You know electric vehicles are having more than just a moment when Car and Driver gives the EV segment its very own award. The publication just named its first-ever EV of the Year, with the inaugural honor going to the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E.
The Mach-E took top honors out of 11 electric-vehicles tested over a three-week period. The other contenders were the Audi e-tron, Kia Niro, Nissan Leaf Plus, Polestar 2, Porsche Taycan 4S PBP, Tesla Model 3Performance, Tesla Model S Long Range Plus, Tesla Model YPerformance, Volkswagen ID.4 and Volvo XC40 Recharge.
“We felt that if a carmaker was looking to convert people from EV skeptics to EV evangelists, there’s not a better vehicle out there than the Mustang Mach-E,” said Sharon Carty, Car and Driver editor-in-chief. “It’s a familiar shape and size of crossover. It’s in the sweet spot of what Americans love. It’s beautiful. It’s a design that gets noticed. It has a range and charging speed that is very competitive.”
On its website, Car and Driver says its new electric vehicle award uses the same criteria as Car and Driver’s 10Best Awards. Criteria includes comparing driving engagement, value and/or practicality. Evaluations included a 1,000- mile road trip to test each vehicle in real-world conditions which included checking out DC-fast charging times along the way. Ford says Car and Driver employed instrumented testing, and compared vehicles side-by-side in assessing practicality and entertainment value.
Credit: Ford/Car and Driver..
“Mustang Mach-E is the start of what we can do to compete in the EV revolution,” said Darren Palmer, Ford general manager, battery electric vehicles. “Its continued success in the form of happy customers, sales and awards are all signs of the momentum we are building. Accolades like the Car and Driver Electric Vehicle of the Year are particularly rewarding for the team who designed this performance battery electric vehicle to be truly fun to drive. It can only get better as we continue to learn from and grow with our customers.”
Read the full story on Car and Driver’s very first Electric Vehicle of the Year here and check out CarProUSA Radio Show host Jerry Reynolds' review of the Mach-E below.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Awards
The Mach-E's EV of the Year Award is the latest in a long list of awards for the SUV. It claimed Car and Driver’s Editor’s Choice Award earlier this year, as well as the Cars.com Eco-Friendly Car of the Year Award, AutoGuide’s Utility of the Year, Green Vehicle of the Year and Autoweek’s Car Buyer’s Award.
“We could have made a boring electric vehicle, a compliance vehicle that looks like a dust buster,” said Palmer. “But we decided people need an EV with soul. So we built them an all-electric Mustang SUV that is disrupting the status quo in electric vehicles. And the Mustang Mach-E GT and GT Performance Edition are still to come.”
By the way, World EV Day will be held September 9th.