Mustang Mach-E Beats EPA Range Estimates In Testing While Tesla Falls Short

Range is the buzz word when it comes to electric vehicles, including the Mustang Mach-E. There’s range anxiety, which I learned was less of a thing after spending time behind the wheel of the Mach-E. But there’s also the uncertainty about range estimates from the EPA and the auto manufacturers.

How are these determined? What are the conditions? What would happen to that range in extreme weather conditions? Those are certainly legitimate questions and inquiries.

Edmunds has been testing the majority of today’s EVs to see what range they can achieve. They have a fantastic EV range leaderboard but also take the estimated range and then create a real world vs. EPA chart to show how their testing of these vehicles has compared.

The Mustang Mach-E in all three iterations (California Route 1, AWD extended range, standard range RWD) exceeded the EPA estimates in Edmunds testing. Perhaps this is why Edmunds has the Mach-E as its top-ranked luxury EV.

Said Edmunds in their report: “Our top-rated luxury EV continues to shine the more we drive it. With 264 miles of real-world range, the Mach-E with the standard-range battery and rear-wheel drive offers a lot at a very compelling price.”

Related story: Comparing the Mustang Mach-E with the Volkswagen ID.4.

How Did Tesla Do In Edmunds Real-World Testing?
Tesla is obviously the industry leader in electric vehicles. While the 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range sits atop of Edmunds’ leaderboard with EPA estimated-range of 353, Edmunds found this vehicle to fall short as they could only achieve 345 miles (although let’s be honest that’s pretty close).

The 2021 Tesla Model Y, which is one of the Mach-E’s main competitors, fell short in both its long range version and its performance version.

The Tesla Model Y long range has an EPA range of 326 miles, but Edmunds was only able to achieve 317 miles (again it’s pretty close). The performance version of the Model Y however fell well short of the 291 mile range with Edmunds’ testing yielding only 263 miles.

In a Tweet, retweeted by Mike Levine of Ford, Edmunds scorched Tesla by pointing out that Tesla was now 0 for 7 when it comes to its EPA range. Ouch!

Related story: Areas where Ford lags behind Tesla, according to survey.

How Did The Mustang Mach-E Perform In Real World Range Testing?
In the exact same testing, as Edmunds pointed out in the Tweet above, all three of the Mach-Es tested over achieved their range.

All three versions tested achieved at least 34 miles over their estimated EPA range.

The 2021 Mustang Mach-E California Route 1 version has an EPA range of 305 miles, but Edmunds was able to get 344 miles in their testing. Likewise the Extended Range version with AWD has an EPA rating of 270 miles but Edmunds got 304 miles out of it.

The standard range version of the MME saw 264 miles in range testing by Edmunds, which is 34 miles greater than the EPA estimated range of 230 miles.

As such, the California Route 1 saw a 12% improvement over EPA, while the extended range has more than 12.5% improvement. The standard range saw the best percentage improvement with 14.8%.

The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S saw the biggest percentage improvement at 59.3% while all seven Teslas tested saw a negative percentage ranging from 2.3% to 10%.

Related story: Mustang Mach-E earns high safety score.

Conclusion
Give this report whatever credibility you want. I have the utmost respect for Edmunds, who I believe does the best job of being unbiased in their testing, a consumer vehicle resource.

You can read all about how Edmunds conducts their test here at this link. The Tweet by Edmunds stating the fact that each Tesla underperformed their range was pretty telling. The Tesla fans will dismiss it and point out that they still have the most range (which they do), but what it shows most is that the competition is catching up. And that’s a good thing for the EV consumer.

During my week with the Mustang Mach-E I found its range to be quite generous. I never let it get all the way down, but I took it on a long road trip and never once felt nervous. So, for me, the Mustang Mach-E has enough range.

I will be interested to see what Edmunds’ testing comes out on the Mustang Mach-E GT when it’s available later. For me, the GT is the one MME I’d hold out for. Can it outperform the Tesla Model Y Performance edition since that will be its direct competition?

What do you think about this testing and EV range in general? Leave me your comment below.

Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.