What happens when the American muscle car goes electric?
Can an electric vehicle outrun a Corvette? Not yet, but I was surprised recently to experience the power already possible.
I’m not a gearhead by nature. I acquired that status by marriage, so when I had the recent opportunity to experience the power of the new 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT, I was all in.
“Watch this,” my nephew said as he punched up his preferred driving mode on the car’s cockpit computer.
In an instant, we went from “Whisper” mode to “Unbridled,” and proved that the manufacturer’s acceleration claim of 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds is no joke. It’s comparable, some say, to the Chevrolet Corvette, at least in the first five seconds.
After about five seconds, the EV’s battery system moderates acceleration. That’s reasonable since we are, after all, on a Tennessee two-lane blacktop (apologies to James Taylor) and not on automotive proving grounds.
As we march onward to EV ubiquity, my interests as a consumer have been piqued to a degree they never were when considering the purchase of internal combustion engine cars.
I admit that I never thought the words “Mustang” and “EV” would go together. The Mustang’s lore is rooted in the concepts of sporty, young and fast.
Can an EV go fast?
I have all kinds of other questions about how this works in the real world. I peppered my nephew with questions for weeks, and here’s a sampling of one driver’s experience with an EV hotrod.
QUESTION: How did you find this EV? From what I’ve read, they’re really difficult to locate.
ANSWER: True. In fact, Ford’s website says orders are currently closed. (NOTE: Ford announced a recall in mid-June for issues involving overheating of the battery contractor switch. That’s a topic for another day.) I’d been calling dealerships and found one, but by the time I drove there it had been sold to someone else. On a whim, I drove to a dealership in the next town over. They were unloading the car and already had a buyer considering it. Since I was there with the cash and ready, I became the buyer.
What did you pay for it?
Around $70,000.
Isn’t that a bit high for your budget?
It is expensive, but like anything, there are trade-offs. I slow charge it mostly at night at the house on a standard electrical wall outlet. My electric bill seems to be about $20 higher in the last month. I compare that with what I would have spent on gasoline in that time span, about $300. Considering how fast gasoline prices are rising, the $70,000 purchase price makes sense for me.
Have you done more than just drive around town? What about a road trip?
I drove through rural Tennessee and Missouri recently for about 500 miles. You have to plot your trip carefully prior and see where fast chargers are available. The Ford smartphone app I used directed me to various Walmart locations with charging points operated by Electrify America. In one instance, I paid about $11 to charge the car from 29% to 80%, the recommended fast charging maximum. It took about 30 minutes and gave me a range of about 200 miles.
On the way home, I found charging points that were much cheaper, so I now know how to shop around for the best option.
Waiting around 30 minutes for a car to charge seems like a long time? Was that frustrating?
You have to know what to expect and plan accordingly. If I’m racing across country to get to a relative in the hospital, I’m not taking the EV for that trip. My advice is to understand the car’s capabilities, know what you need to accomplish on a trip and plan for the charging time. We spent that time eating lunch and shopping. Honestly, the trip was less tiring because we took those breaks.
The statistics and real-world experiences in favor of EVs are stacking up fast. In my region, where the Tennessee Valley Authority provides power for 10 million people, the goal is to enable enough charging capacity for 200,000 EVs to hit the roadways by 2028.
Beyond the consumer interest, businesses are heavily investing in EVs for their future. Memphis-based FedEx Express, for example, plans soon to convert its fleet worldwide to EVs.
How will all this play out? Time will tell. For now, check out “In Charge: Life with an Electric Vehicle” for a fun video describing the EV experience.
