Only 1 Electric Car Is No Longer a Top Choice
Editor’s note: This article was updated on 5/16/2022.
It can be challenging for automotive shoppers to figure out what’s the best car to buy. This is especially the case when there are so many choices available. However, with its annual Auto Reliability Survey, Consumer Reports aids shoppers in their decision. It recommends the most reliable vehicles, whether it’s an SUV, truck, sedan, or EV. And only one electric car is no longer recommended by Consumer Reports for the upcoming year: the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E crossover SUV.
Ford Mustang Mach-E is the only electric car to lose important recommendation
Last year, Consumer Reports added the Ford Mustang Mach-E to its list of recommended vehicles. This recommendation was due to the excellent reliability ratings that the electric crossover SUV earned from the organization’s owner surveys.
However, now, it’s a different story. CR no longer recommends the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E for next year. It’s the only EV to suffer from this fate.
Reasons why Mustang Mach-E crossover EV is no longer recommended
For the Auto Reliability Survey, Consumer Reports evaluated 17 potential problem areas during the past year. Examples include the brakes, engine, noises, electrical systems, paint, and leaks. CR surveyed over 300,000 vehicles. Using the results of these surveys, the organization calculated predicted reliability ratings of nearly all new vehicles sold in the United States.
Unfortunately, the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E lost its recommendation from Consumer Reports due to declining reliability — as indicated by the Auto Reliability Survey. According to Ford Authority, the decline in reliability is due to owners encountering problems with the display screen freezing up in the Mustang Mach-E. The crossover EV also had issues with the charging system, as well as electrical problems and errors. Some owners even encountered battery cell failures.
Ford released a statement to respond to the loss of the CR recommendation and the reliability issues for the Mustang Mach-E electric car:
“We listen to all customer feedback, including Consumer Reports, and the concerns raised by customers. The survey results were from a population of vehicles early in the launch of these vehicles and those concerns have since been addressed. For Mach-E we issued a recall for certain 2021 and 2022 vehicles. [We] updated software to prevent any damage to the contactors. In July we rolled out an OTA (over the air) update [that] included improvements to plug and charge feature to increase successful charger activation rate.”
– Ford
What other vehicles lost a recommendation?
While the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E was the only electric car to lose its Consumer Reports recommendation, there are six other models that got kicked off the list. This includes another Ford model, the 2023 Bronco Sport compact crossover SUV. The Bronco Sport lost its recommendation due to various quality concerns. This includes issues with the head gasket in the engine. There were also problems with the braking system, noises, and fit and finish issues.
A couple of other SUVs aren’t recommended anymore: the 2023 Volvo XC60 luxury compact crossover SUV and the 2023 Hyundai Kona subcompact crossover SUV. CR dropped the 2023 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck, the 2023 Hyundai Elantra compact sedan, and the 2023 Nissan Sentra compact sedan from the list as well.
It’s disappointing for some Ford and EV enthusiasts that the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E is no longer recommended by Consumer Reports. However, Ford claims it addressed the issues of concern. Also, compared to the problems of other vehicles, the issues for the Mach-E are an easier fix. Hopefully, addressing the problems will result in the Mustang Mach-E gaining back the recommendation for the Auto Reliability Survey in 2023.
