A Surprising And Enlightening Experience From First Maverick Road Trip

[projectvortex]

I recently put "Student Driver" reflective magnets on the back of both of my vehicles, people don't follow me as close as they used to!!!

That is a GREAT idea. If enough of us do that, people will start wondering “I’ve never seen so many new drivers. What is going on?” Lol

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[Allen King Jr]

That is a GREAT idea. If enough of us do that, people will start wondering “I’ve never seen so many new drivers. What is going on?” Lol

I mainly did it because my 18 year old finally decided to start driving

 

[PoolBoi2]

I had to change my color when my order was rolled over to MY23 because they killed off Velocity Blue. I chose Cyber Orange and every time I see a Mav in that color, I'm glad I did! Looks great, glad you are enjoying it! Can't argue with that MPG, it's fantastic!

Tell you what I see more Cyber Orange versus Velocity blue which I have 2 Lariat (A) built and (B) built time frames. Being the exact same order on window sticker they are not the same. Seems the (B) built Maverick was built little cheaper.

In my opinion I'd say Velocity blue is little more rare then yellow or orange which normally be blue over both. 1 for my wife, 1 for me for work reason I have 2.

 

[JackG]

My wife and I just took our first road trip in our Hybrid XLT this last Friday. Yeah, from what I've been reading I know most of you probably consider 300 miles a jog around the park, but as I haven't really even left town in nine months of ownership, trust that it counts as a road trip for me.
Anyway, we drove from Charlotte, NC to the Blue Ridge Parkway and back to check out the leaves at their peak...and of course I was checking out the truck's performance and fuel efficiency as well.

As I said, I've driven almost entirely in the city since I've owned the Maverick and have been totally blown away by its amazing gas mileage. I routinely get 43-45 MPG here in town, but as the EPA has it rated at only 33 MPG on the "highway", I was fully expecting a big reduction on our trip. But as you can see from the readout, there was essentially NO difference at all, even after powering up all those steep grades. (The dash calculation is always 2-3 MPG high..) Wow! I honestly don't know what to think, and it makes me wonder exactly what the EPA considers to be "highway" travel. On our drive, there were long straight stretches of 65 MPH open highways before we even got to the mountains. Nearly a hundred miles or so each way. So considering that this is pretty much what all of my road trips will look like, I doubt I will ever see anything approaching that 33 MPG number. All good, and super impressive!

The truck's performance and handling were equally impressive. I found it to be extremely stable and sure footed in the curves, far better than any truck I've ever owned. And the power impressed as well. The truck easily tackled the steep grades without breaking a sweat, with none of the annoying gear "hunting" I've come to simply take as a given after a lifetime of experience with automatic transmissions. Acceleration was there smoothly and easily without having to "punch" it to get it to downshift. (As I've also taken as a given.) I am really sold on this hybrid configuration. It's an absolute blast to drive in the mountains. One advantage I expected to observe however, didn't pan out. I figured the regen braking would provide really strong resistance on the downgrades, greatly reducing friction braking effort. And it did....but for only a very short time. The high voltage battery reaches full charge so quickly that you don't really see much of a benefit. The engine braking does kick in to help, but as with all four cylinder engines, it doesn't really hold you back much. So I had to use the brakes on the downgrades pretty much to the same degree as other cars and trucks I've owned. Yes, I did try "low", but the engine braking reached such a fever pitch that I decided I'd rather just do the braking myself. Hey, that's what brake pads are for after all, and I'm cool with it.

Comfort was excellent. The seats were firm and supportive, and we didn't experience any fatigue at all, making the Maverick one of the best overall road trip vehicles I've ever owned.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter more Mavericks on our trip than I have seen in town in all the nine months I've owned mine. We saw no less than five! And not one of them the same color. A Cactus Gray XLT passed us with a wave in Lincolnton, we got a smile and wave from a guy in a Cyber Orange XLT in Lenoir, and we passed a Carbonized Gray Lariat, and an Area 51 XLT on the parkway. Didn't get any photos of those as they were gone too quick, but I did park near a beautiful Oxford White Hybrid XLT at an overlook. Didn't see the owner before we left, but I took a picture. Gee, I hope he doesn't mind.

The whole trip from start to finish was quite a surprising and satisfying experience. We need to do this more often!

Great writeup. Thanks for taking the time. It is full of important information. I drive both city and highway and you answered my questions about highway mileage and comfort.

 

[Firsttruck]

My wife and I just took our first road trip in our Hybrid XLT this last Friday. Yeah, from what I've been reading I know most of you probably consider 300 miles a jog around the park, but as I haven't really even left town in nine months of ownership, trust that it counts as a road trip for me.
Anyway, we drove from Charlotte, NC to the Blue Ridge Parkway and back to check out the leaves at their peak...and of course I was checking out the truck's performance and fuel efficiency as well.

As I said, I've driven almost entirely in the city since I've owned the Maverick and have been totally blown away by its amazing gas mileage. I routinely get 43-45 MPG here in town, but as the EPA has it rated at only 33 MPG on the "highway", I was fully expecting a big reduction on our trip. But as you can see from the readout, there was essentially NO difference at all, even after powering up all those steep grades. (The dash calculation is always 2-3 MPG high..) Wow! I honestly don't know what to think, and it makes me wonder exactly what the EPA considers to be "highway" travel. On our drive, there were long straight stretches of 65 MPH open highways before we even got to the mountains. Nearly a hundred miles or so each way. So considering that this is pretty much what all of my road trips will look like, I doubt I will ever see anything approaching that 33 MPG number. All good, and super impressive!

The truck's performance and handling were equally impressive. I found it to be extremely stable and sure footed in the curves, far better than any truck I've ever owned. And the power impressed as well. The truck easily tackled the steep grades without breaking a sweat, with none of the annoying gear "hunting" I've come to simply take as a given after a lifetime of experience with automatic transmissions. Acceleration was there smoothly and easily without having to "punch" it to get it to downshift. (As I've also taken as a given.) I am really sold on this hybrid configuration. It's an absolute blast to drive in the mountains. One advantage I expected to observe however, didn't pan out. I figured the regen braking would provide really strong resistance on the downgrades, greatly reducing friction braking effort. And it did....but for only a very short time. The high voltage battery reaches full charge so quickly that you don't really see much of a benefit. The engine braking does kick in to help, but as with all four cylinder engines, it doesn't really hold you back much. So I had to use the brakes on the downgrades pretty much to the same degree as other cars and trucks I've owned. Yes, I did try "low", but the engine braking reached such a fever pitch that I decided I'd rather just do the braking myself. Hey, that's what brake pads are for after all, and I'm cool with it.

Comfort was excellent. The seats were firm and supportive, and we didn't experience any fatigue at all, making the Maverick one of the best overall road trip vehicles I've ever owned.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter more Mavericks on our trip than I have seen in town in all the nine months I've owned mine. We saw no less than five! And not one of them the same color. A Cactus Gray XLT passed us with a wave in Lincolnton, we got a smile and wave from a guy in a Cyber Orange XLT in Lenoir, and we passed a Carbonized Gray Lariat, and an Area 51 XLT on the parkway. Didn't get any photos of those as they were gone too quick, but I did park near a beautiful Oxford White Hybrid XLT at an overlook. Didn't see the owner before we left, but I took a picture. Gee, I hope he doesn't mind.

The whole trip from start to finish was quite a surprising and satisfying experience. We need to do this more often!

My wife and I just took our first road trip in our Hybrid XLT this last Friday. Yeah, from what I've been reading I know most of you probably consider 300 miles a jog around the park, but as I haven't really even left town in nine months of ownership, trust that it counts as a road trip for me.
Anyway, we drove from Charlotte, NC to the Blue Ridge Parkway and back to check out the leaves at their peak...and of course I was checking out the truck's performance and fuel efficiency as well.

As I said, I've driven almost entirely in the city since I've owned the Maverick and have been totally blown away by its amazing gas mileage. I routinely get 43-45 MPG here in town, but as the EPA has it rated at only 33 MPG on the "highway", I was fully expecting a big reduction on our trip. But as you can see from the readout, there was essentially NO difference at all, even after powering up all those steep grades. (The dash calculation is always 2-3 MPG high..) Wow! I honestly don't know what to think, and it makes me wonder exactly what the EPA considers to be "highway" travel. On our drive, there were long straight stretches of 65 MPH open highways before we even got to the mountains. Nearly a hundred miles or so each way. So considering that this is pretty much what all of my road trips will look like, I doubt I will ever see anything approaching that 33 MPG number. All good, and super impressive!

The truck's performance and handling were equally impressive. I found it to be extremely stable and sure footed in the curves, far better than any truck I've ever owned. And the power impressed as well. The truck easily tackled the steep grades without breaking a sweat, with none of the annoying gear "hunting" I've come to simply take as a given after a lifetime of experience with automatic transmissions. Acceleration was there smoothly and easily without having to "punch" it to get it to downshift. (As I've also taken as a given.) I am really sold on this hybrid configuration. It's an absolute blast to drive in the mountains. One advantage I expected to observe however, didn't pan out. I figured the regen braking would provide really strong resistance on the downgrades, greatly reducing friction braking effort. And it did....but for only a very short time. The high voltage battery reaches full charge so quickly that you don't really see much of a benefit. The engine braking does kick in to help, but as with all four cylinder engines, it doesn't really hold you back much. So I had to use the brakes on the downgrades pretty much to the same degree as other cars and trucks I've owned. Yes, I did try "low", but the engine braking reached such a fever pitch that I decided I'd rather just do the braking myself. Hey, that's what brake pads are for after all, and I'm cool with it.

Comfort was excellent. The seats were firm and supportive, and we didn't experience any fatigue at all, making the Maverick one of the best overall road trip vehicles I've ever owned.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter more Mavericks on our trip than I have seen in town in all the nine months I've owned mine. We saw no less than five! And not one of them the same color. A Cactus Gray XLT passed us with a wave in Lincolnton, we got a smile and wave from a guy in a Cyber Orange XLT in Lenoir, and we passed a Carbonized Gray Lariat, and an Area 51 XLT on the parkway. Didn't get any photos of those as they were gone too quick, but I did park near a beautiful Oxford White Hybrid XLT at an overlook. Didn't see the owner before we left, but I took a picture. Gee, I hope he doesn't mind.

The whole trip from start to finish was quite a surprising and satisfying experience. We need to do this more often!

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this great real world drive experience. I'm expecting delivery of my Ecobost XLT AWD in the next few weeks and have often second guessed my need for AWD (and thus the Ecoboost) because of the great mileage of the Hybrid. But I live off a long drive-way with a portion with a very steep hill. Does Ford know the could probably build a new factory just to satisfy an Hybrid AWD version of this vehicle?

 

[Larrythelunatic]

Mine isn't equipped with it...unfortunately.

”Hill descent mode” is an EB feature, not available In the hybrid. Best one can do is make max use of the “low” button. I figure that the “L” will wear out on mine before the original tires do. But the manual says it can be engaged at any speed. Just watch that needle jump WAY down into the green zone.

 

[jsus]

”Hill descent mode” is an EB feature, not available In the hybrid. Best one can do is make max use of the “low” button. I figure that the “L” will wear out on mine before the original tires do. But the manual says it can be engaged at any speed. Just watch that needle jump WAY down into the green zone.

Nope. Hybrids have Grade Assist which is automatically engaged and uses regenerative braking to maintain speed on descents.

https://www.ford.com/support/vehicl...ow-mode-grade-assist-and-hill-descent-control

Grade Assist - Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) - What Is Grade Assist
WHAT IS GRADE ASSIST

Provides additional grade braking with a combination of engine motoring and high-voltage battery charging to help maintain vehicle speed when descending a grade.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...d=8431&vFilteringEnabled=False&userMarket=usa

 

[MLA62563]

”Hill descent mode” is an EB feature, not available In the hybrid. Best one can do is make max use of the “low” button. I figure that the “L” will wear out on mine before the original tires do. But the manual says it can be engaged at any speed. Just watch that needle jump WAY down into the green zone.

I find myself using low in town more and more often. It's a really great way to take the guesswork out of whether you're getting max regen. The only concern I have is the lack of brake lights. It slows you down almost as quickly as regular braking, so I'll typically resist the urge when somebody is following pretty close.

 

[MLA62563]

Nope. Hybrids have Grade Assist which is automatically engaged and uses regenerative braking to maintain speed on descents.

https://www.ford.com/support/vehicl...ow-mode-grade-assist-and-hill-descent-control



https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...d=8431&vFilteringEnabled=False&userMarket=usa

Ah, so Grade Assist happens all on its own when conditions warrant. I guess that was more than just engine braking I experienced. It doesn't seem to hold you back much on really steep grades, but I'm sure it's better than nothing at all.

Thanks for the links. I missed those somehow.

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