How does your Maverick steering feedback feel to you?

[phobiarg]

I traded in a Focus ST for my Maverick a few weeks ago and am ecstatic about it. I am really enjoying the Maverick more in just about every way. My only hangup is with the steering feedback. To me the steering feels soft and vague, with no real tactile cues on what the truck is doing. I understand that the Maverick will never feel like the Focus ST did, and I never expected it to, but I am really hung up on just how different it feels. Our F150 provides more feedback, our old Xterra did too...

With that gripe out of the way I wanted to get other's input on their truck and for those of you who have replaced the tires if it changed anything.

Sponsored

 

[JibbersCrabst]

I traded in a Focus ST for my Maverick a few weeks ago and am ecstatic about it. I am really enjoying the Maverick more in just about every way. My only hangup is with the steering feedback. To me the steering feels soft and vague, with no real tactile cues on what the truck is doing. I understand that the Maverick will never feel like the Focus ST did, and I never expected it to, but I am really hung up on just how different it feels. Our F150 provides more feedback, our old Xterra did too...

With that gripe out of the way I wanted to get other's input on their truck and for those of you who have replaced the tires if it changed anything.

Haven't driven a Maverick yet but I can say that every vehicle I drive other than my ST always has a softer steering feel. I think the ST is made have a heavier steering feel so it's more tight and "sporty" whereas most non-performance inspired passenger vehicles are made to feel more soft and dampened, isolating the driver from the feel of the road and that steering feedback. I've just come to expect that anything I drive that isn't a performance vehicle is probably going to feel softer.

 

[Decayed]

I am expecting to notice a difference. My current DD is a mazda 3 and it handles/corners very, very well. I will miss that and it would be surprising in the extreme if the maverick is anywhere near as nimble feeling as the mazda. However all reports are generally positive so it should all be good. Hey, it's a truck, right!

 

[SgtLip]

My only hangup is with the steering feedback. To me the steering feels soft and vague, with no real tactile cues on what the truck is doing.

Let me preface this with I do not have a Maverick and I've never driven one. With that gripe out of the way, I don't understand exactly what you mean by "Steering Feedback and Soft and Vague".

About the only thing I know is power steering, rack & pinion steering and the old fashion hard as hell steering. To me big difference between old style hard steering and power steering. I guess you could call the old system hard and the power steering soft. But I thought that was the purpose of power steering, to make it a lot easier. Not sure I ever received feedback only because I'm not sure what that is.

I have heard the Maverick has a Electronic-Power Assisted steering system. Not sure if this is the difference as this will be the first time I know I'll have one of these types systems. Is it possible that is the reason you aren't familiar with the steering system? Just curious as I am the last person on earth you want to talk to about steering.

 

[bgillen35]

Let me preface this with I do not have a Maverick and I've never driven one. With that gripe out of the way, I don't understand exactly what you mean by "Steering Feedback and Soft and Vague".

About the only thing I know is power steering, rack & pinion steering and the old fashion hard as hell steering. To me big difference between old style hard steering and power steering. I guess you could call the old system hard and the power steering soft. But I thought that was the purpose of power steering, to make it a lot easier. Not sure I ever received feedback only because I'm not sure what that is.

I have heard the Maverick has a Electronic-Power Assisted steering system. Not sure if this is the difference as this will be the first time I know I'll have one of these types systems. Is it possible that is the reason you aren't familiar with the steering system? Just curious as I am the last person on earth you want to talk to about steering.

With modern electrically assisted power steering, vehicles can be programmed to provide more/less steering feedback, or essentially making steering inputs feel more tight or loose. My wife's mustang for example doesn't have drive modes, only steering modes. Sport provides a harder, stiffer wheel for more feedback and precise inputs. Comfort makes it a softer, loose feeling wheel so every bump in the road and shake of the wheel doesnt cause a steering input.. Normal is somewhere in the middle.

Since the Maverick doesn't have steering modes, it is programmed to whatever the engineers think is best. Steering feel is subjective so if you're used to a sports car, it's probably going to feel very loose or soft.

 

[marpolsdofer]

I have heard the Maverick has a Electronic-Power Assisted steering system. Not sure if this is the difference as this will be the first time I know I'll have one of these types systems. Is it possible that is the reason you aren't familiar with the steering system? Just curious as I am the last person on earth you want to talk to about steering.

On older cars use a hydraulic power steering unit. Almost all new vehicles but not all have electric power steering. Heavy Duty vehicles still use hydraulics for the most part.
No pumps, lines, or tanks. Instead it has a torque sensor that detects steering wheel movement and they can detect very minimal movement. Then when the wheel is turned there is a electric motor on the steering column or rack and pinion to turn the wheel. The advantage to this it can detect if someone is not touching the steering wheel. Push the car back in the lane if you have lane departure activated. Increase or decrease the force needed to turn the wheel for certain needs. Also can turn the wheels more or less bases on rotation of the steering wheels.

 

[marpolsdofer]

Since the Maverick doesn't have steering modes, it is programmed to whatever the engineers think is best. Steering feel is subjective so if you're used to a sports car, it's probably going to feel very loose or soft.

Other the safety feature I do believe tow/haul mode increase the tourqe required to turn the wheels. I also thought is does have a eco mode and sports mode done know if that affects steering at all.

 

[bgillen35]

Other the safety feature I do believe tow/haul mode increase the tourqe required to turn the wheels. I also thought is does have a eco mode and sports mode done know if that affects steering at all.

Yes, it does have those drive modes. Not sure if that effects the steering feel or just the throttle response.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

I've driven manual steering vehicles, power steering vehicles, and now this electronic steering Maverick. The best I can say so far is it has a "disconnected" feel to it. Not necessarily soft but I can tell it's not mechanically connected. I think most of this is many years of muscle memory from driving. Take a new driver who's never driven anything else and they'll never notice a thing.

 

[marpolsdofer]

I've driven manual steering vehicles, power steering vehicles, and now this electronic steering Maverick. The best I can say so far is it has a "disconnected" feel to it. Not necessarily soft but I can tell it's not mechanically connected. I think most of this is many years of muscle memory from driving. Take a new driver who's never driven anything else and they'll never notice a thing.

There is still a mechanical connection.b
It does decouple so it won't always be 100 percent connected when working properly. If sensor or motor fails it will become a direct connection.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

There is still a mechanical connection.b
It does decouple so it won't always be 100 percent connected when working properly. If sensor or motor fails it will become a direct connection.

My thought should have been "feels not mechanically connected"

 

[pnorwood54]

just wait until the lane assist kicks in

 

[phobiarg]

I really think it may be the tires. When I first got my Focus ST it had some ultra cheap economy tires on it (Ironman was the brand like $75 a tire).

When I would give a quick "swerve" of the wheel one way then the other as if you were trying to dodge something in the road last second. You could feel the car load up on the front outside tire and the car wouldn't immediately turn in, it felt like a "wave" sort of rolled through the chassis as each tire responded to the sudden change in direction. You'd feel the front move over, then the back move over then the front straighten out then the back straighten out. The front and the back felt disconnected.

I upgraded the tires on the ST to a set of high performance tires and it completely changed the characteristics of the steering. Everything became sharp and responsive.

I tried the same test with the Maverick on my way home today and feel the Conti Procontact TX are performing similarly to the cheap tires. I'm wondering if something a bit more "sporty" would do the trick.

 

[Eagle11]

I traded in a Focus ST for my Maverick a few weeks ago and am ecstatic about it. I am really enjoying the Maverick more in just about every way. My only hangup is with the steering feedback. To me the steering feels soft and vague, with no real tactile cues on what the truck is doing. I understand that the Maverick will never feel like the Focus ST did, and I never expected it to, but I am really hung up on just how different it feels. Our F150 provides more feedback, our old Xterra did too...

With that gripe out of the way I wanted to get other's input on their truck and for those of you who have replaced the tires if it changed anything.

It's simple the Maverick has electronic steering. The feedback will be vague, it's NOT a sports truck and it was never intended to be one. So the "hang up" is real.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

It's simple the Maverick has electronic steering. The feedback will be vague, it's NOT a sports truck and it was never intended to be one. So the "hang up" is real.

Actually it's a mater of programing. There's performance cars also with electronic steering and they are very sporty.

Sponsored