As promised, Ford unveiled their long-teased Mach-E this past Sunday night. Live-streamed to enraptured audiences globally, it was less a product unveiling than a shared cultural moment, on par with the moon landing or the OJ Simpson chase.
Aight, maybe not. But it was, at long last, an opportunity for the masses to understand what, exactly, a Mustang-inspired crossover looks like. And the results are…meh. I mean, it has a Mustang logo on its pseudo-grill. And there are those taillights, I guess.
Now, to be fair, it can hit 60 mph from a standstill in a pony car-appropriate mid-3 seconds. But that’s only in the GT trim. The GT also comes with a different front fascia, and some scoops and vents to suggest it’s sporty aspirations. Maybe not quite Mustang sporty Sportier than, say, the Chevy Bolt, though.
While there had been hints of an RWD version, the announcement details only refer to all-wheel-drive models, which…Mustang? It makes sense for a crossover to have AWD but it seems odd to make that a standard feature on something that namedrops America’s most famous muscle car.
The Mach-E is Less Sports Car than Family Crossover
Perhaps the biggest issue here is Ford’s determination to link this new vehicle to the Mustang. From a marketing perspective, sure, there’s probably value in mentioning one of the few vehicles in your lineup that has actual cachet. But it’s saddled Ford’s first real EV attempt with expectations that it really doesn’t seem interested in meeting.
And that’s fine. While Tesla seems convinced that the way to providing a mass-market EV is through high-priced, performance-oriented models, manufacturers really should aim to meet customer demand. And an all-electric crossover at a reasonable price (relative to its position as an EV) seems an obvious decision. Why then set the idea that it’s also a two-door sports car?
Anyway, at risk of getting lost in all of this is the fact that, as reported by Motor1, the Mach-E’s engine noise has an interesting influence. Engineers took inspiration from Blade Runner, Batman, and other movie sources when developing its sound. Selectable modes dictate what the tone actually is, but you gotta give them some credit for offering the option to dial in the Batmobile to alert pedestrians of your presence.