The Ford Mustang Mach-E will be delivered to customers starting this year. Many headlines will imply that its top competitor is the Tesla Model Y. However, I think its top competitor is the Ford Escape. So, I wanted to dive into the costs, specs, and features of the different Ford models.
First, let’s look at cargo space.
The Ford Escape offers:
- 34.4–37.5 ft³ of cargo space with the back seats up
- 60.8–65.4 ft³ of cargo space with the back seats down
- no frunk
The Ford Mustang Mach-E offers:
- 29 ft³ of cargo space behind the back seats
- 59.6 ft³ of cargo space in back with the back seats down
- 4.8 ft³ of cargo space in frunk (front trunk)
So, they offer essentially the same amount of cargo space.
How about acceleration?
The 2020 Ford Escape SE 1.5T scoots from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds. The Ford Escape SE with AWD gets there in 7.7 seconds, while the SE Sport Hybrid takes 8.7 seconds. And the 2020 Ford Escape Titanium 2.0T AWD’s 0–60 mph time is 6.9 seconds.
The Mustang Mach-E’s 0–60 mph acceleration, by battery size and trim, is as follows:
- Standard Range Battery, RWD — low 6 second range (Available on Select, Premium)
- Standard Range Battery, AWD — mid 5 second range (Available on Select, Premium)
- Extended Range Battery, RWD — mid 6 second range (Available on Premium, California Route 1)
- Extended Range Battery, AWD — mid 5 second range (Available on Premium, GT)
In other words, every Mustang Mach-E is quicker than every Escape.
Fancy dancy features?
Ford Mustang Mach-E infotainment.
Ford Escape infotainment.
There are a bazillion different features and options to consider. You can go through and look at the ones that matter to you and whether either model (or both) have them via the Ford Mustang Mach-E tech & specs file (PDF) and the “Compare” tool for the Escape. Perhaps I will do another piece on these alone. For the time being, here are some features I find appealing:
Ford Mustang Mach-E glass roof.
Panoramic fixed-glass roof: On the Mustang Mach-E Premium, First Edition, and California Route 1 trims. Not on any Escape trims.
Hands-free foot-activated liftgate: On all Mustang Mach-E trims except the Select trim. Only on the Escape SEL.
Ford Co-pilot360 Assist 2.0 (Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Lane Centering, and Speed Sign Recognition. Evasive Steering Assist. Voice-activated Navigation.): On all Mustang Mach-E trims. Co-Pilot360 Assist is optional on all Escape trims except S, and Co-Pilot360 Assist+ is not an option at all.
Total cost of ownership — a few scenarios
Ford Escape
I ran a few scenarios to compare potential 5 year cost of ownership of 4 Ford Mustang Mach-E trims and 4 Ford Escape trims. One assumes what I consider “moderate” mileage and moderate gas and electricity prices. One scenario assumes higher mileage and higher gas prices. The last one assumes lower mileage but also lower electricity pricing. More discussion of assumptions is underneath the results.
As always, I encourage you to copy my Google Sheet and input your own best guesses for the assumptions — whether the following scenarios suit your expectations or not.
15,000 miles a year, $2.50 gas, $0.13 electricity/charging
This is an attempt at a fairly typical lifestyle without extreme changes in the coming 5 years.
25,000 miles a year, $3.50 gas, $0.13 electricity/charging
Assume you drive quite a lot, live in California where gas is more expensive (or live somewhere else and gas prices just go up a lot again), and have a modest price of electricity (a mix of lower-cost nighttime charging, some home daytime charging, and some charging at not-super-cheap EV charging stations). Here’s one potential scenario for you.
10,000 miles a year, $2.00 gas, $0.07 electricity/charging
Say that you don’t drive a ton and you have a rooftop solar PV system with electricity to spare. Say you have a lot of free EV charging in your area. Say you’re just really good at optimizing your charging for low cost. This is a potential scenario for you. You could go much lower for a really low-cost charging option — I’ve spent $0 charging in 2 years of EV ownership in Florida (one year with the BMW i3 and one with the Tesla Model 3). However, some commenters will probably treat my head like a gumball and chew it off if I use such a scenario here. Look at your own situation and consider what you’d probably pay.
This scenario also assumes a lower price of gas than the above scenarios — approximately the average price of gas in Florida today, with no significant change in the coming 5 years.
Assumptions
There are several assumptions that go into all of these scenarios and can be adjusted as you see fit. Some are very personal matters (like miles driven per year), some are wild guesses about how prices change over time (like resale values of these vehicles after 5 years), and some are a mixture (like the average price of gas over 5 years). Make adjustments as you see best.
Also, note that one big assumption is that the buyer can take advantage of the $7500 federal tax credit currently available for Ford EV buyers. This tax credit cannot be split into multiple years, so to get that full $7500 discount (collected at tax time, not at the time of purchase), the buyer needs to have at least that much owed in taxes.
One final note: For these calculations, I assumed a Ford Escape would retain 41% of its value after 5 years and a Ford Mustang Mach-E would retain 43% of its value. I personally think that’s an unfair assumption in favor of the Escape. I think the Mustang Mach-E will hold its value much better in that time. We’ll see — but it will take a bit more than 5 years to find out.
Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Ford Escape — Conclusion
It’s very hard for me to see how anyone would choose a Ford Escape over a Ford Mustang Mach-E when the Mach-E rolls out later this year. In terms of cargo space, they offer essentially the same amount. In terms of features, style, and performance, the Mustang Mach-E clearly has a few legs up on the Escape. In terms of cost, in many cases the “comparable” trim is cheaper, or would at least be similar in cost unless the buyer can’t take advantage of a significant portion of the US federal tax credit for EVs.
If a customer actually gets into both an Escape and a Mustang Mach-E on a dealer lot, goes on a test drive, and considers more than the sticker price, the Mustang Mach-E is the clear winner — or, to account for rare objections here or there, let’s say 9 out of 10 buyers would choose the Mustang Mach-E.
Which would you choose?
Ford Mustang Mach-E interior.
Ford Escape interior.
See more articles on EV total cost of ownership.
See more articles about the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
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