Gas Vs Tesla Plaid Vs Ford Mustang Mach-E

Take three cars, two electric and one gas, put them on a loop for 1,000 miles, and see which is done with the trip first, as well as the total fuel cost for each car. What a concept!

Races are very popular on InsideEVs, though we’d argue that a “race” like this should be much more popular than a drag race or a trip around the twisty track. Sure, more traditional races are fun and exciting to watch, and there’s nothing quite like showing gas cars that EVs are better.

With that said, a practical road trip “race” – it’s not really a race but rather a range, efficiency, and charging test – like the one above just published by Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), is much more useful. Prospective EV owners want to know how long a road trip will take them, what are the challenges, and will it really be much more inconvenient than a road trip in a gas car?

We’ve seen many long road-trip race videos before. Those that we’ve watched and published stories about are typically two or more EVs racing one another. However, this video is unique since it features two of the latest and most compelling entries in the electric car space: the Tesla Model S Plaid and the Ford Mustang Mach-E. It also features a gas-powered Audi Q5.

The Model S is wearing 21-inch wheels and has an EPA-estimated range of 348 miles. The Mustang Mach-E is the California Route 1 Edition, which can travel 305 miles on a single charge, according to the EPA. Brownlee says the Q5 can travel about 462 miles on a full tank of gas.

We encourage you to scroll down to the comment section and place your bets on the winner of this race before you watch the whole video (spoilers below). Simple math says the Audi should win, followed by the Plaid, with the Mach-E coming in last. However, the Audi should be the loser when it comes to fuel cost.

It’s important to point out that simply looking at an EV’s range doesn’t tell the whole story. There are many other factors that will impact the results. Charging speed is one of the most important considerations here.

In the end, it cost about $85 to fuel up the Q5, $66 for the Model S’ charging, and $61 for the Mustang Mach-E. 

The Audi took almost 19 hours to complete the 1,000-mile journey. The Model S Plaid was about an hour and a half behind. Interestingly, the Mustang Mach-E took an extra 6.5 hours to complete the trip. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.