2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally goes where other EVs can’t: From mud pits to Tesla chargers
Mark PhelanSEATTLE – The fun starts now. Electric vehicles — despite continuing stumbling blocks that include a weak public charging network and stubbornly high prices — have moved close enough to the mainstream that automakers are creating specialty models with performance and features tailored to specific tastes.
First out of the gate is the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, a sporty midsize electric SUV laser-focused on fans of rally cars exemplified by the Subaru WRX. Such vehicles are high-powered playthings engineered to slide around curves, drift across gravel and play in mud like a happy 3-year-old.
Engineered to combine tail-happy drifting with advanced driver assistance features and 265 miles of range on a charge, the Mach-E Rally offers a lot for just under $60,000.
The Mach-E Rally is a derivative of the Mustang Mach-E GT, the performance version of Ford’s sporty electric SUV. Its rally-tuned suspension, electronics and tires mean it has no direct competition. The closest any other midsize electric SUVs are the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Kia EV6 GT and Tesla X Plaid, which offer more power but lack its aspiration to rally driving.
I spent a rainy day driving a Mach-E Rally over hills and highways near Seattle.
The Mach-E Rally is on sale now.
2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E trim levels and prices
- Select: $38,100
- Premium: $42,100
- GT: $52,100
- Rally: $58,100
Source: Ford. Prices exclude $1,895 destination charge.
What makes the Mach-E Rally special?
Don’t confuse rally driving with the back-country off-roading for which people buy Ford Broncos and Jeep Wranglers. Rallying emphasizes speed and handling, not rock crawling and water fording.
That’s the genius of the Mach-E Rally. Batteries are heavy, and off-roading is a huge drain on their power. A Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid may exhaust a battery in just a couple of challenging off-roading experiences. That’s why nobody’s built a great all-around electric SUV yet. Battery weight also limits EVs’ ability to get through soft, shifting sand and deep gooey mud. It doesn’t matter how advanced and powerful the powertrain is, you’re not going anywhere if your vehicle sinks frame-deep in goo.
Rally cars flourish on low-traction surfaces, particularly slick mud.
The Mach-E Rally’s drive mode includes traction control settings that allow enough wheelspin and yaw for tail-out slides, the fastest — and most fun — way around courses like the 315 acres of former Weyerhaeuser lumber yard that make up the Dirtfish rally center and driving school in Snoqualmie, Washington.
Other changes include reduced steering assist and more linear throttle response.
Rally mode also deactivates one-pedal driving. The popular feature’s cranked-up regenerative braking is at odds with rally driving’s demand for carrying speed through fast curves and steering with judicious applications of the accelerator pedal.
The Magnetic Ride shocks get new setting, softer than the Mach-E GT’s sport setting, which stiffens up to hold the road in fast curves, stops and starts. More compliant shocks pay off with improved handling and comfort in rally driving, where going airborne and sliding through a curve as the rear end squats are common.
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Compared with the Mustang Mach-E GT, the Rally adds:
- Front/rear torque split range from 40/60 to 20/80
- 1-inch lift
- Unique front splitter
- Black-painted roof
- Aluminum front underbody shield to protect the front motor
- Rear underbody shield
- Has a Focus RS-style rear spoiler at the top of its hatchback
- Adds Rally to the GT’s street-going drive modes
- 19-inch white aluminum wheels
- Aluminum instrument panel applique
- Sport pedals
- White interior trim
- Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires
- Matte black grille
- Hood and decklid stripes
- Optional “Rally” front-door decals
Safety and driver assist features
- Blue Cruise hands-free highway driving
- Adaptive cruise control
- Automatic high beams
- Blind spot and cross traffic alerts
- Lane keeping alert and assist
- Pre-collision alert and assist with pedestrian assist
- Post-collision braking
- Parking sensors
- Reverse brake assist
- Rear view camera
- Evasive steering assist
- Intersection assist
- Speed sign recognition
- Connected navigation
- Predictive destination and route guidance
How much, how fast, how powerful?
Code-named “Mongoose,” the 16-month program to develop the Mach-E Rally began in 2022.
During development, Ford tested prototypes on tracks around the country and built a 29-mile rally loop around its sprawling Romeo proving ground just north of Detroit.
A development vehicle even competed in the Rebelle Rally, the famous rally through the Nevada and California desert.
The Rally gets standard all-wheel drive, courtesy of an electric motor on each axle.
They produce a total of 480 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque in Rally mode.
The Rally is the top model in the Mach-E family. Priced at $58,100, it’s got more power than a GT and just about every safety, connectivity and driver assist feature in the book. All prices exclude destination charges — $1,895 in the Ford’s case.
The Rally is priced a few thousand below the EV6 GT and Ioniq 5 N, nearly $19K below the X. All four boast power and performance figures that would’ve looked like typos 10 years ago — 3.4 seconds 0-60 mph for the Rally.
Tesla charging available
The Mach-E Rally has one other big factor going for it: access to Tesla’s DC fast-charging, or DCFC, network. DCFCs provide high-powered currents to top up EVs quickly on long drives. The vast majority of EV owners do their everyday charging overnight at home, but DCFCs are important to make EVs practical for long drives, like vacations and weekend getaways.
Ford was the first automaker to sign a deal to use the nationwide network. Correspondingly, it’s the first whose vehicles can connect to the chargers, which are renowned for their reliability and ease of use. Ford is mailing adapters to use the Tesla chargers to owners, but there’s no word when people will begin receiving them.
I used one of the adapters for a quick charge at a super charger. The adapter snapped onto the Tesla charger with ease and charging began almost immediately. That’s a far cry from the false starts and failures that plague charging with independent companies like EVgo, Electrify America and ChargePoint.
Ford just moved ahead of other automakers in the ease and confidence with which EV owners can charge.
Driving impressions
The Mach-E Rally is fast, fun and easy to drive. The 19-inch Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires are quiet, grippy and meet European standards for winter tires, making them all-around winners.
Power is immediate, steering responsive and quick. The Magnetic Ride shocks provide a comfortable ride on-road and excellent stability and control in rally mode.
One-pedal driving mode is effective electric regeneration, also easy to modulate in heavy traffic and enthusiastic on-road driving.
Ford tweaked software for controls to improve a big dial that serves for volume control and other functions. Most audio and climate controls are reasonably easy to use, despite a lack of physical buttons and dials.
The sport seats are supportive and comfortable. Rear seat room is fine.
Ford’s embedded route-planning system now incorporates battery preconditioning to make charges on long drives quicker and more efficient. Apple CarPlay’s maps can also access battery information to provide real-time route planning to chargers. Ford’s working to make that feature available with Android Auto, too.
Why get one?
The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally is a good looking, advanced and sporty EV. Rally mode is effective for fun on mud and other low-traction surfaces, but don’t mistake it for an off-roader. It should be a fine choice for daily drives and highway trips. Its 265-mile EPA-rated range on a battery charge could be better, but it compares well to other high-powered performance electric SUVs. The ability to charge at Tesla DCFCs is a major advantage.
2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally at a glance
Midsize sporty five-passenger SUV
All-wheel drive
Primary model tested: 2024 Mach-E Premium, RWD, standard range battery
Price as tested: $58,100, excluding $1,895 destination charge
Engine: Electric motor in each axle
Output: 480 hp, 700 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Single-speed direct drive
Maximum speed: 124 mpg
0-60 mph: 3.4 seconds
EPA range estimate: 265 miles
Battery: 91 kWh lithium-ion
Charging time: 36.2 10-80% up to 150 kWDC fast charging under optimum conditions
Wheelbase: 117.5 inches
Length: 187 inches
Width: 74.1 inches
Height: 64.9 inches
Ground clearance: 5.8 inches
Turning radius: 39.7 feet
Curb weight: 4,979 pounds
Assembled in Cuautitlán, Mexico
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.