderstandings.

Setting aside “Full Self Driving” a $10,000 add that isn’t actually self-driving, it sounds like….

1. Both CP360 and AP have adaptive cruise control and both work well.
2. They both have lane keeping (which Tesla calls “auto steer” - man Tesla and these over-hype names!) which both work well.
3. Unlike CP360, AP’s auto steer disables above 75mph.
4. AP will slow you down on off-ramps. CP360 won’t do that. Nice feature.
5. AP will make lane changes with a flick of the gear stick. CP360 won’t do that. Neat feature.
6. CP360 has cross-traffic sensors. AP doesn’t (important and weirdly lacking).
7. CP360 will soon offer hands free driving on pre-mapped highways with “Blue Cruise.” Not even Tesla FSD offers that.

Just a couple minor changes --

1. Both CP360 and AP have adaptive cruise control and both work well.
2. They both have lane keeping (which Tesla calls “auto steer” - man Tesla and these over-hype names!) which both work well.
3. Unlike CP360, AP’s auto steer disables above 75mph. <-- no longer the case, this is now 80 and will soon be 90
4. AP will slow you down on off-ramps. CP360 won’t do that. Nice feature.
5. AP will make lane changes with a flick of the gear stick. CP360 won’t do that. Neat feature. <-- This is only with FSD or EAP (Enhanced Auto Pilot) The "free" AP won't do that
6. CP360 has cross-traffic sensors. AP doesn’t (important and weirdly lacking).
7. CP360 will soon offer hands free driving on pre-mapped highways with “Blue Cruise.” Not even Tesla FSD offers that. <-- I could be wrong but I "think" this is coming at some point with the recent change of the cabin camera

 

[MachTee]

So we should not associate this 'Start' button and other UI choices to the drivetrain at all. Some of the gimmicks that Tesla does is to make people believe that it is more technologically advanced than it actually is. And partly it is to cut costs and make it a bare bones cheap econobox, sometimes unsafe. Like not having a dedicated volume button, not having a screen in front of the driver, or even a wiper stalk. It seems Tesla is mainly driven by cost cutting and gimmicks; the driver be damned.

There is really no need to reinvent the wheel and make it a half-rectangle.

Totally. IMO everything Tesla does is all about cost cutting. Lookup model 3 missing wheel well liner fasteners and plastic/zip tied upper control arm for some examples. Not having a dedicated wipers control on the stalk is annoying at best and dangerous at worst, because their "rain sensing" wiper uses the camera to "sense" the rain. They must have saved a few bucks there in omitting a dedicated IR rain sensor. Nearly 3yrs later they still don't work reliably. Sometimes the wipers go on high with barely a mist (sometimes while in my garage), other times it doesn't come on during a downpour. I guess it depends on their wipers "neuro net", if other owners around the area are manually adjusting their wipers it signals other cars in the area to also do a wipe here and there ?

I think they went too far with the refreshed S and X - doing away with even the turn signal and gear selector stalks.

Let’s talk automation differences! Here is my understating but perhaps @Forensic can fill in some gaps and correct some misunderstandings.

Setting aside “Full Self Driving” a $10,000 add that isn’t actually self-driving, it sounds like….

1. Both CP360 and AP have adaptive cruise control and both work well.
2. They both have lane keeping (which Tesla calls “auto steer” - man Tesla and these over-hype names!) which both work well.
3. Unlike CP360, AP’s auto steer disables above 75mph.
4. AP will slow you down on off-ramps. CP360 won’t do that. Nice feature.
5. AP will make lane changes with a flick of the gear stick. CP360 won’t do that. Neat feature.
6. CP360 has cross-traffic sensors. AP doesn’t (important and weirdly lacking).
7. CP360 will soon offer hands free driving on pre-mapped highways with “Blue Cruise.” Not even Tesla FSD offers that.

#3, on cars with the radar the limit is/was 90MPH. Supposedly they will be removing radar support in software even on the older cars with radar. They raised it to 80MPH in this week's update. Not sure if they've also gimped the radar equipped cars with this update.

#5, only if you paid $5000 for EAP (which I had) or $10K for FSD. Without auto lane change, you have to disengage AP to change lane, which it does when you yank on the steering wheel.

#6, saved another few dollars there. There were some super heated debate on this subject on Tesla's own forum, regarding missing cross traffic and blind spot monitor alert on the mirror. Tesla superfans say neither features work reliably in other cars that have it. And Tesla doesn't need it.

 

[Mirak]

Thank you @MachTee and @snikt. A friend of mine just bought a MY this past weekend and said he couldn’t get it past 75 on AP. Obviously he needs to get an update.

He also said he had lane changes which seemed wrong to me. Thanks for clarifying. So when you say you can’t change lanes with AP on and have to yank the steering wheel, what does that mean? With the Mach E, lane keeping turns off when you use the turn signal (adaptive cruise stays on) and then the lane keep turns back on automatically when your in the next lane. It’s all very smooth. Is this not the same for Tesla?

 

[Raymondjram]

Edit: Since this post received more responses than I expected, I just want to preface by saying that both of the cars are really great. I’d truly be more than happy driving either one every day. For Ford’s first real entry into the EV market they did an outstanding job and I’m looking forward to them continuing to improve via OTA software updates. Any critiques are merely my own opinion and open to debate and all of them are nitpicks and don’t take away from how much I enjoy both vehicles.



Hi everyone. Someone in my family recently purchased a Mach-E Premium and I got to drive it for a few days and get a good feel for the vehicle overall. I wanted to share some opinions I have about it compared to my Tesla and discuss some things that aren’t normally talked in reviews and YouTube videos but may be of interest to somebody cross-shopping each. I’m not going to discuss the charging network, range, Elon Musk, etc etc .. as it’s been talked about over and over.

In my opinion…

Mach-E Pros over Tesla:

• Fit and finish is much better. The Tesla paint job is awful with overspray in multiple areas and the paint itself is very fragile and prone to rock chips and scratches. Panel gaps and trim pieces not fitting properly is still a very real issue. I have a rattle and a squeak in my Tesla that they could not fix even after 2 visits to service. This is not an issue on the Ford.
• Screen on dash is really nice to have
• Style is great and super sleek. Style is subjective but I think most people would agree the Mach-E is a better looking vehicle than the Y.
• BLISS, 360 camera, and cross traffic alert are all welcome safety features
• BlueCruise compatibility in the future for hands-free highway driving
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is great to have and really missed on the Tesla.

Negatives about the Mach-E over the Tesla:

• Why is there a start button? There’s no engine to start. This is an extra unnecessary step.
• The infotainment system on the Mach-E is terrible at worst and annoying at best. It’s slow to respond, laggy, and confusing to navigate through menus to find a simple setting. Tesla’s software is by far and away better in every regard.
• Phone key works about 70% of the time. It’s not perfect on the Tesla either but the Tesla works maybe 95% of the time.
• The acceleration on the Tesla is better, smoother, and doesn’t let up as quick as on the Mach-E. The Mach-E throws you into your seat off the line but it quickly loses the oomph. Floor the Tesla at 60 and you’re thrown back into your seat again, not so much on the Ford.
• 1 pedal driving is smoother and less jerky on the Tesla at low speeds.
• The seats are more comfortable on the Tesla, but the Mach-E’s are very nice too. I just find the Tesla seats exceptionally comfortable.
• Steering wheel controls are overly complicated and not necessary.
• Frunk release is an old-fashioned 2 pull release latch instead of a simple button or phone control
• The Ford Pass app doesn’t have as many controls as it should have
• Sentry mode and dash cam is such a common sense feature I don’t know why the Mach-E doesn’t support it since it has the hardware.
• Ford’s CoPilot 360 or whatever name they call it can’t currently compete with Tesla’s Autopilot, but maybe this will change once BlueCruise is released.

I’m sure I missed some things that didn’t pop into my head as I was writing this, but that’s just some of my initial impressions.

Overall I think most of my qualms with the Mach-E can be resolved with software updates. Both cars are really fantastic and I would be more than happy to drive either one. I hope Ford releases OTA updates rapidly to improve and add features.

You are forgetting that Ford sells for drivers who liked their gas cars but want to drive on electricity, so the Mustang Mach-E is for them. I am one of those who will convert, but want a car that looks and drive as simple as a gasser. I include my wife who is a loss for technology, but wants a car that she can drive with little help or no need to read any owner manuals, with real buttons and gages in a dash.

I am an EE, I drive a Fusion Hybrid, and I did see the Model S up close ( I sat in it and operated its display controls) but I don't like how it was designed. It is great for performance but not for every day driving. Where I drive the speed limit is 55 MPH, so I never need much HP. Its price is too much for the little use I may give it, and I belong to the majority.

Tesla sells for newbies and tech lovers, while Ford sells for the rest of the world. Ford will win this competition.

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