I just entered the market for my first EV, and I wanted the ride height and room of a crossover. So I looked at the Tesla MY and the Ford MME. Read a lot about them, watched videos, test drove them both. Ordered the MME Premium Extended AWD. My high-level comparison:
I get that people love the Tesla software ecosystem, kind of like people are committed to iPhones for same reason. I keep buying iPhones for same reason, so I can relate. But I have no such connection to Tesla so I just didn’t consider it a big advantage. Both interfaces were good, best I could tell. Didn’t really care about the horizontal versus vertical screen, but I DID like having the second driver’s screen on the MME. I also liked having a few more physical buttons. Nearly everything in the MME’s interior feels well thought out. The MY was jarringly minimalist.
Exterior: MME hands down. Not really a question here. And I wanted to drive a head-turner. The MY just looks blobby and awkward - like they took a Model 3 wheelbase and gave it a higher roofline. Which they did.
Price: Again, MME wins by around $4-5k thanks to the $7500 tax credit plus Ford X-Plan pricing plus possible financing incentives. I specifically compared the MME Premium Extended AWD versus the MYLR.
Range and Efficiency: Range appears to be basically the same. MY is more efficient but not enough to recoup the price premium even if I drove it for hundreds of thousands of miles.
The Ride: MY def had a little more pep to the acceleration. But it kinda felt like a kit car strapped to a big motor. The cabin is noisier and the ride is rougher because it is a much lighter vehicle. I thought the MME had a more refined cabin, was quieter, and had a smoother ride. Turning felt different but hard to deceive exactly how. The MY steering wheel was oddly small so that might have been the difference.
Charging: didn’t actually try it, but based on what I’ve read Tesla is way ahead here. Neither of these cars is great for road trips, but the taking a long trip in a MME is basically out of the question right now. Tesla obviously gets the nod here. But I’d rather invest in what I consider to be the better hardware and gamble that the infrastructure will get better (I think it will).
So for the reasons above, I chose the MME. This was a frankly easy decision for me because I wasn’t already wedded to the Tesla brand. I think most people considering both options cold would probably reach the same conclusion.
I agree some of the first owners are finding problems, which is exactly why I only recently ordered. I think many of those kinks will be worked out by the time mine arrives... in another six months. Yup, that’s another Tesla advantage.
Anyway, bottom line is that I think the MY makes sense for people who already own a Tesla, but the MME seems to check a lot more boxes for those that are new to the EV market.
