As much as I love the comforts of living in a beach-side urban metropolis, there are times when I find it frustrating. Sure, there’s the high cost of everything and the endless traffic in every direction, but I’m not particularly bothered by those.
My frustration comes when I get a car like this: the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Rally. This is a ride inspired by rally racing and comes equipped with the types of upgrades that would suggest that it’s a rowdy good time on loose dirt surfaces—and I’m a rally fan who longs to practice those “lift, turn, brake” fundamentals I learned at Dirtfish so many years ago.
This electric Mustang, it seems, was built specifically to my distinct taste in cars. But my locale, frustratingly, prevents me from experiencing this Ford as it was meant to be driven. It’s a 2-to-3-hour drive, one-way, from my house to any sort of off-road recreation area. And as a middle-aged family man, I can’t afford to spend a day in transit just to go play in some dirt. Plus, with my tester’s onboard range calculator estimating I can go a hair over 200 miles on a full charge, I’m not sure I’d have the juice to get out there, hoon around, and then get home. So my dreams of dirt have been crushed, but I’m not really bothered by it—this thing is a riot on paved roads, too.
This EV demands attention
There is one truism in the automotive-journalist industry: Ford specs its Mustang press fleet in the brightest, boldest colors possible. So it came as quite a shock (pun not intended) to see that my specific tester arrived in Star White Metallic Tri-Coat rather than the Rally-spec’s Grabber Yellow hero color.
That’s not to say this ‘Stang fades into the background. Those racing stripes with a ghosted geometric pattern do enough to grab attention on their own, but the increased ride height, 19-inch gloss-white rally wheels wrapped in Michelin CrossClimate2 tires, side decals and big honkin’ matte black rear wing give this electric Ford a whole lotta presence. It’s definitely a bit (a lot) boy-racer-ish, but since I have yet to outgrow my boy-racer phase, it all works for me.
Feels like a normal EV inside
One of the key things to know about the Mustang Mach-E Rally is that the “rally” part is really just a package, so outside of some Oxford White trim pieces, things largely feel just like a Mach-E GT inside. It’s a screen-intensive space with some nice textiles and trim used for the major touchpoints, with very little inside that screams race car.
I’m not a fan of screen-heavy interiors, but the Mach-E is among the easier ones to use. Things like the rotary-dial drive-mode select, turn signals, lights and so on are all tactile, physical items. Features that are regularly used, yet controlled through the touchscreen—such as the heated and ventilated front seats and climate control—are all given an easy-to-find and permanent spot on the massive center screen, and that glued-on dial adds some tactile-like functionality to those features as well.
Things are generally comfortable up front with little to complain about, but the hard decorative cladding on the backsides of the front seats adds flare at the cost of rear legroom. If you’re like me—always in the front seat, and only carrying small children in the rear—this won’t present you with any day-to-day problems. Full-sized adults may not enjoy spending extended stays back there, however.
Where the rubber meets the road, er, dirt
The Mach-E GT Rally includes Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E GTTM Performance Upgrade which amplifies this EV’s performance cred by, well, a whole lot. Beyond a number of software upgrades, this package also gets a new rear e-motor that has been developed fully in-house, and Ford claims that together this package can output an additional 100 lb-ft of torque when compared to Mach-E GT models lacking this upgrade.
So let’s talk specs: this rally-spec Mach-E gets a 91 kWh battery and e-motors front and rear, with total power output rated at 480 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque. Dive through a few touchscreen menus to set the performance parameters to “Unbridled” and this 4,979-pound crossover will rocket from 0-60 in just 3.3 seconds. Ford has also given this Rally model some gravel-specific traction control settings to better help it manage the loose-surface stuff. Speaking of which: Ford has also given this Mach-E that 1-inch suspension lift mentioned earlier, plus some additional bits of underbody armor, to better ensure it’s ready for off-road adventures.
But again, I live in a world of pavement, so I couldn’t see how this Ford handles in the dirt. I instead explored the limits of those rugged components by charging at any and all imperfections I found in the road. Potholes? Bring ‘em on. Speed bumps? Full-speed ahead. And through it all, this Ford simply absorbed everything and kept the ride quality nice and smooth.
While that 3.3-second 0-60 time is a cool party trick, it’s not something one actually uses (or should use) for everyday driving. And even when piloting this Mach-E at a more leisurely pace (meaning slowly), it still consumes electrons like they’re going out of style. Ford’s site says that the Mach-E GT Rally can go up to 266 miles on a full charge; my own onboard computer never showed a range higher than 220 miles, and even that number dipped faster than the actual numbers of miles traveled. This rapid rate of energy consumption is just like what you’d find with the newest gas-powered V8 ‘Stang, so at least you’re getting the full Mustang experience here too.
Final Thoughts
Much like the lauded Hyundai IONIQ5 N, rides like this Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally prove that EVs can not only be fun, they can also deliver credible, serious performance. And as the technology and supporting infrastructure continue to mature, the all-electric performance car segment will only grow in importance within the enthusiast space.
At $58,995 to start, the Mustang Mach-E GT Rally is far from cheap. But you’d be spending a similar amount of coin to get a gas-powered ‘Stang with similar performance, and the all-electric version can carry more people and more stuff—and is still likely cheaper to fill/charge despite its hunger for electrons. I’m sure it’s a riot on dirt, but for those of us locked in a land of concrete, this Ford remains an EV that really can do it all.
Justin Kaehler has been covering all things automotive for 20 years, and has been an active part of the car scene for much longer than that. Though he’s grown to love all cars, he’s still particularly fond of the ’80s and ’90s Japanese metal he grew up on. And for those of you who grew up playing The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift game for the PS2 and PSP, yes, he’s also that JDM Justin.