First Time Snow Storm Performance Review (AWD Maverick in Wisconsin) 👍

[Call sign "Slick"]

You might try ceramic coating on your headlights to prevent the icing....just a thought.. good luck!

Sponsored

 

[A Dodge that drives Fords]

Hello fellow wisconsinite, this is my second year with the Maverick in the snow. I'm surprised how well it handles the snow tires could be upgraded. On my 2001 ranger I had Firestone destination, I will be replacing my factory tires with those when they wear out. Even though the factory tires aren't terrible, they're not great. This weekend will be the real test for the Mavericks out there in Wisconsin. Some areas are predicted to get 10 inches+ throughout the storm. Remember to use wet and slippery mode actually helps out.

 

[Johnny maverick]

In Slippery mode I've had no problem with the stock tires on my Hybrid.

But I guess I always mentally compare everything to the RWD '86 Grand Marquis I learned to drive in, so our definitions of "good" may be different.

Grand marquis is what I cut my teeth in with Goodyear ultra grip ice tires. I've had 5 .
1 marauder .
I have a 1970 429 convertible now.

 

[Barracuda340]

Yall are experiencing the biggest problems with LED headlights:

No heat produced by the light emitter means the ice/snow doesn't melt off the headlight lens. To my knowledge the only solution to this is RainX and/or occasionally stopping to clean the headlights.

Anything water/ice/snow/etc causes refraction and glare at the wavelength these lights produce. It makes the falling snow much more noticeable, and makes ice and water on the ground (road) much less noticeable. Halogen lights (or anything more yellow/amber) don't cause as much glare, making the falling snow less noticeable but make water/ice on the road much more noticeable. The best solution to this is to add selective yellow (or amber) fog lights, or LaminX yellow headlight film.

I plan on adding a set of halogen driving lights to the bumper.

 

[Traegorn]

Grand marquis is what I cut my teeth in with Goodyear ultra grip ice tires. I've had 5 .
1 marauder .
I have a 1970 429 convertible now.

Yeah, it was my parent's car, and they never put snow tires on.

We just tossed some bags of kitty litter in the trunk and crossed our fingers

 

[WNYEscapee]

I heard good things about the Scorpion ATs from our Quicklane rep who has them. They had been a consideration of mine too.
I opted for the Firestone Destination AT2s and with the modest slushy snow we've had I felt the same way about them. Pulled out of the driveway and laid into the throttle hard and felt no slip, no hunting for traction, nothing but acceleration. Had to come to a stop, and while I was still on a side road, stood on the brakes and no ABS light, just came to a stop.

This is my third set, so they've performed as expected on my third vehicle with them.

There are rumors we might be in for a more serious snowstorm this weekend. I'm hoping not, but at least I no longer have the OE tires which I had some disappointment with in about the same amount of snow we've just had.

 

[Montana]

I definitely notice more slippage coming from 4x4 trucks and a Subaru with all time AWD, but having driving an Escape AWD with the same system before the Maverick helped me know what to expect. My issue is the braking and the downshifting. It was the same on my Escape. I had to tap the brakes most times to anticipate the down shift or it would just grab and slide. Not an issue I ever had in a truck with dedicated 4x4.

 

[JetFixxxer]

The little snow we did get my hybrid did good. After a good snowfall with new vehicles. I usually find an empty parking lot and see how the vehicle handles in the snow. I haven't been able to do this yet.

I have owned many vehicle over my lifetime and they did well in the snow. Except for two vehicles, a '94 For Ranger and a '82 RWD Mazda 626.. Actually that Mazda did well for the most part, except one winter night driving back from Montreal QC, (maybe Sherbrooke) Canada to Gardiner, ME. I was about 2 miles from home and next thing you know I was sideways eating a snowbank.

 

[shadow76]

Hello fellow wisconsinite, this is my second year with the Maverick in the snow. I'm surprised how well it handles the snow tires could be upgraded. On my 2001 ranger I had Firestone destination, I will be replacing my factory tires with those when they wear out. Even though the factory tires aren't terrible, they're not great. This weekend will be the real test for the Mavericks out there in Wisconsin. Some areas are predicted to get 10 inches+ throughout the storm. Remember to use wet and slippery mode actually helps out.

Having a 2WD older Ranger outfitted with a set of Blizztek tires, I rarely had wheel spin even in bumper high snow. However in previous winters, chains were needed in similar situations.
Alas this set of Blizzteks are 16”, thus I’m seeking 16” rims to fit the Maverick with.

 

[Old Ford Guy]

how it looked when I got home.

YIKES! are headlight lens warmers possible? i can see where this could be a real issue in certain cold weather climates for sure

 

[RedRider]

Having a 2WD older Ranger outfitted with a set of Blizztek tires, I rarely had wheel spin even in bumper high snow. However in previous winters, chains were needed in similar situations.
Alas this set of Blizzteks are 16”, thus I’m seeking 16” rims to fit the Maverick with.

Yeah, no. 16" rims will not clear the larger brakes on the Mav.

 

[JBryant]

Well, you guys have fun in the snow. If I had one wish, it would be as follows - you can keep the snow for the ENTIRE winter. It is bad enough that we are going to have single digits the next few nights here in North Texas, but thankfully no wet stuff.

 

[F050]

Im in madison, dealt with same storm and have the same opinion. Other awd vehicles ive drove in the past i think were heavier. I was driving down unplowed roads like they were dry. Just had to start braking a bit sooner. My wife was impressed too. She has a toyota sienna and said it felt like she had a cheat code on. I dont think she could have got to work in her van saturday morning.

 

[Karl John]

I’ve owned my Maverick for a month, since December 8th. 1,200 miles, so far no regrets. Here in Wisconsin we’ve seen about 1/2” of snow since the middle of November.

Until today, when we were hammered with 8+ inches in my area. With temps hovering around 28-33 degrees, it was/is a slush-fest.

Prior to my Maverick I owned an ‘01 Silverado 4x4, ‘99 Civic “Si” with a B-Series engine, and a ‘17 VW GTI in that order. The Silverado was good in snow. Just needed common sense. The Civic was a summer car, but saw snow once and tried un-aliving me at 20mph. The GTI was good even with a stiff suspension but the car had a lot of torque so it was easy to break loose.

I got to drive the Maverick in the shitstorm we got this morning, and I was expecting it to be good, but not this good. I could not make the truck break free in the ice slush for the life of me. It just chugged right through and never broke a sweat. I tried “Slippery” mode and it was even better. Just for S&G, I tried Sport mode with Traction Control off and let Jesus take the wheel…

But it soldiered right through and I never once felt like I was in jeopardy of losing control.

to be fair, my test drive never saw speeds more than 45mph. But regardless, I am more than impressed. The tires are new, but they’re the Pirelli Scorpions. I’ve heard less than favorable things about them, but if the truck continues to perform like this I have 0 concerns about getting to where I need to be.

11/10, would drive in a storm for a good time. At this point I think I’m more worried about the road salt than I am about kissing a pole.

My24 AWD XLT Lux has just been built! It can't get here, to northeast Wisconsin soon enough!

 

[Dignam]

Also in Madison area, and the Mav has been a champ in the 15+ inches of snow we've gotten over the last week. Now we're dealing with plummeting temps and any compacted snow is turning to ice, especially at intersections.

Was picking up the gf during one of the storms. On a city street behind a Tucson on a pretty steep grade. He made it about half way and started sliding back. I gave him plenty of room to turn around, and then I decided to go for it since I had done it earlier in the day. Mav had no issues clawing up the hill (factory Wildpeaks).

Sponsored