Ride Quality Inquiry… rough, harsh or choppy?

[Jwhisl]

When I test drove an fx4 it rode and drove like a car. Much better than my 2014 f150 and about the same if not a little better than my wife's 16 forester

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[jewc75]

Its a very good ride. My Colorado and GTI are stiff rides in comparison.

 

[JASmith]

What reviews are those? First I've heard of it, and I read the forums and watch the YouTubes.

Car and Driver for one: https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/maverick

They give it a 9/10 and have few complaints, but ride quality is one of them. Of course its all relative, but the only really direct competitor is the Santa Cruz and while they score it overall lower than the Maverick they do say it rides smoother.

We kind of have to trust the reviewers, because in this crappy market you can't exactly drive them back-to-back, and it can be confusing if the test drives are days or weeks apart.

 

[NewBernWolf]

Ok. We own a Maverick, and I've ridden in a Santa Cruz, and I agree that the Santa Cruz is a bit smoother, but no way is the Maverick 'harsh' or 'choppy.' You mentioned multiple reviews talking about that very thing, and I strongly disagree. And I still doubt the existence of multiple reviews by anybody who's actually driven a Maverick on a paved road that there's anything out of the ordinary about the Maverick comfort level.

 

[jtpc2021]

Since posting this I got my hybrid and will say that the ride was the first thing I noticed. Maybe the ecoboost is different, seeing how it has a better rear suspension, but my hybrid definitely is firm over potholes and railroad tracks.
My previous Honda Fit and my wife’s buick encore were/are smoother over the same roads.
Not saying my truck is defective or crap, but I agree with the articles that point out its ride quality.
Some on here will claim that the Maverick is just more truck-like and manly which is why it has a rougher ride, but I disagree with that logic.
I’ve had 3 Rams and they handled imperfections in the road much better despite being body on frame.

At the end of the day, the Maverick (hybrid version) rides more like a base corolla over bumps.
Having said that, the Corolla and Maverick are still good vehicles.

 

[Flomounier1]

One of the smoothest riding cars I've driven actually. It handles bumps and rough roads very well. Independent suspension, high profile tires, and squishy seat equals happy driving.

 

[JASmith]

Since posting this I got my hybrid and will say that the ride was the first thing I noticed. Maybe the ecoboost is different, seeing how it has a better rear suspension, but my hybrid definitely is firm over potholes and railroad tracks.
My previous Honda Fit and my wife’s buick encore were/are smoother over the same roads.
Not saying my truck is defective or crap, but I agree with the articles that point out its ride quality.

Some on here will claim that the Maverick is just more truck-like and manly which is why it has a rougher ride, but I disagree with that logic.

I’ve had 3 Rams and they handled imperfections in the road much better despite being body on frame.

I believe the 4th gen Rams at least were notoriously softly sprung for a truck, and so they sag quite a bit with a heavy payload if you don't install helper springs. We loaded a bunch of pavers in the Ram a while back for example, and the suspension was comically compressed in the back... luckily we are only about 2 miles from that Home Depot and so just drove home at 30mph.

My guess for why the Santa Cruz is smoother is probably nothing fancier than just lower spring rates in the back, thanks to it being a self-leveling suspension, meaning under load it can just pump itself up a bit.

The Maverick reviews I saw even with 1K lbs in the back were remarkably not super awkwardly bottomed out and quite flat (see below), so they probably have some pretty hefty springs out back, which of course means that with just one driver and no passengers or rear weight its oversprung and so will ride stiff.

For those that just need the room of the bed, but not necessarily a crapton of weight, I bet you could probably throw in some Ford Escape springs and get a nice squishy ride, and you could always then put in some supplemental cheap inflatable helper springs from Amazon to put inside the coils for when you're hauling a heavy load.

 

[L Martin]

The Mav is a pleasure to drive. I switched from a 4Runner. The Mav rides far flatter and smoother than the 4Runner, has much more pep and is about as quiet. Is it a BMW? No. But it compares well with unibody SUVs.

 

[Old Ranchero]

Since posting this I got my hybrid and will say that the ride was the first thing I noticed. Maybe the ecoboost is different, seeing how it has a better rear suspension, but my hybrid definitely is firm over potholes and railroad tracks.
My previous Honda Fit and my wife’s buick encore were/are smoother over the same roads.
Not saying my truck is defective or crap, but I agree with the articles that point out its ride quality.
Some on here will claim that the Maverick is just more truck-like and manly which is why it has a rougher ride, but I disagree with that logic.
I’ve had 3 Rams and they handled imperfections in the road much better despite being body on frame.

At the end of the day, the Maverick (hybrid version) rides more like a base corolla over bumps.
Having said that, the Corolla and Maverick are still good vehicles.

well, the hybrid is FWD only with twist beam rear suspension so there's that. I test drove an Ecoboost XLT AWD (IRS) with FX-4 package and it handled great and was not harsh or choppy in any way. Only thing I noticed was a little extra road noise because of the larger aggressive tires on FX-4.

 

[Veritech]

Since posting this I got my hybrid and will say that the ride was the first thing I noticed. Maybe the ecoboost is different, seeing how it has a better rear suspension, but my hybrid definitely is firm over potholes and railroad tracks.
My previous Honda Fit and my wife’s buick encore were/are smoother over the same roads.
Not saying my truck is defective or crap, but I agree with the articles that point out its ride quality.
Some on here will claim that the Maverick is just more truck-like and manly which is why it has a rougher ride, but I disagree with that logic.
I’ve had 3 Rams and they handled imperfections in the road much better despite being body on frame.

At the end of the day, the Maverick (hybrid version) rides more like a base corolla over bumps.
Having said that, the Corolla and Maverick are still good vehicles.

I just got my XLT hyrbid on Friday April 8. The ride seem fine to me though I haven't driven over railroad tracks yet. I feel it a little more settled with additional passengers in the car vs just myself but still smooth either way. I only put 120 miles on it so maybe not enough to give good opinion yet. My tires came from factory at 39 psi. One was actually 40 psi so I dropped that 1 psi to match the rest. Not sure if your tires were over inflated as well and if dropping to factory recommended 35 psi will make any difference over railroad tracks.

Yes, I heard from various reviews that AWD Eco boost with independent rear rides better than front wheel drive models.

 

[RadioSousSol]

Stiff ride with hardly any body role. I have 17" rims with the 235 falcon wild peak tires.

You are right, the ride is more stiff.
The reason for that is stock 102h rated tires vs 104h heavier sidewalks on Falkens. Those upgraded Falken Wildpeak AT 3W are 7 pounds (29%) heavier, which is a considerable increase in unsprung weight.

 

[Mc_Flier]

Hey all,

I’ve heard reviews talk about Maverick having a rough suspension / ride quality.

Is this true? I know it isn’t a luxury car, but curious if it is harsh or choppy like an a cheap-o car.

rides like our Escape. Not a firm as the Chevy Cruze I use to commute.

 

[JBryant]

I live in small town/rural North Texas where there has been a shortage of concrete and blacktop for years so the roads can be repaired - has to be Ford constraints LOL. We have horrible streets and roads. I moved down from a 2018 RAM 1500 Lariat, expecting the ride difference to be horrible, but to my surprise, I could not be more pleased. On a trip down a decent highway, I am just as comfortable in the Mav as I was in the big truck. No, this is not exactly the same as a big fancy car, but also, it is not the $50-$80K price tag either!!

 

[OleFordGuy]

I have no complaints on the ride quality or handling. Better than I was expecting it to be. HA, but its not an old school land yacht Lincoln/Cadillac riding on air level.

 

[Oh Weld]

I drive on a lot of different roads between smooth and coarse and I have zero complaints.

The Maverick drives like a car not a truck.

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