Open Mike: Ford Mach-E Oh My

Mach-E's in a row at Friendly Ford in Geneva, New York

Yesterday, as I was going about my errands, I decided to start familiarizing myself with the automotive New World Order. I stopped at a Ford dealer and asked if I could test-drive a Mach-E.

I was skeptical. I've always been skeptical; as a matter of social responsibility, I've been thinking that my next car should be an EV, but I've always known I wouldn't like EVs because I love manual transmissions. I like cars to be responsive and controllable. I like naturally aspirated engines for the same reason. I want the car to do what I tell it to. I like to drive; I don't want to be driven.

The Mach-E, about which I know little, was designated a "Mustang," but that confuses the issue. It's actually Ford's first car designed and built from the ground up as an electric vehicle (EV). In form it's a crossover, which are smallish, vaguely racy-looking SUVs. It has nothing to do with Mustangs, and in fact the naming alone is one of the things a lot of people reflexively dislike about the car. It's available in various trims, which include one or two electric motors—rear only, which corresponds to rear wheel drive, or front and rear, which corresponds to all-wheel drive—and either a standard or an extended-range battery. Actually, the variations are highly confusing; I couldn't sort them out when I tried.

I should point out that even though I've been a car nut since long before I took my driver's test at age sixteen and one day, and have driven lots and lots of cars over the years, I've never driven an EV before, and in fact the Mach-E was only the third SUV I've ever driven. SUVs leave me cold. I like cars, the more go-karty the better, the fewer seats the better. I owned a 2012 Toyota RAV-4 for two years (the model with the covered spare tire on the tailgate), and last year my neighbor and friend Ilene bought a hybrid Toyota RAV-4 Prime and she let me drive it to the dog park one day. That's it. So not only am I not familiar with EVs, I'm not even familiar with SUVs. Just so you know where I'm coming from. Not an expert.

The dealership, the showroom of which is elegantly designed and exceptionally clean and quiet, is called Friendly Ford. An antique Ford Model A from the 1930s was prominently displayed. Because I love vintage cars, this meant my visit was rewarded right from the get-go. I was pleased. There was no standing around waiting to be noticed—something for which the local Toyota dealership, for one, is notorious. A slight, skinny young man named Donovan came up and greeted me before I'd even been there two minutes. He turned out to be one of the dealership's two EV specialists. So far, so good. So here's a weird thing: Donovan turned out to be the friendliest car salesman I've ever met. A friendly salesman at Friendly Ford? The dealership was actually living up to its name. What, had I entered some kind of weird warp in the cynical/deceptive space-time marketing hype continuum?

He also turned out to be knowledgeable. At the end of the test drive he asked, "Do you have any more questions for me?" And I thought, young man, I have done nothing but pepper you with questions for three-quarters of an hour now, and you have answered every. single. one. Could not stump the kid.

Donovan Deredita, who informs me that
he himself can fit in the Mach-E's frunk!

Despite everything going well during the preamble stages, when it came to the actual car I did not have high expectations. The Mach-E seems not to have taken the EV market by storm, and the EV market itself is believed to be in something of a doldrums.

The car I drove

First impression: one of the most comfortable cars I ever sat in. A few simple adjustments and the driving position was perfect. Surely these newfangled e-leck-trickal thingamabobs have to be hard to drive, then? Nope. Press the brake and push a button. Nothing happened except the screens came alive—one giant one replacing the center stack, and one modest one in the usual position. PRNDL is a nifty little dial that falls under the right hand.  Pleasing. (I learned later that this is typical of many newer Fords.) I liked the door-opening buttons and latches too, inside and out, but I understand they're not to everyone's liking. A flick of the dial into "R" and off we go.

We set out on a 20-minute test drive. Within minutes, I had my verdict. I will cut to the chase: I absolutely loved the Mach-E. Absolutely loved it. Quiet, smooth, with a suspension that lets you feel the road, a gentle no-fuss glide when you want that but with gobs of power on tap that will push you back in the seat should you need it (and we were not in the most powerful version of the car). Everything super-responsive and highly controllable. The way I like it. If I owned one, I would get the car out just to go for drives. It's that nice. Beautiful. I loved it.

Ford Mach-E spotted in the wild

Two things in particular stood out. You know how I'm fussy about camera viewfinders? Well, I'm just as particular about the steering in cars. I drove an Audi S5 once and liked it except for the steering, which was numb. Yet I don't like twitchy steering either. Some cars have too gradual a ratio, others can't track when you point them straight—the only reason I don't go on and on about this (you know, like a bore) is that I don't know all the engineering terminology to describe what I can feel. Suffice it to say that the secret of cars is that the steering is what establishes any car's character more than anything else. I read that in a car magazine once but I believe it to be true.

I loved the Mach-E's steering. It's spot-on. Effortless. Lovely.

The other thing I adored is single-pedal mode. I suppose this will be old hat to those of you who own EVs. For those who don't, single-pedal mode is that the car will accelerate when you press the accelerator and go into regenerative braking progressively on lift-off. (Yes, the brake lights turn on when you're slowing down, per the encyclopaedic Donovan.) You can brake all the way to a stop. Now, in my old Miata, I liked braking with the shifter. I once drove all the way across the town where I used to live and only touched the brake pedal once, using downshifting to slow down and timing the approach to stop signs and lights. So, naturally, I really liked single-pedal mode. I would be in single-pedal mode all the time if I owned one of these. Of course the brake is right there if you need it.

Crazy
This is probably going to sound almost unhinged, but I'm going to say it: even on such short acquaintance, I think the Mach-E is my No. 1 favorite of all the cars I have ever driven in my entire life. If I were in the market for a new car now (and assuming it were in my price range), I would read a bunch of user reviews to be alerted to hidden problems and weaknesses, such as the Mach-E's relatively slow charging, which is not something that would bother me much. (And something they'll be fixing next year.) However, I honestly believe I would not go around test-driving the competition. The Ford Mustang Mach-E feels that "right" to me. I'd want this. This exact car.

By the way, if you've heard that there's been a slowdown in EV sales, in my opinion there are four reasons for that. First and mainly, infrastructure. Charging stations are being put in at an increasing rate, but it's all been pretty haphazard and spotty. That makes people nervous.  Second, price. Same reason why all new car sales are being restrained; lots of people can't afford them. Third, there are a lot more EVs flooding the market than there were when the Mach-E arrived. A large number of them have gone on sale in the past two years. That makes for a smaller slice of a still-small pie for every seller. Lastly, Tesla is the market leader in EVs, and...Elon Musk. 'Nuff said.

Still, it's obvious that EVs are the future. The infrastructure situation will improve; since the Mach-E came on the scene in 2021, the number of charging ports nationally has doubled, to around 180,000; and that number is expected to increase to 500,000 by 2030.

At the very least, though, I am now officially over my skepticism, reluctance, aversion, whatever you want to call it, to electric vehicles. Despite the sunset of my beloved stick-shift gasoline cars, I will now be eagerly looking forward to owning an EV when the time comes.

Not a review
This is not a review; it's just a fun little What-I-Did-On-My-Day-Off report. I know the majority of those reading this might not be interested, for any of a variety of reasons, and I can't recommend the Ford Mach-E anyway. I only drove it for 20 minutes and I still really don't know that much about it. But there's one thing I can recommend, for any of you to whom the idea appeals: a test drive! Try one. And let me know what you think.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

darlene: "I am looking forward to reading the comments on this article!"

Curt Gerston: "We have a recently purchased a Hyundai Kona EV. Love it so much. Electric cars are so fun to drive, and with our own charger in the driveway, easy to own and use."

AN: "I bought a Mach-E in late June, and have since put over 6,000 miles on it. I spend a lot of time driving (long commute), so switching to a brand new EV was actually a cost-saving measure over the long run. The Mach-E wasn't really on my radar initially, but once I started shopping seriously, I zeroed in on this car really fast. I'm surprised at how much it feels like this car has improved my quality of life; I never got that sense with a new car before. I'm not really a car guy, just a person who drives a lot and needs something practical and functional, but it is also legitimately enjoyable to drive."

Yoshi Carroll: "After several years of EV-only driving I got into an ICE car and it felt broken. Too loud, too much vibration, laggy gas pedal. It took a while to get used to it again."

Mike replies: You know, I felt that. One of the interesting things about test drives is that your own car feels slightly strange to you for a few miles when you get back in it.

robert e (partial comment): "I've never driven an EV, but I hear this kind of thing a lot—once people drive one, they really, really like them."

Benjamin Marks: "Just as a data point: We are around the same latitude as Penn Yan. We have solar panels and an EV, which is my wife's commuter car. It is a Chevy Bolt and she loves the thing, although neither of us is a 'car person' the way you are, Mike. As a point of comparison, my brother-in-law has a hybrid RAV4, which has a certain number of miles of range and then switches to a gas engine. The key difference is that my sister and he don't have solar.

"My sister/BIL use their car on Long Island, which has pretty expensive electricity (something like 23 cents per kWh of energy). The result is that their car costs about the same per mile to run electrically as it does on gas. My BIL is a math-head and figured out that the cost difference is about a penny a mile with the advantage going to the EV. He doesn't have the added benefit of no oil changes or sparkplugs or coolant, because of the gas-side motor in the RAV4. So: all of the maintenance costs of fossil fuels, and none of the savings of electric because of local electricity costs.

"In contrast, we pay around 19 cents for a kWh of energy in Vermont, and also offset our bill by covering most of our e-costs with generation. So our cost per mile is around 3.4 cents to drive, compared with around 25 cents for my Subaru.

"Keep in mind that you lose around 25% of your overall range at these latitudes to winter's ravages during that season (the batteries draw current to keep themselves warm enough for the chemistry to function in the cold).

"All that said, I agree that the advantages to eCars (low maintenance costs: tires, bearings, washer fluid) will gradually tip the scales in favor of that technology, particularly for any entity operating a fleet of the things.

"Lots of transition issues: For instance, gas taxes fund road maintenance here in Vermont, and, until this year, e-vehicles have gotten a 'free ride' (ouch). Also, the roll out of e-vehicles will have regressive effects, with those least able to bear the cost of gas price increases representing a shrinking customer base for that product. So, lots of concerns to address.

"Every time my wife drives by a gas station in her EV, I am glad I am not in that business. Buggy whips, for certain."

J D Ramsey: "While I haven't driven the Mach E, I've heard great things about it. Having a Tesla Y for almost two years (despite Elon), I can say that your observations about how much fun it is to drive are spot on. The inadequate charging infrastructure and cost (though there are reasonably priced EVs, and, with the federal subsidy for those who qualify, the cost can be quite reasonable—like in the 30-something thousand range) are factors, although the infrastructure issue is quickly improving and its one of the Tesla advantages given the volume of their 'superchargers.'

"I drove mine back and forth from New Jersey to Florida and the Tesla mapping makes sure you find a charger when you need it. In most instances the total time to charge was 20–25 minutes and the chargers were where there was a mall or a food place and a bathroom. Being similar to each other in age, those stops were mostly welcome.

"Like your initial reaction, many guys (cameras and cars being dominated by guys) claim they will miss the ICE and 'control.' In fact, while the roar—in a few vehicles—of the engine will be gone, the control of the vehicle will still be there and, depending on the vehicle, the acceleration will be like no other.

"In the not too distant future it's where we are going, whether kicking and screaming or enjoying the new experience."

Mike replies: Young Donovan turned on fake engine noise in the Mach-E, and I immediately asked him to turn it off again. So it has that, in case one misses it.

Chris Koerner: "My wife and I had the fortune to borrow a Mach-E from the local deal for a weekend a few years ago. We were smitten and have been saving up for one. Soon!"

Charlie Dunton: "Mike, I couldn’t agree more. I bought the Mach-E in April, 2023. The new car honeymoon has never lasted more than a month for me and I’ve owned a lot of cars in my 55 years of driving. The honeymoon is as strong as ever with the Mach-E and frankly, I don’t see it ending. I have never owned a car I love this much.

"And one-pedal driving, boy do I miss it when I drive our Chrysler Pacifica (it’s for driving our two Weimaraners around—really enjoyed your Wegman column). What do I like? Responsiveness, both steering and especially power. When you ask for it, it delivers immediately; no transmission lag, no down shifting, just GO!

"As for charging, I’ve put 17,000 miles on it and only used a public charger three times. We have a 240-volt charger in the garage and it will charge from 10% to 100% overnight, giving up to 300 miles of range. Ford rocked the EV world when they partnered with Tesla to support Tesla’s charging adapter. Overnight, the entire industry switched to supporting Tesla’s adapter. Our adapter is supposed to be here next month but I believe the 2024’s come with the Tesla charging port. And there isn’t a charging network that comes close to Tesla’s for being available and actually working. Yes, Mach-E’s are a bit pricey, but there have been a couple of price cuts in the last year. We had the privilege of buying at the top of the market, but having it those extra months was worth it. Take the plunge, you won’t regret it."

Mindee: "I have a Mach-E and it is absolutely hands-down by far my most favorite vehicle I have ever owned in my 47 years on this planet. Hubby has the Tesla Model 3 and will be upgrading to the Performance in a few days when it gets delivered. His may be faster, but at least mine doesn't look like a catfish (our little joke). If anything ever happens to mine, I'll upgrade from the Premium to the GT Performance Edition or the Rally."

robert e: "As best I can tell, there's plenty of lithium in the world, and some of the world's largest and richest deposits are in the American west. In fact, there's a lithium 'gold rush' going on here, thanks to both recent price bubbles and generous funding from Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. There are pilot programs running of cleaner and more sustainable extraction methods. Battery makers continue to reduce the amount of lithium needed in batteries and to eliminate it altogether. Recycling can already recover almost all of the lithium in a battery, along with other minerals, and that'll get better and cheaper to do. When in doubt, follow the money.

"'Whataboutism' is especially annoying because, on top of the genre's usual mix of FUD, facts and contextless framing, it tends to be woefully out of date. It's also everywhere. I don't blame well-meaning individuals for repeating what they hear from trusted sources, but I wish they'd be more critical, and try to recognize when reader or source are out of their depth. Our news media is a shell of its former self and social media has few filters and no vetting (this blog, as we know, is a glowing exception)."

Mike replies: I dunno about that last! Just one guy doing his best, along with a whole bunch of well-above-average readers.

Comments

[Steve Biro]

EVs can be great - at least some of them. And they work for many more people today than they did only five years ago. But, for many of us, EVs are not quite ready for prime time. Still, they’re getting better. In my world, an EV can’t yet be an only vehicle and there’s now only room for one. That’s why I bought a new Mazda CX-5 a few months ago.

[robert e]

Curious which driving modes you tried out. I understand that steering feel and suspension are affected by driving mode in a Mach E. Did it make a difference?

I've never driven an EV, but I hear this kind of thing a lot--once people drive one, they really, really like them. It makes sense, I suppose. We put up with a lot of necessary evils in order to use internal combustion engines: vibration, heat, noise, emissions, torque management... We've gotten inured to them (even enjoy them) and pretty good at mitigating and compromising, but EVs simply eliminate most of those evils, along with the mitigations and compromises. I think car makers, and society in general, have only scratched the surface of the resulting benefits. Our cars, roads, regulations, habits, infrastructure, were created around the old tech. It'll take a while (sooner in places like Norway), but it'll be interesting to see what happens when most cars are EVs, and batteries get lighter, smaller and safer.

(A hundred plus years ago, electric cars dominated the market, but there weren't many cars then, or any auto infrastructure to speak of.)

[Jeff]

A few random thoughts. First, tire choice (and air pressure) can make a huge difference in how a car steers; not to be underestimated. Second, a major reason people are reluctant to buy EVs is depreciation; significant and rapid. Technology is changing quickly, and nobody wants old battery tech. Repair costs,too; there are stories of insurance companies writing off an EV as totaled, just because the battery covering was dented by road debris. As for one pedal operation, Porsche has a different philosophy, particularly with its recently introduced Macan Turbo (funny name, given there are no turbos involved with their battery tech). The car is meant to appeal to people who bought and like two-pedal operation from their naturally aspirated Porsches; the brake pedal retains its use, and feel, while clever tech still provides recharging. Finally, Ford’s strength in North America is increasingly its trucks and pickups. Car sales, and SUVs; not so much. It will be interesting to watch the market evolve.

[John]

I know nothing about the car, but using the Mustang name for something that is not a Ford sports model is a dumb decision.

[Jeff]

I should have added that, because of insane depreciation, many people will lease rather than buy EVs at this market stage.

[Patrick Perez]

I drove my wife's '22 Mach-E yesterday, home from a visit w/ her grad school friends. She loves her car, and gets prickly when I say it's a good car, but Ford shouldn't have squandered the name Mustang on it.

I own a Hyundai Ioniq 6 and I also like progressive regenerative braking. I don't care for one-pedal, but Kati doesn't even use any regen braking.

She likes her car, I prefer mine (I like car shaped cars, not crossovers/SUVs/trucks, etc.). When the time comes you're looking to buy an EV, make sure it has a heat pump. The Mustang doesn't and it kills the battery in the winter, and ours here in the PNW are nothing compared to yours.

As for slowdown in the US EV sales, it seems that is mostly Tesla experiencing fewer sales year-over-year, other manufacturers are increasing.

I had long expected Tesla's sales to slow as other (experienced) manufacturers introduced quality EVs (for this purpose I'm defining that as EVs designed from the ground up as EV, not converted legacy ICE cars). Once there were more options, Tesla's share would decrease.

Patrick

[John Camp]

We have two plug-in hybrids (PHEVs.) My wife's, which is newer, gets around 40 miles per charge. Anyplace she goes in our city (Santa Fe) she can get to and back, with a few stops, and never go to gas. In my research before buying her Audi, I read that Americans drive an average of 36 miles per day. That means, if you are a perfectly average American, you would effectively be driving an electric car if you drove my wife's Audi -- and would have a gas backup when you had to go further. I also read that a mile's worth of electricity costs about 3-5 cents, depending on your location and electric supplier. A vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon costs about 15 cents per mile. So there's that. If I were king of the United States, I would make PHEVs mandatory, unless you buy a full EV.

By the way, I can't really make this recommendation based on price: PHEVs are more expensive than pure IC cars, and even with a 10-cent per mile advantage, it would take a long time to cover the extra initial cost.

[Michael]

I found your Day-Off article to be very well structured and informative. As owners of TWO back-to-back Toyota Priuses or Priui or just "two" in a row, my wife and I are convinced that HYBRID and not Total EV is an all around better solution.
The top reason for our decision is the range to refueling-recharging time.
When we travel from Nashville,TN to family in Chicago, WI or NC or on a visit to friends in MN or ND or AZ, the range of an EV is less than a 10.9gal tank of gas in our Prius that give us 450+ miles. Filling our gas tank, emptying our body tanks, and grabbing a snack and drink takes far less time than EV re-charging to get another XXX miles.
The future will hopefully bring the EV cost lower, the recharging time shorter, distance range greater, and a larger fossil fuel saving for our planet.

[Andre Y]

Hi Mike, that must have been a big surprise for you! I would strongly urge anyone considering an EV to install a level 2 charger at home: it's pretty much a requirement if you don't want to hate life with an EV. If you don't drive a lot, a regular outlet for level 1 can be OK. If you don't have reliable access to an outlet near your car, then I wouldn't get an EV until you do.

[William Lloyd]

If you think Musk is appalling then you should catch up on Henry Ford's love of all things Nazi and Hitler's reciprocal love of Henry Ford.
I have a Tesla and I would bet my life that Musk never personally laid hands on a single bolt in it's construction. Rather, I am pleased to support the (then) 140,000 hard working and dedicated employees of Tesla.

[Hi William, I hope you do not feel offended by what I said. I have friends who own and love Teslas, and consider them to be great cars. Nothing against anyone who owns one. I do believe, however, that Musk's ideological shenanigans, far-out ideas, and poor business moves are having a chilling effect on the sales of his company's cars. That's the category I was talking about--reasons for the apparent souring of the EV market. --Mike]

[MikeK]

Back in March we decided we'd had enough of our car and that it was time to get a new one. I was a little unsure of whether to go electric - in my head I thought they might be another product cycle off being what I wanted. But ultimately the amount of mechanical issues that our last car had really drained me — both mentally and financially. And more than that, buying a new internal combustion engine car felt like something of an anachronism in 2024.

We went for a Cupra Born – closely related to the VW ID3. I love it. It's quick, quiet, comfortable and relatively economical. It's a small hatch (think Golf sized), but really all the car we need. It's not fast as such (though they've just released a faster one) but I'd say it's quick, and the nature of the EV power delivery means it probably feels quicker than the power would suggest.

There seems to be a lot of anti-EV sentiment around - mostly from people who've never driven one, I think. I've found myself in a youtube rabbit hole looking into EVs, and those on the very pro-side of the debate would have you believe that there's a constant stream of disinformation being funded by the petrol companies. Whether you believe that or not, there are certainly a lot of myths. The most prevalent seems to be that they'll catch fire - which seems an odd one considering that the alternative is to drive around with a tank full of flammable liquid powering the car.

Purchase cost and charging are the main 'barriers to entry'. If you can get a home charger installed then it seems a proverbial no-brainer, though. I'm not sure what the costs are in the US, but in the UK I get a special overnight EV tariff at 7.5p per KWH - and the car will do 3-4 miles per KWH. Public chargers vary massively though - and the fastest can be up to 85p per KWH (that's not a missing decimal point - over 10x the cheap home rate).

Purchase prices are coming down, though, and more cars are being launched at the lower end of the market. We're now at the point where there are plenty of used cars available, too.

I do think that a lot of reservations are psychological, though. If you have a half tank of petrol, you're unlikely to feel concerned. If your battery says 50% remaining, it seems less reassuring. That does pass to some degree, though. You also need to adapt to the fact that it's less efficient at speed (as in constant cruising at 70mph or so) and more efficient in mixed and slower driving - if you're constantly driving long distance on the motorway, it might not be for you.

When I tell people I have an EV they always ask two questions:
1. How far will it go?
2. How long does it take to charge?
(The answer to both is: "It depends.")

No one ever asks what it's like to drive, or anything so prosaic.

In fact the only things that bother me with the car are to do with the interface - there are almost no buttons, everything is controlled through a screen. That's a UI nightmare, especially while driving. But, that said, it doesn't bother me as much as it might - when I'm driving, I'm mostly driving, not looking through settings menus. The aircon and ventilation should have dedicated physical controls though (and a lot of cars do - I'm not saying all EVs share the interface with my car).

When we got it I thought it would be more convenient 95% of time and less convenient for the other 5% (ie, on long journeys). That seems about right. I'm going on holiday next week and will drive a petrol powered manual car for the first time over 5 months - I'm curious to see how it feels.

[Joel Becker]

I have read your writings on your Miata. I consider you a reliable expert on car steering feel. So this is a great bit of info on the Mach-E (and definitely I am glad you wrote up).

Is it off-topic? Well, the gestalt of a product, the feel, the "rightness" is something we talk a lot about with cameras. Cars are another product with the same connection. I think the topic jibes quite well.

[NikoJorj]

I liked to row my own gears very much and hated every time I had to drive an automatic, but 6 months ago I replaced my old hot hatch (Clio RS) with a base Tesla 3, and could not be much happier with the new car : as fun to drive as the old one (a bit less nimble but more stable, very neutral without the marked understeer of the Clio, accelerations are about the same), and way more practical (it's a big car here in EU).
Driving an ordinary ICE car is a bit painful after that.

And I don't burn petrol anymore. Of course coal was burned to make the battery, but the LCA says much less at large - oh, and the battery is LFP which burns a bit less CO2, and most important it is the right size for big road trips, not too big - 50kWh can drive you for 2-3hrs before finding a charger, you don't need more here in the EU and it's a big part of the car's LCA emissions.

As said, there are many anti-EV opinions out there, and after having tasted what it's like, I feel most are unsubstantiated.

[NikoJorj]

Just to add a few personal answers to other comments :
- With 220V, an ordinary Level1 plug is quite OK for the charge (but I understand it could be a bit limiting with 110V),
- OnePedal driving is pretty addictive indeed,
- Depreciation is a good thing for the buyers : there are more and more 2nd-hand affordable EVs,
- With a heat pump, I see only 5-10% more consumption in winter, definitely not 25%,
- I need the same time for long road trips as before, because I liked, now and then, to make a few stops (long in the european way, ie 600-900km).

[Tom Stermitz]

Kia/Hyundai/Genesis is making a BIG play for the electric market. I'll bet your driving experience with those brands would be similar to the Mach E.

I bought a Kia EV6 last Winter and absolutely love how it drives. With the new, 800 Volt architecture, it charges in 20 minutes at a DC station, and in a few hours at home while I sleep.

We are in a sweet spot now that fast charging, 2nd generation EVs are hitting the market. And, we consumers are at a lucky moment due to a surge of inventory, a hesitation of demand, and those big tax credits. Here in Colorado, my tax credits and dealer discounts added up to $17,500, which made my fancy EV6 lower in price than a nice middle-class car like a Toyota or Honda.

I calculated my "fuel" costs to be $2/100 miles since I can charge at off-peak rates (7.5 cents) from home. This compares to $15-20 per 100 miles for an ICE car with 20-25 mpg. My fuel costs went from $200 month to $20/month - Ridiculous! (The cost for using commercial DC chargers while traveling is not much cheaper than gas stations, buteven out here in the West, long-distance travel is completely viable.)

By 2nd Generation, I mean EVs that were designed as electric from the ground up, rather than just tacking batteries onto a standard gas platform.

[Kye Wood]

You can get a manual electric car.
It's simulated via software. But it's done perfectly, engine noise, rev limiter, holding gears, the works.

And if you get tired of driving it in manual mode, push a button and you're back to standard electric car mode.

HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 N

[Jay Yocis]

Sold 2 Mini Countrymans ICE for a CRV Hybrids. Then sold a Teluride for a Highlander hybrid. What I missed most was driving stick. Retired and have two regular trips of 350 miles. Hybrids make the drive well. Miss stick. I test drove a Mini Countryman E. Drove over an hour (alone) on roads a Mini would be happy. The ride was to comfy, not Mini ride. Miss stick. After the drive the salesman agreed that the MiniE's should be quicker than the Mini John Cooper Works versions. He said a E version, tweaked, beat the JCW and a BMW M2. Might need to convert a manual (it has been done).

[R. Edelman]

What you didn't mention is climate change. We need to put carbon fuels behind us as quickly as we can. We are moving too slowly. EVs that are charged from coal powered electric plants don't help the climate. Burning coal also adds to the mercury in our air, water, and the seafood that we eat. Natural gas is better than coal, but is still a carbon emitter.
Typical of our government bureaucracies, we can't seem to build things quickly. President Biden's infrastructure bill passed three years ago, and the small number of chargers that have been added since then is embarrassing, and is keeping people from buying EVs.
There is more room in an EV as the fuel system and exhaust system are eliminated. The savings from hybrids and EVs extend not only to fuel costs, but also to maintenance. No spark plugs to replace, and no throttle body or fuel injector cleaning needed with an EV. Regenerative braking reduces the need for brake pad replacements. It is not unusual for someone to own a hybrid for over 100,000 miles and then sell it without ever having to have the brake pads changed.
My wife and I have owned four Nissan Leaf EVS since 2011. They have been reliable. But the carpool lane stickers in California expire every few years, necessitating a new EV to keep using the carpool lanes as a single occupant, which saves a lot of time on my wife's commute. Our daughter purchased a Tesla almost two years ago so that she could also use the carpool lanes on her commute to work. I drive a ten year old Prius Plug-In, which gets about 62 miles per gallon in my commute, if I keep the lithium ion battery charged at home and at work. In ten years the battery still has 60% capacity left. We have solar panels on our house and two storage batteries, so our electricity costs have been low, and power outages don't affect us. As the storage batteries come online instantly, there is no momentary lag like a gas generator would have. Plus, the solar panels and batteries are earning back their costs almost every day, something that cannot be said about gas generators which lay dormant and need periodic service, and produce carbon emissions. In California, by the way, there has been a tax on EVs for several years now to make up for the loss of gasoline taxes.
By the way, I too am a "car guy". I purchased a 16-valve Saab turbo with a 5-speed manual when they first came out, and I restored a 1948 Chrysler Windsor convertible, complete with a flat-head six and Fluid Drive transmission. But where I drive, the traffic is dense, and manual transmission driving would not be so much fun.
Finally, on the Ford and other EVs, you can plug your house into your car, so to speak, if you need emergency electric power. In that situation, the batteries in the EV serve as an emergency storage battery for your house.

[MikeR]

I rented an EV in Dallas last summer ('23) and liked the car, whatever it was, but hated the range anxiety. Had to first find a working unoccupied charging station (so many of the public ones were broken), then walk to a restaurant to while away the time eating. (No stations at the hotel in Plano). I'm seeing charging stations sprouting up like dandelions now, so I guess pretty soon EVs will be ready for prime time.

[Joel Bartlett]

After driving electric for 12 years, there's one question that Donovan should have asked you: "Where are you going to charge it?" A good answer to this is key to enjoying an electric car.

[Hi Joel, currently I have a spacious 2 1/2 car garage with a 100-amp circuit, 50 of which is diverted to the pool shed. So another 50 is left in the garage. Is that enough? --Mike]

[John McMillin]

If an EV ever wins my affections, it'll have to be a retro car, like the upcoming VW bus. Not that I want a minivan, and I just have zero desire to drive The Car of the Future, because I'm a past-looking fellow who aspires to live in the present. The future can take care of itself!

What bugs me about the Mach-E is the extreme-lined styling. I refuse to sit reclined under a low ceiling, behind narrow windows. When a rental company upgraded me to a Mustang tens years ago, I gave it back. Give me a boxy, glassy interior like my Mercedes GLK and I'm a happy, alert driver. Never mind the extra power consumption from poor aero; I'll pay extra for that.

And please don't force me to use an iPad dash to control basic functions like HVAC and audio volume. Dash screens are so distracting, and usually too bright for ambient conditions. The most important button on my 2017 Ford's dash is the one that turns the screen OFF.

Compared to those fundamental objections, I'd get used to the EV drivetrain pretty fast. But there's no need, since I have a reliable and paid-off PHEV that nets me 60 mpg. And I still love driving it.

Before you buy any new car, Mike, you owe it to yourself to consider a true, blue, made-in-the-USA sleeper - the Ford C-Max, circa 2014-2017. It actually reminds me of my prior car, a VW GTI. Besides being ugly, of course. The dash is cluttered and the screen is small, but there's a full set of physical controls. Surprisingly, this humble fleet car and grocery-getter wears the same size tires as my MkV, and the steering has the same taut, straight-razor precision. I'm missing nothing from the GTI, except excess performance I never used. Used C-Max hold their value, but $15K would buy one of the best. Seven years on, I'm still bragging about this car...

[Kodachromeguy]

Mike,the response you and others have to EVs is similar to the way many people respond to e-bikes. Once they enjoy that push peddling up long hills, a manual bike feels a bit primitive (although a super sophisticated carbon bike is nice if you can handle the posture).

[Moose]

As so often happens, timing of tech, entreprenurial pressure, and so on, have left us in an unnecessary mess.

A few years ago, I got to test drive a Toyota Mirai. It's a hydrogen fuel cell car. Hydrogen tank and fuel cell replace the battery/charger system. The rest is Toyota standard motors, etc. Interior design, fit and finish seem as though Lexus helped. A lovely car to drive.

Short drive, but, much like your experience and so many others here, quiet, smooth, very powerful, and so on.

Ctein has commented on his trip to the SW for the solar eclipse; many of the same Tesla owners queued up at the same charging stations. A social occasion, but lots of travel time lost.

The potential advantages of Hydrogen are that fueling stations need only modest power and filling up is like gas, quick.

Who knows where it will all end up . . .

[William Lewis]

I wouldn't mind an EV but I can't afford one. Not even close.

Did just buy a used 2014 Chrysler 200 Hardtop Convertible with a 3.6L V6 that is was cheap yet sporty enough. Better mileage than the pickup I was getting but that's not saying much!

Nice styling, reasonably comfortable (it was considered an "introductory luxury" car whatever that means 🤣 but it handles well and is the lightest car to be fitted with that engine. A nice almost mid-life crisis toy for less than $10k.

Bonus, it's a nice car to go driving around in while looking for landscapes to take photographs of without a roof in the way! 😎

[Nikojorj]

Oh, so you got 5kW available in your garage ? That's plenty ; I do with less than half.

[Ilkka]

All nice and good. Just like a new computer or a new mobile phone. Perfect in so many ways. But I have never had a computer that can really be used for ten years. For mobile phones five years is a maximum. My Kia Sportage is now 12 years old and has never left me on the road. I would like to see how well these new mobile computer cars work after 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 years. What I have been hearing, older ones are just as difficult to repair as old electronic cameras that have no parts available anymore and end up as junk, for parts only in B&H. Batteries are too expensive and new ones are so much better that there is no point repairing. Not so great for the environment.

[G Dan Mitchell]

We have had an EV for a couple of years now. At this point, it is hard to imagine replacing it with an ICE vehicle or even with the excellent hybrid that preceded it.

Most all of the preconceptions that those without EV experience have about these vehicles turn out to be incorrect or non-issues. Our EV handles beautifully, is perhaps the best vehicle we have owned, and its minor downsides (more in a moment) are vastly outweighed b its upsides.

Upsides? We wake up every morning with a “full tank” from our home charger. This charging costs a fraction of the equivalent gas purchase, and we never visit a gas station. The worst case on-the-road charging has cost us a bit less than what it cost to fuel our previous Toyota Prius. There is virtually no maintenance — no scheduled “every X miles” — serivice. It is quiet, smooth, and responsive.

The only “downside” I can think of: On long drives I go about 200-225 miles (3-4 hours) before charging. I could go a bit farther before getting gas my ICE vehicles. A gasoline (and snack/bathroom!) stop on these long trips typically was a 10-15 minute affair. With the EV it is a 20-30 minute stop. (I go get a coffee, a snack, or sit in the air—conditioned EV and check my email.)

My working theory is that almost everyone who is resistance to EVs would change their mind if they actually drove one, and even more so if they used one for a week or two.

[J]

Two reasons why I don't have an EV and I've driven several over past 15 years or so:

1) upfront cost is generally ridiculous. I'm just not paying that much for a car. Period. Also, negates running cost savings for a very, very long time.

2) nobody has made an EV that I'd buy regardless of power source. None of them fit what I want from a car. Market in general moved into a direction I just don't care about. The situation isn't much better with new ICE cars, choice is very slim. But at least the used market has a few acceptable solutions to my problem.

In a way it's similar to cameras I guess. If you know exactly what you want in terms of design, ergonomics or whatever else, it's really hard to accept that companies just don't make that (anymore) and we'd be arguing if the camera has a CCD or CMOS sensor. I don't care, as long as it does what I want.

But, what if someone eventually makes what I want, but charges a lot more than I'm willing to pay?

[Ned Bunnell]

Knowing your love of Miata, maybe you ought to test drive the latest to compare your experience with the Ford EV.

Dan Neil of the WSJ just wrote a great review of the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Grand Touring, with the six-speed manual transmission, clutch pedal and limited-slip rear differential. Price as tested: $38,925.

Might be a fun day for you, and it’d be interesting to hear your thoughts on it.

[Mario Gatti]

Hi Mike,
For news about EVs you might take a look at these sites.
autoblog.com
insideevs.com
electrek.com
greencarreports.com
macheforum.com
state of charge (YouTube)

[Rob L.]

I deeply want an F-150 Lightning - the frunk being a surprisingly high reason on the list - but it's towing range isn't enough for the major reason I have a truck, getting kids + gear to camp and back. There is a real safety advantage of a gas powered vehicle in that it's easy to refuel and even transport enough to get to a better spot - EV's work really well for a certain set of uses, but on the edges hybrids shine.

[Patrick Perez]

John McMillin mentioned low ceilings in EVs, and it's a little tricky. To make the EV look normal, it's silhouette is comparable to a gas version of a comparable car. The roof is in the same place but internal volume is reduced.

Most new EVs are built using a skateboard design where the battery pack is in an area below the floor, making the interior floor higher than one expects, hence the recline needed. You've given up ~4 inches between floor and ceiling.

You can notice tricks designers use to disguise the fact that the floor is higher by the use of swoopy 'rocker panel' type covers along the lower side of a vehicle. The black color creates an illusion masking the reason the inside floor is higher.

Patrick

[Ken]

My, that blog post was quite the love letter to a car based on a mere 20-minute acquaintance!

[A seismic experience. It's possible I'm going to quickly lose all interest in ICE cars. --Mike]

[Jeroen Pulles]

I can't comment on the Mach-e. Earlier this year I sold my 2012 Honda CR-Z and bought a German EV. The Honda was a great steer, fun, efficient, reliable, cheap to run, got positive comments from passers by: everything you could wish for (well, a two-seater doesn't have much space). The new EV is awful in every way. I bought the car after an hour long test drive where I thought that sure it has some niggles, but I can probably live with it. Boy was I wrong. Advanced Driver Assist features that Do The Wrong Thing, an infotainment system that makes Olympus or Sony camera menus look like design masterpieces, a suspension system based on adaptive dampers where the only setting is "harsh", two drive modes that both don't work very nice in either city driving or motorway cruising. I eventually gave up and think of the car as having no redeeming features. I am now waiting for better EV's to arrive on the market so that I can sell this box.

Of course, I should have kept the little old Honda.

[Roger]

I used to be a fan of Fords until my last one tried to kill me: The transmission control unit (which Ford knew was problematic but wouldn’t recall) failed on the freeway. The transmission threw itself into neutral. I was in an off-ramp lane but getting to the side of the freeway was a challenge.

Ford has higher than industry averages for warranty claims. I’ll pass on their EVs and everything else they offer.

I’d love an EV but their high cost at the moment makes them difficult to justify. Prices will come down—remember what a flat panel TV used to cost? Now they practically give them away.

[Dan Khong]

Fake engine noise? Ah...we are already so used to fake news so we pretend to be surprised.

[Joel Bartlett]

[Hi Joel, currently I have a spacious 2 1/2 car garage with a 100-amp circuit, 50 of which is diverted to the pool shed. So another 50 is left in the garage. Is that enough? --Mike] Don't know what else you're powering in the garage, but 50 amps should be more than enough.

[Scott Kirkpatrick]

A Mach-E has been living next door to me for three years now. Getting it that early required its owners to have some inside connections, which were helpful, as there were some glitches in its first six months. Since then it appears to have been trouble-free, has a range of anywhere in New England. Nice-looking, too.

[Andrew]

I was completely confused by the word 'frunk' for a few seconds, but realised that it's what we Brits refer to as a foot.

[Thom Hogan]

You could have made this slightly on-topic by pointing out that the transition from combustion engine autos to hybrid to EVs is similar to the one from film SLRs to DSLRs to mirrorless: clunky mechanical bits that are tricky to manufacture, require elaborate manufacturing and alignment, periodically require maintenance, and are difficult to repair are replaced with parts that are simpler and as they are mass produced get less costly.

This is the trend for pretty much everything at the moment. There are pockets of resistance (housing), but just as the industrial age ushered in a clear transition, so too has the silicon age.

[Patrick Chambers]

Hello Mike,

Some contrary views to those made here to add to the debate.

Lithium based EVs are anything but green, as three United nations agencies, UNCTAD, UNICEF and UNCRC, have pointed out in reports in the last three years. They strongly criticise the severe and long lasting environmental damage involved in mining for lithium, cobalt and other rare earth metals for use in EV battery packs, with the CEO of the UN's trade and development agency referring to EV battery production as the motor industry's latest 'dirty secret', which will (my words) make Dieselgate seem like a minor indiscretion when it becomes more widely known.

Cars like the e-Mustang you trialled may not emit pollution directly on to your streets and roads but they have helped destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of farmers in the alto-plano areas of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina where lithium mining uses two million litres of water to produce just one ton of lithium (enough for two small SUV battery packs). EV battery material mining has caused extensive deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia and long term pollution of river systems in central Africa, along with huge increases in indentured labour including over 40,000 children and forced migration of indigenous peoples in those areas. You could say that owners and users of EVs in the West are parking their consciences along with their cars on the ruined lives of millions of marginalised peoples in lands far away.

Further, over 75% of mining and over 90% of the processing of these resources world-wide is now controlled by Chinese government proxy companies - in effect, we will mortgage our transportation future to the Chinese Communist Party if we persist along this road. This aspect of EVs seems to have belatedly impressed itself on some European governments who are now proposing swingeing import tariffs on Chinese EVs

As to EV reliability over ICE cars, here in the UK our Consumer Association annual car surveys for the last three years has shown consistently that EVs are actually less reliable than their ICE equivalents. The statistics for 0-4 year old EVs show they have more breakdowns, spend longer off the road and costing more and take significantly longer to repair than similar conventional cars.

Finally, It is interesting that a number of the major players in the industry are rowing back from EVs and are betting on a personal transportation future based on hybrid technology using synthetic sustainable fuel.

Just a thought!

Patrick Chambers

[As opposed to oil extraction, distribution, refinement, and pollution, which is so easy, low-impact, clean and efficient?!?

I do agree that we need new battery technology, but that will be along.

By the way, I don't encounter owners reporting problems of reliability or maintenance. Quite the opposite. The dealers say so too. --Mike]

[Peter]

Go Mike! Internal combustion vehicles are so last century. I am not a car nut, but I love my base model Tesla 3 - nearly 5 years old now. Apart from a new set of tyres, I have spend $100 on maintenance in that time! Fun fact - Tesla drivers around here no longer give each other a little wave like they did for the first few years I owned mine. I call it the Musk Effect.

[Richard Thomas]

EVs aren’t the future, they’re a dead end. When I was teaching at college level, I would always be invited to the humanities senior project presentations, and every year, almost like it was scheduled, one of the student teams would pitch EVs. The teams were supposed to demonstrate critical thinking skills to the teachers and staff, but when it came to EVs, the teams always stumbled badly. The main issues were supply chain ignorance and upstream impacts on energy generation. Supply chain issues center around domestic production of lithium and raw earth minerals, which in both cases is less than 10 percent for the US, and I believe the EU is in the same boat. The largest single source for lithium output during 2023 was Australia, responsible for around 35 percent of world output, but then you have to get it across the Pacific or around Africa to EU markets. If you were able to devote the entire world output of refined lithium to car battery packs ( around 130,000 metric tons, 2023 ), it would take over 50 years to convert the entire US domestic POV fleet to electric, assuming each car pack needed 140 pounds of lithium (for a mid sized Tesla). That would mean no lithium for any other use; good luck with that. Rare earths are another choke point, in this case with China having a lock on over 90 percent of world output. We haven’t even begun to discuss the power generation needed to recharge all those EVs if we could build them. The western world doesn’t have the political will to make themselves resource independent on lithium and rare earths at this point. The future long term will likely lie with hydrogen.

[But that's like saying in 1880 that vehicles will never run on oil because there simply aren't enough whales. Do you know how much research is being done worldwide on battery technology? It's a furious race and all manner of investors are spending tremendous amounts of money on it. You're assuming that all future batteries have to be based on lithium. I don't think that's a "given" in the slightest--I think it's a lot safer to assume future battery technology will not be based on lithium than that it will be. --Mike]

[John McMillin]

I agree with both the views above: Yes, battery materials are limited and, at present, polluting to produce. And yes, batteries and EVs will get better in the future. For me, that's a reason not to invest heavily in any current EV just yet.

My PHEV has a 7.5 KW hour battery, one tenth of the battery capacity of a typical EV. It has saved me half the fuel and consequent emissions compared to my usual 30 mpg gas cars. Saving the other 50% of my fuel use would require buying an EV with a battery ten times bigger. See my point? EVs give diminishing returns when compared to PHEVs. Ten PHEVs, together using the same amount of battery materials as one EV, can multiply that 50% benefit ten times over. If that single EV, remember, gets average use, it will sit parked for 23 hours a day.

Also, consider your driving patterns. How many miles do you drive per year? If the answer is less than 10K miles per year, the benefits of high fuel efficiency are limited. Given Mike's location, I bet he faces long drives for shopping and services, cold weather (which hampers range),and a shortage of public chargers. That's not an ideal EV use case, compared to a California commuter.

[Kirk]

All the dozens and dozens of MJ love letters to the idea of stick shifts (manual transmissions) undone in one short test drive. Constancy be damned.

["A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." --Ralph Waldo Emerson]

[[email protected]]

When I read "It's actually Ford's first car designed and built from the ground up as an electric vehicle (EV)." I thought no way. The front end of the Mach-E looks like it was designed originally to house a radiator grill. IMHO the look of this design, with its radiator opening covered, is not going to age well.

[Jeff Hohner]

Bravo. Knew you’d love it. Our 2024 Hyundai Kona EV continues to impress us. Yes, that 50 amps in your garage is plenty for a Level 2 charger. Great comments everyone. Really interesting stuff. Thanks.

[Arg]

Affordability is key.

[Earl Dunbar]

Driving for most people (myself included) is mostly around town, relatively short distances. Home charging is sufficient even on 115V circuits for some, but a stage 2 charger for the home is not that expensive. When I had my solar panels installed (February, 2023) I had specified a stage 2 charger be installed. I think the cost was about $1600 USD for the equipment and installation.

That may have been a bit high compared to today’s pricing, but even at that I considered it a good investment. I don’t have an EV yet, but I anticipate one in the future. But to me the value if/when the house is put on the market is just as high to a potential buyer, perhaps even more than the solar panels. Some people don’t like the look of rooftop solar panels on a street-facing roof, which is my configuration. I think it’s very cool, and anyone who walks past my house generally agrees.

I’m waiting for two things, though:

1. Better charging infrastructure, as you mention, for the occasional longer trip - the annual vacation plus the occasional trip I make to Toronto to visit family.

2. Honda needs to introduce a proper all electric CR-V. The current all EV from Honda is basically a re-badged Chevy Blazer and doesn’t interest me at all. (Don’t “at” me Mike - I’m a CR-V lover, on my 3rd one.)

Entry cost for new EVs is generally a concern, though the decrease maintenance costs for ICE vehicles offsets a lot of that over time.