2023 Maverick XLT initial experience

[Cwest]

My 2023 Maverick XLT hybrid finally arrived in October and these are some of my observations and opinions after about a month of owning it. Got the XLT special package. Not wanting to start an argument with anyone who may have a different experience but just putting these out here as food for thought to anyone wanting a Maverick.

Ordering process: Ordered it in Sept of 2022 and got notice on July 14 of this year that they would start building on Sept 18. Took about six days to build and then it seemed to just be “in transit” for several weeks. Called Ford and they were able to locate it in another state and within a few days it arrived by rail on October 20. The Ford tracking system was nice once it had a build date but prior to that there was little to no communication from Ford or my dealer about the progress of my vehicle. Ford is supposed to send regular updates even if they don’t have any new news. It would have been good to just have a reminder that we had not been forgotten. The dealer would just say it was “a Ford thing” and they could not give any new info. Frustrating.

VEHICLE

Things I really like:

Hybrid engine - am learning to drive it more efficiently and it easily can get almost 40mpg in the city. Took a six hour trip to KC and it got about 30mpg on the highway. Need to drive it in various conditions to see if this improves.

Bedliner and Tonneau hard cover. Love this. Allows a little security with items locked in the bed.

Heated steering wheel - didn’t think I really needed this but it has been awesome in the cold.

Heated seats - heat up quick and go pretty far up the back.

Bed light and bed plug in.

Leg room - I’m over 6’ and head and legroom are good. Back seat will fit average size people but probably wouldn’t be comfortable for really long distances.

Eco mode - helps to save gas. Like this. Have not tried the other modes.

Driving experience - has some road noise on the highway but much quieter in the city and handles very well. Good punch when you need to hit the gas and get in and out of traffic.

Back seat under storage - very handy.

Cup and bottle holders - are convenient and plentiful.

A/C and heat work well and vents are adjustable in many directions.



SOME ISSUES (but no deal breakers)

Color - by far the biggest issue. If you order Hot Pepper Red for the color make sure you look at several photos online that show it in various light conditions. Has a lot more orange in the color than we expected. Almost a burnt orange. We actually walked past it on the lot because we were looking for a “red” vehicle and not an orange one. But we are getting used to it and starting to like the color overall.

Back up sensors - there is a nice backup camera but no alerts if there are cars coming behind you. Guess I thought this might be standard so be sure to ask if this is part of your package.

Lane assist - our package did not include this and we wish we had access to it.

Tinting - they put tinting on the front driver and passenger windows and we had to have it removed because it was so dark you could not see at night. This might be more of a dealer issue.

Stereo - I don’t need pounding bass that shakes the car but I will have to probably get some new speakers as the standard set up is pretty muddled with very limited bass. Apple Car Play is nice as usual.



Food for thought. Hope this helps anyone looking to buy a Maverick. Overall we love it and it was a great buy.

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[BigB]

It sounds like you didn’t get co-pilot 360. It’s well worth it in my opinion as it gives you rear cross traffic alert and lane keep assist. Lane keep can be annoying at times but overall it’s pretty good. I agree with you about the speakers and plan to replace mine also. Other than that I’m loving my XLT hybrid.

 

[Nashuajp]

A little u tube I did for the 23 XLT
I love mine !

 

[Cwest]

It sounds like you didn’t get co-pilot 360. It’s well worth it in my opinion as it gives you rear cross traffic alert and lane keep assist. Lane keep can be annoying at times but overall it’s pretty good. I agree with you about the speakers and plan to replace mine also. Other than that I’m loving my XLT hybrid.

You’re right. Didn’t get the co-pilot 360. I think I just overlooked that when I ordered. Would be nice to have but otherwise love this truck.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

You’re right. Didn’t get the co-pilot 360. I think I just overlooked that when I ordered. Would be nice to have but otherwise love this truck.

CP 360 was the only option I added to my XL. And I mainly bought it for the power mirrors. I wasn't aware of the pre-collision avoidance feature until it prevented me from hitting someone that pulled out in front of me, before I had time to hit the brake. I also didn't know it would alert you of cross-traveling vehicles when backing up. That was nice to know when I was backing out of a space with giant vans on either side of me and couldn't see a car coming near me whilst backing up.
The blind spot alert in the mirrors is great for the rare times I'm not on 2-lane roads.
The only part of CP 360 I disabled was the lane-keep warning, or whatever it's called.
It was just too much of an annoyance on the hilly curvy roads here that make it impossible to completely stay off the center lines 100% of the time.

 

[PSchiefelbein]

My '23 XLT hybrid came at the end of October. I got the luxury package and the cp 360 package. I'm at about 2500 miles and am very happy so far. I concur with many of the comments above. My first impression was of how carefully everything seems to have been thought out given the complexity of the system. It made me think of an Apple device, pretty amazing for an under $30,000 vehicle. The only thing I struggle with is the shift dial--I keep looking for the stalk. I especially appreciated how good the visibility is in every direction, much better than the F-150 I drove before. The ride and seat comfort felt virtually the same, which had me comfortable from the get-go. I know some have complained that the ride is stiff, but I prefer that to bottoming out on every bump the dirt and rural roads I drive have to offer. It feels like a truck, not a car, and I like that. I do like the cp 360 features, although I do wish the steering wheel would jiggle a bit more than it does when leaving the lane. As it is, it feels like I've just hit another bump. The best thing of all, though, is driving 400+ miles, filling the tank when it's 3/4 down, and having the pump click off at 10 gallons. I am one happy camper.

 

[Cwest]

My '23 XLT hybrid came at the end of October. I got the luxury package and the cp 360 package. I'm at about 2500 miles and am very happy so far. I concur with many of the comments above. My first impression was of how carefully everything seems to have been thought out given the complexity of the system. It made me think of an Apple device, pretty amazing for an under $30,000 vehicle. The only thing I struggle with is the shift dial--I keep looking for the stalk. I especially appreciated how good the visibility is in every direction, much better than the F-150 I drove before. The ride and seat comfort felt virtually the same, which had me comfortable from the get-go. I know some have complained that the ride is stiff, but I prefer that to bottoming out on every bump the dirt and rural roads I drive have to offer. It feels like a truck, not a car, and I like that. I do like the cp 360 features, although I do wish the steering wheel would jiggle a bit more than it does when leaving the lane. As it is, it feels like I've just hit another bump. The best thing of all, though, is driving 400+ miles, filling the tank when it's 3/4 down, and having the pump click off at 10 gallons. I am one happy camper.

Thanks for pointing out the good visibility. Another thing I like now that I have removed some tinting.

 

[Raymundo76]

My 2023 Maverick XLT hybrid finally arrived in October and these are some of my observations and opinions after about a month of owning it. Got the XLT special package. Not wanting to start an argument with anyone who may have a different experience but just putting these out here as food for thought to anyone wanting a Maverick.

Ordering process: Ordered it in Sept of 2022 and got notice on July 14 of this year that they would start building on Sept 18. Took about six days to build and then it seemed to just be “in transit” for several weeks. Called Ford and they were able to locate it in another state and within a few days it arrived by rail on October 20. The Ford tracking system was nice once it had a build date but prior to that there was little to no communication from Ford or my dealer about the progress of my vehicle. Ford is supposed to send regular updates even if they don’t have any new news. It would have been good to just have a reminder that we had not been forgotten. The dealer would just say it was “a Ford thing” and they could not give any new info. Frustrating.

VEHICLE

Things I really like:

Hybrid engine - am learning to drive it more efficiently and it easily can get almost 40mpg in the city. Took a six hour trip to KC and it got about 30mpg on the highway. Need to drive it in various conditions to see if this improves.

Bedliner and Tonneau hard cover. Love this. Allows a little security with items locked in the bed.

Heated steering wheel - didn’t think I really needed this but it has been awesome in the cold.

Heated seats - heat up quick and go pretty far up the back.

Bed light and bed plug in.

Leg room - I’m over 6’ and head and legroom are good. Back seat will fit average size people but probably wouldn’t be comfortable for really long distances.

Eco mode - helps to save gas. Like this. Have not tried the other modes.

Driving experience - has some road noise on the highway but much quieter in the city and handles very well. Good punch when you need to hit the gas and get in and out of traffic.

Back seat under storage - very handy.

Cup and bottle holders - are convenient and plentiful.

A/C and heat work well and vents are adjustable in many directions.



SOME ISSUES (but no deal breakers)

Color - by far the biggest issue. If you order Hot Pepper Red for the color make sure you look at several photos online that show it in various light conditions. Has a lot more orange in the color than we expected. Almost a burnt orange. We actually walked past it on the lot because we were looking for a “red” vehicle and not an orange one. But we are getting used to it and starting to like the color overall.

Back up sensors - there is a nice backup camera but no alerts if there are cars coming behind you. Guess I thought this might be standard so be sure to ask if this is part of your package.

Lane assist - our package did not include this and we wish we had access to it.

Tinting - they put tinting on the front driver and passenger windows and we had to have it removed because it was so dark you could not see at night. This might be more of a dealer issue.

Stereo - I don’t need pounding bass that shakes the car but I will have to probably get some new speakers as the standard set up is pretty muddled with very limited bass. Apple Car Play is nice as usual.



Food for thought. Hope this helps anyone looking to buy a Maverick. Overall we love it and it was a great buy.

How fast were you driving; 30 MPG has not been my highway experience; more like 36.

 

[Cwest]

How fast were you driving; 30 MPG has not been my highway experience; more like 36.

Was doing 80 for most of the way. Big headwind on the way up. Will see how it averages out after a few trips.

 

[Raymundo76]

Was doing 80 for most of the way. Big headwind on the way up. Will see how it averages out after a few trips.

That explains the 30 MPG. I drive for increased MPG (7 over posted not to exceed 68 MPH unless necessary). See my first road trip post (Mesa to Overgaard)

 

[PSchiefelbein]

Thought it might be good to do an update on mileage. It has been improving as the Maverick gets broken in. I'm currently getting 40 mpg overall per tank, but part of this has to do with the fact that, at 73, I'm not in a big hurry to get anywhere. I like to take back roads where I can go 55 without being a nuisance. I did the same with my 2018 F-150 with the basic six and averaged 20 mpg.

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