When Ford called its first mass-market EV the ‘Mustang Mach-E,’ some eyebrows were raised. Not because of anything to do with performance, but because the Mustang Mach-E is a coupe-ish four-door compact SUV. Probably the furthest thing possible from the iconic two-door pony car with a V8 burble.
So the question becomes, is the use of the Mustang name justified? Is this just a marketing exercise? Does the Mach-E stand on its own merits in spite of the name? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out in this 2026 Mustang Mach-E review.
Styling
When the Mach-E was dropped off at our office, one of the office workers from another company came up to me and said: “Akala ko Mustang ipapadala nila.” There lies the rub. It has a Mustang logo on the front and at the back, but tell any layperson that this is a Mustang and you will get questions. A lot of them. You see, Ford has spent more than 60 years producing what has become one of the most iconic two-door performance cars ever made. So when you then use that name on an SUV, people will talk.
That being said, at first glance, the Mustang Mach-E is one handsome SUV. The front end is definitely Mustang adjacent, with headlights and a grille that resemble the pony car pretty well. Come to the rear, and while you get a hatch instead of a trunk, the rear taillights do look like they came off the current Mustang.
It is when you get to the side profile that you really need to squint to see a resemblance. It looks closer to the BMW X6 than any pony car. It has a handsome side silhouette with a very sloped roofline, giving it an almost tall hatchback or fastback profile.
Overall, we find that the looks come off as very cohesive. Yes, it doesn’t look like a Mustang, but when you have a car that looks this good for an SUV, then you can let that trangression slide.
Interior
Step inside the Mach-E, and you are greeted by what is sadly a generic cockpit. It seems its exterior is writing checks that the interior can’t cash. It’s generically black with some questionable choices for interior materials. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay, but when you call a car a Mustang and give it a cool body, you would expect that the interior would match such lofty ambition. Yes, everything is well laid out, and being an EV, space was used quite effectively to give the front occupants oodles of space. But in a world full of quirky EV interiors and well-designed performance cars, ‘okay’ just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Sitting in front, we were a bit disappointed how you feel like you are sitting on the car, rather than in it. We were hoping that the seat, which lacks side bolstering and thigh support and has a short seat cushion, would go down a little bit more to give a more dynamic driving feel. Another reminder that the Mach-E is more SUV than coupe in this respect.
There is a 10.2-inch front driver’s display and a massive 15.5-inch vertical screen down the middle, but we have problems with both these implementations. The 10.2-inch driver’s display is just a bit too small and hard to read from behind the wheel. With so much space above the dashboard, we found it a bit weird that Ford would be so stingy with the display size for the driver, especially as there is a massive screen just to the right of it.
The 15.5-inch center console display is quite nice on the eyes and easy to see. However, as we will get to later when we talk about extra features, we do not like how everything has been relegated to the touchscreen, without any physical buttons at all. This makes using the system and navigating menus tricky when it comes to use while driving.
Look around the cabin and you will find some things to like. The IR glass panoramic roof is amazing, providing a huge airy feel to the entire cabin without letting in any heat, even under the midday sun. And there is storage aplenty to go around. The rear seats are usable thanks to space for your feet to fit underneath the front seats, but headroom can be a bit lacking due to that sloping roof.
Overall, the interior is probably the weakest part of the Mach-E package. For the price, we were expecting just a little bit more special sauce, especially with that Mustang badge staring at you from the center of the steering wheel.
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Powertrain performance
At least in terms of performance, this is where the Mach-E can claw back some Mustang cred. This is a dual motor EV with 389hp and 676Nm of torque. With a single-speed transmission, power is delivered to all four wheels leading to acceleration times of under 5sec from 0-100kph. Power is good and acceleration is very linear at any speed we tried. It may be par for the course for an EV, but it is impressive on its own merits nonetheless.
In terms of range, the 88kWh lithium-ion cobalt battery is rated for a very adequate 550km of range, which is more than enough to assuage your range anxiety. Yes, it may be a bit over conservative when it comes to estimating range on the screen (it displays the absolute worst-case scenario, which means we lost 4km range in 2km of city driving, but lost only 7km for every 10km of highway cruising), but it just takes some getting used to, and owners will easily adjust to this over time. Charging is brisk, supporting up to 150kW fast-charging, which can bring it from 10-80% in about 36-45 minutes, and 11-14 hours for the same amount from a 7-11kW home charger.
Yes, we do miss the Mustang V8 burble, and there is no replacement for the raw feelings you get from internal combustion, but for a first effort by Ford, this EV acts just like an EV should.
There are three drive modes: whisper, engage, and unbridled. These are Ford’s equivalent of eco, normal, and sport, but to be honest, other than different sounds coming from the speakers, there really was not much difference in terms of feel in all three modes. Yes, in whisper, it does feel a bit more sluggish. But jam the accelerator down and acceleration is just as brisk as any other mode. So we set it to engage and left it there for most of our testing period.
In terms of acceleration, its Mustang-like speed without the drama. While I am sure I know some people who would like that, I miss a bit of drama, even if it comes at the cost of some outright speed. This being the case, the Mach-E sets a good starting point for Ford’s EV program in terms of performance.
Ride and handling
The Mach-E rides and handles quite differently than the Mustang, but in a good way. It is much more planted and predictable at full acceleration or hard cornering, mainly thanks to what feels like a lower center of gravity and the balance of the all-wheel drive system.
Toss the EV into a corner and the suspension handles the transition very well, revealing great handling from such a heavy vehicle. Yes, it rides a bit firm, but other than that, it is confident in its traction and tuned very well for our roads. It just goes to show that despite this being a new EV from Ford, it knows just how to make a car handle.
Brembo discs on all four wheels make braking feel natural, a rarity in the EV market, what with the sorcery that is regenerative braking. It doesn’t just feel natural, but is also very strong and progressive.
Extra features
While we aren’t a fan of putting all the A/C and the general car functions behind the 15.5-inch vertical screen, it does play well with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, making for a large and usable display out front.
Unfortunately, Ford needs to work a bit on its system, as there is a significant amount of lag in the software. Everything just feels a bit laggy. From switching between drive modes (which requires leaving your navigation screen) to the animation starting, you are always waiting around for a second or two. It’s annoying enough that we tend to just leave the car in its normal setting to avoid interacting with the touchscreen. With many consumer tablet screens operating at 120hz nowadays, you would think car companies would make more effort to provide a smooth touchscreen experience. Alas, not in the Mach-E.
As for advanced driver-assist systems, from lane-tracing to radar-guided cruise control and automatic emergency braking, the Mach-E has it all. This is adequate enough for highway driving, although it can be annoying to use in stop-and-go traffic as it is a bit slow to creep forward, leading to a lot of unwanted singit that happens in gridlock.
The tailgate is power-operated and works quite well to reveal a spacious cargo area, which is what you would expect with an SUV in this class. Basically, if you can think of a feature you would want in a modern car, the Mach-E would have it.
Verdict
So the question remains: Does this live up to the Mustang name? Well, if you’ve read our take, then you would realize that the answer is a no. A Mustang has certain preconceptions that this just does not have as an electric SUV. Does that make it a bad vehicle? Of course not. Ford knows how to build vehicles. And this EV shows that when a traditional manufacturer goes and makes an EV, it will handle and perform like a car should, which is something we really can’t say about a lot of new brands. It drives well, is fast enough, and has decent EV features.
The bigger question then is does a decently fun EV justify a P3.499 million price tag? One has to keep in mind that there are EVs from other manufacturers like Tesla with similar features and range, but at about half the price of the Mach-E. This is probably why we don’t see many Mach-Es on the road, which is a shame as we find that this looks better than most Teslas, and drives like a proper Ford should. It is a solid EV, but at this price, it should be a bit more than just solid to justify the purchase.
Specs: 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD
Price: P3,499,000
Powertrain: Dual motors + 88kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Power: 389hp
Torque: 676Nm
Layout: AWD
Seating: 5
Score: 8/10
More photos of the 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD
