The best part about electric vehicles has nothing to do with the environment. The Mach-E brings fun driving and quick pacing as core principles. That’s what EVs are really all about.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is one of our favorites in the electric SUV market. It’s a joy to drive in every respect and has a big interior for its size. If a battery-electric vehicle is a good option for you and you prefer luxury and sporty driving, then the Mach-E is a solid choice outside of the higher-priced luxury models.

The Mach-E scores well in performance, appeal, daily driving, and safety. We would like to see more reliability information, but the newness of the Mustang Mach-E makes that difficult to measure. Compared to many other BEV models, though, the Mach-E ranks higher in that regard.

Our only recommendation for this vehicle is that buyers opt for the all-wheel drive option. The rear-driven Mach-E, with its quick power output, can be a little squirrely for those not ready for it and the AWD system mitigates that aspect. After that, it’s a matter of training your right foot not to punch down every time. Because that is way too much fun.

With over four decades of doling out trusted automotive advice and extensive vehicle knowledge, both behind the wheel and under the hood, Car Talk's founder and original Tappet Brother Ray Magliozzi shares his first-hand experience test driving the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

The Bolt EV is smaller and less roomy on the inside and not as quick as most Mustang Mach-E models are. It is, however, more affordable and has better range consistency. The Bolt has been discontinued after 2023.

A good rival, the EV6 is slightly lower priced than the Mach-E, but doesn’t have the same high performance model choice. The EV6 GT is a great thrill to drive, though. The Mach-E is a more traditional SUV shape versus the station wagon styling of the EV6, and the Kia has a shorter range by comparison.

Probably the closest in competition, the Mach-E and the Y are similar in size and interior room. The Y has gimmicky falcon wing doors and a reputation for less range than advertised while the Mach-E is more luxurious in fitment.

Most buyers of the 2023 Mustang Mach-E are going to be in the $50,000 range. Especially after destination and adding our recommended all-wheel drive upgrade.

The table below shows the most common trim levels and how much they will run you.

The changes for the 2023 Mustang Mach-E are relatively small this year. Introduced in 2021, the Mach-E has undergone a few bouts of content shuffling and some special edition options since it launched.

For 2023, the changes are simple. The California Route 1 model is now only offered as all-wheel drive to simplify production. The Premium extended-range models with AWD now have slightly more battery range after some programming changes. This adds a few extra miles to the mid-trim of the Mustang Mach-E.

How much performance you will see out of the Ford Mustang Mach-E will depend on which model is chosen. Horsepower (full-grown, not ponies) outputs vary from 266 to 480 and battery ranges go from 224 miles to over 300.

The Mach-E Select has an output of 266 horsepower and a range of 224-247 miles per charge, depending on whether all-wheel drive is added. The California Route 1 model has 346 hp and 312 miles of range. The Premium has either what the Select has or an extended-range battery that boosts horsepower to 290 or 346, depending on if AWD is added, and a range of 290-303 miles. Finally, the GT model has 480 horses and either 260 or 270 miles of range, depending on configuration.

Given that wide array of options and outputs, we can say this: having driven the Select, Premium, and GT models since the Mustang Mach-E was introduced, they’re all really, really good. We do recommend all-wheel drive, though, as controlling the instant torque and fast pace of the Mach-E (in any model) is difficult otherwise. Many of us think we are JJ McClure at heart, but most of us are Victor Prinzim hoping not to die.

The Mustang Mach-E is one of the most exciting and useful vehicles to hit the mainstream in a long time. And it’s a joy to drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has rated the Mustang Mach-E with five stars out of five for crash safety. The 2023 model has not been rated specifically, but this first generation Mach-E is only two years old and previous years have done well.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given the 2023 Mach-E an overall rating of “Top Safety Pick.” This is the second-highest accolade that the IIHS gives to vehicles. The Mustang Mach-E missed the “Plus” add-on to that due to over-bright headlamps and more difficult to access child safety LATCH points.

Most rankings sources for the Mach-E are giving it about average reliability expectations. There have been some recalls for this Ford, but none of them were serious safety issues.

So far, the Mach-E has stood out as a sort of shining star for dependability compared to many other attempts to foray into the electric vehicle realm lately.

Unless you are in need of a lot of more than 250 miles of range per charge, you’ll likely be perfectly happy with the very well-equipped base Select model of the Mach-E. We’d suggest all-wheel drive for the added driving stability.

Those needing more range will want to look at the Premium model with the extended-range battery upgrade. Which adds about 40 miles of range. The Premium also adds a lot of luxury upgrades like ambient lighting and a Bang & Olufsen audio system.

The Mach-E’s warranty is about par for the industry. It complies with battery convergence requirements of both the U.S. and Canadian governments.

• Basic: 3 years / 36k miles
• PowerTrain: 5 years / 50k miles
• Battery: 8 years
• If buying used look at our best extended warranties

Finding a used model will be difficult, given how new the Mustang Mach-E is. So we’d recommend sticking with new for now.

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