Hermann
Site Donor 2023
The Maverick is now a year young. It has been reliable, no issues in day to day driving. Has only been to the dealer for recalls and TSB's. It's a easy vehicle to live with. Below are my pros and cons that are worth mentioning.
Let's start with the Cons:
Plastic panels that scratch real easy. Usually the scratches do not respond to attempts to blend them into the surface.
The brakes have reverted back to being grabby when braking at slow speeds. Ford needs to fix this, pronto!
Tires that are 1/3 worn at 10K
Less than optimal front suspension.
Odd steering angles from the 121 inch wheelbase, combined with FWD with quick steering responses, you need to be careful. Although I am getting used to it without thinking about it.
The over abundance of safety nannies.
The tech features that sometimes work when they want to work. Mostly the infotainment screen.
The lack of push button start.
Now the good stuff:
An engine that is using no or miniscule amounts of oil.
Easy DIY oil changes. All routine service items are easy to get at.
Really surprising driving dynamics at speed. In high speed long duration sweepers it's a blast to change cornering angles with the throttle, both on and off. Thanks to the rear suspension being supple on small pavement imperfections, your steering angles do not change from the chassis getting upset. This can be an entertaining and pleasing vehicle to drive quickly on curvy roads.
The seats at first glance look less than stellar. The power controls on the driver's seat work well and is able to make fine adjustments. The cushion is soft on top with firmer foam below. Long term comfort has not been a issue on several 200 miles trips. I am lucky that the lumber is the correct height for me. The 2-way lumbar adjusts in fine increments. The cloth denim like seat covers are somewhat grippy and go well with the rest of the interior. The headrest allows me to sit up straight comfortably with no neck strain when I rest my head on it. My upper shoulders hit the seat back comfortably. Overall the seats get 8/10 rating.
The items of the XLT Luxury Package have made this a very liveable truck. All of the heated stuff works well. The heated steering wheel is excellent, heats quickly and feels nice in the hands. The leather is thin but is cushioned. The seat heaters are also on the low back and also heat quickly. On each of the three levels you can feel the difference quite easily. The factory spray in bed liner is part of the LUX package, items placed on it do not slide around. Only got to use the heated mirrors once so far, they worked well, quickly. It has extra bed lighting that has come in handy a couple of times. I.E. night time grocery runs. The two 400 watt A/C outlets have been well used. I don't know if this is luxury, it comes with a endangered species full size spare tire.
A trailer hitch and 4 pin connector are also in this package.
The Hybrid powertrain has been as advertised. After a full year it has averaged 40.7 MPG since new. Thought I might slip below 40mpg during the winter. Got as low as 40.4 hand calculated. The hybrid is surprisingly quick, and surprises many full size pickups with its power. What impresses most is the smoothness of operation. The transitions from ICE to Electric and vice versa are mostly un noticeable if you have any volume above 8/30 on the radio. Although not an aggressive driver, when passing is required it is up to the task. Instant torque and the instant response to throttle applications, make country road slow pokes easy to pass.
Another impressive thing about the Maverick is the excellent paint and it's lack of orange peel. The paint is easy to clean and responds nicely to spray waxes. The Cactus Gray color always seems to look clean. There are no paint chips on the front end. Then again I rarely tailgate and don't follow semi's close if they pass me . I'll just back off.
All of the Ford branded accessories continue to look good and clean up nicely. The Ford tri fold hard cover looks especially good after a wash with just a quick wipe. The splash guards have kept the area behind the tires very clean and no rock chips down low.
The Maverick is surprisingly wide. I'm 5'11" and 225 lbs. Myself and the lady friend are both wide shouldered. We never bump shoulders with 6 inches to spare.
The rear seat to me is basically a luggage space. It has seen only one passenger in the first year, my lady friends 27 y.o. grand daughter. She thought the truck was cool.
Although I did sit back there before purchasing. I figured if my large frame fit sitting behind me, it was adequate.
Last but not least is the overall competent feeling of the Maverick. From its lack of shimmies and shakes going down the road to tires that have not needed balancing in 10K. I live within a mile of being in "The country" and encounter all kinds of conditions when driving and the Maverick has meet each challenge that has presented itself.
Below is a link to a Maverick hybrid review by Ryan of Driving Sports TV on YouTube. The driving impressions start at about 11 minutes. I feel much the same way he does about the Hybrid.
Thanks for reading
Let's start with the Cons:
Plastic panels that scratch real easy. Usually the scratches do not respond to attempts to blend them into the surface.
The brakes have reverted back to being grabby when braking at slow speeds. Ford needs to fix this, pronto!
Tires that are 1/3 worn at 10K
Less than optimal front suspension.
Odd steering angles from the 121 inch wheelbase, combined with FWD with quick steering responses, you need to be careful. Although I am getting used to it without thinking about it.
The over abundance of safety nannies.
The tech features that sometimes work when they want to work. Mostly the infotainment screen.
The lack of push button start.
Now the good stuff:
An engine that is using no or miniscule amounts of oil.
Easy DIY oil changes. All routine service items are easy to get at.
Really surprising driving dynamics at speed. In high speed long duration sweepers it's a blast to change cornering angles with the throttle, both on and off. Thanks to the rear suspension being supple on small pavement imperfections, your steering angles do not change from the chassis getting upset. This can be an entertaining and pleasing vehicle to drive quickly on curvy roads.
The seats at first glance look less than stellar. The power controls on the driver's seat work well and is able to make fine adjustments. The cushion is soft on top with firmer foam below. Long term comfort has not been a issue on several 200 miles trips. I am lucky that the lumber is the correct height for me. The 2-way lumbar adjusts in fine increments. The cloth denim like seat covers are somewhat grippy and go well with the rest of the interior. The headrest allows me to sit up straight comfortably with no neck strain when I rest my head on it. My upper shoulders hit the seat back comfortably. Overall the seats get 8/10 rating.
The items of the XLT Luxury Package have made this a very liveable truck. All of the heated stuff works well. The heated steering wheel is excellent, heats quickly and feels nice in the hands. The leather is thin but is cushioned. The seat heaters are also on the low back and also heat quickly. On each of the three levels you can feel the difference quite easily. The factory spray in bed liner is part of the LUX package, items placed on it do not slide around. Only got to use the heated mirrors once so far, they worked well, quickly. It has extra bed lighting that has come in handy a couple of times. I.E. night time grocery runs. The two 400 watt A/C outlets have been well used. I don't know if this is luxury, it comes with a endangered species full size spare tire.
A trailer hitch and 4 pin connector are also in this package.
The Hybrid powertrain has been as advertised. After a full year it has averaged 40.7 MPG since new. Thought I might slip below 40mpg during the winter. Got as low as 40.4 hand calculated. The hybrid is surprisingly quick, and surprises many full size pickups with its power. What impresses most is the smoothness of operation. The transitions from ICE to Electric and vice versa are mostly un noticeable if you have any volume above 8/30 on the radio. Although not an aggressive driver, when passing is required it is up to the task. Instant torque and the instant response to throttle applications, make country road slow pokes easy to pass.
Another impressive thing about the Maverick is the excellent paint and it's lack of orange peel. The paint is easy to clean and responds nicely to spray waxes. The Cactus Gray color always seems to look clean. There are no paint chips on the front end. Then again I rarely tailgate and don't follow semi's close if they pass me . I'll just back off.
All of the Ford branded accessories continue to look good and clean up nicely. The Ford tri fold hard cover looks especially good after a wash with just a quick wipe. The splash guards have kept the area behind the tires very clean and no rock chips down low.
The Maverick is surprisingly wide. I'm 5'11" and 225 lbs. Myself and the lady friend are both wide shouldered. We never bump shoulders with 6 inches to spare.
The rear seat to me is basically a luggage space. It has seen only one passenger in the first year, my lady friends 27 y.o. grand daughter. She thought the truck was cool.
Although I did sit back there before purchasing. I figured if my large frame fit sitting behind me, it was adequate.Last but not least is the overall competent feeling of the Maverick. From its lack of shimmies and shakes going down the road to tires that have not needed balancing in 10K. I live within a mile of being in "The country" and encounter all kinds of conditions when driving and the Maverick has meet each challenge that has presented itself.
Below is a link to a Maverick hybrid review by Ryan of Driving Sports TV on YouTube. The driving impressions start at about 11 minutes. I feel much the same way he does about the Hybrid.
Thanks for reading
Last edited:
. Hope they get a fix for the brakes . One concern is how it will keep its book value further down the road when trade in values become more normal .
Red color appears orange in direct sunlight and red in the overcast or shade. My mpg is averaging mid 40’s in mostly city driving, sometimes over 50, depending on conditions.
. Ford dealers are just ruining the buying experience. I was fortunate to buy mine at “A” plan price at the time.
