Looks Like Ford's EV Crossover Will Offer a RWD Variant

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

You read yesterday that the so-called “Mustang-inspired” electric utility vehicle Ford has planned for the coming year will be able to juice up all over the nation. What you didn’t read was that the model, presumably named the Mach E, might be capable of doing a nice brakestand.

That’s because you weren’t supposed to read a detail Ford’s charging partner, Electrify America, placed in its press release, then quickly erased.

Thanks to a screenshot saved by The Drive, we can see that Electrify America initially stated that the Mach E will boast an EPA-estimated 300 miles of range when combined with an extended battery and rear-wheel drive.

Ford hasn’t talked much about the model except to tout its long range and alleged sportiness, both key things to get the American consumer interested in switching to electric motivation (styling that harkens to the original pony car helps Ford in this mission). It was assumed that the model would be offered as a dual-motor all-wheel drive vehicle. While that’s surely still the case for some Mach Es, the wording of the redacted release makes it clear that owners will be able to leave the front end inert — either permanently (by design), or by taking the front motor offline.

Assuming Ford’s serious about this vehicle’s performance, there should be the option of turning off all traction nannies, allowing owners to melt some rear rubber. Given that the max range is apparently only achievable in single-motor, RWD guise, the Blue Oval probably felt it best to offer such a layout in order to capture the 300-mile marketing coup. Pricing comes into the equation, as well.

It’s believed that this vehicle will fall into the $40k-$60k bracket. While it’s clear there’ll be battery options on the table for those looking to maximize range or minimize payments, it isn’t known whether the smaller battery pack will be available in RWD. Regardless, most EV crossover shoppers will probably prefer the AWD version, if gas-powered SUV sales tell us anything.

The electric Ford rolls out to awaiting buyers in late 2020.

[Image: Ford]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Oct 19, 2019

    "...the model, presumably named the Mach E, might be capable of doing a nice brakestand." New ad disclaimer to be read in rapid lawyerspeak: "Loss of drive wheel traction may reduce effective range."

  • Akear Akear on Oct 19, 2019

    This vehicle will flop. We all know this. Be honest....

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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