Help me decide: Model Y or Mach-E

[tm1v2]

Oh my god! Seriously?! I have always dreamt of having a Mustang (first stick I drove). Having said that, have you driven the Mach-E, sat in it, felt the steering wheel, felt the plastic knobs that look like baubles from a children’s party. I guess it didn’t help that the salesman told me what a piece of *sugar* Tesla was and wouldn’t last in the market….good luck to ya!

Huh? I test drove two Mach-Es, the steering wheel and knobs and controls felt like...normal car parts. Nothing special or luxurious, but they seemed okay. I've driven plenty of cars with worse. Certainly the steering wheel could've felt nicer for the GT PE, but it's not like a Tesla 3/Y gets real leather on the steering wheel (or anywhere) either. Though we do get a smaller, sportier steering wheel.

There was nothing luxurious about the Mach-E interior at all, but everything felt okay to me, nothing offensive about its quality. As with a Tesla, you're paying a premium vs ICE for the EV drivetrain, not a fancy interior.

 

[Whatstreet]

Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!

You really need to see this article about the Mach-e battery. The reason for limited level 3 charging. The Mach-e comes out last in every charge comparison. Also, you may not require the acceleration of the GTPE but the fact that they have to limit acceleration after 5 seconds full power is telling us something about the battery. Battery temperature leads to accelerated battery degradation, and though Ford may be able to meet the battery warranty specs the MY may surpass them by a wide margin. Something to think about. See article regarding the Mach-e battery that is made by LG and is very similar to the Chevy Bolt battery.

Mustang Mach-E Battery Charges Slowly, Overheats Quickly: Why?

Through extensive research and modeling, we dive into the Mach-E's battery issues. We also compare it to the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4.

insideevs.com

 

[pepperoni]

Oh my god! Seriously?! I have always dreamt of having a Mustang (first stick I drove). Having said that, have you driven the Mach-E, sat in it, felt the steering wheel, felt the plastic knobs that look like baubles from a children’s party. I guess it didn’t help that the salesman told me what a piece of *sugar* Tesla was and wouldn’t last in the market….good luck to ya!

I did say so very early in this thread, but I will say again (just for the record because every 20 posts or so someone wants to make sure I have taken a test drive)… yes, I have taken a test drive with both cars. In fact, Tesla let me keep one overnight. I love both of them, and that makes the decision all the more difficult.

Regarding the interior, I prefer the Mach-E. Honestly I don’t think Tesla tried very hard, so many of the cars I have owned beat it. I better stop there because I know the fanboys are going to be up in arms soon. I’m not about to make my decision based on the interior. My old Saab was my favorite with its burled wood dash and real leather sports wheel, but it’s poor reliability more than offset any joy I got from its interior. But yes, in my opinion, the Mach-E is much better appointed inside.

 

[OxBrew]

I did say so very early in this thread, but I will say again (just for the record because every 20 posts or so someone wants to make sure I have taken a test drive)… yes, I have taken a test drive with both cars. In fact, Tesla let me keep one overnight. I love both of them, and that makes the decision all the more difficult.

Regarding the interior, I prefer the Mach-E. Honestly I don’t think Tesla tried very hard, so many of the cars I have owned beat it. I better stop there because I know the fanboys are going to be up in arms soon. I’m not about to make my decision based on the interior. My old Saab was my favorite with its burled wood dash and real leather sports wheel, but it’s poor reliability more than offset any joy I got from its interior. But yes, in my opinion, the Mach-E is much better appointed inside.

I thought you said you got the Mach-E on another thread? Sorry, might be confused.

 

[pepperoni]

I thought you said you got the Mach-E on another thread? Sorry, might be confused.

Not yet… the Mach-E I ordered now has a production date scheduled for 2/21/2022, and the Model Y is on hold until 12/31 waiting for a potential tax credit. So I still have a few months to go before I need to make a decision. So far, I’ve only convinced myself that I should be happy with either one so it’s a decision I’ll enjoy making when the time comes.

 

[Kamban]

Regarding the interior, I prefer the Mach-E. Honestly I don’t think Tesla tried very hard, so many of the cars I have owned beat it. I better stop there because I know the fanboys are going to be up in arms soon. I’m not about to make my decision based on the interior. But yes, in my opinion, the Mach-E is much better appointed inside.

I agree that the Tesla interior of the Y and 3 are just plain Jane. Even the Accord and Camry that I owned felt slightly better inside and the Acura is way above it in the luxury department. I would have liked some better physical controls for wipers and maybe heating/AC but it is not a major turn off.

What I am paying it for is ease of filling it up at home with the Connector and the Supercharger network. And I have come to appreciate minimalism in the car, after a bit of clutter at home and the office.

 

[sleepydoc]

I agree that the Tesla interior of the Y and 3 are just plain Jane. Even the Accord and Camry that I owned felt slightly better inside and the Acura is way above it in the luxury department. I would have liked some better physical controls for wipers and maybe heating/AC but it is not a major turn off.

What I am paying it for is ease of filling it up at home with the Connector and the Supercharger network. And I have come to appreciate minimalism in the car, after a bit of clutter at home and the office.

Much of this is like arguing exterior styling - it’s inherently subjective and what everyone else on some internet forum thinks is largely irrelevant. If you like the styling then that’s all that matters.

 

[tm1v2]

I agree that the Tesla interior of the Y and 3 are just plain Jane. Even the Accord and Camry that I owned felt slightly better inside and the Acura is way above it in the luxury department. I would have liked some better physical controls for wipers and maybe heating/AC but it is not a major turn off.

What I am paying it for is ease of filling it up at home with the Connector and the Supercharger network. And I have come to appreciate minimalism in the car, after a bit of clutter at home and the office.

I completely agree. Plus I've never been one to spend money on a fancy car interior.

Do I recognize a luxurious interior and appreciate it when I'm in one? Yup. Is it a priority for me or something I want to spend extra money on? Nah. As long as the driver touch points feel good, like the steering wheel and shifter, I'm good. Mach-E interior didn't feel bargain basement to me at all, no not luxury either but really it felt fine, at least in the Premium AWD and GT PE cars I tested. Plus the sound insulation adds significantly to the sense of quality while on the move, they're really much quieter than a Model Y, and quieter than a Model 3 (comparing 2021 models). I guess you get something for the Mach-E's extra weight.

I like my 2021 Model 3's interior. It's not fancy or luxury, but everything looks and feels just fine, and the simplicity really is nice in its own way. I also find the basic layout highly functional. I've owned cars with junkier interiors - and they were good cars too in my book, that I liked very much! If there's one interior thing I do kind of miss, it's a leather-wrapped wheel with nice stitching. I never bought a car without real leather on the wheel before. The 3/Y wheel feels quite good in its own right, the small sporty size is great and the material feels good for non-leather. It just would be even better with nice real leather.

@pepperoni what trim levels are your Mach-E and Model Y orders?

 

[WADan]

I agree that the Tesla interior of the Y and 3 are just plain Jane. Even the Accord and Camry that I owned felt slightly better inside and the Acura is way above it in the luxury department. I would have liked some better physical controls for wipers and maybe heating/AC but it is not a major turn off.

What I am paying it for is ease of filling it up at home with the Connector and the Supercharger network. And I have come to appreciate minimalism in the car, after a bit of clutter at home and the office.

I don’t know if you have seen Munro’s review of his (newly) model S. In it, they said the control of AC and wiper is on the scroll wheel (of the steering wheel). I don’t see why that could not be implemented on model Y/3 by OTA software update. This is one area where Tesla is so superior, the rumor is they are testing the new UI (of the new S/X) to roll out to Y/3.

 

[tm1v2]

I don’t know if you have seen Munro’s review of his (newly) model S. In it, they said the control of AC and wiper is on the scroll wheel (of the steering wheel). I don’t see why that could not be implemented on model Y/3 by OTA software update. This is one area where Tesla is so superior, the rumor is they are testing the new UI (of the new S/X) to roll out to Y/3.

New UI via OTA is not always good. Several touchscreen buttons in my S are much harder to use in the current UI compared to previous iterations. The small recirc button is especially infuriating, when I need recirc I need it NOW (skunk, coal roller, etc), not after 5 attempts to mash it. The larger recirc buttons from previous UI revisions were all better. Though what I really want is a recirc button on the steering wheel.

Then there's the energy panel buttons that are now only a few pixels tall, with the labels completely gone, because they're mostly rendered behind another part of the UI. At least those ones I don't really need often/ever. Yes I reported it to Tesla service to escalate to engineering. Still no fix yet.

Getting new features via OTA is awesome for sure, but there's risk of things that used to work well getting messed up too.

 

[Whatstreet]

Regarding the interior, I prefer the Mach-E. Honestly I don’t think Tesla tried very hard, so many of the cars I have owned beat it. I better stop there because I know the fanboys are going to be up in arms soon. I’m not about to make my decision based on the interior. My old Saab was my favorite with its burled wood dash and real leather sports wheel, but it’s poor reliability more than offset any joy I got from its interior. But yes, in my opinion, the Mach-E is much better appointed inside.

I agree about the Model Y interior. I began considering the Mach-e for that reason and because I thought it would be less expensive after the tax credits. I compared performance metrics and usually decided the Mach-e was "close enough", but then I discovered the battery is not nearly as good as the one in the Model Y. The battery is such a major component of an electric car and the downside of charge time on level 3 and the possibility of faster battery chemistry degradation, maybe even car fires in extrem cases (Bolt) is making the Model Y plain Jane interior look better. I was going to wait to make my decision after the Build Back Better EV tax credit was done and understood but it looks like that will be months before we know the details, if it passes at all. I am in discussions with the Ford dealership now.

 

[thesmokingman]

Is there still confusion with the Mach E? Do you know that it's limited to 5 seconds of max power at which point power is throttled down so much so that it gets beaten by bloated SUVs. Really, still interested in buying this?

Ford Mustang Mach-E Comes in Dead Last During Police Vehicle Test

Back in September, Ford submitted their Mustang Mach-E electric crossover to the Michigan State Police for testing. It was the first to pass, but now a new test turns up a soft spot in this potential police cruiser.

www.autoevolution.com

The MSP Precision Driving Unit and vehicle manufacturers have been in discussions regarding the testing of Battery Electric Vehicles for the past two years. All three manufacturers agreed that a charge time of 40 minutes on a level three charger between runs would show case the vehicle’s capabilities in a best-case scenario. The above chart shows the beginning battery state of charge, the fastest five lap times out of the eight timed laps, and the battery ending state of charge. A 47 Kw charger was used to refresh the vehicle’s state of charge between runs. It should be noted that these five fastest laps were completed in the order shown above and that performance continued to degrade as the state of charge declined and battery temperatures increased.

 

[voxel]

Is there still confusion with the Mach E? Do you know that it's limited to 5 seconds of max power at which point power is throttled down so much so that it gets beaten by bloated SUVs. Really, still interested in buying this?

The Model Y would be at the bottom too if test. EVs aren't suited for police work. They dinged the physical controls on the Mach-E which are the same on the other Ford cars.

Seriously.. the Y is a bulbous SUV and the Mach-E is a station wagon. I don't understand the obsession with comparing these too... neither are sports cars nor are they perfect.

My main issue with the Y has been it's poor visibility (except front view) combined with lack of 360/blindspot/crosstraffic monitors that make it annoying to drive in freakishly busy parking lots. The Mach-E has a questionable battery cooling system (which Ford deals with by throttling charging) and a harsher ride (yeah, even harsher than the Y). I mean those negatives are pretty minor compared to my complaints on the ID.4 that has a questionable drivetrain and electrical system.

 

[thesmokingman]

The Model Y would be at the bottom too if test. EVs aren't suited for police work. They dinged the physical controls on the Mach-E which are the same on the other Ford cars.

Seriously.. the Y is a bulbous SUV and the Mach-E is a station wagon. I don't understand the obsession with comparing these too... neither are sports cars nor are they perfect.

My main issue with the Y has been it's poor visibility (except front view) combined with lack of 360/blindspot/crosstraffic monitors that make it annoying to drive in freakishly busy parking lots. The Mach-E has a questionable battery cooling system (which Ford deals with by throttling charging) and a harsher ride (yeah, even harsher than the Y). I mean those negatives are pretty minor compared to my complaints on the ID.4 that has a questionable drivetrain and electrical system.

Read the link and PDF before trying to spin. At least then you'd be somewhat on topic.

 

[tm1v2]

@thesmokingman Yes the Mach-E's thermal issues kill it for me sadly. Before I really knew the extent, the GT PE had been a solid 3rd choice in my recent car shopping behind M3P and Polestar 2 Performance. The GT PE drove really well with the Magneride suspension, and my GT PE test drive route didn't expose the thermal issues, the power was good within the 5 second limit.

The lower trim level I tested, Premium AWD, didn't really interest me as a performance-minded driver. Floaty suspension and not fast enough. But it would be nice for someone who just wants a smooth, quiet, practical car as normal transportation, which is plenty of people. And I think the thermal limits are much less an issue for the lower power trims, aside from slow DC charging, which is a real issue if you road trip a lot. (Though if you want to road trip a lot with an EV in the USA, you should stick with Tesla for now anyways...)

If Ford could get the Mach-E thermals under control they'd have a seriously good EV on their hands with the GT PE (even if I'd still personally prefer M3P or P2P). I'm not holding my breath for that though...

 

[voxel]

Read the link and PDF before trying to spin. At least then you'd be somewhat on topic.

This has been discussed on other forums. Did you even read the PDF? No Model Y listed... but IMO it would be low in various tests too. The police did not like the lag in controls and wanted physical ones. They wanted more space, better top speed, and more range too. Again, EVs are not suited for police work... not yet anyways.

 

[thesmokingman]

@thesmokingman Yes the Mach-E's thermal issues kill it for me sadly. Before I really knew the extent, the GT PE had been a solid 3rd choice in my recent car shopping behind M3P and Polestar 2 Performance. The GT PE drove really well with the Magneride suspension, and my GT PE test drive route didn't expose the thermal issues, the power was good within the 5 second limit.

The lower trim level I tested, Premium AWD, didn't really interest me as a performance-minded driver. Floaty suspension and not fast enough. But it would be nice for someone who just wants a smooth, quiet, practical car as normal transportation, which is plenty of people. And I think the thermal limits are much less an issue for the lower power trims, aside from slow DC charging, which is a real issue if you road trip a lot. (Though if you want to road trip a lot with an EV in the USA, you should stick with Tesla for now anyways...)

If Ford could get the Mach-E thermals under control they'd have a seriously good EV on their hands with the GT PE (even if I'd still personally prefer M3P or P2P). I'm not holding my breath for that though...

Just keep in mind if you punch it once on your drive you only have a few seconds of max power from a roll, and then it throttles and you are stuck like that because the cooling system isn't capable of cooling it to reset the limiter. That's why even though the Mach E kills all the other police vehicles on acceleration tests, it gets absolutely demolished in the track testing. It cannot recover from the limter unless you stop. Thus it could really suck on a spirited drive imo.

 

[voxel]

@thesmokingman Yes the Mach-E's thermal issues kill it for me sadly. Before I really knew the extent, the GT PE had been a solid 3rd choice in my recent car shopping behind M3P and Polestar 2 Performance. The GT PE drove really well with the Magneride suspension, and my GT PE test drive route didn't expose the thermal issues, the power was good within the 5 second limit.

The lower trim level I tested, Premium AWD, didn't really interest me as a performance-minded driver. Floaty suspension and not fast enough. But it would be nice for someone who just wants a smooth, quiet, practical car as normal transportation, which is plenty of people. And I think the thermal limits are much less an issue for the lower power trims, aside from slow DC charging, which is a real issue if you road trip a lot. (Though if you want to road trip a lot with an EV in the USA, you should stick with Tesla for now anyways...)

If Ford could get the Mach-E thermals under control they'd have a seriously good EV on their hands with the GT PE (even if I'd still personally prefer M3P or P2P). I'm not holding my breath for that though...

GTPE is a suped-up station wagon. I disagree that it should even exist because the Y and Mach-E are not sports cars... meant for families and commuting.

M3P, Tayan, e-Tron GT, Polestar 2 - those are sports sedans IMO.

 

[thesmokingman]

This has been discussed on other forums. Did you even read the PDF? No Model Y listed... but IMO it would be low in various tests too. The police did not like the lag in controls and wanted physical ones. They wanted more space, better top speed, and more range too. Again, EVs are not suited for police work... not yet anyways.

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I don't know wtf your deal is but I didn't even mention any crap about the utility and wrote only on the track times. Go spin some more?

 

[tm1v2]

GTPE is a suped-up station wagon. I disagree that it should even exist because the Y and Mach-E are not sports cars... meant for families and commuting.

M3P, Tayan, e-Tron GT, Polestar 2 - those are sports sedans IMO.

I like sporty wagons. I would buy an M3P wagon over M3P sedan in a heartbeat. Mach-E does sit up high like a crossover though, yes it's mostly from the battery, but regardless behind the wheel it feels pretty much like a crossover to me, just maybe on the lower side of crossover territory. It also has more vertical height inside than any wagon, hatchback, or sedan I've owned.