What’s New in the Mustang Mach-E?
Ford may not have the quickest-charging EVs, but its Mustang Mach-E GT is among the quickest cars (EV or otherwise) you can buy. With a 3.3-second in zero to 60 mph sprint for the most powerful Mach-E GT, that’s quicker than all other non-modified Mustangs, gas or electric.
It’s perhaps a painful blow to the traditional muscle car fan’s tire-smoking heart. The GT model is also quicker than the Tesla Model Y Performance (3.5 seconds), the Mach-E’s market nemesis, and the much pricier all-new electric Porsche Macan 4S (3.9 seconds).
The extra power for the Mach-E GT is part of a host of changes and to the Mach-E for 2024, including a new rear motor and more rapid DC charging – even though peak charging speeds haven’t increased from the 150 kW figure the Mach-E offered at launch in 2021.
Also available for 2024 is the funky-looking Rally model, which looks ready for off-road competition with its distinctive white 19-inch wheels versus the GT’s 20-inchers, a large rear spoiler, aluminum protective panels underneath, and an inch-higher ride height.
Free Home Charging with Installation
One other piece of big news: from now until at least January 2, 2025, all Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit buyers or lessors will be offered a free high-end bi-directional Level 2 home charger from Ford, plus free installation for most homes.
The goal is to make the practicality of the vehicle itself match with its ease of use charging at home, or on the road, after Ford was the first to obtain access to the Tesla Supercharger network – another major plus for Ford owners. Though that advantage became a bit less so after GM EVs also received access to it last month.
Mustang Mach-E: Performance
It’s worth reflecting on how genuinely bonkers the acceleration is in the 2024 Mach-E GT. Especially since it has a starting MSRP of $54,995 for 480 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. A $995 Performance Upgrade is also available, which adds an extra 100 lb-ft to its standard all-wheel drive system.
Interestingly, you can order the Performance Upgrade all on its own, and even after you’ve purchased or leased a new Mach-E. All it takes is a few swipes and taps on the Ford app, which charges your credit card and delivers the upgrade over the air. A Mach-E GT without the Performance Upgrade has an official time of 3.8 seconds, a half-second slower than with all 700 lb-ft of torque.
Only 20 years ago, the pinnacle of Ford performance was the reincarnated for 2005 Ford GT hypercar, a mid-engine V8 Ferrari competitor with a price to (almost) match. At 3.5 seconds from 0 to 60, the Ford GT was slower than this tested Mach-E. Also slower to 60: the legendary Ferrari F40 (3.7), its F50 successor (3.5), various versions of the similarly revered Porsche 959 (which helped usher in acceptance of all-wheel drive super sports cars, at 3.6 seconds), and most versions of the Lamborghini Gallardo.
Versus other 2024 models, this Mach-E GT with the Performance Upgrade is quicker to 60 than the Aston Martin DB12 coupe (3.4 seconds), the BMW XM Label super-SUV (also 3.4), and many other performance/luxury vehicles priced well into six-figure territory.
All of which is good info to have the next time anyone scoffs at the idea of an all-electric crossover Mustang.
New Mach-E Bronze Edition Lights Up the Night
This particular Mach-E GT tester was about as loaded as possible, coming in at $63,020 MSRP after freight and delivery. It included the new-for-2024 Bronze package (for $1,995), which includes gunmetal bronze wheels, front “grille” panel, and badging all around. It looked particularly sharp with the similarly-new Eruption Green color ($295) that garnered a surprising number of positive comments over a week of testing.
It also looked sharp at night too, from the illuminated Mustang logo up front, to the projected running horse on the floor that welcomed you to the driver’s seat every time you approached after dark. I’m still not a huge fan of the push buttons instead of door handles to power the door open, though by now I’ve used them even in the middle of cold winters, and they’ve worked every time, if a little more slowly in frigid conditions.
There’s not as much new on the inside in terms of style or features, though a few items are now standard that were previously available only on the 2023 GT Performance Edition. These goodies include Ford Performance front seats, the excellent MagneRide damping system and red Brembo front brake calipers. A massive panoramic roof allows for easy viewing of the fall colors from any seat, while the large 15.5-inch vertical screen up front offers lots of flexibility to tile a whole stack of functions and radio presets to be immediately accessible. The Mach-E still offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which GM is dropping from its electric cars, and which Tesla has never offered.
2024 Mustang Mach-E Range and Charging
The new rear motor, derived from the one in the F-150 Lightning, helps increase range for all versions of the Mustang Mach-E. The base Select model, with a smaller 72-kWh battery and rear-wheel drive, is now EPA estimated at 250 miles of range, while the larger and more common Extended Range battery with 91 kWh of usable capacity is now rated at 320 miles. Both figures are 20 miles more than before, while the GT model now carries an 280-mile EPA estimate, up 10 miles from before.
If you’re burning up those extra available miles on a long drive, replenishing them will be a lot easier now, with access to charging networks featuring the CCS-style port, as well as most newer Tesla Superchargers. Ford was one of the first OEMs to offer its drivers access to the Tesla charging network, and has been shipping free plug adaptors for a few months now. Aftermarket adaptors are also available: I used one from A2Z EV to charge the Mach-E with no issues once the car was plugged in.
That said, Tesla Superchargers tend to have very short charging cables designed to connect to the back rear corner of a Tesla vehicle, and it took a few tries to get the Mach-E close enough to a Tesla charger so I could actually get the short cord to reach the charging port on the driver’s front fender. At some Tesla stations, you might find yourself blocking multiple spots for a brief 20 minute quick-charge, is enough to juice up the Mach-E from 40 to 80 percent.
The more usual 10 to 80 percent benchmark for 2024 is now just over 36 minutes, according to Ford– or roughly nine minutes less than before on the larger 91-kWh battery. The smaller battery now takes 32.3 minutes from 10 to 80 percent, 5.7 minutes faster than previously. Neither of these figures is class-leading in terms of speed; but, if you have Plug & Charge capability set up on your FordPass app, you’ll be able to connect using the adapter and leave for your coffee or bio break right away, in the same way Tesla owners do – no fiddling with multiple apps.
I saw a brief flash to 153-kW charging speeds at a Tesla Supercharger, which is the highest I’d seen any Mach-E achieve at any DC quick charger. It’s still not quite as quick as the 230-kW recharge speeds you’ll experience on a Model Y or the Ioniq 5, or even the 180-kW max promised by the Volkswagen ID.4 – but Ford’s efforts to optimize the Mach-E’s charging curve mean that it can maintain higher charging speeds for longer.
Conclusion: Mach-E GT Review
One of the major downsides of the Mach-E compared to its Tesla Model Y rival is that the Ford isn’t eligible for the federal $7,500 rebate if you purchase it – but you should be eligible for a similar discount amount on a lease. Lease rates and payments are becoming increasingly aggressive as the end of the year approaches.
Offering free home chargers plus free installation to lease customers as well as buyers signals that Ford is starting to understand that EV buyers need charging to be as easy as possible, whether at home or on a long trip.
Granted, there are some limits to what Ford will cover when it comes to the charger install – not past 80 feet from your electrical panel to the EVSE, no trenching or garages with separate entrances – but the quality of the high-end 80-amp charger provided that’s worth roughly $1,300 is another example of Ford showing that it wants its EV customers to have the best experience possible.
The updated 2024 Mustang Mach-E GT may not be everyone’s ideal EV or ideal Mustang, but it no doubt provides an impressive power per dollar ratio. Plus,, it has added features like using your phone as a key and auto-locking as you walk away, similar to Tesla, but also keeps long-time features such as the B-pillar “combination lock” touchpad and Apple CarPlay, the latter of which is a “must have” for many buyers.
