Hello, looking for a swiss army knife of vehicles.

[Sticks]

FX4 or AWD Hybrid with mild A/T's would be a much better Swiss Army Knife.

But it seems like you already made up your mind.

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[MakinDoForNow]

Hello all, I have been researching a new vehicle since last November. Originally I was going to buy myself a Ford Bronco 2 Door and keep my Ford Fusion for a few years longer, then when it came time trade the Fusion for a Maverick but after running the figures on car payments, interest rates on loans and increasing insurance I decided that was too much to shell out. I am now considering consolidating down to one vehicle and I am thinking of making that a Ford Maverick Tremor.

I have a long commute, easily 150 miles round trip a day so something with reasonable fuel economy was important. I wanted something that can do some moderate off roading, no rock crawling. Something with a decent amount of room if I wanted to bring along 4-5 people while having plenty of room in the bed for storage and lastly something small enough that when I drive into the city I can park it easily on the street. I also want something with a little pep to it, surprisingly the 0-60 times on the Ford Maverick Tremor is faster than my Fusion with the same engine, which blows my mind.

So you may see me asking some questions but if the figures go in my favor, I may be picking up a Maverick before the Ford Employee Pricing ends. Thanks!

Hmmmmmm.. swiss army knife of vehicles is in Jay Leno 's garage.

 

[chrisofpa]

Worked graveyard for 6 straight years in the 80s. Many times I found myself in my driveway with no recollection of driving home. The company floated the idea of swinging 2nd and 3rd shifts and it was overwhelmingly rejected. Good luck on you hunt and post pictures of which ever you buy.

Yeah I am on year 7 of doing 3 weeks 1st Shift and 1 week 2nd Shift, we had to do 3rd shift when we had issues and I hated that myself. I already had my sleep issues driving home from work, it wasn't fun....

Thanks bro, if I buy it will probably be in the next 3 weeks before the employee pricing ends. I just talked to someone from work that has an older XLT with AWD and the 2.0L, he is very happy with his and gave a glowing recommendation.

 

[chrisofpa]

Honestly the "swiss army knife" aspect of the Maverick is what pushed us out of shopping for SUV hybrids or plug ins and into its corner, long term I think it (or any vehicle in this style/feature-set) will help us limit our total number of vehicles needed in the future. So far it seems like it's been a very good call!

That's good to hear, I rather stick with 2 vehicles, especially since I drive upwards of 45,000 miles a year but I am fed up hearing excuses from my insurance why they have to keep charging me more. On top of that and now car payments, I rather consolidate down to 1 vehicle that can do most of the things I want well.

 

[chrisofpa]

I'd honestly go for an FX4 4K over the Tremor, and I used to own a Tremor.

Please elaborate, it seems like I get a much improved AWD system, the rear locker, metal skid plates and the ability to do a 4WD lock with the Tremor. As I don't have anything to tow, I don't know if its worth losing all that.

 

[chrisofpa]

FX4 or AWD Hybrid with mild A/T's would be a much better Swiss Army Knife.

But it seems like you already made up your mind.

For the most part I have but I am open to other information on the various Maverick trims that I might not be aware of. The reason I am not considering the hybrid as its quite a bit slower and as I mostly drive highway, I feel I would be disappointed in the fuel economy gains while losing the pep of the 2.0L.

I have to take a closer look at the FX4 package. The Tremor offering a more advanced AWD system, the skid plates, rear lockers, the 1" lift and the 4WD lock is really appealing to me.

 

[chrisofpa]

Hmmmmmm.. swiss army knife of vehicles is in Jay Leno 's garage.

Wish I had that kind of money, if it wasn't for the insurance cost I would rather have 2 vehicles instead of 1.

 

[Sticks]

For the most part I have but I am open to other information on the various Maverick trims that I might not be aware of. The reason I am not considering the hybrid as its quite a bit slower and as I mostly drive highway, I feel I would be disappointed in the fuel economy gains while losing the pep of the 2.0L.

I have to take a closer look at the FX4 package. The Tremor offering a more advanced AWD system, the skid plates, rear lockers, the 1" lift and the 4WD lock is really appealing to me.

I think the hybrid would surprise you -- it's not "fast", but the power is surprisingly adequate due to the rapid torque delivery from the electric motor.

For what it's worth, my last daily drivers were a supercharged AMG and a 5.7L Ram. I am very satisfied with my Hybrid's performance.

Regarding FX4 vs Tremor, I think the ~4-5 MPG savings with FX4 are worth it for your commute. It's still intended for offroad with skid plates and tow hooks.

 

[heady]

Yeah the hybrid can satisfy that in some respects, with the electric able to kick in 236 lb-ft at low speeds, it feels similar to my old diesel Jetta, which was really dog slow, but the giant lump of torque made your head tip back at takeoff so you felt like you were going fast Really they need to launch the PHEV version so we can have a 300-350hp street light-to-light racer like they have in the RAV4 PHEV, that thing is ridiculously quick.

 

[710-oil-614]

Please elaborate, it seems like I get a much improved AWD system, the rear locker, metal skid plates and the ability to do a 4WD lock with the Tremor. As I don't have anything to tow, I don't know if its worth losing all that.

You do get all of that. Coming from your Fusion currently how often do you find yourself needing the advanced AWD system? Or do you just fancy it on paper?

Tremor is going to run you over $40k, you're going to get mid size fuel economy, and you don't really have a true off road vehicle - you lack low gearing, true underbody protection, ground clearance, bumpers are plastic...etc.

I found that the Tremor is a compromised vehicle, not a swiss army knife. Which is why I have a 2025 AWD 4K Hybrid now, and she did just find getting me up to my mountain property in pouring rain yesterday.

EDIT: As others have pointed out if you want a swiss army knife vehicle a Maverick can fit that bill, but the Tremor isn't that. Tremor is a great soft roader.

But if I'm going north of $40k for a Tremor - I am jumping over to a 2025 Frontier Pro 4X for mid 40s or a Ranger.

 

[Gray Goose]

I was pondering this the other day after locating all the water leak spots on my new cap, but then I couldn't figure out any situation in which I care that small quantities of water running into the bed area around the edges. My luggage and duffels doesn't care about that amount of water, nor my camping gear, nor any tools or equipment I'd carry back there, I'm not going to sleep in there, I couldn't come up with a real reason to seal it (yet) - interested in what sensitive cargoes people suggest needs a hermetically sealed cargo area for, as I was drawing a blank. Maybe if I was just tossing clothing or fabrics into the back without any sort of container...

A soggy paper bag of groceries can be quite a mess. Totes solve the problem for anything water sensitive. Back seat is best for groceries, unless there are passengers back there.

 

[OleFordGuy]

So does the FX4 package include the metal skid plate. You wanted a Swiss army knife, for me not having the option to pull over 2000lbs doesn't hit that mark or meaning. Don't get me wrong the Tremor is a nice truck for off roading but that's what it's specialty is, not a Swiss army knife. I know, your not towing now, but unfortunately you don't have a crystal ball. Do a search on this site and you will find many threads or posts of truck owners trading or discussing ways to add options to tow up to 4000lbs. Things have a way of changing in one's life span.

I hope you enjoy your Tremor if you buy one. It's a nice truck, a Swiss army knife it's not.

I agree with Hunters Edge, the Tremor is nice, but nothing about it would trump the 4K Tow Pkg in the long run to me. You never know what the future holds, the 2K max on the non 4K pkg vehicles can get absorbed relatively quickly when you start adding up all the things that make up that 2K or 4K weight limit. Weight add up Quickly. I have no idea if the FX4 includes the skid plate or not but that's a simple add on for any of the trim levels. IMO go for the trim level you desire with the 4K Tow Pkg as a must have. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Cherokee]

You said, “wanted to bring along 4-5 people”
In a Maverick ?
4 if not of the larger size,
5 in a Mav, I wouldn’t think so.
I’m 5’11” and my seats nearly all the way back. Say another inch or two to go. When I try to sit behind my driver seat it’s a bit tight.
I’ve had 4 in mine. Both the front seats needed to move up a bit.

 

[710-oil-614]

You said, “wanted to bring along 4-5 people”
In a Maverick ?
4 if not of the larger size,
5 in a Mav, I wouldn’t think so.
I’m 5’11” and my seats nearly all the way back. Say another inch or two to go. When I try to sit behind my driver seat it’s a bit tight.
I’ve had 4 in mine. Both the front seats needed to move up a bit.

LOL you have to be like my Dad and sit so far away from the wheel you can barely reach it. He's 6'1 and drives a Tahoe and basically sits in the second row.

I'm 6'1 and can sit behind myself without my knees hitting the front seat.

 

[heady]

A soggy paper bag of groceries can be quite a mess. Totes solve the problem for anything water sensitive. Back seat is best for groceries, unless there are passengers back there.

I put a divider board in the bed for doing order pickup at Walmart and such so stuff doesn't slide to the front, although the success rate of the employees knowing how to operate the zippers on the cap and how to open the tailgate without slamming it open varies; I haven't really noticed the bags getting wet or anything in rain other than what they get on the way out to the truck, but time will tell. I might just start using the back seat simply to make it easier to understand how to open and close the cargo area for the order pickers!

I would be worried about 5 adults, but we've had 4 full sized dudes on an 8 hour trip, one ~6'3" in the back and it was a good trip. We didn't move the seats but we put the tall one behind the short on in front for a little extra slouching and squirming room. 5, I have my doubts on that being nice, unless its kids - they can handle it.

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