2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Priced From $44,995

The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E won’t be the first electrified vehicle from Ford, but it will arguably be the most important. Leveraging the well-known Mustang name and borrowing a few design elements from the pony car, the Mach-E will compete against the rapidly expanding electric segment that’s been dominated by Tesla. There’s plenty of things consumers will like with the Mach-E, including a price tag that starts at $44,995 (including destination) and an estimated range of up to 300 miles.

The Mach-E will be available in five trims: Select, Premium, California Route 1, First Edition, and GT. The Select is the most affordable, squeezing in at just under the $45,000 mark, while the GT is the most expensive with a starting price tag of $61,600.

In a similar structure to Tesla, the Mach-E will be available in four powertrains. The base Standard Range Battery comes with a 75.7 kW battery pack that helps give the crossover a range of 230 miles. Peak power is rated at 255 horsepower. All-wheel drive is also available with the Standard Range Battery for an extra $2,700. While the specs remain the same, range drops slightly to 210 miles.

The Extended Range Battery with rear-wheel drive costs an additional $5,000. It’s the setup that boasts the highest range of 300 miles. Battery capacity is 98.8 kW with horsepower rated at 282 hp. Once again, all-wheel drive is available, but it raises overall pricing by $7,700 – or $2,700 more than the Extended Range Battery with rear-wheel drive. Range drops to 270 miles, while power increases to 332 hp.

Since zero-to-60 mph times are all the rage with electric vehicles, Ford has provided some rough estimates for its powertrains. The Standard Range Battery with rear-wheel drive is the slowest powertrain, as it will propel the Mach-E to 60 mph “in the low six-second range.” Both the Standard Range Battery with all-wheel drive and the Extended Range Battery with all-wheel drive have zero to 60 mph times “in the mid five-second range.”

Ford wants consumers to wait quite some time for the Mach-E. The first deliveries are expected to begin in “late 2020,” while a lot of other trims won’t be available until early 2021. If the first SUV to ever wear a Mustang name appeals to you, and doesn’t sound sacrilegious, Ford is accepting reservations for a $500 deposit.

Some consumers will decry the birth of the Mach-E. Ford has taken a huge gamble by placing its latest all-electric crossover in the Mustang lineup. But, to its credit, Ford has given the Mach-E a few Mustang-like traits. The headlights, overall shape of the grille, taillights, and front-and-rear-end proportions all look eerily similar to the Mustang.

The Mach-E is aiming directly for the electric-crossover segment, which has a few rivals. There’s the Hyundai Kona Electric, which has a range of 258 miles and costs $38,045; the Kia Niro Electric that can travel 239 miles on a single charge and is priced at $39,545; the Jaguar I-Pace with its 234-mile range and $70,525 starting price; the Audi e-tron that has a 204-mile range and a starting price of $75,795; and the $86,190 Tesla Model X that has a range of 328 miles.

Tesla’s coming out with a Model Y soon that is expected to have a range of 300 miles and have a starting price tag that’s under $50,000. So the Mach-E sounds like a direct competitor to the upcoming Model Y.