A Maverick Skeptic's Short Maverick Review

[Scott Asheville]

Glad you like it. Now post up some pics. Enough with words.

One Hot Pepper Red Maverick in mottled sunshine. It's a truck. So the paint is already decorated with bugs, bird poop, and various purple berry stains.

Dealer: "You want ceramic coating?". Me: "That would ruin the truck's carefully earned patina.".

One thing that sticks out at me in the photo, though I'm cool with it. Another poster commented that the AWD looks weird with the stock wheels. It does. I like small wheels because they give the best ride. But they sort of look lost in that lifted wheel well.

One other thing about HPR that is cool. It is multiple colors in different lights. My favorite is sunlight coming from the side in AM or PM. It really does turn a reddish-orange that is awesome. The rest of the time it's kind a not-too-interesting plain red.

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[Scott Asheville]

Both types of owners exist in one. Ive driven mostly Lariat trim full size trucks. They've been in the dirt, pulled trailers all over the country, hauled all kinds of crap and acted as my commuter. A scratch or ding here or there never broke my heart. But inside and out they are always super clean. Not freak level of detailing. But I don't want people to think I am a lazy slob when they enter my home, and damn sure not my truck either LOL

I'm guilty of the opposite. I'm a bit shamed by it, but I give myself a pass for age. My Ranger was a pig sty. I used to keep my cars clean, but somewhere past 60 I just lost the energy. I am happy to say I found a use for the Maverick back seat area I didn't want - I put a garbage pail back there. No more throwing fast food wrappers behind the seats and forgetting about them for a year.

 

[Scott Asheville]

If you did that, the truck would look bizarre, at best. Design is a key point of any vehicle, and for what it is, they pulled of the look pretty well. It really looks like a small, somewhat low roof line truck. Even though it isn't a true body on frame work horse.

Yea, I think your point is valid - it's all about design expectations. Chrysler did some cab forward stuff back in the day that looked really good, but that was sedans. The truck community is soooo conservative - ergo all the hate for the SC on this forum.

If you listen to designers, they're always struggling with expectations for any given vehicle. It has to look like what customers have come to expect, while still looking fresh and new. I have a real love-hate, respect-despise relationship with car designers. They give us the Mustang. Then they turn around and give us the Aztek... And they have to please customers, managers, and engineers. The classic "stuck in the middle of two bosses" predicament.

 

[LM42]

Yea, I think your point is valid - it's all about design expectations. Chrysler did some cab forward stuff back in the day that looked really good, but that was sedans. The truck community is soooo conservative - ergo all the hate for the SC on this forum.

If you listen to designers, they're always struggling with expectations for any given vehicle. It has to look like what customers have come to expect, while still looking fresh and new. I have a real love-hate, respect-despise relationship with car designers. They give us the Mustang. Then they turn around and give us the Aztek... And they have to please customers, managers, and engineers. The classic "stuck in the middle of two bosses" predicament.

Personally I like the Santa Cruz. But to get it to look like what I wanted and had the options I wanted it is $40K. I could get one more stripped down and do my own wheels and tires, but that would still be well above the $31500 I ordered my Maverick for with the exact options I wanted.

 

[skadizzle]

That's fair. I was looking at it more like "they could have taken a foot out of the truck, and 200 pounds easy". On the other hand, maybe they needed that space for crush zones? Modern safety engineering is sometimes non-intuitive. But yea, if I still worked on my own cars, I'd love all that room to work up front.

I think part of the reason too is you have an Ecoboost which is 2.0, but the hybrid engine is a 2.5L plus there may be some extra stuff in the bay for the hybrid system so there might not be as much room in with it.

 

[Nunyabiznus]

did you mess with the backup camera settings. if not you might want to. when I 1st got mine I couldn't see a thing.

 

[xlt-doug]

I hate the word “Trucklet”

 

[Charles]

Yeah that was a weird gatekeeping comment. If you don't abuse and treat your property like shit, you don't deserve it? Eff that, OP, I take care of my things

Amen

 

[Hoagus]

Just try it, and see what happens.

Nothing wrong with those who keep their things in good shape.

Yeah, keep it nice for the next owner. They’ll appreciate it.

 

[StillWaiting]

I’m supposed to pick mine up Monday. I also drove one and didn’t like it. I started liking it but I’m still on the fence

 

[zzbaluba]

Disclosure: I never joined the Maverick fanboy club. I held off ordering 3 months hoping somebody out there would offer a small 2-door trucklet. I debated for a full year about defecting to the SC.

My trucklet: XLT ECO LUX CP360 AWD HPR. Paid $31,500 delivered, minus $500 military discount. Asheville Ford - fair dinkum dealer.

In a nutshell: Actively disliked this porker as I drove it home from the dealership. But it grew on me and now I'd say it's OK.

Likes: Conventional dashboard controls that avoid touch screen insanity. No piano black. Ludicrous performance for an entry level truck. Far better visibility than I expected, and I'm a visibility freak. The bed and the SIBL - which have both been winning me over. The lux package, with heated seats and wheels, power driver seat and lumbar - love it all. The bed surprised me by being deeper than my Ranger and really just right for my needs. The little things like the bed lights and cargo management rail. Size and utility of the under-seat rear storage. All the genuinely useful storage spots in the doors. Really good gas mileage in eco mode (28.5 in the WNC mountains, mixed driving). Handling that makes my old Ranger feel like what Fred Flintstone drove. Performance that leaves my 146 HP Ranger a football stadium behind before you reach 60. Hot pepper red turning to orange in the sideways morning sun.

Dislikes: Having to set the drive mode on every startup (C'mon man). Drives like a beached whale around the narrow streets of Asheville (my 2010 Ranger had a 2' smaller turning circle and was right at home). Not being able to drop the seat and have a nice finished cargo space (exposed metal and mechanical stuff in front of bed wall) - C'mon Ford - you can't afford a $5 piece of formed plastic back there? Stone age Sync 3. A rearview camera that is absolutely useless in most high-contrast lighting situations (aftermarket replacement anybody?). Noisy truck - not as noisy as my old Ranger, but noisy. Cheap rear mirror - I mean, even cheaper than my 2010 Ranger. Ridiculously bad transmission scheduling - though it hunts less around town in eco. Does the ecoboost engine really have to sound like a sewing machine and a moped mated? Do we really need an engine compartment so big that it can easily contain two ecoboost engines? Are male egos really that fragile? Is sound proofing illegal in Ford entry level vehicles?

Neutral: Don't really care if the paint is thin. I beat trucks to death. I scratch and dent them. That's why trucks exist - to be beaten. People who coddle their trucks should have their trucks taken away. Don't really care if the interior is easily scratched cheap plastic - see previous message. Don't really care if it's a truck or a car - just don't care.

Conclusion: Better than I expected. I'm actually starting to like it. I probably won't trade it for an SC and pocket some change after all. It'll do until somebody offers a truly small BEV truck. But I'll never call it a small truck. It's the second smallest midsize truck (SC is the smallest). It's a steal at $21,500. It's OK at $31,500. I start scratching my head in puzzlement as you approach $40,000.

Thanks for providing a really comprehensive review. Excellent job.

 

[JazzReptyl]

Just try it, and see what happens.

Nothing wrong with those who keep their things in good shape.

I heard of a guy that would pull an RV trailer to camp and if he didn't like where he had to park (under wrong kind of tree or such) he would unhook, take the truck home to put it in the garage and drive back the car. Then when time to go, drive the car back home to get the truck to bring back the RV.
That seems ridiculous to me.

 

[Pacman]

Great review—you hit many of the things I like & dislike about mine. I’m just south of you in Fletcher. I have the hybrid—amazed by the mpg, even on the mountain roads.
About the engine compartment—that’s probably due to the stock powertrain. The 2.5 liter & electric motor have to be shoehorned into that space.
I’ll keep my eye out for a scratched & bespattered HPR Maverick and give you a wave if I see you around.

 

[JamesC]

did you mess with the backup camera settings. if not you might want to. when I 1st got mine I couldn't see a thing.

Please elaborate!

 

[Nunyabiznus]

Please elaborate!

On the touch screen you can adjust the screen settings to better see it in bright light

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