FORD MUSTANG MACH-E

Ford's first electric car didn't exactly hit the ground running with us. Still, it's not how you start but how you finish, right?

- JIM HOLDER

WHY WE RAN IT

To see if an electric SUV is worthy of the Mustang name and, more importantly, if it augurs well for Ford’s future

I have driven worse cars than the Ford Mustang Mach-E that I started out with, but I honestly can't think of one that has been more disappointing.

My expectations of Fords have been set by learning to drive in one (Fiesta), spending years driving them for work (a succession of Focuses) and even being part of the What Car? team handing them Car of the Year gongs (Puma).

The beauty of them all was that they made ride and handling relevant to the mass market. Many buyers may not have even recognised it, but from car to car, generation to generation, they almost always nailed the balance. Where rivals pitched, rolled and felt disconnected from the road, Fords were a cut above.

The first, pre-facelift Mach-E I drove for almost a year trashed that reputation. A lot of the time it was okay, but present it with a bump and it would pitch and reverberate. Present it with a series of bumps and your head would toss around like the dog in the Churchill car insurance advert. Oh no!

I wrote about this a lot, for which I apologise. I want to be upfront now as I simply couldn't get over it, and even when I was feeling more disposed to positive thoughts, of which more later, it would come back to cloud my view.