We recently spotted the all-electric 2021 Mustang Mach-E leaving the GM Milford Proving Grounds to drive along the surrounding public roads, giving us a glimpse of General Motors’ competitive benchmarking operations.
From the off, we should make it abundantly clear that benchmarking is a regular practice in the automotive industry. Manufacturers benchmark each other’s vehicles quite frequently (for example, Rivian is also benchmarking the Mach-E, as reported by our sister publication, Ford Authority), so the fact that a Ford Mustang Mach-E was spotted leaving the GM Milford Proving Grounds is in itself not totally out of the ordinary. That said, what is noteworthy here is that it’s not always the case that we manage to catch manufacturers in the act of benchmarking.
As you can see, this particular model does not wear manufacturer license plates, but does have a bevy of data collection equipment used by General Motors for benchmarking purposes. In fact, that little white sticker on the driver’s side of the rear bumper denotes an internal benchmarking vehicle.
With that covered, let’s talk about what we see here. This particular example is the Premium trim, which slots in above the Select in the Mach-E’s trim level stair step. The “X” on the Mach-E nameplate badge on the front doors also indicates that this example is equipped with the extended-range battery. The powertrain consists of an 88-kWh battery with 376 Li-ion cells with 150-kW DC quick charge capabilities. A single motor rated at 290 horsepower (216 kW) and 316 pound-feet of torque drives the rear wheels. Driving range per charge is rated at 300 miles, while the sprint from zero to 60 mph takes an estimated 6.1 seconds.
As covered in-depth by Ford Authority, the Mustang Mach-E is performing quite well with both critics and customers alike, quickly outselling the ICE-powered Ford Mustang just a few months after launch. Back in October, Ford said it was on pace to deliver 50,000 units of the Mustang Mach-E by the end of the year, a feat that’s doubly impressive when considering the constraints of the ongoing global microchip shortage. Sales are set to surpass the Chevy Bolt EV as well. What’s more, the Mach-E continues to hold a spot in Kelley Blue Book’s top ten most-considered electrified models, while also being recommended by Consumer Reports.
Back to the GM camp, the Detroit-based automaker continues to progress towards its goal of launching 30 new EV models globally by the 2025 calendar year. To that end, GM has increased its investment in EVs and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion by mid-decade.
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Comments
Hope GM engineers read the report published by the Michigan Police about potential use as a patrol vehicle. Plenty of good information in there regarding ride and handling, ergonomics and performance. Items to embrace and avoid.
Just don’t name it anything sounding like Camaro. That vehicle has its own problems.
I purchased a Mach E awd this summer and am quite pleased with it thus far. Unfortunately, max range has deteriorated to 160 miles with heated garage charging. We had to scour 6 Ford dealerships to obtain our E which was an Ohio dealer’s demonstrator with 2000 miles. They charged us full sticker. My local dealer–Atchinson Ford in Belleville–has had very few in stock.
I could absolutely see a burgeoning 3rd-party battery shop business offering upgrade battery packs to current-generation vehicles in 5-8 years. A Mach-E with 500 miles would be a nice upgrade later on.
Why did you choose Mach E over ID4, or Model Y? Are you a past Ford customer? When I bought Model Y it was the only choice available, as the others were not on the market yet, but if I had to choose again today I might choose Hyundai Ioniq 5 just for features and esthetics.
@Donavan
Don’t forget the Kia EV6 as well…..wow, what a car that is turning out to be.
GM better be coming with it, no more Crapola interiors will suffice.
Ya, GM has to lose its addiction to hard plastics, and sharing interior switching from model to model.
Did you notice Tesla is doing this now too, took the ultra cheap window switches from 3/Y and put them in the new S/X, Tesla has now starting making GM caliber mistakes, thinking the customers are too dumb to know better.
Well to be honest, the 3/Y Switches are much better than the older Mercedes sourced old school Switches. And the new versions are Matte finish instead of that Piano Black.
Getting back to GM though, not only to they need to rid themselves of the horrible cheap Black Plastics, they also need to start adding Color into their interiors. Customers want everything now.
GM has a lot more expertise with EV’s than Ford has, so I’ll wait for General Motors Ultium Drive And Motor Technology, which I think will be much better than Fords.
GM is farther ahead than Ford and will bring a number of models to the market in the next 3 years. Globally 30.
Everyone gets caught up in marketing with EV products. This is a marathon.
The goal is to get the best models, range and price vs just rushing out more models. GM learned that on past attempts others are still learning.
We say they are farther ahead – but where are the cars?
Don’t copy the limited amount of max power mode.
@91fairladyz
Exactly. How embarrassing. Lol
I hope they don’t benchmark the ugliness of the Mach E. What’s all the fuss, it’s a Bolt with a Mustang name.
They can call it whatever they want, but it sure as heck ain’t a Mustang
Thank goodness GM is Benchmarking the Tesla Model Y too, that is the segment leader in every metric that matters. Range, Charging, Efficiency, Cargo capacity, and performance.
Mach E is great for Ford, but as an EV it is very so so.
Scouting report, the Model Y is not perfect, here is where it needs improvement after my year with a dual motor AWD
*rear visibility sucks
*suspension too stiff even on the 19″ tires, I swear on a pothole I might lose a tooth
*interior noise especially from the rear cargo area
*Tesla washers and auto wipers suck
*Could be better looking
On Y GM should notice power, range, and charging, all best in class, Seats, even though they are not expensive, they are very comfortable, shift and turn signal stalk are best in class and very solid feeling. Chassis, for the class Model Y is in, the handling is great, right up until the tires lose traction and it washes out, especially on damp roads. Tesla’s UI/UX is very good, and much cheaper to deploy at scale, there is some beauty in simplicity. Tesla has so many smart touches, and a few dumb ones, but one I like is when you park, the car enlarges on the touch screen, and if you want to open the hatch or frunk, just touch that part of the car and they open, that is clever thinking.
The Model Y could definitely use GM’s rear view Camera mirror like they will utilize on the upcoming Cybertruck.
I would say a rear redesign could make the car better looking and fix the visibility issue, but yes, if you cannot fix the problem passively, the camera mirror is a nice alternative.
If you can’t see out the back and traditional mirrors are inadequate, your design is flawed and you need to return to the drawing board. Tech is no substitute for adequate visibility. We all know tech is unreliable at best and in this case an extremely poor substitute for good design.
Camaro enters the conversation…
@Idiot Boy
Plenty of vehicles have bad visibility. Just at different areas. The Model Y is only at the rear which is by far the easiest Blindside to fix with Tech. A Camera system would be just fine.
Hey GM, how about you benchmark the leader in BEV’s?
It is becoming comical that GM refuses to acknowledge Tesla as the leader or that they even exist. This is what the Big Three did with the German Luxury Automakers and the cars from Japan…..how well did that work out for us?
Benchmarking the Mach-E (as great as it is) over the Model Y is an utter joke and I am starting to worry about GM.
Having said all that, I hope GM makes the Blazer into the Mach-E competitor and not make a Four Door Camaro CUV. But who knows what will happen. Maybe the only way to save the Camaro is to turn it into a Sub Brand with the Coupe, Four Door Coupe, and said CUV.
Tesla is the EV leader, and specifically the Model Y is a really great design, but not perfect. See my post above for the things that could be better, but it is the top selling EV globally now, and in 2022 or 2023 might become the top selling vehicle globally. I have bought a lot of new cars over my lifetime, some exceeded my expectations, some did not, but the Model Y is one of the tops for me, really the disappointments are small, and far there are more impressive features.
@ Donavan
I totally agree Donovan. After my M3 I wanted to get a Lyriq Dual Motor but the lack of a Frunk will put me right back to the Tesla Camp with the Model Y…..I will wait for the 4680 Structural Pack version.
It really is a great overall vehicle….but rear visibility is not good at all.
The most insane thing to me about the Model Y is that it really isn’t that big of a vehicle from the outside but the Tesla team does magic inside as there is waaaaaaay more interior room than there should be a can hold an insane amount of Cargo.
Ya, Tesla is very efficient in their designs, but they still have quality issues, and as other competitors arrive, not sure I would buy another one. I want better visibility, better suspension, better interior, and a real SUV that can go mild off roading. I ordered a Rivian R1S, depending on when that comes, and how Lucid is doing on the project Gravity there will be more choices. In concept today I would choose the Lucid Gravity for range and efficiency, Lucid definitely has better battery and powertrain tech than anyone including Tesla, and they know how to build a suspension and interior. To me, Lucid is the one to watch, and if Mary Barra had any giant miss in her career, it was not buying Lucid when you could have had the whole company for less then $1B… Lucid tech, with GM manufacturing scale, wow! I like Rivian too, but Rivian was never so cheap, and Rivian does not have the technology that Lucid does where it counts, battery and powertrain.
And 100% on the Model Y becoming the number one selling vehicle Globally by 2023 I would say. It will sell over a Million units annually for some time.
I have been warning everyone about Tesla for years but most called me an Elon Fanboy. And unfortunately most Legacy Automakers slept on Tesla and outright mocked Elon in his face and called him an idiot….look now, he won and won by a landslide and now the entire Industry is trying to become Tesla.
Most laughed at me when I said Tesla will become a multi Million vehicle producer. You should never sleep on the Disrupter, ask Nokia how well that turns out for you Lol
Barra presents GM as a technology giant that is THE global leader with Untium and Cruise yet cannot compete against ag as inst crosstown rival Ford that is an EV patent laggard. Bolt is the modern Plymouth Horizon, EUV feels like a sad variant–neither can compete with Mustang Mach E which, far from perfect, is one of the best accessible EVs on the market.
Hummer and Lyriq will probably be great but too expensive for most drivers. GM has chosen a bad approach and cannot get Nox and Blazer EV on the road fast enough. A Camaro EV called Firebird (or GNX over at Buick) is needed, too
Given GM’s poor testing of their existing batteries, it would be POOR MARKETING to call any future electric product a “FireBird”….
The comics are calling the Bolt that now.
The Lyriq is EXTREMELY well priced for its segment. What are you on about?