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2023 Maverick XL Hybrid. Stand alone hitch with no other options. The too long don’t wanna read version is this: I am very happy with it so far. Zero buyer’s remorse, this Maverick is a smoking hot value, and it was worth the almost 10 month wait.
Part One. Driving impressions:
A stiffer ride than I was expecting, even after lowering the tire pressure from the overinflated 44 to 35 PSI. However, even with the few miles I have put on the truck, I am already getting used to it. Or maybe the suspension is loosening up. By the way, the donut spare was low, at 53 PSI. The recommended pressure for the donut spare is 60 PSI.
The overall driving experience is very good. It is a brand new modern vehicle and it drives like one.
This is my first hybrid, and I was surprised how much regen drag there is when my foot is totally off the accelerator. In Eco mode, I think it has at least half as much drag as a Jake brake on a heavy truck.
I have almost no symptoms of the grabby brake problem. When slowing to a near stop to make a right hand turn, I have had the sensation that suddenly the brakes were more sensitive. So far, a quick reduction in pedal pressure resulted in a smooth slow down.
I have not experienced any of the hybrid shudder that some have trouble with. With the radio off, if the AC fan is set at “5” (of 7) or above, except for the “all electric” notice on the dash, I tend to not notice when the ICE starts and stops. With the AC fan on low (and sound system off), the engine sound is noticeable, but in my opinion not loud.
I’ve only had it up to 50 MPH, but at that speed there was almost no wind noise. On my XL, I did not get the fender insulation that comes on the Lariat, that apparently the factory may have thrown them on some XLT and maybe a few XLs by happy mistake. If you can open either front door, and then take a flashlight and see straight into the engine compartment past the upper door hinges, you don’t have the fender insulator blankets.
Gas mileage has been stellar and keeps improving. On my most recent drive (11 miles), I got 49.5 MPG.
The air conditioner is amazing. It cools quickly and is very cold. I’ve never even been tempted to set it to Max. This is in humid 90 degree weather, but not the hot as an oven Texas and South West.
The back up camera exceeded my expectations. Both for picture quality and the wide field of view. I guess if you happen to be used to a better quality one, you might be disappointed.
The stereo is good enough, but it is nowhere close to sounding as good as my $90 Klipsch 2.1 speaker set that is connected to my desktop computer.
Miscellaneous. I like the mirrors. I thought I would need to buy stick on convex mirrors for the blind spots, but the factory mirrors provide a very good view. I don’t care that they aren’t power, because for my use case, they only need to be adjusted once. I don’t love the rotary shifter, but I don’t hate it either like some do. I love the headlights, but I feel sorry for oncoming drivers with old fashioned dim yellow headlamps. I find it very odd that the covers for the 12 volt power points do not snap closed when the plug is pulled out. It is an odd look for the front one, and I think that the one in the back seat is destined to be broken off by passengers in many XL Mavericks.
I have not had the deep sleep problem, even after letting the truck set for 4 days after a ceramic coat. I did not install the Ford Pass app, and I have the modem, telemetry, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi all turned off in Settings. Perhaps that helped.
The one thing that I like the least about my Maverick is the key fob. I don’t care about the lack of push button start. The fob is too damn big. Before the Mav, I had nine keys to lug around on my key ring. The Maverick key fob is as large as all the other nine keys combined. And that is with the fob key folded in. When the key is extended, the key has a lot of free play and gives a cheap impression. Plus I cannot assume that it is waterproof and sweat proof, so on my frequent long bike rides I have to put the fob in a baggy to protect it.
Part Two. A few tips:
If you want to dim the dash lights, or the center display, the bright / dim switches near the headlight switch are dual purpose. The first time I touched them they would only dim (or brighten) the center display. Took me a while to figure out that pressing the same button twice in rapid succession switched the active adjustment from the center screen to the dash screen. The owner’s manual is less than crystal clear on this.
If you have the standard stereo, and no adult passengers, set the sound to “driver” for a noticeable improvement.
For bicycle riders. My road bike fits diagonally and upright in the bed with no wheel removal and the tail gate up. I put the front wheel toward the passenger side rear and use tie downs. I had to wrap some foam around the top rear eye hook (not present on a unmodified XL), otherwise it would rub against the front rim. But the wheel fits snug into a grove there and so far it has been stable. There is about an inch to spare at the rear tire which is at the front driver’s side corner of the bed. Mountain bikes tend to have longer wheelbases, and tall people with larger frame road bikes might not be able to use this method.
I was hopeful that I would be able to lay the bike flat and diagonal in the bed with the front wheel turned 90 degrees with the tailgate up. I have managed to do that, but the fit is so tight that I worry about the truck body flex damaging the bike frame or wheels.
For the few people who want to turn off all telemetry and the modem, that option was not available until around the third day after I brought it home. It was available right after a pop up on the center screen that mentioned telemetry.
The owner’s manual says that the sound system will read USB sticks formatted with various FAT versions and NTFS. I tried one with ext3, and it was read with no problems. Ext3 is far sturdier than the FAT that most USB drives come from the factory with.
If you have a huge music collection on USB, you might want to break it up to several smaller drives for faster indexing. If you use a USB stick, I highly recommend the “nano” or “low profile” type. It does not stick out and risk damaging the USB port if it gets bumped. They are no larger than a wireless mouse USB receiver that plugs into a laptop or desktop.
If you expect that you will never have adult height back seat passengers, the two rear headrests are removable. Just press the adjustment button and pull up until they are free of the seat. Rear field of view through the back window will be substantially improved.
Part Three. Quality Assurance:
For a $23,750 MSRP truck ($23,250 after the Farm Bureau rebate) with four driver air bags, stability control, automatic emergency braking, individual tire pressure monitoring, almost 50 MPG, an amazing air conditioner, excellent headlights, and very decent looks, I am delighted. But nothing in this life is perfect, and that includes my Maverick.
Possible opportunities for improvement:
One of the lower rear bed tie down bolts is stripped. It was discovered when installing the bed cubbies. I’m not using that particular tie down, and I will eventually buy the next size up tap and a new bolt.
When I was removing bolts from inside the fender wells to install a set of RokBlokz mud flaps, I found that all of the bolts I touched were essentially finger tight. I put a socket on the bolts, and then I removed the bolts by turning the socket with my fingers, no ratchet or wrench used to break them loose. When I reinstalled the bolt, they tightened down normally and were not stripped.
Paint. Iconic Silver Metallic. I like silver, and I was pleased to get metallic paint at no extra charge. Overall, the paint is very good for the money. It was delivered with absolutely no chips or scratches. I found two tiny but elongated spots on the hood. It looked almost like a very small insect had landed on the not quite dry paint, took a few steps and then flew off. Or maybe it was bird poop. I gently hit the spots with rubbing alcohol and the paint leveled some and even knowing where to look it is now almost impossible to find the spots.
My only complaint about the paint is that it is not particularly well leveled. The dealer respected my request to not wash the vehicle during PDI so there are no micro scratches in the paint. I did decontaminate the paint (iron remover and then a very gentle clay) but I decided to not buff before I applied a ceramic coat, and I almost wish I had buffed to get that smooth as glass look. But it is a daily driver and to expect a economy vehicle to have a finish like an expensive luxury or sports car is not reasonable.
All four of the steelies had a tiny round paper sticker (smaller than a dime) on them. I assumed it was a QA sticker. When I removed the stickers, each one hid a tiny defect (a dent in the metal) under the sticker.
The tires were overinflated, and the spare was underinflated. But that is a dealer issue, not a factory issue.
The good:
No squeaks or rattles. Everything that I have tested or used, works as it should. Glass optical quality is very good. No problem with the rear passenger window getting stuck. Fit and finish is excellent, especially considering the purchase price.
Installed accessories and my opinions:
Smartliner mats. I’m very pleased with them, and they are worth the $120.
RokBlokz mud flaps. The chrome screw heads stand out in a bad way. These same screw heads are painted black in their web site photos. That leaves me less than fully satisfied with this $150 set of mud flaps. On the positive side, the material feels very sturdy and the coverage of the lower body and inside the wheel wells is very good.
Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Kit. I bought the deluxe kit with the UV flashlight for $132. Supposed to be 7 years of protection. Time will tell on this one, but if I were doing it again I’d buy the easier to apply and cheaper spray version and treat the truck every two or three years.
VIOFO A119 V3 dash cam. $81. Cheap insurance and noticeably better video quality than the $55 B1W cam that I am using in the rear window.
Bed Cubbies. $100 for two, plus the four extra bolts. Easy install, except for having to remove the lower tie down eye hooks. The extra storage is great, but I wish they had at least a token lock.
32 GB USB stick for music. I only have 37 songs on it with no folders. For me, the sound system indexes the storage almost instantly. Well worth the $10 to listen to my favorite music commercial free without subscriptions and without pairing my phone with the truck.
Bed tie downs and D-rings. Well worth the money and trouble of cutting new threads in the blank holes.
Conclusion:
This is a lot of truck, and a lot of car, for the money. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think it is a better looking vehicle than a lot of SUVs that cost a lot more. Especially the front end. I’m impressed by the generous safety features that are included on the base model, the utility and versatility, and the gas mileage.
Part One. Driving impressions:
A stiffer ride than I was expecting, even after lowering the tire pressure from the overinflated 44 to 35 PSI. However, even with the few miles I have put on the truck, I am already getting used to it. Or maybe the suspension is loosening up. By the way, the donut spare was low, at 53 PSI. The recommended pressure for the donut spare is 60 PSI.
The overall driving experience is very good. It is a brand new modern vehicle and it drives like one.
This is my first hybrid, and I was surprised how much regen drag there is when my foot is totally off the accelerator. In Eco mode, I think it has at least half as much drag as a Jake brake on a heavy truck.
I have almost no symptoms of the grabby brake problem. When slowing to a near stop to make a right hand turn, I have had the sensation that suddenly the brakes were more sensitive. So far, a quick reduction in pedal pressure resulted in a smooth slow down.
I have not experienced any of the hybrid shudder that some have trouble with. With the radio off, if the AC fan is set at “5” (of 7) or above, except for the “all electric” notice on the dash, I tend to not notice when the ICE starts and stops. With the AC fan on low (and sound system off), the engine sound is noticeable, but in my opinion not loud.
I’ve only had it up to 50 MPH, but at that speed there was almost no wind noise. On my XL, I did not get the fender insulation that comes on the Lariat, that apparently the factory may have thrown them on some XLT and maybe a few XLs by happy mistake. If you can open either front door, and then take a flashlight and see straight into the engine compartment past the upper door hinges, you don’t have the fender insulator blankets.
Gas mileage has been stellar and keeps improving. On my most recent drive (11 miles), I got 49.5 MPG.
The air conditioner is amazing. It cools quickly and is very cold. I’ve never even been tempted to set it to Max. This is in humid 90 degree weather, but not the hot as an oven Texas and South West.
The back up camera exceeded my expectations. Both for picture quality and the wide field of view. I guess if you happen to be used to a better quality one, you might be disappointed.
The stereo is good enough, but it is nowhere close to sounding as good as my $90 Klipsch 2.1 speaker set that is connected to my desktop computer.
Miscellaneous. I like the mirrors. I thought I would need to buy stick on convex mirrors for the blind spots, but the factory mirrors provide a very good view. I don’t care that they aren’t power, because for my use case, they only need to be adjusted once. I don’t love the rotary shifter, but I don’t hate it either like some do. I love the headlights, but I feel sorry for oncoming drivers with old fashioned dim yellow headlamps. I find it very odd that the covers for the 12 volt power points do not snap closed when the plug is pulled out. It is an odd look for the front one, and I think that the one in the back seat is destined to be broken off by passengers in many XL Mavericks.
I have not had the deep sleep problem, even after letting the truck set for 4 days after a ceramic coat. I did not install the Ford Pass app, and I have the modem, telemetry, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi all turned off in Settings. Perhaps that helped.
The one thing that I like the least about my Maverick is the key fob. I don’t care about the lack of push button start. The fob is too damn big. Before the Mav, I had nine keys to lug around on my key ring. The Maverick key fob is as large as all the other nine keys combined. And that is with the fob key folded in. When the key is extended, the key has a lot of free play and gives a cheap impression. Plus I cannot assume that it is waterproof and sweat proof, so on my frequent long bike rides I have to put the fob in a baggy to protect it.
Part Two. A few tips:
If you want to dim the dash lights, or the center display, the bright / dim switches near the headlight switch are dual purpose. The first time I touched them they would only dim (or brighten) the center display. Took me a while to figure out that pressing the same button twice in rapid succession switched the active adjustment from the center screen to the dash screen. The owner’s manual is less than crystal clear on this.
If you have the standard stereo, and no adult passengers, set the sound to “driver” for a noticeable improvement.
For bicycle riders. My road bike fits diagonally and upright in the bed with no wheel removal and the tail gate up. I put the front wheel toward the passenger side rear and use tie downs. I had to wrap some foam around the top rear eye hook (not present on a unmodified XL), otherwise it would rub against the front rim. But the wheel fits snug into a grove there and so far it has been stable. There is about an inch to spare at the rear tire which is at the front driver’s side corner of the bed. Mountain bikes tend to have longer wheelbases, and tall people with larger frame road bikes might not be able to use this method.
I was hopeful that I would be able to lay the bike flat and diagonal in the bed with the front wheel turned 90 degrees with the tailgate up. I have managed to do that, but the fit is so tight that I worry about the truck body flex damaging the bike frame or wheels.
For the few people who want to turn off all telemetry and the modem, that option was not available until around the third day after I brought it home. It was available right after a pop up on the center screen that mentioned telemetry.
The owner’s manual says that the sound system will read USB sticks formatted with various FAT versions and NTFS. I tried one with ext3, and it was read with no problems. Ext3 is far sturdier than the FAT that most USB drives come from the factory with.
If you have a huge music collection on USB, you might want to break it up to several smaller drives for faster indexing. If you use a USB stick, I highly recommend the “nano” or “low profile” type. It does not stick out and risk damaging the USB port if it gets bumped. They are no larger than a wireless mouse USB receiver that plugs into a laptop or desktop.
If you expect that you will never have adult height back seat passengers, the two rear headrests are removable. Just press the adjustment button and pull up until they are free of the seat. Rear field of view through the back window will be substantially improved.
Part Three. Quality Assurance:
For a $23,750 MSRP truck ($23,250 after the Farm Bureau rebate) with four driver air bags, stability control, automatic emergency braking, individual tire pressure monitoring, almost 50 MPG, an amazing air conditioner, excellent headlights, and very decent looks, I am delighted. But nothing in this life is perfect, and that includes my Maverick.
Possible opportunities for improvement:
One of the lower rear bed tie down bolts is stripped. It was discovered when installing the bed cubbies. I’m not using that particular tie down, and I will eventually buy the next size up tap and a new bolt.
When I was removing bolts from inside the fender wells to install a set of RokBlokz mud flaps, I found that all of the bolts I touched were essentially finger tight. I put a socket on the bolts, and then I removed the bolts by turning the socket with my fingers, no ratchet or wrench used to break them loose. When I reinstalled the bolt, they tightened down normally and were not stripped.
Paint. Iconic Silver Metallic. I like silver, and I was pleased to get metallic paint at no extra charge. Overall, the paint is very good for the money. It was delivered with absolutely no chips or scratches. I found two tiny but elongated spots on the hood. It looked almost like a very small insect had landed on the not quite dry paint, took a few steps and then flew off. Or maybe it was bird poop. I gently hit the spots with rubbing alcohol and the paint leveled some and even knowing where to look it is now almost impossible to find the spots.
My only complaint about the paint is that it is not particularly well leveled. The dealer respected my request to not wash the vehicle during PDI so there are no micro scratches in the paint. I did decontaminate the paint (iron remover and then a very gentle clay) but I decided to not buff before I applied a ceramic coat, and I almost wish I had buffed to get that smooth as glass look. But it is a daily driver and to expect a economy vehicle to have a finish like an expensive luxury or sports car is not reasonable.
All four of the steelies had a tiny round paper sticker (smaller than a dime) on them. I assumed it was a QA sticker. When I removed the stickers, each one hid a tiny defect (a dent in the metal) under the sticker.
The tires were overinflated, and the spare was underinflated. But that is a dealer issue, not a factory issue.
The good:
No squeaks or rattles. Everything that I have tested or used, works as it should. Glass optical quality is very good. No problem with the rear passenger window getting stuck. Fit and finish is excellent, especially considering the purchase price.
Installed accessories and my opinions:
Smartliner mats. I’m very pleased with them, and they are worth the $120.
RokBlokz mud flaps. The chrome screw heads stand out in a bad way. These same screw heads are painted black in their web site photos. That leaves me less than fully satisfied with this $150 set of mud flaps. On the positive side, the material feels very sturdy and the coverage of the lower body and inside the wheel wells is very good.
Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Kit. I bought the deluxe kit with the UV flashlight for $132. Supposed to be 7 years of protection. Time will tell on this one, but if I were doing it again I’d buy the easier to apply and cheaper spray version and treat the truck every two or three years.
VIOFO A119 V3 dash cam. $81. Cheap insurance and noticeably better video quality than the $55 B1W cam that I am using in the rear window.
Bed Cubbies. $100 for two, plus the four extra bolts. Easy install, except for having to remove the lower tie down eye hooks. The extra storage is great, but I wish they had at least a token lock.
32 GB USB stick for music. I only have 37 songs on it with no folders. For me, the sound system indexes the storage almost instantly. Well worth the $10 to listen to my favorite music commercial free without subscriptions and without pairing my phone with the truck.
Bed tie downs and D-rings. Well worth the money and trouble of cutting new threads in the blank holes.
Conclusion:
This is a lot of truck, and a lot of car, for the money. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think it is a better looking vehicle than a lot of SUVs that cost a lot more. Especially the front end. I’m impressed by the generous safety features that are included on the base model, the utility and versatility, and the gas mileage.
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Thanks for posting this!
