Automotive publication Car and Driver has announced its 2021 Electric Vehicle of the Year winner, and that goes to Ford’s Mustang Mach-E.
The Mustang Mach-E beat out the following EV finalists, which included Tesla’s Model 3, Model Y and Model S:
“Ford clearly borrowed a few ideas from Tesla: panoramic fixed-glass roof, unconventional door handles, vertically oriented center display. While these highlights aren’t particularly original, Ford managed to make the cabin design feel fresh without resorting to gimmicks or trying to pass off cost-cutting measures as innovation the way Tesla does,” writes Car and Driver.
The worst thing about the Mustang Mach-E is the vehicle’s name, says Car and Driver. There was also criticism tossed at Tesla as well for manufacturing some of its vehicles at its Fremont factory in California in outdoor tents.
“One key requirement for our EV of the Year—in addition to fun, value, and mission fulfillment—is that it make electric vehicles more desirable to buyers to a degree that moves the industry forward. That’s where the Mach-E stands out from the 10 other vehicles we evaluated. At long last, an automaker has given us an EV that competes head to head with Tesla on design, performance, price, and range, and it neither looks nor feels like it was built in a tent,” explains Car and Driver.
When it came to testing the Model 3, Y and S, Car and Driver rented them from private owners in its testing, while also skipping the “slow-selling, expensive Model X”.
As for other up-and-coming EV companies? “Rivian, Bollinger, Lordstown, and Lucid all said their EVs weren’t ready for our scrutineering. Maybe next year,” said Car and Driver.
