Even before it ran its first production miles, the Ford Mustang Mach-E had faced a mountain of criticism. It all stemmed from its name: Mustang. Why would Ford add a fully electric crossover to the six-decade heritage and history of arguably its most beloved nameplate? A nameplate that cemented itself in history through defiance, innovation, and angry V8 power.
Naturally, there was a lot of pushback when the Mustang Mach-E—a callback to the original Mach 1 title—was poised to carry that heritage with a silent powerplant and four doors. It has now been almost five years since its debut, and looking back, I cannot remember if the electric Mustang was ever given the chance here to prove its doubters wrong.
Nevertheless, the Mustang Mach-E is now available in the Philippines for P3.499 million, after a surprise launch from the local Ford team. It debuted alongside the Territory Hybrid, which unintentionally highlighted the Mach-E’s existential crisis. The Territory Hybrid is a crossover that makes sense for a lot of car buyers, while the Mach-E floats between a performance EV, an enthusiast car, and several other segments in between. Who is this for? And is it a real Mustang?
I asked all these questions before any real seat time. I may have been getting ahead of myself, but I do believe that those questions and expectations are the true cost of carrying a storied moniker.
Just last week, I got an opportunity to finally get a feel of the fully electric Mustang, but it would be in Melbourne, Australia. More interestingly, a bulk of the driving actually took place in Healesville, a countryside town an hour away from central Melbourne. It was as if the Mustang Mach-E needed a quiet and isolated place to show off what it could do and prove itself worthy of its name.
Proving ground
As we started our drive, the Mustang Mach-E felt instantly unnatural. For starters, we were driving on the right side of the road, though I can’t fault the car for that. Even while getting settled in, the cargo area fit an abnormally large amount of things for a Mustang. The 402-liter space can swallow two small pieces of luggage and a couple of bags, with lots of room for more things. Granted, that is a respectable amount of space for any compact crossover.
Out on the highway, the Mustang became effortless, and those prejudiced jitters dissipated into what would be a clean and easy drive. With 284hp and 525Nm on tap, the car was appropriately responsive to every step on the accelerator and brakes. Excluding the distressingly large infotainment display, with menus and shortcut icons that required some studying, there was almost no learning curve to operating the Mach-E. It should be noted that the Mach-E available in the Philippines is more powerful than what we tested in Australia, but performance should be similar, lest you go ‘Untamed’—Ford nomenclature for Sport mode.
ALSO READ:
This 1991 Velocity Mustang restomod is a glorious ode to the ’90s
‘Kingpin’ is Ringbrothers’ custom Mustang Mach 1 built for a ‘John Wick’ final boss
I chose not to engage its one-pedal driving mode, as right-hand driving was enough unfamiliarity for one day. And pleasantly, when driving with two pedals, the Mustang Mach-E performed like a traditional combustion-engined vehicle. Ford dialed in the car’s habits to ensure that certain EV idiosyncrasies wouldn’t occur, such as instant torque delivery and sudden sluggishness when the regenerative braking system kicks in.
This may have held back the Mach-E’s overall performance, as the car lost a questionable amount of range over the 65km drive. During acceleration tests, a hard slam on the accelerator did not translate into stomach-turning force—even in Untamed mode. The artificial engine noises sounded flat as well.
Still, in day-to-day driving, the comfortable drive could forgive the loss in range and excitement. And that’s not to say the Mach-E was in danger of running out of juice—it is rated for about 600km on a full charge. Ford also retained many niceties that come with EVs, bolstering the Mach-E’s already leisurely ride. The silent drive was fortified by solid sound isolation, and the flat floor makes the crossover a true five-seater. Weight distribution was also impressive, even with a beefy 88kWh battery.
Finding its inner Pony
With how well the Mach-E delivers as an electric crossover, this is still badged as a Mustang, and Ford does not want you to forget that. There are several Pony logos across the entire vehicle, with large Mustang and Mach-E lettering on key surfaces. And those tri-bar tailights are hard to miss. But where is the Mustang feel?
Even at its lowest setting, the seat is fixed at a high position, which again is unnatural for a Mustang but conventional for any crossover. However, like a coupe, the cockpit feels compact and structured. The spaces between the steering wheel, the stalks on the opposite side, and the digital instrument cluster are tight, which makes navigating through the car very easy. Ford has also added red stitching, leather, carbon fiber, and padded fabric throughout the dashboard, which is too cluttered for my taste, but those materials may score some sporty points. And if we were to keep score, the Mach-E has racked up more points as a more than capable electric crossover, rather than this era’s marquee Mustang.
When I arrived back in Manila, I had a conversation with the Top Gear Philippines team about the Mach-E, and a couple of colleagues remembered their time with a true-to-form Mustang. Interestingly, our publisher, Carlo Chungunco and our video producer Charles Banaag recalled the Mustang as a spectacularly comfortable coupe—a cruiser, above all. It was long drives to faraway places, where they found the essence of the famed Pony.
For me, the Mustang Mach-E was at its best in 60-80kph glides through open roads, and it has all the makings of a long-range, weekend companion—including a waterproof front trunk. Use cases vary, and no electric powerplant will ever beat a snarling V8, but maybe the Mach-E has more Mustang in it than we thought.
More photos of the Ford Mustang Mach-E in Healesville, Australia:
