Ford Offers More Range And New Trims In the 2022 Mustang Mach-E

A couple of years ago, the electric vehicle market looked nothing like it does today. At that time, the primary story was still Tesla, followed by everyone else. There were startups out there like Rivian, partially funded by Ford. There were other planned vehicles, most notably the VW ID Series, among others, but, by and large, the electric vehicle (EV) market still had Elon Musk's imprimatur on it.

At The Time, The EV Market Was Limited

At that time, there was no one to dispute it either because it was the reality of the situation. Musk's Tesla company had several electric models out there competing for sales, while other automakers were beginning to play catch-up. Indeed, experts believe that it will be unlikely for Ford to surpass Tesla through 2025.

Sure, other automakers were announcing grand plans that promised by the year 20XX, a particular automaker would be offering EVs primarily. And, if they weren't going to be into primarily EVs at the time, they soon would be. Indeed, some automakers like Nissan, BMW, VW, and others were already offering limited quantities of EVs. However, they all had active plans to develop new EVs by 2025 or 2030 showed just how much impact EVs were having. An automaker without an active development program would soon be left behind.

And, the startups like Rivian, Lucid, and Polestar showed there was plenty of competition ramping up. This meant that the traditional automakers Ford, GM had to play catch-up, while others had made future-oriented announcements, following commitments to have at least one EV out the door and on sale by 2022 to 2025. Those automakers rapidly cranked in the dates when they would have their EVs out in the field so that the EV field began to look very promising.

No longer was the EV market primarily Tesla, though the automaker is still the "big kid on the block," for the most part. Instead, automakers like Ford and GM committed to having EVs on the market as soon as possible. It was in the 2017 period. Of course, Ford had had experience with its long-running C-MAX hybrid and later plug-in hybrid on which to base its EV future. Still, these vehicles were more traditional. They had smaller ICE (internal combustion engines) to keep their batteries up and provide additional power on acceleration and passing.

Ford Breaks Its EV Log-Jam

The EV log-jam at Ford broke a couple of years ago with the announcement and debut of the new Mustang brand. It might seem "brand" was far too generic for the Mustang. After all, since about 1965, the automaker had sold versions of the Mustang. However, the unique Mustang brand and the Mustang Mach-E announced as Ford's first full EV vehicle two years ago did rate its brand, especially after marketers had a chance to explain it. The Mach-E was also to become, with a couple of ICE-version' Stangs, the anchor of the new brand. The brand promised to become more comprehensive in the future.

So, what will the Mustang Mach-E store for buyers in 2022? Of course, it is a full EV, and this capability has expanded for 2022. For 2022, the Mustang Mach-E features a California Route 1 package. It has an EPA-estimated range of 314 miles when equipped with an extended range battery. It is also a rear-wheel-drive vehicle only, not an all-wheel-driver, as are the rest of the Mach-Es sold. A word of explanation, AWD versions of any vehicle tend to use more power resources.

The California Route 1 model is available for order now. A version of the Route 1 is an all-wheel drive, and it also features standard heated seats and a standard heated steering wheel.

Available for the 2022 model year, the Mustang Mach-E Premium Ice White Edition Appearance Package is ready. The Mach-E also features a black-painted roof, standard on the Mustang Mach E-GT and GT Performance Edition. Grabber Blue Metallic and Cyber Orange Metallic Tri-Coat paint treatments are available on all models, and an Id\ced Blue Silver Metallic is available for 2022.

Ford Offers Two Usable Energy Ranges

The Mustang Mach-E standard range now has 70 kWh usable energy. The model is also available with an extended range mod that offers 91 kWh of usable energy.

The Route 1 starts at $43,895.

Photo Courtesy Ford Motor Co.

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, "You Auto Know," an enterprise that I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, etc. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.