Hybrid XL received. First Impressions.

[Goose..you there?]

I picked mine up yesterday! Gotta say I’m loving it!

Dan, as we say here on the forum, we need picture proof..or it didn’t happen! Lol

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[Deleted member 4846]

Received my Hybrid XL on Thursday! I put about 75 miles on it in the last 24 hours. Mostly highway miles. The mpg is right around 36 so far. I bought and installed the $300 tonneau cover from the realtruck website. Tonneau barely reaches the length of the bed so I plan to add some weather stripping to make a watertight seal where it meets the tailgate.

This is my first hybrid so here's a list of my first impressions:

1. No engine noise on startup. It just shows 'ready to go' on the instrument cluster. Once in drive, it whirrs out a simulated engine sound for pedestrians. In reverse it adds a little chirping noise.

2. Great adjustability in the seat. The one lever pushes the seat higher and forward, the lever behind it reclines the seat. Together with the telescoping steering wheel there is sure to be a perfect seating position for everyone.

3. Pleased with the audio. I like that the back speakers are raised up to ear level in the cab pillars. There are 'driver' and 'all seats' modes which adjust the front to back volume ratio. There is also high, mid, and bass eq adjustment.

4. Ride is smooth and probably more quite than the average sedan.

5. Instrument cluster is clean, it would have been nice if they put digital speed, compass, realtime mpg, and realtime battery charge/use on one screen. Instead I find myself toggling back and forth between the menus using the buttons on the steering wheel. I like that you can access most of the vehicle settings/features via the instrument cluster screen, so you don't have to fiddle with the main touch screen.

6. The back seats aren't bad, definitely not as spacious as an SUV, but I really like the modular 'fits' concept for the back seat. I can slide in the cup holder module if I have passengers, or put in the trash can module if I'm going on a long drive, or take it out if I need the floor space for groceries.

7. Truck bed is sturdy and the tail gate is pretty light. I wanted to install a drop in liner, but it seems like they are out of stock right now. I plan to cut some 2x6's to make a compartment for groceries using the built in diy slots in the sides of the bed. The XL doesn't come with floor anchors, but the holes are there already. Not sure if they are pre tapped.

It definitely has more power than my old 96' manual ranger that barely could get up to 70 mph. More powerful engine aside, the maverick does take me back to the feeling of the good old days.

That's all for now.

What color is this?

 

[Davidc83]

In response to the post, does anyone know how to eliminate the fake engine sound and backup beeper? I don’t want to just start ripping wires out when mine arrives.

Doesnt New York State have vehicle inspections? You may want to check with the inspections station if they check for that government required noise before trying to eliminate it...

 

[Shelby1962]

Doesnt New York State have vehicle inspections? You may want to check with the inspections station if they check for that government required noise before trying to eliminate it...

That is not part of the inspection in NY.

 

[Ahab]

This is sort of ridiculous. Today is Thursday. On Tuesday the truck was supposedly on rail in Nogales, MX, three weeks after it was built. Yesterday, Wed, it showed in the dealer lot late pm. Dealer and I discussed, and due to New Year's holiday closure and need for PDI, I'd pick it up after 1/3/22. He called today, it is through PDI, and the family heads down tomorrow a.m. to claim it. Original MSRP, no pricing hiccups, and no issues on the tank or belt anchor recalls. If all goes well, I'll update. This is nearly as good as waiting for the kids' faces on Xmas morning. Hell, even the Stanley thermos I got as a gift matches the Alto blue. The Lariat was already named by the kids "Larry" weeks ago.

 

[Therabbittree]

Maybe if we could CHANGE the sound so that it would alert others, but not be so annoying to the driver.

We probably could some how... this would be a fun mod in forscan...

 

[Deleted member 5749]

Received my Hybrid XL on Thursday! I put about 75 miles on it in the last 24 hours. Mostly highway miles. The mpg is right around 36 so far. I bought and installed the $300 tonneau cover from the realtruck website. Tonneau barely reaches the length of the bed so I plan to add some weather stripping to make a watertight seal where it meets the tailgate.

This is my first hybrid so here's a list of my first impressions:

1. No engine noise on startup. It just shows 'ready to go' on the instrument cluster. Once in drive, it whirrs out a simulated engine sound for pedestrians. In reverse it adds a little chirping noise.

2. Great adjustability in the seat. The one lever pushes the seat higher and forward, the lever behind it reclines the seat. Together with the telescoping steering wheel there is sure to be a perfect seating position for everyone.

3. Pleased with the audio. I like that the back speakers are raised up to ear level in the cab pillars. There are 'driver' and 'all seats' modes which adjust the front to back volume ratio. There is also high, mid, and bass eq adjustment.

4. Ride is smooth and probably more quite than the average sedan.

5. Instrument cluster is clean, it would have been nice if they put digital speed, compass, realtime mpg, and realtime battery charge/use on one screen. Instead I find myself toggling back and forth between the menus using the buttons on the steering wheel. I like that you can access most of the vehicle settings/features via the instrument cluster screen, so you don't have to fiddle with the main touch screen.

6. The back seats aren't bad, definitely not as spacious as an SUV, but I really like the modular 'fits' concept for the back seat. I can slide in the cup holder module if I have passengers, or put in the trash can module if I'm going on a long drive, or take it out if I need the floor space for groceries.

7. Truck bed is sturdy and the tail gate is pretty light. I wanted to install a drop in liner, but it seems like they are out of stock right now. I plan to cut some 2x6's to make a compartment for groceries using the built in diy slots in the sides of the bed. The XL doesn't come with floor anchors, but the holes are there already. Not sure if they are pre tapped.

It definitely has more power than my old 96' manual ranger that barely could get up to 70 mph. More powerful engine aside, the maverick does take me back to the feeling of the good old days.

That's all for now.

Glad they added sounds for motion. both forward and reverse. My 2018 C-Max can be a little spooky when it's in "full stealth" mode. I've had to be very much aware of possible pedestrians nearby.

 

[Ahab]

I did some research on tonneaus; soft, hard, and revolving (the roll ups). Pretty sure the Ford in-house brand is really a Bakflip Revolver. So I checked those out and identified the Revolver X2 and X4s on the Bakflip website. These were my baselines. Then I looked at comps on other sites like Truxedo, Retrax - there are a number of them. I had a lot of tabs open on the monitor. Settled on the Bakflip X4s.

Then, where to get it? Started looking at tonneau "outlet" websites, lots of tabs on the screen again, and ultimately settled on the Tonneau Factory Outlet. Did the on-line chat thing, and asked them to email me a quote for several Bakflip, Retrax, and Truxedo models. They did so, and I ended up ordering the X4S for $929. Two weeks, they say. We'll see.
Sidebar comment: REALLY liked the Retrax Pro MX, but that sucker is $1669, and my better half would have neutered me with a dull spoon. The X4s is a fine 2nd choice.

Multiple people understandably fret about water egress. I live in the Seattle area, where we sleep with hip-waders on....I care too. So when I asked, Bakflip threw in at no charge a $36 tailgate seal. Don't know if it will help, but it sure won't hurt. And folks, it IS a truck. You need something 100% dry, that's what the cab is for. Again, we'll see.

The whole tonneau research thing took an hour, on-line, including the emailed quotes. The actual order, since I am old school, I called in - for a bigger ticket item, it's usually greater fun talking with a live human being who wants to help and understands your excitement.

If road conditions allow, in three hours I pick up Alto Blue Lariat Larry. On the drive home, we'll stop at the local LineX disty and schedule a SIBL. Then i'm going AWOL and acting like a silly-ass kid for a day or so. It's a good thing.

Happy New Year to all of your and yours.
Ahab

 

[BigDinTX]

After a long hard battle (that I still lost) with the dealer, I scored an XL.

Initial caveat so far (not that I'm looking for things wrong) is my hips. I'm a slightly larger gent and the driver's seat is a pinch uncomfortable after being in it for a solid hour ride back home. I'm hoping it's just my fat hips and the newness of the seat. The only thing I miss is the cruise control, but that's a minor "ding" in this baby. My 10yr old named her Ocean, so there she is.

The drive was great and looking over the hood reminds me of the old 2000's Ranger hood. They are putting on a spray in bed liner in the coming weeks and will be outfitting Ocean with some weather mats as well.

 

[Ahab]

I did some research on tonneaus; soft, hard, and revolving (the roll ups). Pretty sure the Ford in-house brand is really a Bakflip Revolver. So I checked those out and identified the Revolver X2 and X4s on the Bakflip website. These were my baselines. Then I looked at comps on other sites like Truxedo, Retrax - there are a number of them. I had a lot of tabs open on the monitor. Settled on the Bakflip X4s.

Then, where to get it? Started looking at tonneau "outlet" websites, lots of tabs on the screen again, and ultimately settled on the Tonneau Factory Outlet. Did the on-line chat thing, and asked them to email me a quote for several Bakflip, Retrax, and Truxedo models. They did so, and I ended up ordering the X4S for $929. Two weeks, they say. We'll see.
Sidebar comment: REALLY liked the Retrax Pro MX, but that sucker is $1669, and my better half would have neutered me with a dull spoon. The X4s is a fine 2nd choice.

Multiple people understandably fret about water egress. I live in the Seattle area, where we sleep with hip-waders on....I care too. So when I asked, Bakflip threw in at no charge a $36 tailgate seal. Don't know if it will help, but it sure won't hurt. And folks, it IS a truck. You need something 100% dry, that's what the cab is for. Again, we'll see.

The whole tonneau research thing took an hour, on-line, including the emailed quotes. The actual order, since I am old school, I called in - for a bigger ticket item, it's usually greater fun talking with a live human being who wants to help and understands your excitement.

If road conditions allow, in three hours I pick up Alto Blue Lariat Larry. On the drive home, we'll stop at the local LineX disty and schedule a SIBL. Then i'm going AWOL and acting like a silly-ass kid for a day or so. It's a good thing.

Happy New Year to all of your and yours.
Ahab

Happy New Year, folks.

Picked up Larry.
It's 20 something miles from the dealer, the highways were clear, the side roads, not so much, so I was able to try out 75 mph in the HOV, slippery mode near home, and fired up Let It Be, Starirway to Heaven, and Baby got Back off my phone. Stopped by and scheduled the SIBL for Wednesday after work - $700. This is Redmond/Seattle, home to a half dozen tech companies, so things do cost more.

Drives well, handles well, accelerates well, and for comfort, front and back seats shine. After a few tries in town, achieving 95 to 100% regeneration while coming to a stop is easy. The ActiveX seat texture feels like leather (this is NOT boat seat naugahyde), and the bronze/blue accents complement the alto blue in a stunning way I hoped for, and was delighted to get.

The views between all pillars is superb. There is window glass everywhere and lines of sight are excellent. The Lariat has an accoustic glass windshield, and the reduction in noise, even at highway speeds, is markedly better. Others may disagree, but not me.

The on-board displays and the steering wheel function switches marry up well...but coordinating your thumbs and what your eyes see, when you should be focusing on the road, will take a little practice - wholly expected. People have said the dash display looks a little faded. I disagree - but do agree it is monochromatic (polite word for "boring"). Some colorization would have been nice. This is a minor quibble and not to get hung up on.

Honeymoon period? Sure it is; we all know this. But the first impressions exceed what I was allowing myself to expect. Happy camper here.

It's friggin' 18 degrees out there. So I'll settle for tranferring the old Honda 2005 Pilot contents to the truck, and get the interior squared away. Y'all be well.

Ahab

 

[RevBo]

Awesome review! If you can, please post your impressions of the Hybrid after a few miles. Beautiful truck. ENJOY!

 

[tonyinsd]

Nice write up and if I don't say so myself, those steel wheels do look nice!

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Wonderful report, but one thing alarms me, and I hope that I am misunderstanding you. I bought this truck to handle my fishing kayak, so the two front tie-downs are very important. So important that, without them, I might as well have a motorcycle. The model I saw had two die-downs in front and two in back. Man, I hope I am misunderstanding you.

No big deal to add them (if your truck doesn't come with them). As well as others. Also you can buy unistruc track at Home Depot and elsewhere along with bolts/tie downs/etc and cut to length and attach to inside bed walls using the 3 holes on each side located about 3 inches from top. You can also fabricate unistruc rack to hold kayak above cab and attach it to the unistruc you bolted to the bed walls. Some of the fittings may have to be ordered online as store inventory is geared to racking used in construction.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

This is sort of ridiculous. Today is Thursday. On Tuesday the truck was supposedly on rail in Nogales, MX, three weeks after it was built. Yesterday, Wed, it showed in the dealer lot late pm. Dealer and I discussed, and due to New Year's holiday closure and need for PDI, I'd pick it up after 1/3/22. He called today, it is through PDI, and the family heads down tomorrow a.m. to claim it. Original MSRP, no pricing hiccups, and no issues on the tank or belt anchor recalls. If all goes well, I'll update. This is nearly as good as waiting for the kids' faces on Xmas morning. Hell, even the Stanley thermos I got as a gift matches the Alto blue. The Lariat was already named by the kids "Larry" weeks ago.

I got a 7 ft tall black (shadow) figure of big foot that has been named "Leroy" to attach to a post in my carport for Xmas to stand guard over my Cactus Gray Mav!

 

[Jetfixer]

Looking good. I am replacing my 2019 Ram 1500 RWD for the Hybrid XLT mainly for the better fuel economy as I don't really use the truck for much more than a commuter but still like having an open bed for the occasional runs to Home Depot etc.

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