Ford Mustang Mach-E GT UK first drive 2021

The world is now ready for the emergence of the really compelling, daily-usable electric performance car. The market grows ever more receptive by the week. And still the wait goes on - and, much as we might regret it, it’s likely to for some time yet.

This will sound painfully familiar, but the facts haven’t changed. Taking an intrinsically heavy, often high-riding family car that’s powered by technology that typically makes for a fairly sterile driving experience, and turning it into something that’s genuinely rewarding, as well as fast and dynamically sophisticated… well, it isn’t easy. The Audi E-tron S Quattro bears testament to that. Slightly lower down the pricing scale, the VW ID 4 GTX does too; as has every ‘performance’-badged Tesla that’s been launched for the last half-decade.

And so, I’m afraid, does the new Ford Mustang Mach-E GT, which we’ve just driven on UK roads for the first time. Sorry to sound like some luddite sourpuss about this, but if we want the electric car to really mature, honesty’s a lot more useful than wishful cheerleading.

This is the top-of-the-line, go-faster version of Ford’s very first production EV: ostensibly a Mustang Mach-E AWD Extended Range with larger wheels and front brakes, lowered sports-tuned suspension and ‘MagneRide’ adaptive dampers, some specially developed drive mode tuning and de-rigeur performance styling, and a beefed-up rear drive motor. 

With a fully-charged battery it develops up to 480bhp and 634lb ft of torque: not quite as much as an Audi E-tron S Quattro produces, but it beats what’s on offer in any Jaguar iPace or Polestar 2. It’s certainly more than enough poke to get your attention - whether you’re driving this car or simply contemplating what doing that might feel like.

Well, you need contemplate no longer. Driving the Mach-E GT on the road is often an exercise in gauging exactly how quickly it is socially acceptable to make a 2.2-tonne family SUV abscond from the traffic lights or zip down a motorway slip road. But the car’s super-punchy roll-on performance from everyday speeds won’t actually occupy your conscious mind for much longer than it takes you to pick off that dawdling removals lorry.

When you really want it to be good, this car is as often puzzling, alienating, even frustrating as it is exciting. It takes well to smoother surfaces; and to long, wide, arcing corners with a certain balance and handling adjustability that will surprise you. It is more engaging than the majority of electric cars for a moment or two. We needn’t and mustn’t deny any of that. This is a fast Ford alright - and it rotates away underneath you with the best of ‘em if you switch off the stability control, let the nose settle into a longer, tighter 40- to 50mph corner, and then feed in plenty of power at the apex.