Out of Spec review of the 2023 Mach-E GT - driving characteristics

[MachEMaster]

I had a 1990 5.0L LX. with the phone dial wheels. I think the MME GT is awesome. Too bad we can only get the GTPE up here in Canada, and it's $100k CAD+. with Summer Tires only. Lol.

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[hack-e]

Also I want the little power meter as a non-GT.

There are instructions somewhere on these forums to do this. I enabled it on my 22 Premium along with changing the cardinal direction below it to the temperature. I sure wish Ford would just let you enable these from the menus. And I also wish they would let you separately choose the braking coach and not tie it to the drive mode.

 

[Regulus7]

My 22 GT is a commuter car. When I bought it I never really considered the PE because I did not want to deal with a second set of tires for the winter. I knew all about the 5s limitation (thanks to this forum) before I ordered it and frankly at the time the only real competition for my EV dollar was the model S or the Taycan, both of which were like $50k more. So honestly, for the price difference I am pretty pleased. A MY / M3 performance could maybe have given me more “ummph” but I didn’t want to be in one of those given their commonality where I live. So for my purposes it’s a fine car. I am a bit worried about an eventual HVBJB failure so I admit I don’t drive it as hard as I drive my Porsches but again that does not bother me.

I think the key issue for Ford to worry about is the subsequent buying round in 2025/6 when all the Ford Options come due. I am pretty certain that if the 2026 model continues to be based on this 300v architecture that I will probably end up buying a different BEV, but if they are able to refresh with a really competitive offering then i could easily re-up for the 2026/7 model GT…. My very first car was a Ford escort GT right out of college. It’s been almost 40 years and some 12 cars later I have another Ford…. Let’s see if Ford keeps me as a customer in 3 years…

 

[mkhuffman]

I don't understand why Kyle kept referring to the low "300V" architecture in the MME. I have always understood it is 400V architecture, which is pretty common in BEVs. Yes the charging curve is conservative and could be improved, as @Mach-Lee has pointed out many times, but I don't think there is anything unusual about the battery pack voltage.

As Kyle even says in the video, the car was running at 380V when he looked at the OBD data. If all he is complaining about is 20V, then it is really a insignificant complaint and irrelevant. It shouldn't be a consideration when deciding to buy. Unless you want 800V or 900V architecture, which is a huge difference, this is a non issue.

 

[scoopman]

I don't understand why Kyle kept referring to the low "300V" architecture in the MME. I have always understood it is 400V architecture, which is pretty common in BEVs. Yes the charging curve is conservative and could be improved, as @Mach-Lee has pointed out many times, but I don't think there is anything unusual about the battery pack voltage.

As Kyle even says in the video, the car was running at 380V when he looked at the OBD data. If all he is complaining about is 20V, then it is really a insignificant complaint and irrelevant. It shouldn't be a consideration when deciding to buy. Unless you want 800V or 900V architecture, which is a huge difference, this is a non issue.

I think the R1T has around 420v but also allows much higher amperage (if the dispenser is capable).

My understanding of our cars is that Ford is very conservative (perhaps out of necessity) on pack amps requested because the pack will get too hot with the small bus bars we have.

So 370v ish plus low amperage and we don't have a spectacular charge curve.

 

[mkhuffman]

On another note, I love my GT.

I don't live near any massive elevation changes like Kyle so I have only experienced the power limitation issue once during a hard drive up the mountain near my mom's house. I was driving too fast and hard to pay attention to the gray bars, but I recorded the run and after an initial 1000 Amps WOT at the start, I never saw that much current again though I was mashing the go pedal after every turn. Kyle calls his run going up a "hill" which is hilarious because to me that is a mountain!

As far as handling goes, I feel the GT is somewhat unstable when driven fast and hard through uneven curves. But I installed the Steeda front and rear sway bars and now it handles almost perfectly, IMO. The only improvement I would like to see is more damping in the shocks. I am following the Mark, Anton and Erik project very closely and as soon as they confirm a setup, I am testing it on my car.

 

[silverelan]

I don't understand why Kyle kept referring to the low "300V" architecture in the MME. I have always understood it is 400V architecture, which is pretty common in BEVs. Yes the charging curve is conservative and could be improved, as @Mach-Lee has pointed out many times, but I don't think there is anything unusual about the battery pack voltage.

As Kyle even says in the video, the car was running at 380V when he looked at the OBD data. If all he is complaining about is 20V, then it is really a insignificant complaint and irrelevant. It shouldn't be a consideration when deciding to buy. Unless you want 800V or 900V architecture, which is a huge difference, this is a non issue.

Kyle classifies the MME as a 400v car but, as I understand it, its nominal voltage is lower than average, being like 375v or something.

I don't know the benefits of a lower pack voltage but a higher voltage allows for more power with the same current. So on 200A chargers we only get 70-75kW but a Polestar 2 or Rivian gets over 80kW of charging power.

 

[Stang68]

Just listened to Kyle on the Inside EVs podcast and he said ‘21 and ‘22 owners shouldn’t expect BC 1.2 until end of the year. Whyyyyyyyy…

 

[hybrid2bev]

Just listened to Kyle on the Inside EVs podcast and he said ‘21 and ‘22 owners shouldn’t expect BC 1.2 until end of the year. Whyyyyyyyy…

Last time we got BC via OTA it was like 6 sequential updates. If they start sending BC 1.2 in mid-summer then by the end of the year everyone should have it. That’s my guess.

 

[mkhuffman]

Kyle classifies the MME as a 400v car but, as I understand it, its nominal voltage is lower than average, being like 375v or something.

I don't know the benefits of a lower pack voltage but a higher voltage allows for more power with the same current. So on 200A chargers we only get 70-75kW but a Polestar 2 or Rivian gets over 80kW of charging power.

Sounds like we are both going off memory and not exact figures. So what is the voltage of the MME pack? What is Rivian? What is Polestar? If we know the exact numbers, we can calculate the difference.

 

[jgcom]

I’m hoping that #0 on their list is a bloody remote frunk release after 2 years of pulling a hood release out of a 1969 Galaxie 500, it’s about time

You can count on me to sincerely "like" remarks like this when I see them. Ford should finish the job for job-1 owners! On the other hand, this is becoming similar to saying that the Dodgers should still play in Brooklyn .

 

[Blue highway]

Kyle classifies the MME as a 400v car but, as I understand it, its nominal voltage is lower than average, being like 375v or something.

I don't know the benefits of a lower pack voltage but a higher voltage allows for more power with the same current. So on 200A chargers we only get 70-75kW but a Polestar 2 or Rivian gets over 80kW of charging power.

no, it's 400V architecture... the reason you see less on OBD scanner is the buffer at the top of battery. 96 cells X 4.2V = 403v.

Easy bar bet, next gen cars will mostly be 800V architecture... Thats 2026 for the MME.

 

[kltye]

no, it's 400V architecture... the reason you see less on OBD scanner is the buffer at the top of battery. 96 cells X 4.2V = 403v.

Easy bar bet, next gen cars will mostly be 800V architecture... Thats 2026 for the MME.
The nominal voltage of a li-ion cell is 3.7v; 4.2v is the 100% SoC voltage. There's no set standard for "400v" or "800v" cars - they all hover around those numbers, but nominal pack voltage varies from car to car. The BMW i4, for example, has a higher nominal voltage - above 400v even when the pack isn't anywhere near 100%.

Check out Bjorn Nyland's charging videos on YouTube to see how various cars have different voltages at the same SoC. Mach-E's pack definitely rates towards the bottom of it.

 

[phil]

You can count on me to sincerely "like" remarks like this when I see them. Ford should finish the job for job-1 owners! On the other hand, this is becoming similar to saying that the Dodgers should still play in Brooklyn .

I, for one, have not yet forgiven Mr. O'Malley.

 

[JimmyMachE]

Pack voltage at 10% SOC is only 330V:

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