Mustang Mach-E wins Car and Driver's 2021 EV of the Year award

[Jimmy2]

Maybe our mach e are worth more than we paid!

Interesting. Anyone know of secondary sales?

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[blue92lx]

Too bad it looks like a low-res VW Golf and is slower than a Mach E.
I like the Kia EV6 a bit more.

Out of the competition for this segment I really like how the ioniq 5 looks. It does actually look like what would happen if we watched a future movie like blade runner and a golf GTI drove by. I think they did a good job on it. Far better than a Tesla design version 1.1.1.2.1.2.45.1 since apparently this is the only design Tesla will ever have and never do something new.

 

[Stang68]

That sounds like an interesting story. Do tell.

Seriously the only “negative” reaction I’ve gotten. Said I should have gotten a 5.0 lol I mean sure I’d love that too, but this thing fits a couple car seats quite easily

 

[ARK]

Because I’m here since many months already (much longer than you), being one of the first to reserve a MME (November 2019).
I’ve been participating and contributing a lot here, and so will I in the future, unless the fact that I finally couldn’t get my MME disqualify me for posting in the forum. Do I need your approval for staying?
I didn’t know that this forum was only for MME owners! Does owning another car prevent me from liking (and writing about) the Mustang too?

I think other EV owners make the forum more interesting as they can give a different perspective on things.

As long as someone isn't trolling (which I definitely do not think you are), I think everyone should be welcome to share their thoughts and opinion on the forum.

 

[blue92lx]

Keep up that kind of talk and I'm gonna have my car FSD me outta here! ???

LOL my brother was telling me they were going back to their model Y from shopping and it was raining so of course you think hey this is the perfect time to have the car come to me instead. He told it to come pick him up knight rider style and it backed out and blocked the parking lot instead ?

 

[Cricri67]

I think other EV owners make the forum more interesting as they can give a different perspective on things.

As long as someone isn't trolling (which I definitely do not think you are), I think everyone should be welcome to share their thoughts and opinion on the forum.

Thank you ? ??

 

[blue92lx]

I think one of the best things mentioned, even a little bit in passing, is the acknowledgement that electrify america has been making improvements to their charging network. I've seen more than enough cross country YouTube videos to know fast charging won't be a major issue, and yes it might not yet be as seemless as Tesla or there might not be as many chargers in the dead center of the country (who seriously lives in south and north Dakota with an EV anyway? You'll probably get run over by an 8mpg duelie just driving your EV off the lot), but it's vast enough and good enough to not be an issue in my mind.

The constant Tesla go to of "our charging network is better" is really old now. And when they don't have that argument anymore what will they have left? I sure as hell am not going to buy a Tesla model y with worse materials and construction because they can pull up to a Tesla charging station and plug it in without any extra interactions.

Also the other super annoying thing about that being constantly brought up is how many EV owners are requiring fast charging networks? I go out of state maybe 3 or 4 times a year, I sure as hell wouldn't buy a Tesla to save myself maybe 5 minutes of time on those trips. The only people it might apply to are long rangers that have to drive a lot on a regular basis. Everyone else the whole "Tesla charging network is better" argument doesn't apply to them. Just get over it already. Yes I'm ranting, so deal with it lol

 

[hybrid2bev]

https://www.at.ford.com/en/homepage/news-and-clipsheet/news/2021/7/q-and-a-evoy-mach-e.html

Ford Talks with Car and Driver about ‘EV of the Year’ Mustang Mach-E

Jul-07-2021

Car and Driver has named the Ford Mustang Mach-E its inaugural Electric Vehicle of the Year, beating ten other world-class electric contenders. @FordOnline recently had an opportunity to talk with Sharon Carty, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver, about the recognition and what made the Mach-E stand out.

This is the first time that Car & Driver recognizes an EV of the Year. Can you share a little information about the award?
We took 11 different EVs: the Mustang Mach-E, Audi e-tron, Kia Niro EV, Nissan Leaf Plus, Polestar 2, Porsche Taycan 4S PBP, Tesla Model 3 Performance, Tesla Model S Long Range Plus, Tesla Model Y Performance, Volkswagen ID.4,and Volvo XC40 Recharge. We were attempting to get every EV on the market, but there were vehicles that we couldn’t get from the automakers..
What we wanted to do was see how practical EVs are becoming. Are these cars that you can live with and go about your normal daily life in? Can you go on a road trip in them, and do all the things that people expect out of their cars? Or are EVs still kind of a niche thing that you need to plan your life around?
We can see where the market is going. There’s going to be some sort of EV version of every car in the market soon, either a plug-in electric vehicle or a hybrid. We want to be part of this conversation. We believe in this technology, and we believe that EVs are fun.
There’s a lot of skepticism in the enthusiast market about EVs, but there’s also a fair number of people who embrace them. 13% of our Car and Driver audience said they would consider a full EV. This is an audience that is into this stuff. They like new things. So, we want to be with them as EVs are coming out to help sort out how you understand these vehicles, how they perform and how you go about buying one of them.

How did you evaluate the 11 EVs?
We brought the cars to the track and did a lot of traditional testing – battery tests, speed tests, etc. Then we brought the cars out to our road course and compared them side by-side to get a greater look at the consumer angle. Lastly, we took all 11 cars on a 1000-mile rally through Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and then back home to Michigan to test out the robustness of the charging stations and how the cars perform on long road trips.

What criteria did you use to judge the vehicles?
It’s the same criteria we use for our long-running “10Best” awards. First, we look at value. Vehicles that over-deliver on their price. Vehicles that may offer more equipment, more luxury, better vehicle dynamics or better performance than vehicles at the same price point.
Mission fulfillment is next. How well does the car meet its goals? For example, the Mach-E is an SUV. Does it meet the performance of an SUV, or are there compromises that you have to make? Family vehicles should have a comfortable back seat and a cargo area that’s usable. Luxury vehicles should feel really special. If the vehicle is supposed to be sporty, we test for dynamics.
Then we have another category that we believe is unique to Car and Driver. It’s very subjective, but it’s “fun to drive.” How does the car feel, handle and sound? How does it make us feel when we’re driving it? While value and mission are very consumer-oriented, fun is the enthusiast and emotional part of the equation that we try to bake into this.
And then the last of the criteria is technological advancement – anything from range and efficiency to charging speeds. Or how much technology do you get for the price? We’re looking for the car that is advancing EV technology further into the mainstream or making it much more palatable to enthusiasts. And that’s really where the Mach-E stood out – making EVs more palatable to enthusiasts.

Tell us more about why you selected the Mustang Mach-E as Car and Driver’s EV of the Year.
We felt that if a carmaker was looking to convert people from EV skeptics to EV evangelists, there’s not a better vehicle out there than the Mustang Mach-E. It’s in the sweet spot of what Americans love. It’s beautiful. It’s a design that gets noticed. It has a range and charging speed that is very competitive. It’s a car that makes a long trip not just possible but actually enjoyable. Driving it didn’t feel foreign compared to a gas-burning SUV, but it still felt futuristic and exciting. We feel like it’s the right vehicle to bring enthusiasts along on this watershed moment, as EVs are transitioning from niche to normal.

There were three Teslas among the 11 EVs that you evaluated – the Tesla Model 3 Performance, Tesla Model S Long Range Plus and Tesla Model Y Performance. Why did you choose the Mach-E over those vehicles?
The three Teslas that we tested came in first, second and third in the road rally portion of the evaluation, and that’s largely due to Tesla’s charging infrastructure. It’s easier to get to a Tesla charger, the vehicles charge super-fast, and you can get back on the road quickly. However, the Teslas were not contenders for EV of the Year because each of them had a significant quality issue for the three weeks that we had them. Given that so much focus was on consumers, none of us felt that we could give Tesla a gold star.
In the end, we just ended up loving the Mustang Mach-E. It was overall best in show. It did everything that we asked it to do, and we could feel the quality. That’s one area where Ford excels. It would be an easy decision to pick the Mach-E any day because I trust Ford, and I trust the quality coming out of Ford. There’s a robust dealer network, and there’s lots of things backing that up. Ford definitely has the leg up on quality.

At Ford, our plan is to electrify our iconic nameplates, and we started with the Mustang, F-150 and Transit. What are your thoughts on that strategy?
I know Ford got a lot of pushback on using the Mustang name for the Mach-E, but I really think it was a smart decision, mostly judging by consumer feedback. There’s definitely a diehard audience of Mustang enthusiasts who are not going to see this as a Mustang and who are going to complain and gripe about that. I’m sure you have had a lot of internal debate about that as well. But the Mustang name for a lot of people just says sportiness. It’s an iconic brand with an image of being sporty, reliable, and fun. Taking that image and using it for an EV is smart because you’re trying to draw attention into this market that is totally new. It’s working; we can see the interest just from traffic when we put up stories – like when Ford first announced the Mach-E. We got a ton of traffic and a lot of people talking. That’s what you want when you introduce something new.

What do you see as the biggest opportunities for automakers like Ford as we move into the EV era?
One of the biggest things going for Tesla right now is its charging stations. When we were driving the EVs through the Midwest, there would be a handful of Meijer stores that we could stop to charge at. It was really fast, and you were back on the road and on your way. For the other eight cars in the rally, we relied on Electrify America or whatever the other charging stations were. Oftentimes, four of our people would show up at a charging station at the same time and they would all have to wait.
Therefore, I think the biggest opportunity right now is not necessarily in the vehicles but in making sure automakers invest serious time and attention into building out the charging infrastructure. Because without that, it’s going to be impossible to get people to buy in.

After testing the 11 vehicles, do you think more consumers will start to buy into EVs?
With new technology there’s always an adoption curve which is super flat for a period of time. Then at some point, something happens. It catches on and demand jumps out of nowhere. I think we’re very much in that flat period right now for EVs. I’m not going to try and predict what the triggering point may be to make them super popular, but I do think that we are building toward a future where there will be a trigger and then all of a sudden there will be a high demand for EVs. They’ll be functional, and it’ll seem like they’ve always been here. A lot of people want cars that they feel are cleaner, and the only way to get that right now is through electricity. I think there’s demand out there, but we’re still bouncing along the bottom of the adoption curve.

As editor-in-chief of Car & Driver you’ve obviously had an opportunity to drive a number of cars, from simpler vehicles to very sophisticated ones. Do you think EVs will eventually get to a point where hard-core car enthusiasts will embrace them?
One of the things that’s really struck me about the auto industry since I started covering it is this “mono” view of what a car enthusiast is. I think it has blinded the industry in some respects to stick with what works or listen to what our most vocal enthusiasts say. I remember back when the Prius came out and started growing in popularity. There was an executive from another automaker – not Ford – who was making fun of it and saying if they want to sell cars to the “NPR tree-hugging crowd,” let them. And my thought was, well their money is green too. There are different kinds of auto enthusiasts who love to do different things with different cars. So, sure there will be some that say they will always drive gas-powered vehicles because that’s what they know and love. And I do think there is a little bit of grief over the fact that if we’re moving into this future where cars are quieter and don’t respond the way that we’re used to, we’re losing something. But then there’s a whole bunch of other people who just love low-end torque and get jazzed about being able to pull up on the highway and get all of this instant access to power right there and be able to pass people without waiting. There are people, like my husband, who love to watch the average fuel economy on their car and try to gain more. So, there are lots of different enthusiasts and yes there will be a group of them who won’t want to come on this ride. But there are also a whole bunch of other people who will. And I think they’re going to embrace it and have a lot of fun with it.

 

[blue92lx]

At Ford, our plan is to electrify our iconic nameplates, and we started with the Mustang, F-150 and Transit. What are your thoughts on that strategy?
I know Ford got a lot of pushback on using the Mustang name for the Mach-E, but I really think it was a smart decision, mostly judging by consumer feedback. There’s definitely a diehard audience of Mustang enthusiasts who are not going to see this as a Mustang and who are going to complain and gripe about that. I’m sure you have had a lot of internal debate about that as well. But the Mustang name for a lot of people just says sportiness. It’s an iconic brand with an image of being sporty, reliable, and fun. Taking that image and using it for an EV is smart because you’re trying to draw attention into this market that is totally new. It’s working; we can see the interest just from traffic when we put up stories – like when Ford first announced the Mach-E. We got a ton of traffic and a lot of people talking. That’s what you want when you introduce something new.

I think calling it a Mustang was a really good decision, when it was first introduced I was definitely pissed about it. The styling that makes the Mach E so good is that it looks like a Mustang just enough. And of course they're going for a sports car feel more than an SUV feel.

The flip side to that is they're dedicated to it now. You can't go from Mustang Mach E to calling it an Escort. It's going to be a Mustang forever at this point unless it's discontinued for something else. Which means to me that I'm waiting for a Mustang sub brand now. You'll go to Ford to see the Mustang line up and it'll be a Crossover, the current ICE models, at some point an EV Mustang Coupe, etc. It's just part of the family now, and I REALLY HOPE they don't kill the Mustang for a crossover. That's my biggest concern. I'd like to think Ford is smart enough to at least have a Crossover AND a Coupe even if they're all EV's in the future.

As editor-in-chief of Car & Driver you’ve obviously had an opportunity to drive a number of cars, from simpler vehicles to very sophisticated ones. Do you think EVs will eventually get to a point where hard-core car enthusiasts will embrace them?
One of the things that’s really struck me about the auto industry since I started covering it is this “mono” view of what a car enthusiast is. I think it has blinded the industry in some respects to stick with what works or listen to what our most vocal enthusiasts say. I remember back when the Prius came out and started growing in popularity. There was an executive from another automaker – not Ford – who was making fun of it and saying if they want to sell cars to the “NPR tree-hugging crowd,” let them. And my thought was, well their money is green too. There are different kinds of auto enthusiasts who love to do different things with different cars. So, sure there will be some that say they will always drive gas-powered vehicles because that’s what they know and love. And I do think there is a little bit of grief over the fact that if we’re moving into this future where cars are quieter and don’t respond the way that we’re used to, we’re losing something. But then there’s a whole bunch of other people who just love low-end torque and get jazzed about being able to pull up on the highway and get all of this instant access to power right there and be able to pass people without waiting. There are people, like my husband, who love to watch the average fuel economy on their car and try to gain more. So, there are lots of different enthusiasts and yes there will be a group of them who won’t want to come on this ride. But there are also a whole bunch of other people who will. And I think they’re going to embrace it and have a lot of fun with it.

That's funny because as someone who's been into cars my whole life, I went from the fun and games of a 450+ hp 1992 5.0 which was 'how fast can I take this corner?' or 'can I nail first gear traction this time?' and 'put it in second gear and slam yourself into the seat over and over again.' The car was the antithesis of who I am personally. It was LOUD, lumpy cam, loud Vortech S Trim before they made the quiet ones, obnoxious, and I LOVED it.

Then I went to my current 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid which was all about comfort and 'how high can I get my average mpg?' and 'It's cool outside so I'll turn off the AC and see if I can get the trip over 50mpg' and just enjoying the comfort and quietness of the car, and trying to fill up the bars on the acceleration and braking screen to max it out. And just being a nerd about the different screens on the dashboard and the center console.

You don't have to always have to want to go as fast as possible to enjoy a car and have your own little games you play while enjoying the drive.

But I think in this sense the Mach E for me (at 42 years old too I should say lol) is the exact mix of I want a comfortable and quiet car, but I want that fun I used to have in my old 92 5.0, and this is it. I get to geek out on tech stuff in a quiet and comfortable ride, while also going 0-60 in 3.8 seconds in the GT (hopefully this year some time). Both sides of me get to come out and have fun.

 

[Brofessional]

For me, the lack of a V-8 has nothing to do with the name issue. My single issue is that the Mustang has always been a Pony Car. Making a SUV (or more properly CUV) and naming it a Mustang is my issue. Like imagine the uproar if Porsche had called the Panamera a 911. Yes’m there was an uproar that they made a 4 seater at all, but that’s a different argument than fundamentally changing the form of a nameplate. I can’t imagine a world where GM makes the electric version of the Corvette a crossover utility vehicle.

Im not saying that Ford can’t do whatever they want with the nameplates they own. I’m just saying that they don’t get to claim immunity from criticism for doing something like this.

I can’t decide if I agree or disagree.

I think the line between using a brand to enhance a car’s desirability vs diluting the brand’s value is a fine one. To me BMW and Mercedes absolutely overstepped if for no other reason than I 100% do not care as much when I see an AMG or M badge, even if it’s the “real” thing. Their accounting departments may disagree with that assessment.

As for Ford, I think they’re winning the bet they made. They risked sacrificing some nostalgia, but all the awards, the favorable opinions regarding the design, and honestly the production limits work together to make the brand more valuable. I assume the s650 will be the last ice Mustang anyway, and associating the name with a fast and fun to drive EV before that transition may be a huge boon. After all they will likely be competing against an electric Camaro. If GM doesn’t have one out by then, I will assume Ford is routinely sacrificing small to medium sized animals since no one is that lucky.

 

[blue92lx]

I can’t decide if I agree or disagree.

I think the line between using a brand to enhance a car’s desirability vs diluting the brand’s value is a fine one. To me BMW and Mercedes absolutely overstepped if for no other reason than I 100% do not care as much when I see an AMG or M badge, even if it’s the “real” thing. Their accounting departments may disagree with that assessment.

As for Ford, I think they’re winning the bet they made. They risked sacrificing some nostalgia, but all the awards, the favorable opinions regarding the design, and honestly the production limits work together to make the brand more valuable. I assume the s650 will be the last ice Mustang anyway, and associating the name with a fast and fun to drive EV before that transition may be a huge boon. After all they will likely be competing against an electric Camaro. If GM doesn’t have one out by then, I will assume Ford is routinely sacrificing small to medium sized animals since no one is that lucky.

Yeah what worries me about the Mustang is the fact that they've scrapped pretty much every other car and now they've suddenly come out with a 'Mustang' Crossover. It just reeks of 'hey we noticed everyone is loving the new Mustang Crossover, so we also got rid of the Coupe since no one likes cars anymore'

Which BTW I think is such horse shit, this mentality that everyone is tired of cars. Just because you're forcing us into trucks and SUV's doesn't mean that's what I want.

 

[ARK]

Yeah what worries me about the Mustang is the fact that they've scrapped pretty much every other car and now they've suddenly come out with a 'Mustang' Crossover. It just reeks of 'hey we noticed everyone is loving the new Mustang Crossover, so we also got rid of the Coupe since no one likes cars anymore'

Which BTW I think is such horse shit, this mentality that everyone is tired of cars. Just because you're forcing us into trucks and SUV's doesn't mean that's what I want.

I think the Mustang coupe will live on even if it becomes a really low volume vehicle with questionable profit margins. It just bolsters Ford’s image too much, it’s sort of an aspirational vehicle. Even if people don’t buy it, they like knowing it exists and get drawn to other Ford products (like the Mach-E).

 

[JoeDimwit]

I think they’re winning the bet they made. They risked sacrificing some nostalgia, but all the awards, the favorable opinions regarding the design, and honestly the production limits work together to make the brand more valuable

And I would argue that those awards, favorable opinions, and production limits working together to make the brand more valuable would all have still applied if they had named it simply “Mach-E”, or Pinto Mach-E, or Thunderbird Mach-E, or Edge Mach-E. The name of the vehicle doesn’t have any bearing on how a vehicle is built, reviewed, or awarded.

 

[DYohn]

And I would argue that those awards, favorable opinions, and production limits working together to make the brand more valuable would all have still applied if they had named it simply “Mach-E”, or Pinto Mach-E, or Thunderbird Mach-E, or Edge Mach-E. The name of the vehicle doesn’t have any bearing on how a vehicle is built, reviewed, or awarded.

Exactly. So Mustang it is.

 

[JoeDimwit]

Exactly. So Mustang it is.

Nope

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