The Ford Mach-E should not be called a Mustang. Now that my views of the name is out of the way, the Ford Mach-E GT is the high performance version of the blue oval’s purpose built all electric crossover SUV. The GT promises to provide the performance of this car’s namesake but in electric form. Does it live up to the promise? Read on.
Performance
Motors – The 2022 Ford Mach-E GT Performance has one electric motor driving each axle. Combined, they generate 480 hp and 634 lb-ft of torque (357 kW & 860 Nm). With this crossover SUV tipping the scales at 2,263 kg (4,989 lbs), the 0-100 km/h is still an impressive 3.7 seconds according to Ford. Some publications have managed to get it down to 3.5 seconds. That is quite a bit faster than the actual Mustang GT.
There are 3 drive modes to choose from; Whisper, Normal, and Unbridled. They’re pretty self explanatory with each one providing different throttle responses and power outputs. In the Unbridled mode, the car accelerates so hard that the front end lifts by just enough to make the steering noticeably lighter on initial launch. You get the feeling that it wants to take off. Maybe that’s why the speedometer says “Ground Speed” instead of just “Speed”. The Mach-E GT is properly exhilarating when the car launches. There is also an Unbridled Extend mode which is meant to be used on tracks. This reins in the stability and traction control systems and is meant to ensure a steady power output for lap after lap. However, it feels as though it’s also limiting the maximum power output. The car doesn’t feel as fast or as responsive as the normal Unbridled mode.
The extra power and torque of the GT Performance is most noticeable in everyday situations such as merging onto a highway. Where the more “standard” Mach-E variants feel as though they’re running out of steam when the speed goes north of 100 km/h, the GT keeps on pulling. And it pulls hard.
Battery & Charging – The GT Performance has a 91 kWh battery pack which can provide a claimed range of 418 km (260 miles). Not too bad for something with this much power. While I had the 2022 Mach-E GT on demo, the weather was around 15 degrees Celsius so with a full charge, the “guess-o-meter” was saying that the 100% range was 375 km (233 miles). The Mach-E GT is rated for 25.6 kWh/100 km (81.8 MPGe) but I managed to average around 20 kWh/100km (104.7 MPGe) during my time with the car.
Ford claims a charge time of just under 11 hours from 0% to 100% with the best level 2 charger available. From a level 3 DC charger, Ford estimates the charging time from 10% to 80% to be around 45 minutes.
Braking – The battery can be – slightly – recharged by the act of braking. Like many other electric vehicles, the Mach-E has two braking modes; normal and one-pedal driving. Normal is just like driving a gasoline powered car. One-pedal mode enables a strong regen braking mode along with the physical brakes when arriving at a stop. It allows you to just modulate the accelerator pedal for both accelerating and slowing down. For more braking force, of course you can use the normal brake pedal in which case the 2022 Mach-E GT stops with ferocity thanks to the Brembo brake calipers on this GT Performance. However the brakes are a bit too sensitive, even for my liking, which makes smooth stops very difficult. I prefer to use the one-pedal mode.
Handling – For a nearly 5,000 lbs crossover SUV, the 2022 Ford Mach-E GT is a fun and good handling vehicle. The batteries are mounted in the floor, like many other EVs, and they provide a low center of gravity. This makes the Mach-E planted around corners. However, the torque from the motors can still get the back end of the car to step out of line. If you’re aggressive with the accelerator pedal as the car exits a corner, the rear end rotates and wants to overtake the front. In other words, it wants to spin out. But the stability control system will intervene and gently straighten out the car. For the most part, the stability control does not intervene like an anvil and cut the power completely. But if it thinks that there’s too much slip, it will do that.
If you’re a bit more gentle with the accelerator inputs, the Ford Mach-E GT is a fun car to drive on a twisting road. By no means does it feel light and agile because the weight of the batteries is always going to be felt. But the steering is direct and has just enough weight behind it. It does feel artificial and almost like a video game steering wheel but that’s the norm for EVs. The GT Performance receives 245/45R20 summer tires for more grip. These tires do indeed provide a bigger footprint and aid in making the GT feel more planted than other variants of the Ford Mach-E.
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Comfort
Ride Comfort – The 2022 Ford Mach-E GT Performance comes equipped with standard MagneRide adaptive dampers. These change stiffness depending on the drive mode. It’s a shame that these dampers are not available on other trims of the Mach-E because they provide a very good ride. Bumps and road imperfections are smoothed out and it feels as though you’re driving in a luxury crossover SUV rather than a sporty crossover SUV.
Interior Space – The front seats provide an ample amount of comfort for your bum and back. They have enough padding for longer journeys so that you don’t have to stop every hour to stretch. The front occupants also have a lot of space. At 6’4”, I have no issues with legroom or headroom. The rear seats actually have more legroom than both the Tesla Model Y and the Jaguar I-Pace. Sitting behind my driving position, my knees are pinned against the back of the front seat but they don’t feel squished. More averaged sized adults will have plenty of space in the back.
As for the trunk, it can accommodate 840 L (29.7 cu-ft) of space with the rear seats up. Fold them down and that number increases to 1,685 L (59.7 cu-ft). However, this being an electric vehicle, it comes with a frunk (front trunk). It is small but at least it’s something. The frunk has a capacity of 133 L (4.7 cu-ft). Interestingly, this frunk has 3 more Liters of space than the Mazda MX-5’s trunk.
Noise, Vibration, & Harshness – Being an electric car, the Mach-E is quieter than a comparable gasoline powered vehicle. But Ford’s engineers have tried to induce a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull sounding faint whine of an electric motor. In the “Unbridled” drive mode, a sound of a gasoline engine is pumped through the stereo system. I think it’s supposed to sound like a V8 but it ends up sounding more like a V4 engine. Other than that, there is some road noise, as to be expected, at highway speeds from the tires but wind noise is well subdued.
Odds and Ends
Pricing – The 2022 Ford Mach-E GT starts at $85,995 CAD ($61,995 USD) with this demo vehicle being equipped to $89,340 CAD. Unfortunately, Ford’s American website does not allow for a Build & Price of the Mach-E so I cannot provide the as equipped price in USD.
Gadgets – For the price, the 2022 Mach-E GT has almost everything that one would want from a crossover SUV. The usual stuff like heated front seats, heated steering wheel, panoramic moonroof, surround view cameras, navigation, wireless phone charging, wireless CarPlay & Android Auto and so on are all there. But things like ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and a head-up display are not available at all in the Mach-E. Not a deal breaker though.
The center screen is 15.5-inches in size and is powered by Sync4 infotainment system. This system looks different in its layout to the older Sync3 system but all of the controls are within 2 touches of a specific menu item.
Arguably one of the biggest gadgets is the new BlueCruise hands-free driving system. This is Ford’s version of Super Cruise from GM. It allows for hands-free driving on certain roads throughout Canada and the United States; primarily highways. However, it doesn’t perform quite as well as Super Cruise. On certain sections of highways, usually sharper corners, the system will ask you to retake control until you are past the corner where it will retake steering control. As well, when it does allow for hands-free driving, it feels like it’s bouncing the car from lane edge to lane edge a bit more than GM’s Super Cruise. This is more evident through shallow corners that the system does know how to maneuver. Also, it does not know how to perform lane changes like GM’s Super Cruise system.
Interior Design – The GT Performance version of the Ford Mach-E has unique fabrics throughout the cabin. They are nice to the touch and the seats are different in design to other Mach-E variants. The touchscreen is an all encompassing entity inside the cabin because it is hard to miss. The only thing that I don’t like is the lack of physical controls; primarily for the climate system. The bottom portion of the touchscreen is reserved for the climate controls and they’ll always display regardless of what you do on the infotainment system. But it would’ve been nice to have physical controls because touch sensitive controls are too distracting to operate when driving. At least that’s how it feels to me.
Exterior Design – The Mach-E GT has big 20-inch wheels with larger summer performance tires. Behind the wheels are big Brembo calipers that easily stop the nearly 5,000 lbs body. The GT also gets a front splitter and a different looking front fascia from the other Mach-E variants. In all, the design is cohesive and it looks like the part of a high performance crossover SUV.
Safety – The 2022 Ford Mach-E GT is a safe crossover SUV with the IIHS awarding it with a Top Safety Pick. As standard, the Mach-E receives all of the available driver and safety aids that are in the Ford catalog. The only option is the Ford Co-Pilot 360 Assist 2.0 which includes Active park assist and Blue Cruise.
Warranty – The 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT is covered by a 3 year / 60,000 km new vehicle basic warranty and an 8 year / 160,000 km battery and electric component warranty. There is a caveat for that one though because it’s only covered if the battery retains a minimum of 70% of its original capacity over that period. For more information on Canadian warranty, click here. For USA warranty information, click here.
Conclusion – To reiterate, this is not a Mustang. But it does have the performance of one. However, the $90,000 CAD price tag is a hard pill to swallow especially when it is compared to a Tesla model Y. The Tesla has the same performance at the same price but it comes with more range and access to the Supercharger network. The best of its kind. But the Ford Mach-E is definitely more unique than any Tesla model on sale today and you have more options when it comes to different variants of the Mach-E.
Thank you to Ford Canada for providing the vehicle. www.Ford.ca
2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Gallery
