Mach-E Delivers Everything but the Mustang

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

The first Mach-E delivery took place yesterday, according to macheclub.com. Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford in Dallas, Texas was the dealership, and the vehicle was a California Route 1 Mach-E in white.

Alongside the Mach-E was a Wimbledon white ’65 Mustang convertible, and a 2015 California Special GT, all belonging to Stephen Engro. As noted previously on thetruthaboutcars.com, calling the Mach-E a Mustang is quite a stretch. For in this author’s view, as the owner of a 1970 Sportback and a 2016 GT, both of those were Mustangs, and the Mach-E is not. A Ford EV with certain Mustang styling cues doesn’t make it a Mustang, at least not in the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of owners over the brand’s lifespan.

Perhaps when the Mach-E GT and GT Performance Edition become available late next summer the 480 horsepower and 634 lb-ft of torque of the Performance Edition will change my mind, but in all honesty, it’s the visceral experience associated with Mustang ownership. Whether carbureted or fuel injected, gas-powered Mustangs have a certain sound, a feeling that isn’t easily translated to the newest interpretation of a revered brand.

Among the Mach-E GT Performance Edition’s other accouterments are 19-inch front brakes with red-painted Brembo calipers, 20-inch machined-face Ebony Black-painted wheels paired with 245/45R20 Pirelli summer tires, and MagneRide damping to help improve handling.

Inside, Ford Performance-sculpted front seats with Performance Gray ActiveX material featuring metallic stitching and unique Miko-perforated reflective inserts sound more like the latest Nike shoe drop. An instrument panel enhanced by an aluminum appliqué, and a Performance Edition GT badge on its rear are attempts to make the Performance Edition more of a performer and less of a garden-variety EV.

Will signature Mustang colors like Cyber Orange Metallic Tri-Coat, Dark Matter Gray Metallic, Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat, Star White Metallic Tri-Coat, Grabber Blue Metallic, Shadow Black, Iconic Silver Metallic, and Space White Metallic will make the Mach-E GT and the GT Performance Edition more Mustang-like? You be the judge.

[Images: macheclub.com, Ford]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • Lightspeed Lightspeed on Dec 31, 2020

    Parent to child, "Stop your whining." Child, "I'm not whining, I'm making Mach-E noises."

  • Old_WRX Old_WRX on Jan 01, 2021

    HFNY, everybody. Here's to hoping this one'll be better than the last one.

  • 3-On-The-Tree I had a 69 Thunderbird with a 429 and it did the same thing.
  • Lou_BC No. An EV would have to replace my primary vehicle. That means it has to be able to do everything my current vehicle does.
  • Bkojote @Lou_BC I don't know how broad of a difference in capability there is between 2 door and 4 door broncos or even Wranglers as I can't speak to that from experience. Generally the consensus is while a Tacoma/4Runner is ~10% less capable on 'difficult' trails they're significantly more pleasant to drive on the way to the trails and actually pleasant the other 90% of the time. I'm guessing the Trailhunter narrows that gap even more and is probably almost as capable as a 4 Door Bronco Sasquatch but significantly more pleasant/fuel efficient on the road. To wit, just about everyone in our group with a 4Runner bought a second set of wheels/tires for when it sees road duty. Everyone in our group with a Bronco bought a second vehicle...
  • Aja8888 No.
  • 2manyvettes Since all of my cars have V8 gas engines (with one exception, a V6) guess what my opinion is about a cheap EV. And there is even a Tesla supercharger all of a mile from my house.
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