It’s all about efficiency and presence.
The Ford Mustang E has no door handles. The electronic pop-up handles are not flush with the body as the ones on the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I -Pace. The Mustang Mach-E, however, takes a different approach.
The electronic buttons on the vehicle’s upper B- and C-pillars allow passengers to access the Mach-E’s interior. The doors will pop out approximately an inch when you push them. To access the second row, rear passengers will need to insert their fingers into the small opening in the door and grab the hem. The handles on the front doors are piano black and help the driver and front passengers open the doors fully. Gordon Platto from Mach-E’s exterior and interior design director tells us that “most kids are in the backseat anyway”. There is no need to add pull handles.
Although the doors sound silly, there are good reasons Ford chose to abandon the traditional exterior handle. The Ford Mustang Mach-E, like many electric competitors, emphasizes efficiency. The coefficient of drag is reduced by adding large door handles to the sleek design. This reduces the overall driving range. Ford has not provided an exact figure for the Mach-E’s coefficient, but they claim it is less than 0.30. This puts Mustang-badged EV in direct competition with other EVs such as the Tesla Model X (0.25 Cd), Audi E-Tron (0.028 Cd), Jaguar I-Pace (0.29 Cd).
Ford designers did not only focus on efficiency when designing the Mach-E’s profile, but they also wanted the car to feel modern and futuristic by emphasizing the Mach-E’s futuristic capabilities. Ford says that traditional, clunky door handles are gone. The Mustang crossover has an innovative, modern feature: electronic latches.
The Mach-E remains a Mustang at its core. The unique door handles, or lack thereof, emphasize the Mach-E’s emotional characteristics better. Platto points out that the Mustang Mach-E carries many key characteristics from the Mustang coupe – a strong rear haunch and front and rear tri-bar lights, muscular surface development and deep sculpting.