Ford To Give European Mustang Mach-E A Unique Feel With Tailored Chassis Settings

Ford’s engineering team in Europe is making sure that the upcoming Mustang Mach-E electric SUV is going to offer a tailored driving experience to European roads.

The company’s first electric SUV model will feature unique settings in areas like suspension, steering, powertrain, and driver assistance systems picked by Ford Europe’s Vehicle Dynamics team.

The engineers honed the electric Mustang Mach-E at Ford’s Lommel test facility in Belgium, which features over 60 miles of test tracks to recreate a wide range of road surfaces to give the new Ford a distinctive “European” feel.

“With today’s technology we can tailor a vehicle in the virtual world so that our early prototypes are well on their way to delivering the right character – however, that critical last 10 percent can only be defined on the road,” said Geert Van Noyen, manager, Vehicle Dynamics, Ford of Europe.

“Mustang Mach-E’s balanced and responsive all-electric platform meant we could tailor the fun-to-drive experience whether on Norway’s twisty Trollstigen mountain road, high-speed German autobahn or bumpy British B-road,” he added.

Tailoring a model’s setup for European roads means finding the balance between the region’s narrower, more twisty roads with the higher speed limits on motorways, compared to other regions. Ford Europe’s engineering team evaluated the Mustang Mach-E’s high-speed cruising characteristics on German autobahns and at the Lommel’s 2.6-mile banked circuit, which supports steady speeds of up to 136 mph (220 km/h).

European customers will get to choose between three drive modes in the Ford Mustang Mach-E: Whisper, Active, and Untamed. Each one comes with its own unique settings for steering, accelerator pedal, and braking feel, as well as ambient lighting and even vehicle sounds.

The team has recently completed a tour of Norway – which is expected to become one of Ford Europe’s biggest markets for the Mustang Mach-E. The electric SUV, with the extended-range battery pack and all-wheel-drive, managed to travel 301 miles (484 km) non-stop from Oslo to Trondheim, finishing the journey with 14 percent battery charge remaining, against a targeted WLTP driving range of 335 miles (540 km).

The new Ford Mustang Mach-E is aiming to offer a WLTP driving range of up to 379 miles (610 km) in its extended range-battery, rear-wheel-drive configuration. Ford’s latest tests revealed that charge time has improved by almost 30 percent from their earlier estimates, offering an average of 73 miles (119 km) of range per 10 minutes when plugged on an Ionity fast-charger.

The official market launch for the electric Ford Mustang Mach-E in Europe is expected to take place in early 2021.