There are a lot of reviews on youtube, but I think it would be nice to have a place to ask actual owners about their experiences and preferences and maybe issues while owning and driving their Mach-E. So here is my first set: Do you use one-pedal driving or traditionally two pedals? Native navigation or Waze|Google Map|something else from the phone? Talking about the phone - do you use phone as the key? Does it work well? What phone? Any settings that you really like or dislike? For example, during short test drive I didn't like lane departure correction. Also warning about school zones - maybe didn't know where to look for a reason of the warning chimes and they happened quite often. Thank you, owners, in advance for your answers!
Have had my Mach-E RWD Premium Extended Battery since early May, 2021. Have just over 2K miles on it so far. Still daily driving a leased Honda Clarity PHEV until October. Then, the Mach-E will become my daily driver. 1. I use one pedal driving most of the time but always remember to use the brakes to keep them cleaned off. My wife prefers not to use one pedal driving. Easy to toggle it on or off in any of the driving modes. 2. I use Apple Maps via wireless CarPlay as I use it in all my vehicles. Taking a longesh trip next week and will try the native Nav app. 3. PAAK has been unreliable for me. I know others have had no issues. There is an Over The Air (OTA) coming this fall to enhance it. Or, I could take it to a dealer now for the update. I am choosing to wait for now. 4. There are settings for the warning sounds which can be turned on or off. I use Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) and Lane Keeping Assist (LKA). I have driven a Honda Clarity for almost 3 years and its LKA is smoother than the Mach-E's. Hoping Ford works on it and makes it better. It does tend to lurch a bit when going slow, too. Happy to answer any questions. youTubers who own a Mach-E you should check out (if you haven't) is Mach-E VLOG.
1. I previously had a Kona EV which also did 1 pedal driving, but it just seems to work better in the Mach-E. I use it all the time and enjoy seeing the brake coach tell me that I got 100% returned. 2. 99% of the time Waze on the phone via Carplay (wireless). Works really well, also with Siri interaction when holding down the button 3. Tried it, after getting the update, and got locked out (backup key / password worked, thank goodness). Unregistered it and went back to the fob when I realized the PaaK depends on the Fordpass app being up and running on your phone, which in turn depends on Ford's servers being up and running. I.e. if you have no service, or there is some kind of outage at Ford, you're locked out and need to use your backup code. Annoying and frankly really stupid. The app should run for PaaK functionality without the Ford servers. 4. You can turn the warnings off. Not a huge deal. I personally enjoy the lane departure correction (but turned the warnings off). My Kona wouldn't allow correction w/o warnings, so this is nice when you get to an area where you cut off just a little too much in a turn, at least the car doesn't beep at you. I did notice that the Kona lane keeping was superior to the Mach-E, but I suspect that with the Blue Cruise release later this year that'll get resolved.
I leave one-pedal driving on all of the time. MME remembers that setting, so for one-pedal drivers, it is a joy to not have to set it every drive. The level of regen is very much like Chevy Volt, enough to be useful, but not enough to make for choppy driving, at least once you get used to it (if you find that you like it). Everyone always seems to ask for more regen, but personally I found the high levels regen in BOLT (about twice Volt) to be way too much, and never enjoyed it as much as Volt. Moderate regen also goes well with anticipating when to ease off the pedal. If not timed correctly, or if you need a lot of braking, MME drivers still have available, and do also use the friction brake. As @SThomas219 says, you want to use some friction brake to keep the discs rust free. All that said, some folks just don't like one-pedal driving, and that is fine. Just don't use it. A lot of naysayers end up crossing over, but there is nothing wrong with coasting either, both style drivers can enjoy MME just fine either way. I've used the phone as a key, and it works fine most of the time, but still carry the fob. I use the Ford Nav, with Apple or Google maps back up. I often leave Waze running on the iPhone to get the police and -stuff in the road- audio warnings, but not for nav. As others said, there are a gazillion options including warnings of all types and even a weather radar overlay on the Nav map! Almost everything can be set to ON or OFF and gets remembered, so if you don't like something, just turn if off.
Almost forgot, if you get in some more test drive time, try out the cruise control modes (there are three): cruise control, adaptive cruise control, and intelligent cruise control. Intelligent cruise control reads the street signs, and literally changes the cc setting. You can set it to call for sign speed plus some delta mph, but that is less useful as a fixed number (e.g. +6mph). So 65 would be 71 which could be okay (or too low), but 36 in a 30 mph zone, probably not. It really should offer percentages, like +10%, so 33 for 30 and 72 for 65. Finally, sometimes it sees the wrong signs, like signs off to the side of a highway on an access road. OTOH, in rural driving settings such as two lane highways, especially in an unfamiliar area where speeds go from 55 to 40 to 30 and back up every time you go through a town or neighborhood, it can be a life safer (especially to avoid small town ticket traps).
Great, thank you all! About speed limits - it's interesting that it's actually reading the signs. I expected that it's done based on navigation info, like the phones or GPS systems do. Probably it's a mix, visual is pretty unreliable due to signs being covered by trucks or other obstacles. In combination with one pedal driving, what are your favorite modes? Does it make more sense to use two-pedal with whisper, maybe following other cars in one-lane road, and one-pedal with unbridled on a highway with open lanes? Does it remember favorite combinations, like these two? It's not hard to touch another switch on the screen, but I wonder how it's done. Another random question - how to lock the doors? It looks like it automatically locks when the key goes away, but I'd prefer to leave it unlocked in the garage. I noticed a button on the door inside, so it's possible to lock the car prior to closing the door - I used to do it when I had Forester. Any better options? I'd love to spend more time with the car, but not very comfortable to ask for a test drive while saying that I've already ordered one.
I've observed the car misreading the speed limit signs a couple of times now -- 35 became 85 twice. Granted -- one time some joker had spraypainted the sign and the car was ok with 85 on a windy rural road. The other time it looked like a clear 35 to me. I've also caught it missing a sign a couple of times. It doesn't seem like it uses the nav or road data for speed limits at all -- or maybe just when entering a road when there is no speed limit. Otherwise what it <thinks> it read prevails. That said, I do enjoy it automatically adjusting the speed based on the signs (with +10 mph in my case .. ). I find myself using the Engage mode since it provides feedback on your braking performance with one pedal driving. I haven't found much difference in the modes except for the sensitivity of the pedal. Kind of the same it was with my Kona's 3 modes. You can lock the doors by holding the 7-8 and 9-0 buttons (bottom ones) on the drivers side pillar simultaneously. After a second or so, it locks. I still use the walk-away lock as well, but this gives me more confidence that it's locked as soon as I leave the car. I have not tried to see if it will let you lock prior to closing the door. I'll have to give that a try next. But if you have other passengers getting out, maybe that won't work as well? You could go to another dealer to test drive one. I've done that before I got my car....
We got our Mach-E in May. Had the software updated at a dealer for the phone pairing. And we use the phone as a key all the time. Rarely do we carry the fob anymore. Did not like the one pedal at first, but now use it all the time. I carry my phone in my top left pocket, so at times the car does not link with it till I set the phone in the center. The foot opening and closing of the rear gate is a bit erratic. And if you have a shopping cart near the back and close it will sense the cart and stop. Same if you don't step back far enough. Like being able to start the car and precondition from my phone. And at night as you approach the car I love the projected mustang on the ground for lighting. The auto wipers work great for varying rain or a truck passing you. But don't forget them in the car wash. I feel the AC is a bit under capacity when sitting still. But work fine on the road.
Forgot to update. The dealer did the update and (knock on wood) PAAK has worked flawlessly ever since. My driver side door now works as it did, too.
Ii have owned my MACH E since March 14, 2021. I drove it to FL on May 1st & back home on May 28th. Never had a problem. I love one pedal driving, especially in very congested traffic. Other than that I usually drive in Whisper. When I use navigation it is usually the Native but once in a while WAZE kicks in. They are both pretty good. I love all the bells & whistles in this car. My passengers are happy with the leg room. I charge my car in my garage only when I really need to & so far I am getting over 300 mi! Th
I live in upstate NY and may take my MME to Florida this winter via the auto train from Virginia to Sanford. How easy is it to find fast chargers? When I plug the trip in from my house to the train station, it seems like there may be gaps in charging stations on the way. Which apps do you prefer to use to locate charging stations?
You can use "PlugShare" https://www.plugshare.com/ or A Better Route Planer https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ to find chargers along your route. Both will allow you to filter charger that work with your EV. I checked PlugShare and there are there are over 200 DCFC between Syracuse NY and Sanford Florida. I used the trip planer in plug share and it shows all of the chargers along the route. Plug share also shows ratings for each charger which is helpful. I am not seeing any gaps along the way. One thing to note is that if you view a long route and you see gaps, zoom in and the gaps will start to fill in as you view smaller areas. I don't think you will have any problems finding chargers.
I use one-pedal driving most of the time, once I got used to it I find myself not using my left foot, I think it works well and with auto brake hold. Google/Waze on iPhone 12, so far. Phone as a key works most of the time and for the time it won't I use my entry code on the door to get in and passcode to start, works great, I don't carry the cars Key FOB. I turn off the things I don't use or want like school zone warning. Things I like: Acceleration Visibility 300+ miles on a charge Looks like a Mustang Set a schedule for charging at night when the rates are cheaper Styling - 19"wheels/ Glass roof Different driver settings Sound system Roomy Frunk Things that I find I don't like as much: With the extra battery- the Mach -e is heavy and I don't really need the extra range in my daily driving. HVAC icon is close to the volume knob so sometimes I hit it when turning the Volume up. Horn blows if you have walk away with auto door lock enabled. (might be in a setting to turn it off) If you use your PAAK and it's in your pocket while working around the car I need to turn off approach feature.
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