MY WEEK IN CARS
MONDAY
My Ford driving odyssey concluded this week with 500 miles in the latest-spec Mach-E, the US-built, Mustang-bred EV that in 2021 boldly announced the Blue Oval’s move into fully electric vehicles. The car’s size, styling and performance always looked right, but early drives were marred by grievous faults with the suspension. The pitching ride was a particular let-down: here was irrefutable evidence that Ford’s late, legendary dynamics guru, Richard Parry-Jones, was no longer around to drive much-needed improvements.
Now, at the second attempt, they’ve fixed it. The car has thoroughly revised suspension, and although it still doesn’t have the sophistication of, say, BMW’s excellent i4, you can now spend a comfortable day behind its wheel. This latest iteration not only goes but it steers, handles and rides too. I’d have no trouble recommending one to a neighbour now, though I’d still be compelled to point out the high price. But you do get a much nicer car.
TUESDAY
Sometimes, logic wins. How wonderful to see an outbreak of EU sanity over forthcoming Euro 7 clean air regulations for new cars. Legislators have decided that the already stringent Euro 6 limits on toxic emissions don’t need to be tightened any further for the second half of the decade, allowing car makers to spend more on electrification. However, under Euro 7, extra attention is being paid to cutting particulates from tyre and brake wear, important issues as cars get heavier. Car makers, shocked at this outbreak of good sense, are estimating a consequent 80% reduction in ICE tailpipe emissions between 2020 and 2035 because buyers who aren’t yet ready to embrace EVs will now have the confidence to replace their cars without confusion or extra cost.
WEDNESDAY
Back in my big electric Audi SQ8, I’ve found it necessary to relearn some quirks, not least a set of often unresponsive touch controls with unnecessary haptics built in. In particular, I’m learning to dedicate several minutes of pre-driving time to every journey – selecting routes, checking traffic density and EV range, investigating forward charging points and turning off unwanted bongs and lane departure gizmos buried in the dashboard. It reminds me of my earliest days of learning to fly, 40 years ago. As a kid, I always wondered why little aeroplanes took so long to leave an airfield apron, before I found out about checklists and safety procedures. Now I’m doing the same
