My little pony
If Ford’s going all-electric this decade, this needs to be good. We’ve liked the AWD flavours of Mach-E we’ve tested so far, but this is the base-spec car with only one motor to drive the rear axle alone.
Normally we’re not bothered by base-spec cars unless they’re hilariously cheap. Usually we can all agree the sweet spot is somewhere in the middle of the brochure. Not so with EVs.
It began with Tesla – every time it added an even more head-bangingly speedy cherry on top of the icing, we found ourselves preferring the cheaper, plenty quick enough version once the “watch THIS” novelty wore off.
Even Porsche’s Taycan isn’t immune. The mind-melting Turbo S will rearrange your face faster than Pablo Picasso building a Mr Potato Head toy. But the ‘basic’ rear-drive version steers and handles just as well and costs literally half as much. With EVs, less = more. Particularly because the slower ones don’t dent your precious range as rapidly.
The Mach-E Standard Range has a 76kWh battery, so the good news begins with a 120kg weight saving versus the 99kWh Extended Range version. With rear-wheel drive, it’s £6,000 cheaper than the Standard Range AWD. ‘Strike two’, as they say in American cricket.
With only one motor to juice, the official test estimates 273 miles between charges, versus 248 miles for the 4x4 version. As per all AWD Mach-Es we’ve tested so far, battery consumption levelled off at a respectable 3.0mpkWh. Reckon on 200–220 miles at best.
Setting off, the first thing that’s quite un-Fordy is the busy low-speed ride. Even on the smallest 18-inchers speccable, the ride’s lumpy and unsettled. This plus the sheer girth makes the Mach-E feel more cumbersome in town than we’re used to from a Ford. It’s more Edge than Kuga, know what I mean?
Happily, things quickly improve. The ride settles down, and with 254bhp and 317lb ft a mere toe flex away, it’s swift in the usual seamless EV way. Initial getaway is relaxed until the car’s sure it’s going to find traction, but the useful 30–70mph sprint is rapid.
So, (yet) another EV that’s quick enough for any situation, but doesn’t especially egg you on. You’re not even fleeced for extra cash to charge faster: it’ll swallow leccy at 115kW, taking an 80 per cent charge in half an hour.
Buy this one. Or better yet, the 379-mile Extended Range version if you’re really range anxious. Wonder if that will seem a bit pathetic by the time Ford’s electric masterplan gets into full swing in 2030?