A reader wanted my take on a “shootout” between the electric crossover-thing Ford styles a “Mustang” and a Tesla Model Y. I almost shot my lunch. My comments follow his query:
I saw this review of the new Mustang Mach-E against the Tesla Model Y and it struck me as really sad and depressing. They seem to spend most of the contest worrying about running out of juice, and the final battle is a struggle to get the charging stations to work. The one time they actually punch it, the “Mustang” (it’s a disgrace to the name) disappoints quickly. Old Camaro vs. Mustang comparisons generally didn’t have to focus on not running out of gas and the people generally seemed to actually enjoy themselves as opposed to the dejected Mustang driver in this review. I wondered what a professional car guy who’s not an electric Kool-Aid drinker would think of this. Hopefully this isn’t the future of “performance car” road trips.
Well, to begin with, it’s not a Mustang shootout. That four-door crossover-thing is a Mustang like an Elvis impersonator is Elvis – only worse because it doesn’t even look like Elvis, much less sound like him.
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It has no moves, either.
Ford owns the Mustang name so it can tack it on a box of oatmeal if it wants to – legally. But it’s no less an affront to the name.
That’s for openers. As regards the rest:
What we have here is a “shootout” between two $40,000-50,000-plus electric cars that can’t do what most any $2,500 15-year-old used economy car can do – i.e., travel more than 300 miles without having to stop for a long wait. It’s sad – and delusional. The not-laughing, I mean. The normalizing of this regression of mobility – for which those who can afford it will pay through the nose.
One can buy a real Mustang – a GT – for about $35,000. It has a 430 hp V8 and gets to 60 in just under 4 seconds. It also goes 384 highway miles on a tank and can be fully refueled for another 384 miles in about 5 minutes at any gas station.
And leaving that aside, it’s fun to drive – something Mustangs used to always deliver. There is a manual transmission and there is a magnificent V8 that sings rather than whirrrrrrs like a Makita drill.
The Mach-E not-Mustang stickers for $43,895. It is roughly as quick as the actual Mustang. But it only goes about 222 miles – maybe – before it has to stop for that extended pit-stop. It takes at least 30 minutes to recover a partial charge, if you can find a “fast” charger. If you can’t find one, the wait will be an hour or longer to go not much farther.
