Is there a more natural place for someone to really floor it for the first time in an electric car than the ballyhooed DirtFish Rally School outside Seattle, Washington? With the gravel wet from a day of cool, classic, spring Pacific Northwest rain? Surely there must be.
And yet, here I am, behind the wheel of the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, politely—and clearly all too slowly—following directions as a very patient rally instructor asks me to “really punch it this time.” Shortly after this instruction, and nearly on purpose, I drive sideways.
If this sounds fun, then, sure, absolutely. The Mustang Mach-E Rally, arguably Ford’s best foot forward in the controversially-named electric car series in 2024, shows the Detroit automaker is ready to entertain. (Controversial because not everyone is convinced that a crossover should ever be called a Mustang, plug or not.)
The future of Ford’s electric business may be murky, or at best complicated—more on that later—but the Mustang Mach-E Rally shows the automaker willing to throw in a few tricks to persuade a new audience to put down the gas pump and pick up the plug.
Dirty EV
This is Ford’s first rally-inspired electric. Note the phrase “rally-inspired”—those interested in such a car sadly won’t get something akin to Ari Vatanen’s record-setting 1988 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb ride, made legend in Climb Dance (skip to 3:08 to see Ari’s casual genius at work).
What you do get, compared to the Mach-E GT version, are a few trim tweaks to make the EV friendlier on rocky, slippy surfaces: suspension raised by an inch, protective shielding for front and rear motors, rally-style wheels covering Michelin CrossClimate2 tires (designed to slide), two front hood racing stripes, and of course, a rear spoiler. At the Ford event at DirtFish, nice men lovingly wiped the mud off the Rally’s windshield and driver door between laps, though this does not come standard.
The Mach-E Rally does come with RallySport Drive Mode, made off-road friendly with added yaw (more sideways sliding) and aggressive damping to better navigate gravely turns. Linked to that extra inch of ride height is the addition of Ford’s MagneRide suspension system, which is designed to adapt to changing road conditions. It’s powered by embedded sensors and pistons equipped with magnetic damper fluid, which produces firmer or softer shocks, depending on what the road demands.
In practice, RallySport Drive Mode creates a notably looser ride, with the SUV much more willing to slide. Still, the vehicle didn’t let a Rally noob convict, much less kill, herself—which meant the whole thing was really very fun. Even in the muck, I felt I picked up the trick quickly. (Granted, an instructor called out extremely specific braking directions.)
One of the advantages of driving electric is the immediate power you get without having to mess with gears, which—for a red-blooded American who can’t remember the last time she was in a manual transmission car, much less behind the wheel of one—is appreciated.