Strike two for Ford

Joined
Nov 23, 2003
Messages
2,477
Location
WA
I been on the hunt for a new car for the last six months and it hasn’t been easy as you can imagine. I liked the looks of the Bronco Sport so I placed an order for one on December 2nd, 2021 sight unseen since no one had them in stock at that time. I put a $500 refundable deposit down and ordered what options I wanted and this dealer sells all their cars at MSRP. They said it would arrive in 3-4 months, cool. It was the Big Bend trim with the 1.5T 3 cylinder. In January I found a dealer that had a used Big Bend on their lot so I went over there to check it out and test drive it. I liked the exterior and interior of it but the 1.5T was just terrible, it was course, loud, and you had to gun it to get any power out if it. Then I read Ford uses cylinder deactivation on this eninge, ***? I immediately removed the Bronco Sport from my list.

I went back to the dealer on January 26th and removed my name from the Bronco Sport order and ordered a Maverick with the Ecoboost. This was one day before Ford cut off all Maverick orders. This was another sight unseen order since no one has a Maverick in stock. Fast forward to today and I found a local dealer that actually had a demo Ecoboost Maverick. I went and test drove it and the “truck” did nothing for me. I felt the 2.0T had to much turbo lag and didn’t feel fast at all. I have been driving turbo 4 cylinders for the past 20 years and my last one was the VW 1.8T. The VW EA888 eats the 2.0T Ecoboost for lunch. Now the Maverick is off my list. I went back to the dealer and was refunded my deposit. I have driven the new Ranger with the 2.3T and I thought that engine had plenty of power for its application. I have never owned a Ford and every one in my price budget from them these days isn’t doing anything for me.
 
Well, what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
No reason to be brand loyal... find what you like (in your price range) from a manufacturer with a good reputation.
 
I am forced into using FORD with my company vehicles. I would NEVER, buy a FORD personally. I am watching Fusion after Fusion and Escape after Escape get trashed due to the issues with the short block. My Fusion had 82K on it, somewhere in there, and needed a new short block. Known issue, plaguing tons of the 1.5 EcoBoost Engines. FORD sent an estimate of $7200 to our fleet company.

If I had paid my money for that Fusion, I would be writing this from prison.......
 
You didn't foresee a 1.5L Turbo being terrible?

Much less a 2.0L T on a truck...no matter how small a truck that is still not going to cut it.
I wouldn't touch the VW either (Edit: Sorry if the VW is just a passenger car, then that's totally acceptable).

I drove Ford Explorer with 2.3L T and determined that was not sufficient.
About 2.5L Turbo is where I draw the line for mid-large SUV/small truck.
 
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I been on the hunt for a new car for the last six months and it hasn’t been easy as you can imagine. I liked the looks of the Bronco Sport so I placed an order for one on December 2nd, 2021 sight unseen since no one had them in stock at that time. I put a $500 refundable deposit down and ordered what options I wanted and this dealer sells all their cars at MSRP. They said it would arrive in 3-4 months, cool. It was the Big Bend trim with the 1.5T 3 cylinder. In January I found a dealer that had a used Big Bend on their lot so I went over there to check it out and test drive it. I liked the exterior and interior of it but the 1.5T was just terrible, it was course, loud, and you had to gun it to get any power out if it. Then I read Ford uses cylinder deactivation on this eninge, ***? I immediately removed the Bronco Sport from my list.

I went back to the dealer on January 26th and removed my name from the Bronco Sport order and ordered a Maverick with the Ecoboost. This was one day before Ford cut off all Maverick orders. This was another sight unseen order since no one has a Maverick in stock. Fast forward to today and I found a local dealer that actually had a demo Ecoboost Maverick. I went and test drove it and the “truck” did nothing for me. I felt the 2.0T had to much turbo lag and didn’t feel fast at all. I have been driving turbo 4 cylinders for the past 20 years and my last one was the VW 1.8T. The VW EA888 eats the 2.0T Ecoboost for lunch. Now the Maverick is off my list. I went back to the dealer and was refunded my deposit. I have driven the new Ranger with the 2.3T and I thought that engine had plenty of power for its application. I have never owned a Ford and every one in my price budget from them these days isn’t doing anything for me.
They're more interested in selling Titanium Deluxe 500 Brougham 4WD F-250s, Finkle. With 96-month contracts.

Lots of stuff from Ford looks good. On paper.
 
I liked the exterior and interior of it but the 1.5T was just terrible, it was course, loud, and you had to gun it to get any power out if it. Then I read Ford uses cylinder deactivation on this engine, ***?
I had a new 2021 Escape ( 9 miles ) as a loaner for a day and a half. It had the 3 cylinder Eco Boost. Not bad on the highway when it's making some power. In town boulevard driving and stop and go was horrible. The engine and transmission were clearly not on the same page. Pulling away from stoplights your were in 3rd gear by the time you cleared the intersection. Giving it just a moderate amount of beans at 40 mph, resulted in a 4 gear downshift 6th to 2nd and the engine screaming at 4500 rpm. On a positive note it averaged 29.x mpg during my 36 hours in the vehicle. It was a loaner and I was not nice to it several times.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: GON
That was the other thing, the 8 speed in the Bronco Sport was always hunting for gears with the 3 cylinder like Hermann stated.

Not that many cars catch my eye that‘s in my price range these days. I did test drive a used 2021 Toyota Venza and liked it. It didn’t feel like your typical Toyota, but the dealers want a non refundable deposit and first born to have the privilege to put your name on the list to get one. I may go test drive the Mazda CX-50 today. I hope I don’t like it seeing it’s being built in a brand new factory with new workers. I would imagine it will have teething problems the first year.
 
I'm not defending Ford but you shouldn't compare a Ford 2.0T in a truck to a VW 1.8T in a car.
A Focus 2.0T is a match for a Golf 1.8T in power if not in handling....in fact I believe it has more power.
A 1.5 3cyl. turbo would be fine in a Fiesta or maybe even in a Focus but certainly not in an SUV...I question Ford's decision making on this.
 
The 1.5t Ford 3 is notoriously bad, so bad I'd thought they'd quite making it.

When we bought my wife's Edge we drove an Escape with the 2.0t, I thought it was very responsive but I imagine the Escape is quite a bit less to move around than a Maverick.
 
I been on the hunt for a new car for the last six months and it hasn’t been easy as you can imagine. I liked the looks of the Bronco Sport so I placed an order for one on December 2nd, 2021 sight unseen since no one had them in stock at that time. I put a $500 refundable deposit down and ordered what options I wanted and this dealer sells all their cars at MSRP. They said it would arrive in 3-4 months, cool. It was the Big Bend trim with the 1.5T 3 cylinder. In January I found a dealer that had a used Big Bend on their lot so I went over there to check it out and test drive it. I liked the exterior and interior of it but the 1.5T was just terrible, it was course, loud, and you had to gun it to get any power out if it. Then I read Ford uses cylinder deactivation on this eninge, ***? I immediately removed the Bronco Sport from my list.

I went back to the dealer on January 26th and removed my name from the Bronco Sport order and ordered a Maverick with the Ecoboost. This was one day before Ford cut off all Maverick orders. This was another sight unseen order since no one has a Maverick in stock. Fast forward to today and I found a local dealer that actually had a demo Ecoboost Maverick. I went and test drove it and the “truck” did nothing for me. I felt the 2.0T had to much turbo lag and didn’t feel fast at all. I have been driving turbo 4 cylinders for the past 20 years and my last one was the VW 1.8T. The VW EA888 eats the 2.0T Ecoboost for lunch. Now the Maverick is off my list. I went back to the dealer and was refunded my deposit. I have driven the new Ranger with the 2.3T and I thought that engine had plenty of power for its application. I have never owned a Ford and every one in my price budget from them these days isn’t doing anything for me.


The 2.0 ecoBoost is very fast. Check the times in the Escape. 14 seconds 1/4 times No VW 1.8 or 2.0 SUV even close
2022 Maverick with 2.0 ecoBoost
Lariat (4'6.4" Bed)AWD8A6.2 sec14.8 sec @ 93 mphMotor Week
Lariat FX4 (4'6.4" Bed)AWD8A7.0 sec15.4 sec @ 88.9 mphMotor Trend
XLT FX4 (4'6.4" Bed)AWD8A5.9 sec14.5 sec @ 95 mphCar and Driver
 
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I just had this conversation with an auto sales rep at a dealership. I refuse to put a deposit on a vehicle I haven't driven and then hope for a refund if I decide not to buy it. It doesn't have to be the exact vehicle I'm going to buy for the test drive, just an example. Consumer law is not that strong in Utah. So since all vehicles are "pre-sold" in this current market and the dealer won't allow test drives of sold vehicles (understandable) I will not be buying a new vehicle anytime soon.
 
what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
A Way Back Machine. Sherman and I are escaping the crazies and going back to the '60s.

Way, Sherman.jpg
 
Maybe the 2.0T maverick has economy tuning of the throttle response? was there a sport mode?
if I put my jeep in sport it feels like it has another 50hp because you dont have to press the pedal halfway to get a response.
I much prefer the 2.0T with 270hp/295tq over the 3.2 v6 with 271hp/248?tq (cherokee engine options)
 
You didn't foresee a 1.5L Turbo being terrible?

Much less a 2.0L T on a truck...no matter how small a truck that is still not going to cut it.
I wouldn't touch the VW either (Edit: Sorry if the VW is just a passenger car, then that's totally acceptable).

I drove Ford Explorer with 2.3L T and determined that was not sufficient.
About 2.5L Turbo is where I draw the line for mid-large SUV/small truck.

Yep, 300 hp and 310 lb ft out of that 2.3 mated to a 10 speed just aren't enough... Not sure I can roll my eyes hard enough. (For reference, that's more than any of the engine options except the 3.5 ecoboost in the earlier generations...
 
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