Why don't Hybrids get more love?

[TrailMaster]

In Hybrids, the Lithium drive battery heats up when you start the vehicle . The ICE does that. Also, it would have to be Extremely cold to effect output by that battery. Cold batteries slow down on recharging..again, they are designed to heat up with the engine.
Full EV's have heat pumps that condition the batteries in cold weather..

It does get extremely cold here. Quite often. And I need AWD.

Let's just agree that we both found the right Maverick configuration for our needs and leave it at that.

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[son of a ..sven]

It does get extremely cold here. Quite often. And I need AWD.

Let's just agree that we both found the right Maverick configuration for our needs and leave it at that.

Enjoy your ride!

 

[Solostian]

They currently don't make an AWD hybrid, and because of the extreme cold where I live I am concerned about the batteries freezing up. If a FWD hybrid fits your bill, by all means snatch one up and save some gas money.

I've driven front wheel drive vehicles all my life in Canada. The only times I ever had problems where when I knowingly attempted to go though places I shouldn't have.
In urban settings (the Hybrid Mav's natural habitat), I don't expect any problem from my Hybrid XLT.

I'm a month away from having to put my snow tires. I'll report back me experiences.

 

[Guv]

I've driven front wheel drive vehicles all my life in Canada. The only times I ever had problems where when I knowingly attempted to go though places I shouldn't have.
In urban settings (the Hybrid Mav's natural habitat), I don't expect any problem from my Hybrid XLT.

I'm a month away from having to put my snow tires. I'll report back me experiences.

FWD does not equal AWD.

 

[Solostian]

FWD does not equal AWD.

Obviously. Never claimed that.
But for city and suburban driving, AWD is usually overkill (like %99.9 of the time).
In the country side, FWD quickly becomes challenging.

I have to climb a fairly steep road to reach my parents' cottage.
I'm sure I'll struggle to reach it in January.
But that's not new, I've been doing it for over 20 years with FWD vehicles.
(Tip: invest in good snow tires, studded tires work great too)

 

[RR - All the way]

Why don't hybrids get more love???? Remember the old song that went something like this: "Well, if you don't know I ain't gonna tell ya..................

 

[Guv]

Obviously. Never claimed that.
But for city and suburban driving, AWD is usually overkill (like %99.9 of the time).
In the country side, FWD quickly becomes challenging.

I have to climb a fairly steep road to reach my parents' cottage.
I'm sure I'll struggle to reach it in January.
But that's not new, I've been doing it for over 20 years with FWD vehicles.
(Tip: invest in good snow tires, studded tires work great too)

I strongly considered a hybrid, I was replacing a C-Max and a 4WD Frontier with the Maverick. My truck had to be reasonably fuel efficient and be able to weekly take me along dirt, possibly mud and loose sandy terrain. I chose the best option (FX4) for my intended use as apparently you did too.

 

[GreenLady]

Good points, particularly regarding the over-engineered part. I do think that Ford's earlier efforts with hybrids (Escape/Fusion) were very positive. The Maverick's design goals were certainly weighted by cost-savings bias to meet the <$20K selling price goal. This is visibly evidenced in some areas, such as the infotainment screen/cubby filler space, some of the material selections, and other cheapness (e.g. sunglass holder). Unfortunately, this spilled over into other areas (marginal 12V battery, cheap harness prone to failure) and possibly more. Mine was an early hybrid build, so hopefully some of the lessons learned have yielded a better product for current and future buyers.
I'm not anti-hybrid, I did enjoy the driving experience and efficiency, but I think our next hybrid will be replacing my wife's CX-5 with a Rav4 hybrid at some point.
Best wishes for good service from your Maverick hybrid. I may consider another hybrid for myself at some point in the future, but I'll certainly choose a proven model.

Interesting. I never had any issues with my ‘22 Lariat during 18 months and 28k miles of owning her and no issues with my ‘23 with 5600 miles since picking her up in July. I owned a 2013 Ford CMax hybrid and never had an issue with just under 100k miles. I am happy with Ford hybrids

 

[GreenLady]

I feel that when we finally have all vehicles, semi's, planes, garden equipment, tools, heating, water heaters, stoves, etc, all become electric we are then going to have major problems only have one source for those things. We will also have rolling blackouts on a regular basis like CA & FL. And electricity has to be made to supply all the growth we are going through. Isn't that why we utilized natural resources like natural gas & oil? Plus the electric companies will have the monopoly and can charge whatever price they want!!

I’ve been in FL since 1970 and have never experienced a rolling blackout! Where, Miami or Orlando?

 

[LSchicago]

With 2/3 of the Maverick orders being Hybrid, the better question would be why doesn't the EB 2.0 get more love? I guess people just really want that 40 MPG. I last gassed up my Hybrid on 9/12. Still have almost 1/4 tank left.

 

[colinl]

We selected the hybrid for the flat towing ability behind our RV.

I forgot about flat towing, excellent point. So there's 2 advantages to hybrid, MPG and flat towing.

 

[TrailMaster]

Obviously. Never claimed that.
But for city and suburban driving, AWD is usually overkill (like %99.9 of the time).
In the country side, FWD quickly becomes challenging.

I have to climb a fairly steep road to reach my parents' cottage.
I'm sure I'll struggle to reach it in January.
But that's not new, I've been doing it for over 20 years with FWD vehicles.
(Tip: invest in good snow tires, studded tires work great too)

I'll stick with my overkill, extra oomph and all! It was not only our snow and ice that attracted me to AWD, but our mountains too! Buy what you want.

 

[gator_dub]

Obviously. Never claimed that.
But for city and suburban driving, AWD is usually overkill (like %99.9 of the time).
In the country side, FWD quickly becomes challenging.

I have to climb a fairly steep road to reach my parents' cottage.
I'm sure I'll struggle to reach it in January.
But that's not new, I've been doing it for over 20 years with FWD vehicles.
(Tip: invest in good snow tires, studded tires work great too)

Agree with this.
People tend to overexaggerate the need for AWD/4WD(partially thanks to marketing).
In most cases FWD with the right tires performs very well in snow, hills, dirt roads, etc.
In loose sand or extreme offroad conditions AWD/4WD is definitely needed.

 

[LSchicago]

Agree with this.
People tend to overexaggerate the need for AWD/4WD(partially thanks to marketing).
In most cases FWD with the right tires performs very well in snow, hills, dirt roads, etc.
In loose sand or extreme offroad conditions AWD/4WD is definitely needed.

First winter for me with FWD in 11 years. My last 2 daily drivers were RWD. Never owned an AWD. And only 2 of my 18 tow trucks were 4X4. The first one because it was a great deal, and the 16th because I wanted the extra front axle weight for a special build.

 

[TrailMaster]

I grew up here. My first vehicle ever was a little Ram RWD truck. I also owned a Nissan/Datsun RWD truck. I like little trucks! Both these got me through decades of our fierce winters fine, although the Ram didn't navigate some ice one winter morning and hammered an electrical box head on. I ran some serious snow tires, sometimes studded, and carried sandbags over the wheel wells and axle. I definitely know what can be done. Yeah, front wheel drive is much better than RWD in snow, but AWD is even better. To each their own.

All our tow truck drivers here have 4WD vehicles, FWIW. Our mountains top 14,000 feet, too.

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