Ford Mustang Mach-E Extended Range AWD – long-term review

Mustang. Family Car. Doesn’t seem quite right, does it? When the Mach-E was first revealed well over a year ago, I too had a hard time digesting that Ford had slapped a galloping stallion on the front of an electric SUV. Seemed like short-term gain for long-term brand damage.

But hold your horses because Ford has history in this department. It wasn’t that long ago we were lambasting it for sticking the Puma badge on a new compact crossover, not a reborn three-door coupe. But you know what they say… time - and a well sorted chassis, great packaging and a fizzy ST version – heals everything. These days we’re fans of the Puma, we’ve been won over by its lively handling, affordability and found a way to mostly leave our views on badge heritage at the door.

The leap from small coupe to small crossover is clearly less yawning than rear-wheel drive V8 muscle car to silent soft-roader, but can the Mustang Mach-E do a Puma and worm its way into our affections through good design and thorough engineering? Well, it sort of has already or it wouldn’t be an awards winner… but the real test starts now.

Six months of ownership, living and breathing every detail, throwing the detritus of family life and 20 sticky little fingers at it. Road trips, tip runs, school pick-ups, drive-throughs… if substance beneath that glamorous badge is lacking, we’re about to call it out.

Until the 480bhp, £65k Mach-E GT arrives in UK dealers in the next few months, we have a top of the range AWD Extended Range model. That means the bigger 98.7kWh (91kWh useable) battery, instead of the more modest 75.7kWh (70kWh useable) pack, and twin motors for four-wheel drive grip and more grunt – 346bhp here as opposed to 265bhp in the Standard Range AWD model and 290bhp in the RWD Extended Range Model. So 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds vs 6.3 and 7.0 seconds respectively.

Got all that? Good, now range. Unsurprisingly the RWD Extended Range model is the one-charge champ managing 379 miles on the WLTP test. Our AWD Extended Range manages 335 miles, although that’ll be close to 270-ish in the real world. All Extended Range Mach-Es are capable of charging at 150kW which, in ideal conditions, means 10 to 80 per cent in 45 mins.

Healthy numbers all-round then… including the price. Although you can get a RWD Standard Range from £41,330, the AWD Extended costs from £57,030 – £58,180 including our Rapid Red paint (£1,150).

Which isn’t cheap, but then with 19-inch wheels, that mahoosive 15.5-inch central screen, panoramic glass roof, a 10-speaker B&O sound system including a sound bar in the dash, 360 degree cameras, electric and heated front seats… the list goes on… all as standard, picking a paint colour is the only option you need.