I saw you're not actually a dealer yourself but this mentality is why I entirely agree with the Tesla sales model of direct to consumer. There are zero reasons I want to have to go through a "broker" to buy something. Too bad my state protected dealerships instead of consumers.
I was told by my dealership that Hybrid FE's are the end of the line, I assume in part because of all the lux options. Fordguy has said they're allocating them asap, I guess we'll see how this timeline plays out.
I wonder if this is just a policy change or if they have a new system and this is simply the easiest way to deploy the information. A lot of times, when it comes to tech changes it's not as simple as just go back to the way it was.
I'm lucky I've at least seen and sat in one. I'm 5'3.5" (that half inch matters) and it was very comfortable for me. My S.O. is 5'10" and also found it comfy. IDK if that helps you, but we both have an inseam of 30".
First Ford for me as well! My learner car was an original 91 Saturn, and then my first car was a Toyota Matrix followed by a Rav4. Like you, I wasn't even thinking about a truck and was considering an electric but the charge grid for the long road trips I do isn't very conducive as of yet...
IDK, what I wanted had a lot more to do with the drive train (hybrid) than it did aesthetic/color choices. The price point for what you can achieve with the Maverick in MPG made the Santa Cruz a non-contender for me.