Going overseas during the festive season is nice, but you tend to miss being in good old New Zealand for the holidays. We decided to stay local and go overseas for our time off. Huh? We rammed as much stuff into the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT as we could and set sail for Waiheke Island.
No, there isn’t a secret amphibious setting for the Mach-E. Rather we rolled on to the car ferry for the journey across the Hauraki Gulf to Auckland’s sunniest suburb. The Island is home to 9000 permanent residents, but over the summer time it swells in size as the city empties out. And over the course of a year, one hundred times as many people visit the Island to get their fill of fun in the sun, and a few glasses of wine.
One might wonder why tourists like to put Waiheke on their list when visiting Auckland. After spending some quality time on the Island, we’d recommend it too. It’s a short ferry ride from the big smoke and when leaving from the ferry building downtown, it’s a picturesque journey out of the city. The hard part is ponying up for the fares; akin to high seas piracy. The car ferry leaves from Half Moon in East Auckland, and is not quite as scenic.
Once there, you get a few highlights of other parts of New Zealand on the Island; the coastline reminds of Northland for instance. The mix of sandy beaches and rocky bays will please both those that want to laze about and those who want to don the snorkel to inspect the wildlife. Or paddle about on the kayak. Despite its proximity to our major city, the water is clear and even just meandering around the rocks we spied stingray and other sea creatures lurking beneath.
There is a thriving arts culture here so there are plenty of galleries and, along with a Sealegs boat, home owners seem to love a sculpture or two. At certain times of the year, there are sculpture tours for those interested.
There are plenty of fabulous places to wine and dine, most with an awe- inspiring view and come complete with great service too. Expect to leave without an arm; some establishments will require you to relinquish a leg as well. But think how good those photos will be on your ’Gram.
Not everything costs a fortune however. The Te Ara Hura walking trails cover the Island, a network of tracks 100km long. This lets you explore the coastline, pass through native bush and visit historic sites. With an effort to re-plant the Island in natives, the bush brings the birds where Kereru, Kaka and Tui are plentiful while Takapu patrol the coast.
Waiheke is not the place to tap the Mach-E GT’s 358kW and 860Nm outputs. Most roads have a 50km/h limit, some are between 60 and 80km/h, and those are gravel and narrow. And tourists on e-bikes and hire scooters are everywhere too. While not a destination for great driving, the scenery is always picturesque.
Waiheke is a place for electric cars however. The most popular EV on the Island is the Nissan Leaf. They are everywhere. Usually parked in the driveway with the Palestinian or Tino Rangatiratanga flags flying. The Electric Island Waiheke movement began in 2018, advocating for the use of electric transport on the Island, hoping to convert the fleet off fossil fuels by 2030. It says there are cost advantages of electricity (the cost of gas is horrific on the Island at $3.50 for 91) and the benefits of a pollution-free environment.
But we think they will face some opposition given the number of V8-powered luxury SUVs roaming around. The other vehicle vying for the title of most popular Waiheke wheels is the Land Rover Defender. There are equal amounts of both the old and the new generation, and it seems the blacker the better.
Given the laid back nature of the Island, Whisper was the preferred driving mode. This is said to deliver ‘a calm driving experience with gradual acceleration’, but still the GT is a bolter, and you can often find yourself more than a few kays over the limit without trying.
We were at 90 per cent when we left home with 380km of range indicated. And that was just enough for the week. Lucky too as public chargers are all but non-existent. There are a few wallbox types dotted about the place, like at the Woolsworths, but always occupied by a litter of Leafs.
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While marketed as an SUV, we’ve come to think of the Mustang Mach-E as more of a big car. Sure the seat height is raised a little, but the ground clearance isn’t adventure ready. And the GT is lower than the other Mach-Es on account of its performance creds. The suspension travel can be challenged on tricky driveways. The ride isn’t bad though, the performance adaptive dampers set for a controlled but still civilised ride. And it’s okay on the gravel too.
At 4.7m long but with a near 3m long wheelbase, it has plentiful room in the back. The flat floor makes it a genuine five seater too. There is space enough for three back there without too many niggles regarding territory. The boot space is adequate rather than generous. Certainly large enough for 98 per cent of daily life duties, swallowing the groceries for instance. The sloping nature of the ‘liftgate’ limits the ability to really stuff heaps in, and so the kids needed to sacrifice some leg room on our trip over, bags stuffed into footwells. There is the frunk too. Normally, we never/hardly ever use these but the Mach-E’s came in for some use. And that’s because it is a handy space, with 100L of stashing capacity under the ‘hood’.
The Mach-E’s glass roof has a dark tint to it, enough to keep the high noon sun at bay so the lack of a sliding blind isn’t an issue. You can connect with the car via the Ford app, which allows you to ‘pre-condition’ the interior for your departure. But that’s too much faffing about for us. Returning to a car from a morning at the beach, you can hold the unlock button on the remote which lowers the windows. And that gives the interior enough time to cool down while everyone tries to remove as much sand as they can. However, we still brought a tonne of it back with us. And while the A/C can be a bit noisy in operation (we are talking about the unit itself as it whirs into life on start up, rather than the vents) it does a good job of quickly cooling the cabin.
The big screen dominates the in-car control but, due to its size, quick responses and well layered menus, it’s easy to work. And there are a few pastimes embedded in the menus; the kids liked the sketch pad with its colouring pages and noughts and crosses game while waiting for Mum at the shops.
Next month expect a wrap up of Mach-E short term ownership with some more thoughts and numbers on the big horse.
Ford Mustang
Mach-E GT
$116,990 / 21.4kWh/100km / 0g/km
0-100 km/h 3.7s
Motor 358kW / 860Nm
Battery 98.7kWh
Range 490km WLTP
Drivetrain 1-speed auto / AWD
Weight 2273kg
