Best car to buy from Green Car Reports 2021

AN Mustang as the most important new green car of the year?

That may have been our reaction before the last few weeks. Since our editors started competing for the first opportunities with the Ford Mustang Mach-E 2021, it is about to become our unanimous winner. And at the same time, we all seem a little surprised that this is a good thing.

Its revelation in November 2019, practically next to Tesla’s Hawthorne design center, generated buzz among enthusiasts, but as Ford began to leak more details indicating that it was taking this model seriously and that it was not just a project especially for EV enthusiasts, our interest has grown.

Mach-E brings together an intriguing set of influences. It would offer versions with a 300-mile real range rated by the EPA, would have full vehicle upgrades over the air and would be one of the debut vehicles for a driver assistance system (called Active Driver Assist) with the potential to rival Navigate on autopilot. . Its new vertically oriented version of Sync offers many interface options.

After spending some time behind the wheel and around the Mach-E – once we filter our thoughts on the logos of prancing horses everywhere – we consider it more beautiful and driving better than the Tesla Model Y. involved, it seems. In addition, the cabin materials are not just about the parts depot and the general feeling of silence and refinement – pieces of “hardware” that Tesla cannot change with a simple upgrade – are a notch above what Tesla offers in the Model Y .

It is the past, the present and the future of the automobile, all wrapped up in one. The past for the pony car heritage and the continuity of design that everyone recognizes; the present for being widely available and supported; and the future for its all-electric drive and connection.

It’s not a Tesla-trouncer, something better

Mach-E is not the cliché of the Tesla killer. Instead, it is definitely the sweet spot for many Americans who want an electric car, but just don’t see themselves in a Tesla. It has charm, but it’s hard to find serious flaws – a really unusual combination in the car world.

Yes, we know that there are things that Tesla does better. Ford says the Mach-E can earn up to 61 miles in 10 minutes on a 150 kw fast charger, while Tesla said the Model Y can recover up to 168 miles in 15 minutes with its V3 hardware. In addition, the Supercharger network is still much better for fast charging on road trips than what is available in the CCS format, but Electrify America, EVgo and others are collectively gaining that advantage.

And the sheer physics of Tesla’s efficiency achievements can make Mach-E look like a low achiever. The Tesla in the form of a dual engine makes 326 miles of usable range of 75 kwh of usable range, while the Mach-E in the equivalent form goes 270 miles of 88 kwh. But we have to believe that Ford will make gains from this with updates over the air in the near future.

A different taste of electric

As we’ve revisited most of these finalists in the past few weeks, each has a different character. The companies behind them have made performance, billing and interface decisions that result in an experience you wouldn’t confuse with another.

Model Y offers many of the same virtues as Model 3 and brings that model’s stellar efficiency and performance to the most popular segment of the American vehicle market. Although it arrived early, it lacked the kind of surprise advance on the Model 3 that we thought was on its way. The Polestar 2 appears to be designed by a team that has paid the utmost attention to cosmetic and performance details and seems more faithful to the paradigm of the premium European performance car. The Volvo XC40 Recharge attracts families who want comfort, understated luxury and an exclusively Volvo aesthetic. And the Toyota RAV4 Prime goes after the heart of the market, combining high-mileage hybrid operation with sufficient electrical range to allow for steering without exhaust emissions on most days.

Prime could also have been our winner this year, if Toyota had committed itself to building as many of them as customers wanted. In 2019, Toyota sold about 450,000 RAV4 models, with the RAV4 Hybrid accounting for more than 20% of that. We could not overcome what appeared to be an intriguing oversight – that Toyota would think that less than 5% of RAV4 buyers would like a faster acceleration and better performance version, which offers much of the surprising factor of a fully electric vehicle.

This represents an opportunity next year for Volkswagen ID.4, which targets the cost of ownership and conventional models like the RAV4, to win over RAV4 owners. As we analyzed what was not approved this year and why, ID.4 was not on this year’s finalist list because of the weather.

No compliance cars or narrow niches

Availability and scale definitely play a role in our decision. Polestar has been treating Polestar 2 as a niche car in the U.S. until now, with limited availability focusing on major metropolitan areas and no availability in the U.S. for the affordable versions offered in Europe. And while the XC40 Recharge is an attractive urban crossover that points to Volvo’s future, its combination of its size, its price point and its similarity to the gasoline-powered XC40 suggest a cautious entry for EVs that may not prioritize the US as much. how much could.

After a first trip, we remain convinced that Ford will easily sell any Mach-Es they can make – which, based on what the company had previously said, is only in the range of around 50,000 in the first full year of production, with about half of those going to the US Will this drive Ford to do more? The authorities have not yet pledged to increase production numbers further and have not confirmed whether a second electric model from the same Mexican plant will enter that total.

How committed is Ford? The company now benefits from Executive President William Clay Ford’s environmental vision and genuine enthusiasm for the electrical performance of new CEO Jim Farley. The company has pointed to its voluntary agreement with California for stricter emission standards that would encourage more EVs. It also began to reveal more about a complete set of electric vehicles for accessibility and cost of ownership – including E-Transit electric vans, a fully electric version of the F-150, a project with Rivian and several other EVs scheduled to arrive by the mid-decade. .

Across our editorial group, editors who aren’t necessarily convinced of Tesla’s vision of the future saw the light with Mach-E, and even in the middle of a pandemic, Mach-E drew curious onlookers into our parking lots and sidewalks – more more than any other EV we can remember. Some of Ford’s ancillary efforts, including bringing an extreme performance version to NASCAR’s indoor fields, seem an integral part of the mission.

The launch of Mach-E may indicate a psychographic tipping point in the development of the electric car, and its influence on the adoption of EV may far exceed what the production numbers suggest. Making it a Mustang was a smart deal for the company and for fresh air

——————————————————————————

Visit the other Best Car To Buy awards from our editorial group – at Motor Authority and The Car Connection – and see what readers have chosen as winners at The Car Connection’s annual Driver’s Choice awards.