RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Two of our favorite electric vehicles
right now are the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla Model Y.
And, oh, look at that, we have high performance versions
of both of them today.
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The Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and our own Tesla Model Y
Performance that we've owned for over a year.
And, in that time, it has decimated almost everything
we've put up against it in a drag race,
including our own Shelby GT500.
But what about the Shelby's electric cousin?
In this video, we'll compare the Mach-E GT and the Model Y
Performance on our test track in 0 to 60 in braking
and we'll reveal their real world range
as measured on our standardized EV loop.
Up until now, the Model Y has stamped out the old guard
pretty definitively.
But what happens when there's an even newer kid on the block.
Let's find out.
But before we get into that, make
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Now, I'm going to be honest with you.
I grew up with Mustangs, Fox Body GTs to be exact.
And throughout high school and college, That was my jam.
And I've got to say 18-year-old me
would be looking at this right now and thinking oh, [BLEEP],,
yeah.
The Mach-E GT starts right around 60,000.
And this one goes even higher.
That's because it's a performance edition.
For that, you get more torque, 20-inch wheels,
and an adaptive suspension called MagneRide.
That puts the final price right up against $70,000 as
tested, including destination.
That's pretty pricey and it's turned my 18-year-old self
right off.
But for the money, you get 130 extra horsepower
and 200 extra pound feet of torque over the Mach-E. 0 to 60
is a Ford-estimated 3.5 seconds.
We'll see about that.
And range is an estimated 260 miles.
We'll see about that.
Now, the funny thing is the Mach-E GT lines up
eerily similarly to the Model Y Performance.
And that's no coincidence.
Ford is trying to take Tesla's lunch money here
and they're not being shy about it.
I did not have Teslas in high school
because Tesla did not exist yet because I am old.
But some of you grew up dreaming about owning something
as cool as this--
our Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Performance-- and I
do not blame you one bit.
When we bought it, starting price was around 61,000.
And with options, like full self-driving
and the performance upgrade, which
gets 21-inch wheels, better brakes, and a lower suspension,
that brought the final price to around $69,000.
At the time, it came with an estimated 280 miles of range,
but Tesla now claims 303.
So how does the Mach-E GT stack up?
My high school pride is on the line.
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We measured the Mach-E GT Performance,
accelerating from 0 to 60 miles per hour
in 3.8 seconds, which is just behind the 3.7 seconds
we achieved in the Model Y performance.
Now, coming to a stop from 60 miles an hour,
the Mach-E GT Performance needed 106 feet,
compared to the 108 feet required for the Model Y
Performance.
When it comes to real world range,
we took the Mach-E GT Performance
on our Edmunds EV range test, a standardized route
from our office in Santa Monica to see how far it
could go on a single charge.
At the end of the run, we saw 272 miles of range.
That outperforms its EPA rating of 260 miles.
When we put the Model Y Performance
through that same test, we squeezed 263 miles out
of a charge.
But at that time, Tesla claimed 291 miles of total range.
Now, Tesla has since increased its estimate to 303 miles.
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Let's see how they handle when we throw them into some curves.
We're on our test track now in the Mach-E GT.
The Performance version comes with summer tires
and that makes a big difference when
it comes to available grip.
Now, unique to the GT is unbridled extend mode.
You have unbridled drive mode just
like in the regular Mach-E, that's the sport mode.
But with the GT, you get unbridled extend.
And that sends more power to the rear wheels,
it tweaks the traction control, and it sends additional cooling
to the battery.
The downside is it affects your performance a little bit.
Your 0 to 60 will be a touch slower,
but the upside is using less energy now
equals more laps at the track.
The other thing is the MagneRide suspension.
Now, that's an adaptive suspension.
It can automatically adjust and react to the way
that you're driving it.
It gives the Mach-E better balance
and helps you carry more speed through the corners.
Now, there's a lot of question about whether the Mach-E should
really be called a Mustang.
But with power like this, it's a little bit wild,
a little bit unpredictable.
It requires finesse.
That sounds pretty Mustang-y to me.
The biggest difference is all this electric thrust.
Whoa!
There's never been a Mustang like that before.
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You know what's definitely not a Mustang?
A Tesla Model Y. Whoa!
This is just a completely different driving experience.
It feels crisp, it feels quick.
Most of all, it feels like you're being sucked forward
by a black hole.
Whoa!
Feels like the power is being made
by machine learning, and DevOps, and a bunch of other tech words
that I don't understand at all.
And I get that some people want that.
They want to feel like they're ahead of the curve.
Sometimes being ahead of the curve
means you're going to hit a few bumps.
And at these speeds, the Model Y hits a few bumps.
This is a very fast road car, but that doesn't necessarily
make it good at handling track stuff like this.
It gets a little bit squirrelly in the turns
and pretty easily becomes unbalanced
when you're throwing it into things at speeds like this.
And you can always just use the talk to pull you out of it,
but there's no track mode like other Teslas.
There's no unbridled extend like the Mach-E that would really
take this to another level.
What you do get is a lot of creaking in the body panels
at these speeds.
It makes it feel shaky and unsettled.
But the one thing that nobody can deny
is that this thing is seriously fast.
Oh!
Yeah.
On the track, the Mach-E GT is a more complete package.
Its handling, braking, and responsiveness
feel cohesive and sharp in a way that makes this Model
Y feel messy by comparison.
However, we have a big problem.
We noticed that the Mach-E GT was losing power
at the tail end of its acceleration runs.
Then it was having trouble putting down
power out of certain corners.
And then it was struggling to get power all over the track.
So what gives?
Well, it's because the Mach-E GT only
ever gets five consecutive seconds of full power, that's
according to Ford, in order to preserve the battery life.
Unfortunately, that makes the GT really disappointing
to drive after a while, if you're
trying to go fast or even just have a little fun on a track.
I mean, is that supposed to be a GT model or not?
And on top of that, a GT Performance model,
at that price with a five second limit,
I mean, in our minds, that's unacceptable.
I'd rather be in a Tesla, messy as it is.
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One of the nice things when you spend a little extra money
on something like a GT model is you
want to see some features that let
you know you have an elevated experience over a base version.
And in the Mach-E GT, you get that.
There are GT logos and insignias throughout the interior.
And one of the big pluses is upgraded seats.
There's nicer leather, a grippy fake suede material
on your back that helps you stay in place through, well, corners
like this, and then these big, bolstering wings
up here on the shoulders.
These are really similar seats to what's
in the standard Mach-E, but these small changes
go a long way toward making you feel a little bit more special
while you ride around.
Now, the downside is that some of the materials in here
aren't exactly what I would call premium.
They've got interesting textures or there's a cool little design
element to it, but they just look like standard plastics
from the regular model.
I understand this is a Mustang, but at $70,000
I'd rather see something different when I look around.
Now, I do wish there were more adjustments to the seats
and especially for this money.
It's a little bit hard to get completely comfortable
in my driving position because the seats just
don't go up and down very much, the steering wheel
doesn't telescope in and out a whole lot.
It would be nice to have just a little more
versatility, especially in something that's
supposed to be driven hard.
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If you want to know more about how the interiors stack up
in daily usability works in both of these cars,
check out the video that Carlos did a couple of months
ago where he compared the standard Mach-E
and the standard Model Y to a Volkswagen ID.4.
He did a great job of breaking down
materials, interior construction, and all
the available space that you have.
And that video can be really helpful to you
because where the Mach-E and the Mach-E GT
have a lot of interior differences,
it's not really the case for the Model Y. Upgrading
to the Model Y Performance or its performance upgrade don't
really net you a lot of interior changes or improvements.
The seats in here are adequately cushioned for comfort,
but if you're going on long trips,
you will start to feel hard spots after a while.
And also this simulated leather isn't the most breathable
stuff, so it can get a little swampy in here.
Now, as far as ride comfort, this
has not been the strongest area for Tesla in recent years.
Like we said, upgrading to the Model Y Performance
gets you 21-inch tires.
And if you're going over just normal cracks and bumps
in the road, it can feel pretty jarring.
And going over actual potholes can be scary.
I'm not kidding.
Getting the 21-inch wheels is signing up for punishment.
The Model Y also omits some very noticeable squeaks and creaks
through the body panels in here.
Now, we've had this car for over a year
and so that's to be expected to a certain extent,
but these noises were around on day one
and they've only gotten worse since then.
The Mach-E GT is far from perfect,
you will feel some bumps in that thing,
but compared to the Model Y, the Mach-E GT
is just more balanced, more composed, and more civilized.
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Tesla has been known as tech pioneers,
but their ambition doesn't always
result in real world usability.
Now, everybody has their own opinions
about full self-driving and autopilot,
but here are the facts.
Over a year since we shelled out real, actual money for it,
full self-driving is just not ready.
And despite its name and whatever you've seen on TikTok,
autopilot requires the driver to be fully engaged
with both hands on the wheel in case,
the system just does something unpredictable.
Of course, one of the hallmarks of owning a Model Y
is this giant screen and its infotainment system.
However, over the course of owning this Model
Y for over a year now, we've found
that compared with competing infotainment systems,
it's pretty distracting to use.
There are voice controls, which you
can use to reduce the distraction when
you're on the road, but they're not all that accurate or quick.
On top of that, the navigation is Google-based
and in the city that's fine.
But if you're out in the middle of nowhere without reception,
you're at a loss and your maps are just going to disappear.
Now, there's so much cool stuff about this screen.
The graphics look awesome.
There's really interesting energy and charging
data in there.
There's games.
There's music.
There's fart mode.
We don't need to talk about fart mode.
[FART]
The big undeniable advantage for the Model Y
is that it's part of Tesla's nationwide supercharging
network.
Almost a decade into Tesla's big product offensive,
I think the network is the single most impressive feat
that the company has pulled off in all that time.
It's really easy to locate the nearest station,
plug in, get charged, and be on your way.
And it honestly boggles my mind that other automakers are still
struggling to catch up or even seem interested in building
a competing network.
In a world that will run out of gas one day,
that's an astonishing advantage.
In the Mach-E, Ford pretty much copies Tesla's touchscreen.
And, yes, I said copies.
You control most of the car's functions through these menus,
although there are a few important distinctions.
First of all, we just find the screen easier to use
and easier to locate things than the Tesla.
And you get a real, physical knob.
How about that?
That helps to make no-look adjustments
while you're driving.
One more thing that would be nice
is physical buttons for the climate control instead
of hiding them all the way down here
on the bottom of the screen.
The Mach-E has wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android
Auto.
Now, those systems are not even offered
in any Tesla, wireless or not.
That's a big misstep.
We really appreciate the familiar interfaces,
voice controls, and quick responses in those systems.
And, in general, we prefer smartphone integration
over the native infotainment in most cars.
Ford, isn't nearly as ambitious as Tesla
when it comes to full self-driving,
but this car comes with BlueCruise,
which is Ford's new hands-free driving system.
That combines adaptive cruise control
with automatic lane centering.
And it adds extra layers of security that in our experience
make it feel seamless when in operation on the road.
For that reason, we would elevate BlueCruise a step
above Tesla's autopilot.
So charging.
The Mach-E GT gets the same onboard
charger as the standard Mach-E. If you use a fast charging
station, Ford says it can get from 10% to 80%
in about 40 minutes.
The Model Y does it faster and it has a better charging
network.
Now, Ford says it has the biggest charging
network in the country, but that's marketing speak.
Ford doesn't have its own stations.
They're counting partnerships with ChargePoint,
Electrify America, and others.
Now, those are easy to find and Ford
throws in some complimentary fast charging and roadside
assistance, but it's confusing to ask people
to look for different kinds of stations instead of just Ford
ones.
So to put a wrap on technology and charging,
we don't like to make a habit of crediting a company that
consistently fails to meet its own range estimates,
but Tesla sure pulled off the branding with flying colors.
We think the ease of using its charging network
is a big win for buyers.
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Tesla always said that they wanted to lead the charge,
that other automakers would soon follow its lead,
and that they welcomed the competition.
Well, now they've got some.
Driving the Mustang Mach-E feels like an occasion every time.
It's a blast to drive on the street.
And it's braking, handling, and ride comfort
are superior to that of our Model Y Performance.
However, the Mustang Mach-E GT comes with the worst
five second rule in history.
Deliberately holding back the power
in a Mustang GT, let alone a GT Performance
is super frustrating.
Tesla doesn't ask you to do that and its breathtaking speed
doesn't let up.
In the end, that's too much to overlook.
And for that reason, the Tesla Model Y Performance
is our choice in this sporty comparison.
But if it were up to you, what would your criteria be?
Let us know by leaving a comment down below
and don't forget to click like and subscribe.
Finally, do you want to read an in-depth article
about the performance in both of these vehicles
and how they compare?
Click the link in the description below.
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