Mustang Mach-E Wins Car Connection ‘Best Buy’ For 2021

The Ford Mustang Mach-E was named the "Best Car To Buy For 2021" by The Car Connection. The Mach-E was one of two Ford entries. The other was the Ford Bronco Sport.

The votes are in. The judges have returned the envelopes to the announcer, and the winner is the Mustang Mach-E.

Mustang Mach-E Wins Honor

Of what is the Mach-E, the winner? It is the winner of The Car Connection’s (TCC) “Best Car To Buy 2021.” The news came Monday as the publication announced the winner. My colleague Jimmy Dinsmore analyzes what it means for the Mach-E to be part of Mustang history.

What were the Mustang Mach-E’s strong points? Said TCC:

“The Mach-E has the styling cues of its pony car namesake, the roominess of a crossover SUV, and the performance that bridges the gap between them. With a 300-mile range that rivals only the Tesla Model Y, and a price that undercuts it by at least $7,000, Ford’s electric crossover appeals to the masses like a Model T for the electrified age.”

Priced starting at $43,995, TCC calls the Mach-E “affordable, easy to operate, fun to drive, and [it] stays relevant with over-the-air updates. The lack of tailpipe emissions is a bonus Henry Ford could never have accounted for when the Model T launched in 1908. Its launch came early in the automotive revolution and made cars affordable to the average buyer. It was also the beginning of the transportation age that was fueled in no small part by the advent of the personal vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE).”

’Not Just Marketing Flimflammery’

TCC, acknowledging the Mustang Brand, “rejects the idea that the Mustang Branding is not just marketing flimflammery aimed at capitalizing on an American icon half as old as the Model T. Perhaps Ford is on a 56-year cadence for upending the automotive paradigm…”

Regardless, TCC notes, “the Mustang team was instrumental in the design and execution of Ford’s first mass-produced electric vehicle with a dedicated platform, i.e., not the Ford Focus Electric.”

“The long hood with twin peaks, the nose dipping into the vertical front, the sequential the fishbone taillights, the muscular rear haunches housing a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, all honor the Mustang more so than the galloping pony icons stamped front, back, and inside,” TCC notes.

This is where the similarities end. The Mach-E “lacks the whip-crack rear end that rotates like so many V-8 Mustangs, but it can still cook with a 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds with the larger 88 kWh battery pack and a second motor mounted up front for all-wheel-drive.” A GT model is said to knock the 0-60 time down to 3.5 seconds.

Mach-E Features ‘Gut-Wrenching’ Acceleration’

The secret “joy of owning an electric vehicle of owning an electric vehicle” is the Mach-E’s gut-wrenching “acceleration uninterrupted by gearshifts.” Indeed, TCC notes, the model upholds this “in every configuration” to the point where the Mach-E’s acceleration slows to a 0-60 time of 6.1 seconds.

“Even with the smaller 68-kWh [battery pack] mounted under the floor between the axles,” TCC notes that the Mach-E has two advantages over other SUVs, a low center of gravity and lower ride height “than other SUVs.” The independent suspension enables the Mach-E to respond to inputs and changing road conditions, “even though it leans into turns and initially plows into corners like a front-wheel-drive car, the Mach-E is fun to drive.”

One feature that the Mach-E can boast about is its livable interior. Since there is no driveshaft tunnel – a regular feature of front-engine-rear-drive vehicles like the standard Mustang, five adults can fit in quite nicely. A fixed glass roof offsets the roofline – on every model but the base Select – not only lends an airy feeling to the Mach-E “but also provides more rear-seat headroom.

The Mach-E has an interesting cargo feature, a tiered floor that gives you access to 29.7 feet of cubic feet to carry cargo with the seats up. Fold down the rear seats, and you have up to 60 cubic feet of cargo space.

Mach-E Features Has Many Features

The Mach-E features a haul of safety and other features that include:

• Automatic emergency braking with adaptive cruise control
• A 15.5-inch touchscreen that shows the gauge cluster, climate controls, plus a simple volume dial

The Mach-E offers Bluetooth pairing for smartphones. It also offers wireless charging through the same feature. It also serves as the vehicle key, plus it allows you to monitor the vehicle’s systems. A hands-free driving system has been promised in the future.

TCC concludes:

“The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is a worthy electric car and a proud heir to the Ford pony-car legacy.

Marc Stern has been an auto writer since 1971. It was a position that filled two boyhood dreams: One that I would write, and two that I write about cars. When I took over as my newspaper's auto editor, I began a 32-year career as an automotive columnist. There isn't much on four wheels that I haven't driven or reviewed. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, etc. Today, I am the Ford F150 reporter for Torque News. I write how-to and help columns for online sites such as Fixya.com and others. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Most of Marc's stories are part of Torque News Ford coverage. Check back again and search for Torque News Ford F-150 news for more F-150 truck news coverage.