The Mustang Mach-E is Ford’s first real attempt at a mainstream electric vehicle. And the initial signs are certainly promising even when compared to market leader, Tesla. But, according to a recent report, there’s at least one area where the new model could use some improvement—how long it takes the EV’s battery to recharge.
In recent testing carried out by Ford, the Mach-E was shown to charge half as fast as Tesla’s EVs, according to Car & Driver. While the figures for the EV’s standard and extended-range versions of the crossover are by no means bad, they show that the company still has a way to go with its electrification efforts.
The Detroit-based company claims that the standard-range 75.7-kWh battery version of the Mach-E will charge from 10- to 80-percent battery capacity in 38 minutes using a DC fast charger, while the 98.8-kWh extended-range battery version will do the same in 45 minutes. Both figures represent a 30 percent increase over the preliminary estimates from Ford. More importantly, when you’re on the road, the rear-wheel drive model can get 61 miles of range with 10-minute charge, while the all-wheel-drive model can get 52 miles of range (the standard range can get 46 miles and 42 miles during that time).
James Lipman
Those numbers are more than serviceable, but still lag behind those of Tesla’s EVs. Elon Musk’s company claims that the Model 3 Long can recover 75 miles of range in just five minutes when connected to its V3 Supercharger, C&R reports.
One reason for the gap appears to be related to the Mach-E’s fast-charging capability. The base Select version of the EV is capable of 115 kW of fast charging, while all other models are capable of 150 kW. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Model 3 and Y can charge at 250 kW (though the S and X are currently limited to 150 kW). Porsche is the current leader in this regard, though, as the just-released Taycan can charge at 350 kW.
Still, there’s time for this figure to improve before the Mach-E arrives in dealerships later this year, especially since Ford has already managed the feat once before. The eagerly anticipated crossover starts at $44,995, but a fully loaded version can top $60,000.
