2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT review: Proud pony car pulls up lame on test

October 26, 2024October 26, 2024 Stephen Corby 1601 Views 0 Comments Ford Mustang Mach-E

Was it a bad idea for Ford to call its first, ground-up electric vehicle a Mustang? In theory, no, it was a bold and grand plan to cash in on the irresistible brand value inherent in that nameplate and one that would add extra excitement to the idea of an EV from Ford.

So, what could possibly go wrong? Well, if the electrified Mustang turned out to be a stinker to drive, or looked like a smashed crab on wheels, it would be a marketing mistake of Elon Musk trashing Twitter proportions.

Not having driven one before myself, I tried to ignore all the negativity I had heard about how the Mach-E was to the Mustang what Donald Trump was to global statesmen and hoped that the range-topping GT would bring the level of excitement I’d been hoping for when this car was first announced for our market in 2023.

2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT price and equipment

The price of the Ford Mustang Mach-E has been something of a moving target, so if you’d like one, maybe wait a week and see if it’s dropped again.

A cruel person would suggest the drops have been caused by a lack of demand at the original price point, while a kinder person would suggest that everyone is forced to react to Tesla’s constant cutting and shifting on price.

While some brands have stated they will not chase Tesla on prices, it’s clear the EV sales leader is having a huge impact on prices at the volume end of the electric car segment.

In May, the entry-level Mustang Mach-E Select scored an $8000 price drop, bringing it to $64,990, plus on-road costs.

It’s also way down on the $79,990 plus costs start price that graced the Mach-E Select – with a 198kW/430Nm motor driving the rear wheels – before it was adjusted prior to the first customer deliveries in the second half of 2023.

The price cut brings the Mach-E closer to where it needs to be to compete for those looking to leverage government incentives, including the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for novated leases on electric vehicles priced below the luxury car tax threshold, which currently sits at $89,332.

Crucially, it also slides the Mustang Mach-E Premium – the mid-spec variant with more potent 216kW/430Nm outputs – well below that threshold. The Premium now sells from $79,990 plus on-roads, $7000 less than before.

Given that around 90 percent of all EV sales in this country are occurring below that LCT line, it’s a hugely important threshold.

The top-of-the-range Mustang Mach-E GT that we’re driving here – with two electric motors producing 358kW and 860Nm – recently slid below $100K for the first time, at $97,990 plus on-road costs.

That price gets you dual electric motors (358kW/860Nm combined) and a 91kWh lithium-ion battery, MagneRide adaptive suspension, ’Untamed Plus’ performance drive mode (strangely unavailable in our test car), Brembo Flexira high-performance front brakes, 20-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli tyres, Ford Performance front sports seat, ’Sensico’ synthetic leather-look and Miko suede upholstery, GT-branded sill plates, a large Tesla-style touchscreen, a panoramic sunroof, 10-speaker sound system, 360-degree camera and a wireless phone charging pad.

In theory, this Mustang is a competitor for the incredible and invigorating Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, but in theory I am a competitor for Chris Hemsworth when it comes to grabbing the attention of women.

The Mustang Mach-E GT has the same 91kWh battery as the Premium, but claims 490km of range due to its larger wheels, performance tyres and so on.

2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT: What we think

In reality, this Mustang GT does not feel like a performance EV at all, indeed, it somehow manages to hide its 358kW and 860Nm – incredible numbers on paper – beneath a driving experience that’s as dull and confusing as the styling of this questionable looking vehicle (is it an SUV, a sedan, a zebra crossed with a pony car, a mistake, so many questions).

I drove it for several days wondering what all the fuss was about, and indeed whether there was any fuss at all. The Mach-E offers a Whisper mode – which sounds like a better name for sanitary products – which is predictably boring, but even its “Active” mode (known as “Engage” in America) failed to inspire much interest.

The steering just doesn’t involve the driver, the chassis seems similarly uninterested in engaging with you and generally speaking it’s an example of just how one-tricky-pony car and dull a badly engineered EV can be.

That one trick, of course, is accelerating fast in a straight line – the GT can hit 100km/h in 3.7 seconds when you engage the Untamed setting (Unbridled in the US), which would be genuinely exciting in other cars – but even doing that didn’t seem to get my heart going in this Ford.

What really scuppers the whole experience, however, is the ride, which is so lumpen and bouncy on rough roads it made my wife shout at me and complain of nausea.

Theoretically, this GT version’s MagneRide adaptive suspension should allow you to choose settings that provide a range between comfortable and supple and appropriately firm road-holding, track-attack action. Not only could I not find any setting that wasn’t annoyingly crashy and uncultured, towards the end of our week together the whole system failed, I was confronted with a screen warning saying there was a fault with the suspension and thus I could no longer choose any modes at all.

2023 Ford Mach-E. — Ford Mustang Mach-E. Pass me the bag.

I’m not sure if I was thus locked in Whisper, Active, Untamed or just Pissed Off. But I can tell you the suspension managed to get worse, which was some kind of achievement.

On the plus side, I thought the touch screen was nice – I like the fact that it has an actual, tactile dial on it that allows you to adjust things like volume with ease – and the range wasn’t as bad as expected.

Other than that, I found the Mustang Mach-E GT mystifying to the point of being embarrassing. Every time I saw someone in an actual Mustang with an engine drive towards me I would pat a bag over my head and hide.

2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT: Verdict

It’s hard to know whether I might have warmed to the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT verdict had the suspension not broken on me, but I doubt it. It feels like false advertising, the whole ‘Mustang’ thing, but even without that, this is bland, heavy and uninspiring electric motoring, and Ford can do better.

SCORE 2/5

2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT specifications
Price: $97,990 (plus on-road costs)
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 4 doors, squashed SUV, wagon AWD
Range: 490km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 98.7kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 21.2kWh/100km
Motor: 2 synchronous, 358kW/860Nm
AC charging: 11kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 150kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 3.7 seconds

Stephen Corby

Stephen is a former editor of both Wheels and Top Gear Australia magazines and has been writing about cars since Henry Ford was a boy. Initially an EV sceptic, he has performed a 180-degree handbrake turn and is now a keen advocate for electrification and may even buy a Porsche Taycan one day, if he wins the lottery. Twice.