By the eccentric standards of electric SUVs, even a basic Mach-E is quite a good-looking car, in a conventional sort of way. It’s not a phrase Ford uses, but we regard it as a coupe-SUV – so it’s roomy but not boxy – and we struggle to get upset by the token nods to the proper Mustang, which amount to the horse emblem at the front and rear, and smart LED rear lights that aren’t too dissimilar from the real thing’s.

This Rally package moves it even further away from the proper Mustang, and helps it stand out from the crowd, which won’t be to everyone’s taste, but of course plainer versions remain available. It’s the only rally-themed EV on the market, for better or worse (although others have got as far as the concept stage). Highlights for us include a fantastic set of white 19-inch alloys, which certainly have some OZ Racing inspiration to them and look purposeful on chunky Michelin all-terrain tyres.

The Rally is also the only Mach-E you can have painted in this ridiculously bright Grabber Yellow that makes fluorescent jackets look like tweed. And let’s not forget the racing stripes and massive bodykit. It’s a bit ‘Halfords meets the world of electric cars’ but it’s hard not to admire Ford for going ahead and putting it out there.

The Mach-E sits on a bespoke EV platform that remains unique to it; a car from before the time Ford thought the way ahead was to buy Volkswagen’s tech. It’s a big car with a reasonably roomy cabin, and an unusually long nose for an EV, giving space for a proper usable frunk.

Inside, Ford clearly took much of its inspiration from Tesla, not least with the huge portrait-format touchscreen that dominates the interior. Considering the Mach-E was revealed more than five years ago, it’s stood the test of time well, whereas some rivals of a similar age now look a bit old-hat.

You get a few more physical buttons than in a Tesla, though the screen has an irritating lag that is absent from most new cars. The Rally and other versions of the GT get smart white-painted leather sports seats that are comfortable on longer trips. The general standard of materials isn’t bad, but the quality falls short of what you expect on a £75,000 car. At the Mach-E’s £43,000 starting price the materials are passable, but when the invoice is firmly in mid-range BMW and Mercedes territory, hard plastics just don’t cut it.

Our test of the Mach-E GT Rally took us from Peterborough under the English Channel on LeShuttle (formerly Eurotunnel) into Calais and then immediately west across France’s northern coast. It’s the type of journey not designed for a performance EV, but the Mach-E was largely impressive throughout the trip. With comfy seats, excellent driver-assistance features and effortless performance, it lives up to the ‘GT’ in its name. Well, largely, as the wind noise from the door mirrors is far too pronounced, getting irksome at France’s autoroute limit of 130km/h, or around 80mph.

Even by EV standards the Mach-E feels brisk, with its Untamed drive mode unlocking maximum potential. It feels even quicker than its 3.6sec 0-62mph time suggests, yet it’s easy to modulate and control the acceleration. Other modes are Active and Whisper. We assumed Whisper would be a fun-sapping ‘range’ mode, but after some experimentation it became our default setting, where car and driver were happiest.

Up the pace and the Mach-E GT Rally starts to feel more alive and engaging. It has a lot of the positive qualities traditionally associated with good Fords, such as its elasticated steering feel with a decent weight to it (though only in Untamed mode), and limited bodyroll. On the road, grip levels quickly run out because of the Rally’s use of all-terrain tyres, often accompanied by the sound of squealing rubber. The rear doesn’t take much provocation before it steps out, and we imagine it could prove a bit of a handful in colder, wet conditions (our testing was during an April heatwave).

The ride is an improvement over a regular Mach-E GT’s, helped by that extra suspension travel and extra tyre sidewall. But it retains some of the standard car’s flaws. For instance, you can often hear clunks from the suspension as it deals with road imperfections, even if you can’t always feel them. The ride is quite at bouncy at low speeds, too, only really settling when you’ve picked up the pace.

The Rally package has unlocked an extra degree of usability. It doesn’t sound much, but a 20mm increase in ride height and the new underbody shields mean you aren’t too afraid to take it off the beaten track. It’s by no means a serious off-roader – most of the Rally pack is skin deep – and still has limited ground clearance, but on a dirt or gravelly surface there’s the potential for serious fun as the rear lets go.

The Mach-E is, externally, Ford’s largest EV (excluding anything that’s a van or van-derived), though it isn’t as roomy as a Capri. It was a car conceived with style seemingly prioritised ahead of spaciousness, with its 402-litre boot far smaller than almost every rival. That said, the frunk under the bonnet is a very useful size at 100 litres, and is perfect for keeping charging cables out of the way. You can also unlock it with the key, a bit like a Porsche and indeed some past Fords, without having to faff around pulling any bonnet releases.

Rear seat space is adequate but no more, with a tapered roofline and small windows making it feel more cramped. There’s a good deal of space up front, though, with a low centre console area making the cabin feel open – in comparison a Tesla Model Y, for example, feels quite hemmed-in.

In terms of range, Ford claims 316 miles from this GT Rally, but around 240 miles is more likely what you’ll get from a charge, with an efficiency figure of 2.8 miles per kWh recorded in our testing. A regular Mach-E in RWD Extended Range form is the better choice where range is concerned, with Ford claiming up to 379 miles, which remains competitive. What’s not so competitive is the Mach-E’s 150kW charging ability, which at 36 minutes for a charge from 10 to 80 per cent looks slow next to many rivals. A Kia EV6 can do that in half the time.

Though the Mach-E might have been revealed more than a half decade ago, in many ways it still feels quite modern even compared to newer rivals. The 15.5-inch touchscreen still takes pride of place inside, and while lacking the responsiveness of a Tesla or Hyundai system it’s easy enough to use.

But the Mach-E’s trump card is its BlueCruise feature, which makes it the only car in the UK with legal ‘hands-off’ adaptive cruise control. You must still keep your eyes on the road, but on most motorways in most circumstances it will do the driving for you. It’s a £1200 one-time extra, or it can be bought as a subscription. Even Tesla’s so-called AutoPilot can’t work ‘hands-off’ yet in the UK.

The first alert to tell you that you’re running low comes on at 12 per cent, saying ‘Low battery range’. Then there’s nothing until you get to six per cent. You can clear the message from the digital instrument cluster by pressing the ‘OK’ button on the steering wheel. Full performance is no longer available, but it’s still pretty brisk.

You then get a ‘chargers unreachable’ message on the touchscreen. It says: ‘Nearest charger is outside of your range. Plan to find a local power outlet where you can charge.’ You’re prompted to a find a charger or clear the message. (Why aren’t we panicking? Because we’re assuming there’s some built-in slack, and in any case we’re just about within range of the chargers in our office car park, which aren’t listed on the nav.) We can’t help but feel this message came on far too late, and should be displayed when the first range warning bongs.

With a declared five miles of range remaining it says ‘Charger distance critical’ on the screen, and is now claiming ‘Nearest charger is near the edge of your range. Find a charger or risk running out of energy.’ The battery charge percentage drops to zero while still reading three miles of EV range remaining, with persistent ‘Chargers unreachable’ messages from here on, as the range read-out then drops to zero. While acceleration is now limited, much to our surprise it will sit at 70mph as we dive off the A1 into our office car park charging points.