One of the hottest electric vehicles at the moment is Ford's Mustang Mach-E, and I recently had a chance to spend some time in a 2021 model in First Edition trim to test out all of its features including the SYNC 4A infotainment system on a massive 15.5-inch portrait display with support for wireless CarPlay.

2021 mach e
I went hands-on with the 2021 F-150 hybrid with SYNC 4 a few months ago, but the SYNC 4A infotainment system in the Mach-E offers a rather different experience.

The Mach-E offers very little in the way of hardware controls, certainly as far as the dash and center stack are concerned, with almost all of the vehicle's functions handled through the main infotainment screen that dominates the vehicle's interior. About the only hardware control in the traditional center stack area is a textured ring for controlling volume, and even that is mounted directly on the screen in a very neat touch.

SYNC 4A Infotainment

The SYNC 4A infotainment system is essentially divided vertically into four sections, with a narrow top bar at the top offering some high-level information on the vehicle and access to some shortcuts, a main app section, a card-based interface for changing between functions, and a climate control section at the bottom.

2021 mach e sync
SYNC 4A relies heavily on the card-based user interface, with the swipeable row of cards offering information on and access to features such as the radio, onboard navigation, phone, owner's manual, and more. Tapping any of them brings the corresponding full app to the main portion of the screen. If you're using ‌CarPlay‌, that will take over this primary portion of the screen that offers a generous amount of space, but you'll still have access to the native infotainment functions on the rest of the screen.

2021 mach e sync nav
I've repeatedly noted that I'm not a fan of screen-based climate controls, so that's a knock against the Mach-E. Automatic systems are, however, getting more and more sophisticated to allow you to mostly "set it and forget it" with only the occasional temperature adjustment or a temporary shift to defrost mode, for example. You can also use the built-in voice assistant to make changes to your settings without having to touch the screen.

2021 mach e sync shortcuts
While the huge portrait display and the volume ring are very futuristic looking, I'm not a huge fan of the overall look of the SYNC 4A system, as it just feels bland to me. That blandness is even more noticeable when you've got ‌CarPlay‌ with its vibrant apps and icons displayed on a portion of the screen.

CarPlay

I still tell everyone who will listen that wireless ‌CarPlay‌ is a life-changing feature, even if you're coming from the wired version. Having ‌CarPlay‌ automatically pop up on the screen without having to take your phone out of your pocket just makes the whole experience so much smoother. So even for short drives where in the past I wouldn't have bothered digging out my phone and plugging it in, with wireless I've got ‌CarPlay‌ up and ready to go if I need it.

2021 mach e carplay maps
Fortunately, wireless ‌CarPlay‌ comes standard with SYNC 4A and the Mach-E, something that's becoming more and more common as car manufacturers have accelerated development on their infotainment systems in response to customer demand and rapidly changing technology.

2021 mach e carplay home
‌CarPlay‌ is bright and vibrant on the Mach-E's display, and I like that it only takes up a portion of the screen so I still have access to information and controls from the native system. But while ‌CarPlay‌ is reasonably large on the screen, it's unfortunately not widescreen, which is a feature I've come to appreciate on many cars for the much more expansive view of navigation apps like Apple Maps. Still, ‌CarPlay‌ looks good and works well, and it's well-positioned to be visible while not being too far out of your line of sight while driving.

2021 mach e carplay now playing
Ford has also recently rolled out a software update that enables ‌CarPlay‌ to take over even more of the screen, shrinking the native card interface in the row below and offering a more square aspect ratio for ‌CarPlay‌, although this functionality wasn't available on my vehicle at the time of testing. It seems to have appeared first in the new GT models before making its way into other versions of the vehicle.

Digital Cluster

Similar to the VW ID.4, the Mach-E doesn't have much directly in front of the driver, going for a minimal look that relies on a 10.2-inch display to provide all of the relevant information.

2021 mach e driver display
The display shows battery level and range data, current gear, speed, vehicle safety data, navigation prompts, and more, dynamically adjusting as needed based on what's happening with the vehicle. Second-screen navigation prompts for ‌Apple Maps‌ in ‌CarPlay‌ are supported on the driver's display, offering another way to help keep you headed in the right direction.

Charging and Ports

As with most of the rest of the hardware in the vehicle, connectivity options in the Mach-E are a bit sparse, but you do get a set of USB ports (one USB-A and one USB-C) located prominently below the center display for wired connectivity. There's another set of USB-A and USB-C ports for second-row passengers.

2021 mach e rear usb
There's also a wireless charging pad adjacent to the front ports, located under a portion of a rubber mat for keeping other items from sliding around too much. The mat has dividers to separate the main bin into sections, and the wireless charging area is JUST big enough to accommodate a Max-sized iPhone. If you have a bulky case on yours, it might not quite fit.

2021 mach 3 charger

Wrap-up

Given that this is an Apple site and not an EV site, I haven't focused on some of the main features of the Mach-E such as the driving experience, but I will say it was a joy to drive with the snappy performance you expect from an EV of this type. Acceleration off the line was excellent, thanks in significant part to my tester being a First Edition eAWD model with 346 horses and a 0–60 time of 4.8 seconds. It's not as quick as the new GT editions that can push that time down into the mid-3s, but it's a big step up from the lower-end RWD versions with times closer to six seconds.

As for the SYNC 4A infotainment system and ‌CarPlay‌, I have mixed feelings about these. The large portrait display is certainly eye-catching, but I don't love the overall look and I wish more functions were still available as hardware controls. The portrait display pretty much precludes the possibility of a widescreen ‌CarPlay‌ layout, but aside from that, I thought it worked well with the SYNC 4A system.

The wireless connectivity was solid in my experience, and wireless phone charging worked well with the tight fit on the charging mat ensuring that my phone couldn't become misaligned while driving. And thankfully, both wireless ‌CarPlay‌ and wireless phone charging are standard across all trims.

I'm glad to see support for ‌Apple Maps‌ directions in the digital cluster coming to more and more vehicles, and Ford has done a good job making that information fit in with the overall look of the system.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Top Rated Comments

w00t951 Avatar
52 months ago
They shouldn't have called this thing a Mustang.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SigurTom Avatar
52 months ago
Yuck, can't do anything by feel... navigating to a submenu to adjust cabin fan speed ?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
52 months ago
The screens look they were placed in the car as an afterthought.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Serban55 Avatar
52 months ago
A lot of car manufactures forget about whats important on a car...reliability and ergonomics
Now everyone is chasing this stuppid who get the larger displays in their car...probably in the future you will get a touchscreen steering wheel also
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
52 months ago
An excellent car with the dumbest name in decades.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
52 months ago
If you had pointed at this car on the street and asked me what it was, I would never in a million years have guessed, “Ford Mustang”. It… doesn’t look anything like what I remember as Mustangs.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Says U.S. Passport Feature on iPhone is Coming Soon

Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday. On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year." Apple's...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone XX? 6 Features Rumored for Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday October 27, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by
For the 10th anniversary iPhone that came out in 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone X with Face ID, notch, and minimized bezels, providing more display space than ever before. The 20th iPhone anniversary is approaching and Apple wants to take the iPhone X design even further. We're two years away from the 2027 iPhone, but it's tough for Apple to keep major changes under wraps. We've rounded...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...