Hi again, less tired now. The deal went down as planned. $27,090 Msrp, and $399 admin fee. Yep that got raised after the order. I received the KBB price on the Venza with no hassles. The worst part of the day was dealing with the Accessories Manager. To tell you he has worked there 37 years, should kind of tell you how the experience went. Not well. To get out of the room, I told him I would buy the paint and fabric protection packages.($900) This morning on his day off I dealt with who should be running that dept. Protection packages removed and just my accessories were ordered and they are in stock at the KC parts warehouse. Should all be installed by Sat morning and probably pick up around noon. Pics then.
The test drive was to drive to my house to make sure the 200" long truck(let) fits in the garage. . 6 inches to spare. The truck drove nicely, it is quiet, heard no wind noise during a quiet time(no radio). The steering is on the weighty side. Even has a bit of feedback thru the wheel. The interior is "Unique" to say the least. At least the orange accents add some color to the otherwise drab colors. The seats are comfy with soft cushions, not sure these won't collapse quickly. The thigh support is a bit short, not horrible. The steering wheel and controls on it are much easier to use than the Venza's. The leather is of better quality on the wheel with a touch of padding. The tech is so much easier on this car despite it having nearly the same amount of "Nannies". The butt warmers work well but not super hot.
The Cactus Gray paint is a good color with all the black body cladding. The seats have enough gray in them that they go together well. Rear seat legroom behind me was fine. The 400w AC outlet on the rear of the armrest is a nice interior perk. There is another in the bed. The truck came with the wire adapters for the two 12volt outlets in the rear of the bed. Yesterday the drizzly rainy's set in here. The wipers are excellent with a wide sweep, and the delays setting had enough positions to match the changing rain rate.
The hybrid powertrain feels and performs just like the Toyota system. No complaints. Smooth integration from ICE to Battery and vice versa. Only felt one tiny vibration in 34 miles. On my trip to and from the house I registered 51 and 44 mpg going to my house starting with a cold engine. Max speed was around 60mph. The rotary shifter (love it or hate it) really opens up the console area. My Dancing Hula Girl figurine did not fit the cubby next to the screen.
The touchscreen is small but very readable, is less confusing than the Venza's. The difficult to use Toyota tech is the main reason I am trading it. On the Toyota tech it seems hard to get the same result twice. The stock speakers are good but nowhere near great. A decent amount of not muddy bass.
The folks who already have their Maverick's are right in that they get a lot of looks. During the few minutes at home 2 neighbors came over to get a look. No one ever gave the Venza a second look.
The number one thing that surprized me is the solidity of the body and the sound of the doors closing. A very positive thunk. This vehicle seems substantial and drives that way. There were no rattles on the rough roads around my house. It does ride stiffer than the Venza but the suspension seems composed. It is nowhere as stiff as my F-150 was. The payload rating is 1430 lb on the door jamb sticker. The paint quality is good, although it was a gloomy day. They had it in the well lit showroom which is were the paint looked nice and felt smooth.
Overall this IMO is a good Hybrid vehicle for $27K with a fair amount of premium features. I see Ford selling zillions of these once they get part constraints taken care of. I could see auto parts and pizza deliveries snapping these up.
Thanks for reading.
