{"id":28055,"date":"2021-10-02T13:50:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T17:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28055"},"modified":"2021-10-02T13:50:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-02T17:50:09","slug":"payne-road-trip-turning-heads-chasing-chargers-up-north-in-mustang-mach-e-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/10\/payne-road-trip-turning-heads-chasing-chargers-up-north-in-mustang-mach-e-2","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Road trip! Turning heads, chasing chargers up north in Mustang Mach-E"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlevoix<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 While I waited\u00a0for my 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E tester to charge at an Electrify America station in a Meijer parking lot in Gaylord, a couple waiting for their Model S to recharge at the adjacent Tesla station asked if they could check out my filly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like it,\u201d said Raj\u00a0after I gave him the full tour. \u201cIt\u2019s better looking than a Model Y and it really feels solid.\u201d<\/p>\n

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My encounter captures the promise and limitations of Ford\u2019s first EV.<\/p>\n

The comely Mustang gets\u00a0a lot of interest in a hungry Midwest market that has been dominated by Silicon Valley\u2019s sexy Tesla brand. But it\u2019s a niche market of people willing to spend their road trips hanging out in, um, discount store parking lots for extended periods of time.<\/p>\n

\"Ford<\/p>\n
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I spent a week with Ford\u2019s first EV up north. Like renting a Mustang convertible on a vacation trip, it\u2019s a refreshingly different experience: high-tech, high-torque, high style. And, like my Tesla Model 3 (in which I\u2019ve made the same trip many times), it demands patience when outside its metro comfort zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining a wild mustang (horse),\u201d Sunset Magazine once wrote, \u201ccan be, to no one\u2019s surprise, an intimidating task.\u201d So can driving an electric Mustang Mach-E on a road trip.<\/p>\n

With 197 miles on the Mach E\u2019s battery, I left Oakland County for a vacation cottage in Charlevoix. \u201cNavigate to Charlevoix, Michigan,\u201d I barked at the nav system. I might have heard the navi voice sigh as she plotted my trip. It would be a two-stopper.<\/em><\/p>\n

I did not have enough juice to go the 255-mile distance \u2014\u00a0 a distance easily covered in, say, a gas-powered Ford Explorer. I would have to stop first at an Electrify America fast charger at a Bay City Meijer on the way.<\/em><\/p>\n

With the outside temp at a pleasant 72 degrees, Mach-E and I trotted along with traffic at 80 mph. But speed (and temperature) drinks electrons. Above 75 mph, I start losing 20% of range (that is, for each 10 miles I traveled on the odometer, I took 12 off the battery). I backed off to 70 mph to conserve electrons, swallowing my pride as Explorers blew by my \u2019Stang at 80 mph. As the outside temp\u00a0dropped to 50 degrees in the evening (in, ahem, July. What\u2019s this I hear about global warming?), I even suffered range loss at 70 mph.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Detroit<\/p>\n
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My standard-battery Mach-E tester stickered for $47,235 \u2014 a significant 10 grand\u00a0under the price of a long-range, 326-mile Model Y, which is the only Tesla available right now (standard range model not available). Mach-E wore a striking shade of Rapid Red (I like) which, at $400, is also cheaper than Model Y\u2019s $2,000 red coat option. Factor in the $7,500 federal tax subsidy (no longer available on Teslas), and the $39K\u00a0is a no-brainer for budget-minded EV buyers (if still significantly more than a comparable\u00a0gas-powered Ford Bronco Sport).<\/p>\n