Car & Driver recommends Maverick as a great first vehicle

[Lone Ridr]

You may be right, but the silicon cylinder bore treatment would have nothing to do with your hypothesis about the coefficients of expansion. My point was, somewhere along the way, GM apparently worked out the whole "one part is iron and another part is aluminum" thing to a reasonable level of reliability.

As stated elsewhere the silicone impregnated block was replaced with a cast iron sleeved block. Chevy gave up on the original design and for good reason. In comparison, It makes the Maverick CV axle debacle look pretty small. The Vega is widely considered to be one of the worst American built cars of all time because of the rust issue. The engine issues were overlooked and discounted EXCEPT by us poor mechanics who had to deal with the vehicles and the fallout associated with them, not to mention the 6.5 million vehicle recall for broken motor mounts, the Citation, the Corvair.....

Add two more:
The Chevy Monza first year; The Monza was supposed to have a rotary (Wankel) engine. At the last minute, Chevy changed their mind, the rotary wasn't going to deliver any gas mileage savings. They made a special small block V8, a 262 cubic inch (4.3L) small-block to fit the engine bay. They didn't account for the extra weight of the new engine resulting in the lower valance panel breaking at the slightest bump and the tires wearing out in 5000 miles. Repairs included valance replacement with paint, front coil spring replacement with alignment, and if the customer screamed loud enough, front tire replacement. Furthermore, we received a service bulletin for cylinder 1 spark plug replacement: Since the standard spark plug socket couldn't be used due to the steering gear being 1/2" away, we were to remove the left motor mount bolt and lift the engine to replace the plug. Within 3 months a mechanic patented a 2-piece socket eliminating the need to jack up the engine. Think Chevy has learned lessons and gotten smarter? Go to the Colorado Fans web site. The latest Gen has a lot of serious problems. But locate the thread that talks about the top panel buckling while going through a touchless car wash. The fix is to remove the headliner and weld in an additional top brace. Customers complain about dirty prints on the headliner after this repair. Yup, my Lariat is a fairly well-built truck.

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[OneAlienBoi]

I feel like there ought to be a distiction between "first NEW car you ever buy" and "first vehicle" - best first vehicle is probably a used car that doesn't have any huge reliability red flags but has been hit hard with the depreciation stick for some reason.

To be fair, the maverick doesn't have reliability red flags and holds it's value well. My 2022 is probably still worth almost what I paid for it.

 

[JazznSF]

I also own a Mazda CX5. Probably the best CUV/car I've ever owned and I retire next year, so I've owned many cars and trucks since I was 14 (bought my first car, but couldn't drive it for 2 more years), and I'm retiring with my Mazda and my 2026 Maverick XLT Hybrid. Love the Hybrid as well. I live in the country in S. Texas and those work for me perfectly. I can retire a happy man. Enjoy your Hybrid.

Mazdas may be the most underrated and under appreciated cars in the U.S. But, if you know, you know... all three of mine have been fabulous cars. My 2012 Mazda 3 iTouring got 41-42 on the highway. My current Mazda - a 2017 Mazda 3 GT Hatch, has several features that the Maverick does not: a heads up display, adaptive headlights (illuminating turns on a twisty road) and doors that lock when you walk away. That last feature has spoiled me... I keep forgetting to lock the Maverick because I'm used to the Mazda doing it for me!

You'll love being retired, and it sounds like you've got a great pair of vehicles. Cheers!

 

[OneAlienBoi]

I know I'm gonna sound bitter, but most 17, 18 year olds aren't gonna be buying a lightly used, or even brand new maverick without the help of their parents. It reminds me of an article I saw where it was like "Here are the best new cars parents can buy for their college aged kids".

Just to think kids are being gifted cars, new cars at that, just makes me kinda depressed and shows the disconnect a lot of wealthy people have from the rest of us. Hell, my best friend's dad is a dentist, and my friend has just been bailed out his entire life financially. Like he broke his arm playing casual football, and his dad bought him a basically new civic, had like 5k miles on it, to make up for it. I remember thinking if I broke my arm for any reason, all I would get is yelled at for being so careless lol.

That same civic has gone to shit in the span of about 10 years because he doesn't take take of it, everything is broken. His skid plate for instance was dragging, and instead of repairing or replacing it, he just took it off. He doesn't take care of it because he didn't have to earn it, so he doesn't fully appreciate it. But it's still annoying to watch him just abuse this car he was gifted into the ground.

By comparison, we had a 2009 Kia Rio, the kind of car that was 12k brand new with hand crank windows and door locks to give you and idea of what kind of car it was. I offered to buy it from my dad when it was around 10 years old back in 2019 well before used car values went nuts for a couple of grand, and he said I wasn't offering fair market value and refused lol. Just shows the difference in life experiences I guess lol.

 

[JazznSF]

I hear you, and that's my point exactly. If you work for it, you appreciate it. None of my friends were getting new cars in high school. Heck, none of us were getting cars period, unless we earned the money to buy one. Then, we needed to keep earning to pay for the insurance and upkeep required for owning a car. We all worked on our own cars, helping each other when a second set of hands was needed. By the time I was 18 I'd rebuilt three V8s; a 327 Chevy, a 396 Chevy, and a 401 Buick "Nailhead." That last engine powered my Buick Wildcat, which also featured a Craig Powerplay 8-Track and four Jensen speakers. The car, the rebuild, and the great stereo was 100% bought and paid for by my hard work, which started with a paper route back when I was twelve.

It was a different time, but the lessons I learned about setting goals and achieving those goals have served me well my entire life. I'm glad that I was raised with those values. It's why I don't feel guilty in the least little bit for buying myself a special order Maverick Lariat Hybrid, painted Orange Fury, as a "Lovely Parting Gift" at the end of a long career.

 

[DaddyDan]

I hear you, and that's my point exactly. If you work for it, you appreciate it. None of my friends were getting new cars in high school. Heck, none of us were getting cars period, unless we earned the money to buy one. Then, we needed to keep earning to pay for the insurance and upkeep required for owning a car. We all worked on our own cars, helping each other when a second set of hands was needed. By the time I was 18 I'd rebuilt three V8s; a 327 Chevy, a 396 Chevy, and a 401 Buick "Nailhead." That last engine powered my Buick Wildcat, which also featured a Craig Powerplay 8-Track and four Jensen speakers. The car, the rebuild, and the great stereo was 100% bought and paid for by my hard work, which started with a paper route back when I was twelve.

It was a different time, but the lessons I learned about setting goals and achieving those goals have served me well my entire life. I'm glad that I was raised with those values. It's why I don't feel guilty in the least little bit for buying myself a special order Maverick Lariat Hybrid, painted Orange Fury, as a "Lovely Parting Gift" at the end of a long career.

I did get gifted the old family car but it was a 12 year old Chevy and already had a 100,000 miles on it. Dad put liability insurance on it and told me "hit something cheap." He also told me that if I kept the "good student discount" he would pay my insurance. Gas was on me.

 

[BK007]

My 1st car was a 1985 2 door Chevette Next was a 1983 Honda Prelude 2 door both stick shift and 0-35 MPH in about 5 minutes. That great 1980's horsepower!

 

[JazznSF]

My 1st car was a 1985 2 door Chevette Next was a 1983 Honda Prelude 2 door both stick shift and 0-35 MPH in about 5 minutes. That great 1980's horsepower!

I don't have experience with the little Chevy, but those first gen Preludes and Accords were very nice cars. My parents had a silver Accord for nearly two decades. My mom actually cried when it finally came time to retire that car. Wouldn't win any drag races, but sipped gas and stopped on a dime. Nice driving experience too.

 

[Mudduck]

My 1st car was a 1985 2 door Chevette Next was a 1983 Honda Prelude 2 door both stick shift and 0-35 MPH in about 5 minutes. That great 1980's horsepower!

A 'Vette is still a "Vette my friend!

I had a AMC Pacer. No ladies for me in that day.... When I was a kid, we bought what we called "Hundred dollar cars" might be $500, $300, or even 900, but they were everywhere and in the "Hundred dollar" range, you could get a POS that would roll for a year or 2. We bought them ourselves, spray painted them, jumped hills, drove with almost no brakes, smoking and rattling. It was a good time and I was proud to do it myself.

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