[GDank]

The RWD Extended Range option is a 100kW battery, with a range of 370miles WLTP. So I'd be disappointed if it wasn't doing 280+

Still 300 miles is good, however as you say we have no idea on what speed he was doing the whole trip.
However, the few times I did see his speed he was travelling at 80-90km/h - no idea if he did this speed the whole way or not.

For me with no confirmation of a tow bar and limits and "eta early 2021" but in reality mid-late 2021 I can wait 3-4 years and see how the car goes, and if good then maybe 2024!

 

[GDank]

When you price up the MachE in full spec they are very expensive in the UK. The options offered are odd and you need to be careful.

£40 to £60 sounds a lot, but for an EV and the range / battery size it's about "EV Level".

The £40k is only £5k more than the Kia Niro. If the range can keep up with the eNiro as well as features, etc.. then yeah looks good.
The £60k is more like Model Y .... but with really bad 0-60 performance in comparison.

Will have to see final spec's and how good it really is. But I like the look of it.

 

[GDank]

Not driven a Mach-E myself, however watched a lot of videos and have a Polestar.

Mach-E standard range is meant to be very close to the listed value. Where the Polestar is at the moment 2/3rd's of the WLTP (although note it is winter, but even before winter people were complaining range wasn't even near 250+ miles). However we have yet to see the Mach-E in the hands of someone like Bjorn for serious testing ... and the Ford's range is still "nice" condition - not optimal but also not winter!) But I'd say now the Ford has the edge.

As it standards right now I would say that Mach-E has a better Android system than the Polestar, due to standard Android Auto compatibility. However long term in 1+ year I'd put money on Android Automotive - once GM in the US and PSA Group in France (Citroen Renault Peugeot) start rolling all their cars out form 2021, I'm willing to bet a lot of apps will start to appear on Automotive.
In addition a lot of the video's I've watched have some serious lag in the Ford screen. Now the Polestar isn't perfect ... sometimes the seat heaters lag as an example ... but I've seen the Ford Lag on almost any screen. Also a lot of reviewers have said the dial on the Mach-E's Screen feels cheap ... yes it works and feels solid now, but as it's just stuck on the screen how long will this last?

Sound - I'm not expert in sound. There are others here that are perfectionists so maybe they can chine in. However, I've never found a B&O system I liked ... where the HK imho is brilliant.
Also not that the in the RWD-SR the audio is downgraded too. You don't get the 10 speaker B&O.

Seats - Both the base Polestar and Mach-E have non-ventilated seats. You can upgrade the Polestar but not the Ford. Most people don't have a problem with this, but there are a few that have reported sweating in the seats on the long drives.
The Polestar has Heated Front and Rear seats, where the Ford only has Front.
The Ford has 8 way configurable seats, where the Polestar has 14 way (although cushion exertions are manual and not power assisted). Although note that the RWD-SR is manually adjustable seats only.
However, they both come down to a personal taste and whether you can find a good driving position.

The Mach-E seems like a very good car overall. The RWD Long Range Model is more comparable to the Polestar 2, as they are closer in spec as well as cost but if you are comparing the RWD-SR to the Polestar, the P*2 is more expensive but you have more tech as standard.

The Polestar feels more luxurious inside and has AWD compared to RWD only (yes you can upgrade the Mach-E but then you are not comparing similar costs)

The Ford seems more practical with a bigger Frunk and Boot. Although the final version does have some dividers in the Frunk for some reason - not sure if you can (or should) remove these.

Also note the RWD & AWD SR Models only charge up to 115kW and not 150kW as per the LR variants and Polestar.

The Polestar is faster and more a "drivers" car.


So conclusion : IMHO if you need a practical family car the Mach-E might be a better option. Where if you want a more drivers focused car then the Polestar 2.


Also you asked about the LR & SR version. However I'd look more into RWD vs AWD. If you don't really need AWD (i.e you are not going to really off road it) ... then imho the RWD - LR is a good car, but unless you are leasing I'd be concerned about residuals long term ... therefore the RWD-SR seems like good value.
There are different Spec's in all 4 cars even though they almost all look the same, make sure you get the car that suits your real needs - don't think range is everything. I don't know how many miles you drive, but even the Polestars 200 miles in winter has been more than enough for me and my family to travel around the UK.

One final note: We now know all the Polestar's gremlins, quirks and features. The Ford is a still big unknown.

 

[GDank]

There's also something to be said about the design philosophy. The Polestar is more "vegan" in philosophy and execution. Edge Polestar.

Ford has a full fledged dealer network and maintenance in this country should be much easier. So in the US, Ford has the advantage. In Europe, this is either a wash or advantage Polestar. (Not really sure how pervasive Ford dealers are in Europe.)

UK there a millions of them ... in the EU I'd say as many as Volvo.

 

[GDank]

(although apparently no towing package available???).

There is a tow bar option in the EU.

You need to go through all the selections, create an account, pay the deposit, and only then do you get taken to the options page like Tow Bar, Roof Racks, Cat Mats, etc..

It's only a 750kg Tow Bar with a nose load of 45kg. So basically exactly the same as the I-Pace.

so 1 hour faster than the slow ones. So in (simulated) practice, it's not an issue except with the Kia and the standard range Mustang.

what do you mean with 'cushion exertions'?

This is manually adjusted so "Seat Memory" won't work on it, but if you have long legs this extends the seat so it supports under your knee/thigh better.

As for trips ... this 1300km trip (800 miles) would you do this in one day on a continues drive? How many times a year would you make this trip?

The reason is if you make this 3-4 times a year and you want to do in one day, then honestly get a Model 3 LR. If this is critical then there is no better car for it.

If you make this once a year in the summer then honestly as per your ABRP showed it will make little difference overall, even 30 min's difference over 13-14 hours drive is nothing in reality. It's all abbot good planning and making the big stops to eat. Plus if speed / time is important, then charge to only 60-65% and get down to <10% before the next charge - this minimises time spent charging.

Note that ABRP doesn't have all the data for charging curves for the Polestar or ID.3 at the moment and they are very optimistic on times, 30mins can easily become 45mins.

I was very close to putting an order in for a Mach-E so did a lot of research, what killed it for me was the tow bar didn't meet my needs and at the time in July 2020 the Mach-E in the UK was "early 2021" which meant I had no real idea ... now it looks like realistically Easter 2021 for the UK.

 

[GDank]

Ok so here are the differences. I'm only listing what's different between the versions of the Mach-E and then adding the Polestar 2 for reference.

Starting prices (inc Govement Grant (UK Prices):-
RWD - SR £37,350
RWD - LR £46,980
AWD - SR £43,650
AWD - LR £57,030
Polestar £46,970

0-60mph Times / Standing / Rolling Start.
RWD - SR - 6.9 / 6.1 Seconds
RWD - LR - 7.0 / 6.2 Seconds

AWD - SR - 6.3 / 5.6 Seconds
AWD - LR - 5.8 / 5.1 Seconds

Polestar - Official 4.7 / (unknown).
Polestar - Unofficial as quick a 4.1 seconds from standing.

Top Speed :
All Mach E Models 111mph
Polestar 2 123mph.

Both Standard Range Mach-E's only get 115kW charging, while both Long Range versions gets 150kW.
Polestar gets 150kW

RWD - SR - Solid Roof
RWD - LR - Panorama Roof
AWD - SR - Solid Roof
AWD - LR - Panorama Roof
Polestar - Panorama Roof

Mach-E AWD version have a slightly different body kit.

RWD - 18" Wheels
AWD - 19" Wheels
Polestar - 19" Wheels / 20" Optional

RWD - Standard Brake Callipers
AWD - Red Brake Callipers
Polestar - Standard Brake Callipers / Gold Optional via the Performance Pack

RWD - Standard LED Lights
AWD - Adaptive LED Lights (I assume this means auto-dipping and cornering - although I can't be 100% sure but confident it's not Matrix with zone control)
Polestar - Pixel LED Matrix headlights with proximity lights and cornering function.

SR - Manually Folding Mirrors
LR - All other models Power-Foldable Door Mirrors
Polestar - Power-Foldable Door Mirrors

SR - Manually Adjustable Seats
LR - 8-WAY POWER-ADJUSTABLE FRONT SEATS WITH MEMORY FUNCTION
Polestar 2 : 14 Way (12 Powered) with memory function.

SR - Some unspecified speakers.
LR - B&O 10-SPEAKER AUDIO SYSTEM
Polestar 2 : Harman Kardon premium sound - I think it's 12 Speakers but could be mistaken.

SR - Rear Camera only.
LR - 360deg Camera
Polestar 2 : 360deg Camera

SR - Powered Tailgate
LR - Hands-Free Powered Tailgate.
Polestar 2 : Hands-Free Powered Tailgate.

LR models come with Advanced Active Park Assist.
Polestar 2 : Nope - although there were rumours of this being added later via OTA update, but I don't believe it's true personally.


So from a price and features comparison to the Polestar 2 then :-
The RWD-SR gives up a lot of features & AWD for less cost.
The RWD-LR gives AWD & Performace for Range.
The AWD-SR gives up a lot of features for being slightly cheaper.
The AWD-LR has almost the same features but better range, but then costs £10k more!


I'll be honest ... I don't get the cost of the AWD-LR. It's over £14k more than the SR version! Where the RWD LR is only £9k more than the SR. It makes zero sense.
LR gets these over the SR for £6k:
+20kWh Battery, Glass Roof, Powered Mirrors, 8 Way Power Seats, B&O Speakers, 360deg Camera, Hands Free Tailgate, & Park Assist.
Assuming £200 per kWh that's £4k used up, with the other £5k going on options ... so where is the other £5k going on the AWD-LR over the SR?


Anyone that buys the AWD-LR has more money than sense imho - correction they are NUTS ... £14k more than the SR (or 10k More than the RWD).
Even compared to the P*2 it's £10k more for 80ish miles in the summer!

All 3 other models seem good depending on what you want more - Cheapest, Best Range, or a cheapish AWD

Also all the difference I listed in my first post apply, like driver focused vs practicality, interior quality, and known or unknown issues.

 

[GDank]

Impressive summary... and the Polestar looks much better by it.

Honestly I'd recommend the RWD-SR model to anyone ... £10k less than the Polestar 2 for similar range but slightly less features & toys.

This competes directly with the Kia e-Niro / Hyundai Kona which many people love, but it's bigger and while the spec is probably a bit less, that large screen and cool factor I'd say makes up for it - although personal choice.

The RWD-LR seems to want to compete with the Model 3 LR, future Y, and the Polestar.

Where the AWD-LR is snapping on the heels of the I-Pace!!! Base model I-Pace or a Ford?
That is mental ... honestly if I see an AWD-LR in the wild I must report the opener to the local mental health care clinic, so they can and collect their missing patient!

 

[GDank]

1. But the panorama roof of the Mustang is a paying option in the tech pack 2, no?
2. The Polestar's mirrors are also without a border. Takes some getting used to and I had the impression they caught more rain this way?
3. They can put in a thousand speakers but if they all suck, the sound will suck The HK in the Polestar comes with a subwoofer (so it says in the audio settings).
4. What would the quality of the Mustang 360 be? I have only a BMW 4 of a colleague to compare to, but it seemed to lose the surroundings into blur a lot less than the Polestar one.
5. Good to see this summary. Initially, I thought it was only a bigger battery and wondered where the €9K pricetag from that came from. So there's a bunch of options, too... VW asks very little for the 58kWh to 77kWh upgrade: around €3K.

7. I mostly agree, but my estimate of the range of the SR is not as good as yours. The Polestar seems to be closer to the ER than to the SR. I think the RWD ER is the sweet spot. After adding Tech Pack 2, which adds the pano roof, and a colour, price is extremely close to the Polestar. You win some range, lose AWD, and the style is very different. BTW, all prices I mention are without grants, incl.VAT. So very close cars, indeed!

1. No idea on your countries spec options. In the UK you cannot spec anything that what comes as standard. The LR Models do come with the "TECHNOLOGY PACK +" .... where the SR comes with no pack. Hence the differences.

2. I drove in the rain and snow, both times fine. Never had a problem with the frameless parts.

3. The Polestar uses the subframe as a Subwoofer. It's not as deep as my Kia's (where it was under the two front seats) but it's more rounded and still better than my old Jag.

4. No idea. Seems standard Ford - I suspect the same as Polestar. Although the rear camera in the Mustang might not get as dirty as in the Polestar - it's the weakest feature in the P*2 - which while a negative also demonstrates that a rear camera getting dirty imho is it's weakest point so the rest is awesome!

5. VW ID.3 I believe just add a bigger battery. The Mustang adds more features and tech. Personally I don't think it's worth the full £9k / 14k more, as mentioned even at £200 per kWh that still leaves £6k / 11k of options which is a lot to ask, when in reality Ford are probably paying $150 per kWh, so I'm being generous at £200 per kWh. Still the LR seems like good overall value.

7. The Ford ranges are much closer to real world ranges where the Polestar 2 is more "perfect conditions" ... like 30deg outside temp, no air con on, city driving only, and never putting the right foot down hard.

Ranges are Summer / Winter Miles

Polestar 2 : 300 Claimed - 240ish (untested) / 200 (tested) (by me)
RWD - SR : 273 Claimed - I suspect more like 250ish / 210ish
RWD - LR : 379 Claimed - I suspect more like 320ish / 270ish
AWD - SR : 248 Claimed - I suspect more like 230ish / 200ish
AWD - LR : 335 Claimed - I suspect more like 280ish / 250ish

 

[GDank]

Yes power usage in the Mach-E seems similar to the Polestar. The ER has a usable 16kWh more to play with.

They use the same motor design so I'd assume this to be true. However I would expect the RWD version to be better as it's only driving one motor, and on long motorway driving this maters a lot - as seen in Tesla's ranges.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E range test: At 70 mph, true to EPA highway results

The Ford Mustang Mach-E isn't a 300-mile EV for highway road trips; but it delivers what the EPA ratings suggest and possibly better.

www.greencarreports.com

219 miles/350 km @ 70 mph 50F/10C ambient on wet roads.

From what I can tell as the Article is all over the place. They had the AWD Version and the (Long Range / Extended Range), and got 220 miles on the motorway with wet roads.

Assuming 10% loss in the wet, that's Spring/Autumn Range of 245miles in the dry. Wow that's a lot less than my generous guessing. I'll need to update the estimates.

Motorway Ranges - Summer / Winter Miles
Polestar 2 : 300 Claimed - 240ish (untested) / 200 (tested) (by me)
RWD - SR : 273 Claimed - I suspect more like 250ish / 210ish 210 / 150
RWD - LR/ER : 379 Claimed - I suspect more like 320ish / 270ish 280 / 220
AWD - SR : 248 Claimed - I suspect more like 230ish / 200ish 180 / 150
AWD - LR/ER : 335 Claimed - I suspect more like 280ish / 250ish 250 / 200

Therefore I'll say now ... the RWD with the Extended Battery is the best buy.

 

[GDank]

Unless you live in a non-flatish country and want to drive in snowy mountain roads on a non-rare basis. AWD feels super predictable compared to RWD in such conditions. I'd happily choose lower range over a fishtailing 2.5 tonne hockey-puck. 😅

But at those prices I'd get an I-Pace base model or a Polestar and have plenty of cash left to buy a 2nd set of wheels/tyres!

 

[GDank]

it really seems launching new EVs is almost uniquely hard.
MachE deliveries delayed, even with cars on lots, without clear explanation...

UPDATE: Ford Mustang Mach-E Deliveries Reportedly Delayed Up To A Month

We're reaching out to Ford for more details. However, at this point, the automaker has sent an email to Mach-E buyers alerting them of the delay.

insideevs.com

Maybe a Pre-recall .... they found something causing issues that was life threatening, where Polestar's was probably "some might have 12V issues" .... BTW yes I'm convinced they knew about it before releasing in September.

 

[GDank]

The Polestar had one major fault that was imho rectified very quickly, I've not seen the 12V issue since the recalls were done - yes a very minor few either didn't get yet it still having a few issues, but extremely small compared to the daily posts of bricked cars.

Any other mechanical issue is in line with a new car. Lots of random minor issues and often very small group of people.

4G seems to be the only big issue left and I don't believe this is an electrical problem, and it's seems to be more a software and/or provider issue.
I'm sure Polestar is working hard to nail this down as this is one of the major selling point.

Everything else is software bugs or lack of features. This will get resolved in time. Jaguar I-Pace had just as many issues and they are all sorted now.

VW admitted they are 2-5 years behind Tesla on software. I feel most companies are. That's why I like the Polestar, Google / Android Automotive is being delivered by a software tech company.
Yeah it feels like Beta now but once Volvo, GM and PSA start releasing mass quantity of cars with it onboard it will rapidly get better.

My Polestar drives, it keeps me warm/cold, it does everything I ask it to do, and I'm very happy with it.
Would I like more software features? Absolutely. Amazon Music and better car info like energy consumption would be awesome.

But I can wait.

 

[GDank]

Is it just me, or is GDank being entirely reasonable here?

My account was hacked. Normal service will resume shortly!

 

[GDank]

Yeah I totally agree with Johnny - he is great!

RWD Standard Range is a good cost, but competes with the Korean's that have more features, the ID.3 mid range model, and Model 3 SR.

RWD Extended Range is good overall car with all the features you would need, but now falls in line against the Model 3 LR, P*2, ID.3 Top range models.

The AWD versions (both) are just really expensive, and if you go for the AWD Extended Range, you might as well look at a base model Jag i-Pace - and considering you'll be able to get a mid spec one for low £60k's now imho you would be mad to spend this on a Ford.

So the RWD versions are fine, and you have few alternatives to look at which is good for competition. All options have pro's and con's. AWD just avoid.

 

[GDank]

Bjorn doing long range testing a Mach-E AWD ER version.

Current Winter Consumption 30kWh/100km or 48kWh/100miles - Sound familiar?

 

[GDank]

Polestar needs this .... although not sure what External Temp means 😂 I wonder if it means battery heating to counter the external temp?

 

[GDank]

One win for the Polestar over the Mach-E .... the Polestar can charge at X and then pull some additional power from the charger (assuming you are not maxed) to heat the cabin.

This means the Heater can be run in parallel with the battery charger.

Example: You are getting 45kW charge into the car ... however the charger is delivering 52kw. Some of that extra will be used to heat the car, the rest is just inefficiently losses.

The Mach-E seems to run the heater only from the main battery. So you pull power into the battery .... then the battery feeds the heater with power. Using the same example you are getting 45kW charging ... but turn the heater on and that doesn't increase. So you are really charging at 40kWh with the other 5kWh being spent on heating & losses.

This just means you won't charge as fast if you are sitting in the car during the winter.

The Mach-E is not the only car that does this ... so not unique to Ford.

---

Finally the Ford also seems to Coldgate as well ... only getting 11kw at 80% ... slowly went to 15kw at 84% once the batteries got a bit warmer. Most cars should get 25kw+ at 80% if the battery was warm - and yes the charger was the destination in the sat-nav.



BTW I'm not ragging on the Mach-E , just reporting what's happening on the live stream.

 

[GDank]

Charged dropped to 75kw around the 40% mark ... but stayed at 75kw all the way to 80%, then dropped to 11kw.

So it seems like a very good charging curve until 80% then just slams down hard.

 

[GDank]

Would need to see his spreadsheets but I’m guessing that currently the MachE then has less mi/hr charging gain compared to the Polestar. It has somewhat worse kWh/100mi efficiency, and similar ish non cold gated charging curve. It has a bigger battery pack which allows net more range. Interested to see how its 1000km test would go versus the Polestar with the current software

329km from 100% to 4% battery in winter on the motorway. He reckons 350km (ish) full range in winter (210miles) .. was around -4degs on his trip today.

It's why IMHO the RWD ER is the best unless you must have AWD for snow or off-roading - remember it doesn't have much clearance under the car, it's only a fraction more than the Polestar, so imho not a great off-roader.

It does cold-gate a bit ... never went over 120kW on charging, but does keep the speed high until 50% then very good until 80%. Bjorn even mentioned it should be a good 1000km challenger because of the the good charging speeds. Apparently Saturday he is doing the 1000km.

He also weighed the car in 2.3 ton's. A fraction more than the Polestar, but a bigger battery.


Also he is planning on doing the range and charging tests on the Polestar again with the new software, once covid allows him to borrow a viewer's car.

 

[GDank]

In comparison on the same track with similar weather he got 220-230mi from the Polestar, which about tracks with the difference in usable battery pack (maybe a bit less efficiency for Polestar).

Yeah saw that ... Bjorn only got 210 from the Winter Driver, so on paper it seems

Ford : 210 vs 280mi = 25% Loss

Polestar : 180 vs 230 = 25% Loss

Ok I've rounded a lot up/down there, but they are close enough ... so it seems a bigger battery needs more heating so ends up being the same loss in %.

Just need a 99kWh Polestar now