Dynamic evaluation of the new Ford electric horse: Steering is the feeling I lik
Before the Ford Mustang Mach-E was officially launched, I had seen the test vehicle at the Chongqing Dianjiang West Test Ground. Given the reputation of the Ford Mustang, I had long been eager to try out the "electric horse" without an engine, but unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to drive one.
Now, it wasn't until the model had been updated that I finally got behind the wheel of the electric Mustang. The test drive vehicle this time was the 2024 model, a rear-wheel drive with a single electric motor, equipped with GOOD YEAR 225/55/R 19 tires.
When I sat inside the vehicle, Ford's attention to detail, as always, was somewhat lacking. First off, the steering wheel was not quite smooth, and it didn't seem to be an intentional design choice. Previously, while having my little Focus serviced at the dealership, I had casually looked at other vehicles, such as the imported Explorer at the time, and the interior craftsmanship was average, just like the domestic models.
In addition to that, there was a material on the dashboard that resembled "mesh fabric," but apart from the "mesh fabric" on the left side of the instrument cluster, the rest of the "mesh" was tightly adhered to the internal frame. However, the "mesh fabric" on the left side of the instrument cluster was noticeably "peeled off," and it felt wrinkled to the touch.The four overhead grab handles inside the car are fine when not pulled, but they feel a bit loose when pulled up. However, Ford's cars generally seem to have average assembly, but they truly do not make noise when driving.
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Another noticeable first impression is that the car's sill is positioned relatively high, making it easy for the lower leg to rub against the car body when entering and exiting the front and rear seats, which can dirty the trouser legs. Subjectively, it feels like the floor and chassis are higher (it could also be that I have short legs).
Of course, there are also many aspects worth praising. I believe the electric horse really wants to create a more sporty atmosphere inside the car, such as the ubiquitous colored stitching on the seats, door panels, dashboard, and other places, and the "carbon fiber" textured decorative panel around the lower part of the dashboard. The design of the four-door inner handles is also different from that of ordinary models—it is placed inside the door's inner latch, and the door is opened by pulling it backward.
I also observed a good point, in front of the front door hinge, the end of the fender is added with a layer of relatively thick sound insulation foam, which can suppress the noise coming from the front wheel area.The configuration of the electric horse (E-Mustang) feels quite sufficient to me. In terms of L2+ level assisted driving, it comes with adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, signal-assisted lane changing, collision warning, fatigue monitoring, automatic parking, and more, all packed together. It can also remotely control smart home devices. Comfort features like heated steering wheel and heated seats are also adequate. Additionally, the electric horse is equipped with an active grille shutter, which, although now relatively common, was previously only used in performance-oriented vehicles.
I've seen a piece of information stating that Ford's understanding of automobiles pursues a good driving quality, with clear steering feel, clear road feel, and good handling. Judging from the styling, the history of the MUSTANG, and the creation of the interior atmosphere, Ford definitely wants to convey through these aspects that it is a "performance car." Therefore, the most important thing is how the electric horse feels to drive.
Let's take a look at the driving evaluation of the electric horse:
01Steering
From the moment I got in the car and first turned the steering wheel, it almost confirmed my previous speculation that this car indeed has the sporty feel that I like.
Whether in a static or dynamic state, the steering effort is on the heavier side, but the low-speed self-centering performance is very good, with a quick self-centering speed and excellent self-centering effect. The process of the vehicle returning to center is smooth, stable, and swift. The torque build-up in the central area is very clear, and the centering sensation is quite strong.
Regarding the steering response in the central area, when making small angle turns, the response to steering is quite large, the torque dead zone (the area where the steering force does not change) and window (the area where steering has no response) are both relatively small, and the steering sensitivity is relatively high, which can make one feel that the steering of this car is very responsive, but not to the point of feeling overly "nervy" to drive.
When making large angle turns, the torque build-up is equally evident, providing a strong feedback to the hands. The increase in torque is quite linear, with no noticeable lag. However, the high-speed self-centering is slightly less effective because, during high-speed self-centering, the steering wheel tends to oscillate back and forth, unlike at low speeds where it converges quickly.Additionally, there is a slight sense of friction when steering in the middle position, making the steering feel less smooth, with a minor sense of sticking. When going through some larger impact road conditions, there is also a slight steering interference, but the correction amount is not significant, and it does not cause control issues.
The steering mode of this electric horse vehicle cannot be adjusted independently; it needs to be linked with the driving mode. Under the three driving modes, the steering feel is mainly distinguished by the hand force—the difference in the feeling of hand force among the three modes is quite noticeable, but overall, it is a sporty tuning. The steering provides ample feedback, giving a sense of "communication between the driver and the vehicle," and the steering precision is quite good.
02
Handling Stability
Given Ford's heritage and the sensation of steering, I had certain expectations for the handling stability of the electric horse, but to be honest, I was slightly disappointed, after all, it is still a vehicle with SUV characteristics.During the single-lane change maneuver, the vehicle's yaw response feels quite good, with quick and ample response, but the roll control is not very good. There is an imbalance in the roll between the front and rear axles, especially a larger roll on the rear axle. The lateral support of the rear axle is insufficient, and the roll convergence of the rear axle is not very good, which does not effectively suppress the rear axle roll. As a result, there is excessive sway, making the vehicle feel less stable and affecting the driver's confidence in handling.
There are no major issues with straight-line stability, and the pitch during acceleration is well-controlled with a slight nose lift, which is slightly worse than the BMW i5 evaluated in the previous days. During straight-line acceleration, there is no wheel slip.
When cornering, the vehicle exhibits a neutral steering feel in a steady state. The stability during cornering braking is relatively average, with the vehicle showing a tendency to sway and roll from side to side. When accelerating in a corner, the vehicle tends to oversteer, which is to be expected for a rear-wheel-drive model. However, the tendency to oversteer is controllable, and appropriate adjustments to the power output can even help with exiting the corner, making it quite enjoyable. However, the grip of the original tires during cornering is not very good, and they can easily reach the adhesion limit and skid, which users who want to have fun should be aware of. This is especially true in rainy conditions, where the impact of tire grip is more pronounced, and even a slightly heavy throttle during straight-line driving can easily cause skidding and fishtailing.
When passing through a series of corners at higher speeds, the rear axle's roll issue is not well-controlled, making it easy for the vehicle to experience lateral sway, which affects the stability of the vehicle.03
Dynamics + Driving Experience
This single-motor version of the electric Mustang boasts a motor power of 198kW and a peak torque of 430Nm. During everyday driving, it accelerates quickly, offering a decent sense of acceleration, and the power delivery is also very linear. When accelerating rapidly, it does not have the abrupt jolts that are characteristic of the BMW i5's quick acceleration, and the sensation is comparable to that of the BMW i5 (although they are not in the same category). However, like the BMW i5, the acceleration sensation slightly diminishes in the mid to later stages compared to the initial phase. Compared to the Tiguan L Pro, the electric motor still holds an advantage, whether in terms of official data or actual driving feel. Overall, there are no issues for everyday use, and the dynamic performance feels comparable to that of the BMW i5, and it is better than the Tiguan L Pro.
04
Braking
As mentioned earlier, this electric Mustang comes with three driving modes, and in addition to the steering mode being linked to the driving mode, the intensity of the energy recovery is also adjusted in conjunction with the driving mode.In the "Whisper" mode (Eco mode), from the perspective of the instrument energy flow, energy recovery is at its weakest during this time, with almost no energy being recovered. However, in this mode, when applying light braking, there is a subjective delay in the braking response. The initial establishment of braking force is relatively slow, and once the energy recovery kicks in suddenly, the braking force increases significantly, which gives a poor linear feeling to the braking. Moreover, the pedal travel is relatively short, and the intermittent engagement and disengagement of energy recovery make it difficult to adjust the braking force well, making it hard to control.
During moderate braking, the feeling of delayed braking force is alleviated, and there is no longer a sense of "long empty travel." However, it is still not easy to control the adjustment of the braking force.
In the "Engage" and "Unleash" modes (corresponding to Normal and Sport modes, respectively), energy recovery is between "Moderate" and "Strong." At this time, during light braking, the response is better than in the "Whisper" mode because energy recovery engages as soon as the accelerator is released. There is no significant difference in the feeling of moderate braking in the three modes. After the ABS engages, the vehicle control is relatively stable, with slight adjustments to the steering wheel, but the stability of the vehicle is not an issue.
The overall feeling of the electric horse's braking is that the gain curve of the braking force is quite steep, which can make people feel that the braking force is established relatively quickly (except for the initial part of the Whisper mode). Sometimes, this can make the comfort during braking feel difficult to control. A colleague also mentioned that driving an electric horse can easily make one feel dizzy.05
Chassis Smoothness
Initially, there was not much expectation for the smoothness of the electric horse from the very first impression of the vehicle, and indeed, it performed as anticipated, with the electric horse showing areas that need improvement in terms of smoothness overall.
For primary smoothness, the electric horse exhibits average control over the body on damaged roads, general concrete surfaces, and rough pavements, with a considerable amount of pitch and roll movements. The balance between the front and rear suspensions feels relatively poor, leading to suspicions that this might be due to the rear suspension's damping settings being too low and poor matching of the front suspension. The pitch angle is quite large, but the roll angle is smaller, although the frequency of roll is quite high, sometimes even giving the impression that the rear axle is moving laterally rather than rolling.
At low speeds, for minor road excitations, the roll movements can be more pronounced than on damaged roads, and one can occasionally feel the body swaying from side to side while driving in the city. On some bumpy and jolting surfaces, the body also experiences a longitudinal sensation of surging, which can cause the head to hit the headrest, and this is also suspected to be related to the control of the rear suspension.Additionally, when passing quickly over larger undulating road surfaces, the rear suspension's upward rebound is relatively pronounced, leading to a strong floating sensation in the rear suspension and a diminished sense of road connection.
In terms of secondary smoothness, when going through damaged roads, joints, and rough surfaces, the steering wheel, floor, and pedals vibrate noticeably. The overall sensation is that the road feel is very clear, and there is a strong replication of road surface information. Although this enhances the perception of the road surface, it does indeed affect the comfort of the ride. After driving for a long time, the hands may feel numb.
Moreover, on rough and smooth road surfaces, the bouncing of the rear axle is also quite noticeable, with a frequency close to that of the human body, causing the occupants to feel the bouncing more distinctly inside the vehicle, resulting in poorer comfort.
A better aspect of the electric horse in terms of smoothness is that for larger single impact conditions such as joints, bumps, grooves, and speed bumps, apart from the slightly hard touch, the suspension does a good job of suppressing the convergence of impacts and the lifting and bouncing, without any unnecessary residual vibrations. Moreover, the chassis gives a very "solid" and substantial feeling, without any particularly noticeable looseness, which is better than several other vehicles I have driven recently.06
Summary
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, as previously mentioned, has areas that need improvement in terms of chassis performance. However, overall, it provides a certain sporty feel, which is generally sufficient to meet the driving needs of most people and allows for a bit of indulgence, much like the three driving modes that allow for a "free-spirited" experience. From my personal perspective, Ford should position itself as the "driver's car" and take the sportiness a step further.
Ford has always had a number of fun niche models, and many people have suggested that Ford should focus on pure, enjoyable, and niche models moving forward. This could potentially resonate well in the market, much like the domestic Mustang.Please provide the text you would like translated into English.
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