A Ford engineer with information about the new Mustang Mach-E recently hosted an ‘Ask Me Anything’ on Reddit and provided some interesting pieces of information about the EV. While the AMA has since been deleted, the Mach E Forum was able to save many of the questions and answers.
For starters, the engineer says that the range figures and charging speeds promoted by the car manufacturer at the time of the Mustang Mach-E’s launch at November’s LA Auto Show are “conservative.”
At the time of the vehicle’s unveiling, Ford said entry-level rear-wheel drive models have an overall range of 230 miles (370 km) and feature a 75.7 kWh battery pack. Sitting further up in the family is an extended range variant with a 98.8 kWh battery and a claimed 300 mile (483 km) range. Any increases in these figures will be welcomed by customers.
Also Read: Ford Mustang Mach-E Reservations Reportedly Hit 32,000
Ford could be holding back a portion of its battery pack for better longevity, hence why the Mustang Mach-E has less range than the Tesla Model Y despite its larger battery capacity.
One particularly interesting piece of tech teased by the Ford engineer is a face-detection camera built into the Mach-E’s steering wheel that will eventually be used for autonomous driving functions to determine if the driver is paying attention, similar to Cadillac’s Super Cruise function. The engineer added that the car’s infotainment screen is even better than that in the Tesla Model 3 features. Included as standard will be Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
In terms of charging speeds, the Ford engineer defended the car manufacturer’s choice to restrict the Mustang Mach-E to a 150kW charge rate as opposed to the 250 kW charging of Tesla models and the 350 kW charging rate that will eventually be introduced for the Porsche Taycan. The engineer said it wouldn’t make sense to use wires capable of accepting 350 kW if such charging speeds aren’t needed.
The first Ford Mustang Mach-Es are expected to land towards the end of this year. Be sure to head on over to the Mach E Forum thread for more about what the Ford engineer said.
