The Ford Mustang Mach-E is clearly a superior vehicle to the Ford Escape. It’s got better tech, better driving quality, better acceleration, and a cooler look. However, it comes at a higher price. Well, it comes at a higher upfront price. I’ve recently been running comparisons of the “fuel costs” of electric vehicles and similar gas-powered vehicles, including a comparison of the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Ford Escape. However, several years ago, I did more robust comparisons that took other factors into account as well — interest, maintenance, and depreciation, notably. I decided to go back to one of those old Google Sheets and plug in the numbers for the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Ford Escape. I ran two scenarios, and I will walk through the assumptions in a moment, but here are some key results: The Ford Mustang Mach-E Select came in with a 5-year total cost of ownership of $31,398, while the Ford Escape Active came in at $32,125. Those are the cheapest versions of the two models. This was under a scenario that matches my local situation — $0.07/kWh for electricity charging overnight (easy time to charge), $4.00/gallon for gas (about 50 cents below the price today), and 10,000 miles a year. The Ford Mustang Mach-E Select came in with a 5-year total cost of ownership of $31,398, while the Ford Escape Active came in at $32,125. Those are the cheapest versions of the two models. This was under a scenario that matches my local situation — $0.07/kWh for electricity charging overnight (easy time to charge), $4.00/gallon for gas (about 50 cents below the price today), and 10,000 miles a year. Generally speaking, across the different trims, the Mustang Mach-E was cheaper. However, the Escape Plug-in Hybrid stole a win in the first scenario. Full comparisons can be seen here and here. So, here are also some notes on the assumptions, which can certainly be changed based on different personal or macro expectations: 60% depreciation on all models. Looking things up, it seems the Escape is expected to have around 60% depreciation whereas the Mustang Mach-E is expected to have only about 55% depreciation across 5 years, but I just decided to use the same for both. $3,000 down payment and 6% interest on the loans. $4.00/gallon average price of gas. $0.07/kWh electricity in the first scenario because that’s what I pay, but $0.13/kWh electricity in the second scenario to jump to the US average. 10,000 miles a year in the first scenario and 15,000 miles a year in the second. Average kWh of electricity per year — 15kWh/100km. No incentives/subsidies (EV incentives are still available in some states). Feel free to let me know how you would adjust the assumptions, and you can also copy the sheet and plug in your own numbers!
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