Goodwood Test: Ford Mustang Mach-E GT 2022 Review

Internet outrage in the car world reached heights not seen since the new Defender was announced when Ford declared that its EV flagship would carry the Mustang name. Keyboard warriors ranted that an EV SUV debased everything the original stood for, conveniently forgetting that the Mustang II had already done so decades earlier. As with the new Defender, the naysayers were proved wrong and the Mach-E is already becoming a familiar sight on our streets. The GT version however is potentially a different proposition, both in terms of price and performance, but unlike most fast Fords to hit our streets it has been engineered in America rather than Europe. So is it worth it?

You wouldn’t envy the brief for the Mach-E design team: we want an EV, that’s also an SUV, that we want to sell around the world, that people will instantly recognise as related to a classic 1965 Mustang. It is fair to say, though, that by and large that objective has been achieved. The famous pony-badged grille is gone of course but a textured plastic panel creates a reasonable facsimile, flanked by lights that do a good job of emulating the current ICE Mustang’s mean mien.

Likewise, leading backwards you will find the Mustang’s haunches, triple element rear lights and central GT badge. The bit in between is largely generic mid-sized SUV it’s true, but apparently that, rather than faster horses, is what the people want these days. Overall, the look is relatively normal compared to some of the more deliberately sci-fi EVs which we think is a good thing in driving mass adoption.

As ever with an EV it is the headline figures that dominate on early acquaintance but, as it happens, these are not quite as eye catching as is made out. The sub-four-second 0-62mph time is actually recorded using the US method of a rolling start with independent testing over here pegging it to a still blistering but not supercar-baiting 4.5 seconds. Likewise, Ford’s thermal management means the Mach-E GT is restricted to five seconds of maximum power and torque from its twin 290PS (213kW) electric motors before power is throttled while everything cools down. Still, no one who hasn’t just stepped out of a DBX707 is likely to complain and in everyday driving the result is wafty waves of torque on tap.

It is a shame then that the ride and handling don’t quite match up to the potential promised by a Fast Ford with 480PS (353kW) and 680Nm (634lb ft). The steering is swift and accurate and the Mustang’s torque vectoring system does help tuck the nose into an apex if you feel like having a bit of fun, but you may not often want to.

The problem, as with many current EVs, is weight. The Mach-E GT, with the long-range battery and two large electric motors weighs 2,298kg which is simply too heavy for steel springs to manage and still offer sporting responses. The result is a lot of secondary movement – the bob and pitch after exiting a corner or covering a bad patch of tarmac. The problem is exacerbated by the GT’s 20-inch wheels, lesser Mach-E models don’t suffer the poor secondary ride characteristics to anywhere near the same extent. Anything over two tonnes needs air springs if it wants any chance of offering a ride/handling compromise that allows for a bit of fun without making the passengers feel sick.

Imagine replacing all the light switches and remote controls in your house with a single iPad. What would at first seem like a cutting edge, early adopter solution would quickly become so irritating you would probably move. That is roughly the position we found ourselves in with the Mach-E, Ford having replaced all the functions usually controlled by a combination of buttons, controllers and screens in the centre console with one enormous, portrait-oriented touchscreen. Sitting proud of the dashboard it rather gives the impression that this was a design change that was taken late in the car’s development. The only concession to the physical is a rotary volume adjustment; the one control most people are now quite happy to have on the steering wheel.

Speaking of wheels, the one in front of the driver, plus the column stalks are lifted from the Focus which seems a bit below par considering the starting price of the GT. It’s a shame we can’t get the rather more handsome items from the ICE Mustang as well as its digital instrument pack in place of the ultra-simplified version in the Mach-E. None of this is to say that the interior of the Mach-E isn’t a very nice place to be. There is plenty of head and leg room for all passengers, the seats are both comfortable and supportive and the optional panoramic glass roof adds to the sense of space.

Like the centre screen there are some touches of tech which give the impression that Ford is trying a tad too hard. There are, for instance, no door handles on the Mach-E and we don’t mean that they are flush-mounted and pop out as is de riguer these days. No, instead the Mach-E gets push button entry, presumably because Ford had a job lot left over from the centre console. Small round buttons are mounted on all four door pillars and pressing one actuates a servo which pops the corresponding door ajar. Front seat occupants then pull the door open using a small, winglike appendage but anyone in the back has to awkwardly curl their fingers around the door frame. It feels like a solution in search of a problem.

The touchscreen is fairly easy to navigate and there are enough shortcut buttons but we would still prefer a lot of these be physical rather than solely digital. The expected array of advanced safety systems is present, as is adaptive cruise control. This includes stop-start traffic functionality which was very welcome while waiting on motorway for a tailback to clear. Missing door handles aside the Mach-E does possess the various features which make a family car more liveable like a decent voice control system, wireless charging and touchless tailgate opening. There is also, oddly, an artificially generated engine noise in the higher of the drive modes; named Whisper, Active and Untamed. Odd because it has been made to sound like a V8 which somehow seems wrong in an EV.

I used to own an original, 1965 Mustang GT, the one on which the pony car legend was built and the memory of which so many legions of fans were worried would be sullied. The Mach-E GT does share some of its forebear’s traits; the handsome styling, a sense of occasion and enjoyable straight-line performance. It also unfortunately shares a less than refined ride and handling balance. We actually are big fans of the Mach-E, we even drove one all the way to Scotland (very slowly) but much like the Porsche Taycan we think the base, rear-wheel-drive model is the one to pick.