Ford Vs Tesla: Crossover Range War

It isn’t often that the Tesla is the one on the canvas after a range fight.

The YouTube Channel, Alex On Autos, lined up a Tesla Model Y and a Mustang Mach-E and set out on a 246-mile round trip to see which electric crossover would go the farthest. 

The dual-motor AWD Tesla Model Y is EPA-rated at 326 miles of driving range, while the AWD Mustang Mach-E with the extended range battery is officially rated for 56 miles less, at 270 miles per charge. However, we all know you can throw the EPA-range rating out the window when you do a range test, because depending on the speed, topography, and ambient temperature, your mileage will vary. 

We like how Alex conducted this test because he had both vehicles driving together so the driving conditions were identical. They took turns leading and following each other so any potential drafting claims of complaints wouldn’t be made. 

Both vehicles had the climate control set on automatic and at 70 degrees. They both also had the adaptive cruise control set to 5 mph higher than the speed limit. They weren’t concerned about driving at a constant speed, as we do here on InsideEVs 70 MPH highway range tests, because this was a side-by-side range shootout. 

Surprisingly, the Model Y had to bow out before making it to the end and stopped at a supercharger after driving 224 miles*. At the time, the state of charge 5%, and the range estimator showed that it could only go another 10 miles. I say surprisingly because last year we range tested a Model Y at a constant 70-mph and it went 276 miles. However, the weather conditions were better and we also had the 19-inch Gemini wheels with the Aero covers. 

The Model Y that Alex had was sporting the optional 20″ Induction wheels, which are less efficient and most certainly robbed the Model Y of a few miles during this range test. In a perfect comparison, the Model Y would have had the 19″ Gemini wheels with the aero covers on. However, in the end, it wouldn’t have mattered because the Mach-E won convincingly.

When the Model Y bailed to supercharge, the Mustang Mach-E still had 16% of its larger 88 kWh (usable) battery pack available, and the range estimator was showing an additional 40 more miles of range. 

So this one went to the Mach-E. We’d like to see this repeated someday in colder weather where the Model Y’s heat pump system will play a significant role and possibly give it the edge over the Mach-E, which doesn’t have a heat pump system. But for now, the Mach-E is 1-0 against the Model Y in side-by-side range tests. Hopefully, we’ll be doing our own sometime soon. 

 

*Update: After posting this, Alex notified me that he made a mistake in the video and the supercharger stop was actually 234 miles into the trip, not 224. Therefore both cars went 10 miles further than we noted in this post. It doesn’t affect the winner or the margin, it’s just that both vehicles went 10 miles further than he says in the video.  

Source:Alex On Autos

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