In reply to Matt B (fs) :
Even without snow I find myself hating driving my wife's mazda5 in the wet as I constantly find myself fighting wheelspin from a stop. Granted, traction control might help, but it would also tick me off having power pulled. (it has fairly new tires too)
The one Ford sent me to review was a nearly-loaded EcoBoost Lariat, missing only the 4K Tow package. I liked the truck a lot but would spec mine differently. 4,000 pounds isn't enough tow capacity for my needs and AWD vs FWD is... whatever. You're not gonna be off-roading this truck (well, you or I won't) and you live in Florida.
Sweet spot for me is an XLT hybrid with some options for mid-20s pricing.
Lovely truck though. I haven't driven a Santa Cruz yet, but have driven that 2.5T/DCT drivetrain in a Santa Fe. Didn't like the DCT much and I personally love the Maverick styling but find Santa Cruz styling... way not my thing.
I don't feel like going and trying to find the post but a while ago I drove a santa cruz shortly after driving a couple of mavericks. There was nothing specifically wrong with it and there were a couple of minor things I liked better than the maverick, but IMO nothing about it remotely justifies the extra $10k price tag unless you really can't stand the maverick styling.
From my past experience trying to find a Ford dealership that has any knowledge of actually working on a Hybrid, I'd go with the Ecoboost. When I had my Cmax, I called every Ford dealership within a 2 hour drive and almost every one said they didn't have much experience troubleshooting issues on Hybrid models. I towed it to a large Ford dealer about an hour away and they kept the car for 2 months and were unable to come close to properly diagnosing the issue. In the end they claimed it needed a new high voltage battery which was completely wrong and they missed the fact the transmission grenaded badly enough to bust the transmission case.
maschinenbau said:alfadriver said:If I could get a hybrid that could tow 3500 lb, I would totally get it.
(and clarification, I mean Escape or Maveric size, not full sized truck.)
Toyota Sienna is now hybrid-only and is still rated for 3500 lbs.
If I ever get the X-plan taken away, I would look into that.
edit- just looked up that it's a mini-van. Not going to happen.
Will they start adding more options once in the 2023-24 models ?
no reason to now with it already sold out ,
In reply to californiamilleghia :
More options are not going to happen until production capability fully catches up.
The things that make the Maverick unique are the low entry price, and the hybrid capability. I'd be trying to take advantage of those unique traits rather than just getting a bunch of stuff that comes in most comparable vehicles these days.
Apexcarver said:In reply to Matt B (fs) :
Even without snow I find myself hating driving my wife's mazda5 in the wet as I constantly find myself fighting wheelspin from a stop. Granted, traction control might help, but it would also tick me off having power pulled. (it has fairly new tires too)
In all fairness, the Mazda5 has probably the worst wheel hop in the wet or dry of any vehicle I have ever driven. Speaking as a former owner I feel your pain, but I wouldn't assume all FWD platforms would behave the same.
My friend has three kids, the oldest of whom will be driving soon. He has a company car, so that just leaves his wife's SUV. He was complaining about the price and availability of good used cars.
I asked if he ever finds himself with the need to do very light duty truck stuff, and suggested the Maverick. A front wheel drive hybrid is cheap and seems like a great alternative to a small used car.
The Maverick that interests me the most would be the cheapest new one that I could buy with a factory warranty.
Tom Suddard said:
And last I checked, the Santa Cruz was $10k more money for less truck. What am I missing?
The #1 thing it has going for it is it's not a modern Ford. I know I know, Korean car guys have no room to throw shade but I've been forced to work on enough newer Fords that I will NEVER own one. I'd rather buy a Toyota (and some of y'all know how I feel about that).
But buy what you want. IT's not my car to deal with and if it ticks all your boxes good for you!
Performance aside, how long would the money outlay for a hybrid maverick vs the outlay of gas on the element take care of itself? I imagine you'll cut a profit on the sale of said element, and you've got the inside line in the industry, so you're better off than a lot of us. But let's say the net outlay is...10 grand. Seems like a good number. If you're getting 30mpg in the element and 40 in the Maverick, that's an increase of 33% (or is it 25?) If you drive 10k. A year, you'll use 333ish gallons in one at 250 in the other. We'll say that's....80 gallons a year different. At 4 bucks a gallon that's 320/yr saved. Itd take you just over 30 years to zero out that mpg.
Now I'm not saying don't do it's absolutely do it. I even vote for the turbo one, because turbo is more awesome. But if economy is the only factor, or at least the main factor, I'd go ahead keep the element and maybe just strap a Chinese whirlygig to it.
In reply to Mndsm :
I promise the Element isn't getting 30mpg. Mine gets 22-23 mixed driving. Still won't make up the difference.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
Yeah, I know little about either vehicle. I was just using round numbers for illustration purposes. Even at 20mpg, it would be $400/yr or....25 years.
Im definitely not one to say anything, my E36 M3box liberty gets like 11mpg city. But it cost me 500$ and it would take something like 30 years to save the cost of the new vehicle even if it was a Prius....and the carbon offset from my E36 M3ty jeep has long since happened. Battery tech, as cool as it is, is still horrifically bad for the environment.
Yeah, in all city driving with a heavy right foot I average 19 mpg in my AWD automatic Element. That still doesn't make a difference--it's definitely cheaper to keep driving the Element. Assuming a Maverick gets double the mileage, that's still only $1000 per year in fuel savings for me. A new car will depreciate faster than that, at least in normal times.
Mavericks are cool and it's a decent excuse to go shopping for one, though....
I'd go base model and self add the cruise control. If you're not keen on the steel wheels, lots of other Ford JY sourced wheels look good too.
2018 Escape alloys:
Focus ST:
Bronco Sport:
The Maverick XL come with 17" tires. I would then likely keep the tires and find 17" Escape alloys. A quick search near me has these 17'ers for $40 each!
Tom Suddard said:Yeah, in all city driving with a heavy right foot I average 19 mpg in my AWD automatic Element. That still doesn't make a difference--it's definitely cheaper to keep driving the Element. Assuming a Maverick gets double the mileage, that's still only $1000 per year in fuel savings for me. A new car will depreciate faster than that, at least in normal times.
Mavericks are cool and it's a decent excuse to go shopping for one, though....
I'm all for all of that.
Tom Suddard said:Yeah, in all city driving with a heavy right foot I average 19 mpg in my AWD automatic Element. That still doesn't make a difference--it's definitely cheaper to keep driving the Element. Assuming a Maverick gets double the mileage, that's still only $1000 per year in fuel savings for me. A new car will depreciate faster than that, at least in normal times.
Mavericks are cool and it's a decent excuse to go shopping for one, though....
A six speed swap would increase the mpgs of the Element and make it a decent amount zippier.
I actually had a long conversation with my wife about her Honda Element yesterday. Despite it getting up there in miles, she refuses to consider something new. Indeed, the Element gets poor gas mileage, isn't particularly fast or nimble, but the utilitarian nature of it appeals to her and she's had it for most of her time she's had a license. Plus, it has ample space for tons of bumper stickers on the glass. Ugh. Oh well, to each their own.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
There is no direct replacement for an Element
Tom Suddard said:Yeah, in all city driving with a heavy right foot I average 19 mpg in my AWD automatic Element. That still doesn't make a difference--it's definitely cheaper to keep driving the Element. Assuming a Maverick gets double the mileage, that's still only $1000 per year in fuel savings for me. A new car will depreciate faster than that, at least in normal times.
Mavericks are cool and it's a decent excuse to go shopping for one, though....
Well, that's with gas at current prices... I've heard projections of $6 to $10 gas by the end of the summer. The payback could be a bit faster.
Hybrid battery and supporting systems plus CVT equals huge repair bills after the warranty is up. How long will you keep it?
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:Hybrid battery and supporting systems plus CVT equals huge repair bills after the warranty is up. How long will you keep it?
The CVT is the hybrid part. It's just 2 electric motors and some planetary gears. Same setup the Prius has used forever. They're used as taxis for a reason. But, Ford covers their hybrid components for 8 years/100k miles too.
I've been interested in the Maverick ever since the tailgate pics were leaked. I missed ordering a 2022 because I couldn't decide on which trim and drivetrain I would get. I was 80% sure I wanted an XLT Ecoboost with the 4k tow package and FX4 package. But then the hybrids started trickling out and I kept reading owner reports of getting 38+ mpg.
It's the perfect vehicle for me. Just enough utility to be useful but small and fuel efficient enough to be a great commuter. I don't tow anything (despite the mental gymnastics trying to convince myself otherwise), so the FWD hybrid would be plenty. I have a 40 mile daily commute that is changing to 80 miles once I move in with the GF. The 16mpg I get in my Tahoe PPV is punishing at $4.59 a gallon for 87. $50 in gas lasts 3 days 
.
The order banks for the 2023s open on Aug 15th (hybrid) and Aug 25th (Ecoboost) with MY23 production starting Oct 23rd.
I'll be ordering an XLT Hybrid in Cyber Orange and promptly lowering it using H&R lowering springs for the Ford Escape. Love that color!
You'll need to log in to post.
