I’m Stuck—Hybrid or Turbo AWD?

[notfast]

What do you all recommend I get?

The hybrid. As a former mechanic, owner of several pickups over the years, and person whose driven several dozen iterations of various makes and models of pickups, I can say that, well, a lot of great advice has already been said.

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[JASmith]

You'll have $100k when you retire.

Which at the current rate of inflation will allow you to upgrade your impossible whopper meal to 70% real meat.

 

[dalola]

OP, you don't mention budget, which is probably the biggest driver (no pun intended..) in what to get.

Either will do just fine, but there is a reason the 2.0EB & AWD cost more. With that additional cost comes additional performance & capacity to do different things, and other things better. If those upgrades are not in the budget, it's an easy decision. If they are, no one ever regrets having "too much".

 

[D&Dmav]

From what you have said I think the hybrid with winter tires is your best bet. I live in the Canadian Rockies and am getting a 2.0 eco boost AWD. Price is not the main issue for me. My wife wants AWD and you can only get that with the 2.0 eco boost.

 

[fbov]

Honestly, as the driver of an AWD hybrid, I'd wait a year to see if they add AWD to the Maverick Hybrid. You'd be fine with today's FWD, but there's a chance you could have the best of both worlds.

As to tires, I found the OE all-seasons (Ecopia HL 422) to be far better than expected in the snow. They will soon be replaced with a 4-season tire, the Michelin CrossClimate2. This is my first car without snow tires since the '80's, and I have no complaints. Tires have come a long way.

 

[PapaDave]

Honestly, as the driver of an AWD hybrid, I'd wait a year to see if they add AWD to the Maverick Hybrid. You'd be fine with today's FWD, but there's a chance you could have the best of both worlds.

As to tires, I found the OE all-seasons (Ecopia HL 422) to be far better than expected in the snow. They will soon be replaced with a 4-season tire, the Michelin CrossClimate2. This is my first car without snow tires since the '80's, and I have no complaints. Tires have come a long way.

I ordered both, an AWD and a hybrid. I decided to bail on the AWD, costs more for what little extra it will do for me. I am seriously considering the CrossClimate 2 for the hybrid.

 

[TCK]

I would say, as many others have, that the hybrid fits your needs. I would still put a trailer hitch on it just to have it (it’s like $100 more) and 2k towing will let you tow a small trailer if you need, or carry a number of other things. Steel wheel take offs will be easy to find, snow set is no problem.
Now what kind of animal enclosures? As you can see from my picture I am a snake guy- also play with big birds of prey

 

[vezpa]

Buy the XL AWD. It can be had for $25k. Every time you drive it you will be wondering if you should have bought the AWD, especially living in any part in IN.

 

[CrazedHoosier]

Thank you all for the responses—I read all of them!

I’m going to go with the XL hybrid! After all of my add-ons are counted, it’ll come down to about $22,900, which is a great price for me.

 

[CrazedHoosier]

I would say, as many others have, that the hybrid fits your needs. I would still put a trailer hitch on it just to have it (it’s like $100 more) and 2k towing will let you tow a small trailer if you need, or carry a number of other things. Steel wheel take offs will be easy to find, snow set is no problem.
Now what kind of animal enclosures? As you can see from my picture I am a snake guy- also play with big birds of prey

Lots of animals! I’ve got parrots, doves, starlings, geckos, fish, a dog…

 

[Big_T]

Thank you all for the responses—I read all of them!

I’m going to go with the XL hybrid! After all of my add-ons are counted, it’ll come down to about $22,900, which is a great price for me.

Congrats and enjoy your new truck!

 

[OldSoulNewMaverick]

So I’m 23, and for the first time ever, buying a new car. I’m so glad Ford made a truck I could afford, as it was just what I needed, but couldn’t find on the market yet. That said, now I’m stuck in the middle of a mental battle between the idea of having the 2 liter turbo AWD, and the 2.5 liter hybrid. I need advice from more experienced drivers.

I live in Southern Indiana, where there are large hills, but much less snow than the northern part of the state. I currently have a Kia Soul that struggled to face the repetitive 7-10 inch snowstorms that kept hitting us last year. That said, it’s a bit uncommon for us to have a lot of snow like that. We typically get a few inches here and there, but nothing major annually.

I also work at a job 20 miles from where I live. My Kia Soul, while good in fuel economy, usually gets just 25-28 mpg. It would be amazing to get 35-40 mpg instead. I’m also a huge tree hugger, and want to support Ford in their endeavor to be more eco friendly. I also want to slow down the damage being done to Earth.

I do put a lot of stuff in the back of my car—admittedly more than I should in a Kia Soul, but have never towed anything in my life. Would the turbo be that much more helpful in helping carry heavy items such as large plants, bags of soil, mulch, animal enclosures, aquariums, etc?

What do you all recommend I get?

A few similarities between me and you. I"m also driving a Kia Soul (highly underrated imho....lots of cargo room, spacious back seats).....
I think the main question is if those 20 miles are city roads or highway? The Ecoboost seems to be pretty efficient on the highway, but drop significantly in stop and go traffic. The hybrid shines in the city driving.

 

[MLowe05]

A few similarities between me and you. I"m also driving a Kia Soul (highly underrated imho....lots of cargo room, spacious back seats).....

Oh I agree.. I've had 2 Gen2 Souls, a 2015 ! and a 2017 ! with the turbo. I love them and they are awesome cars. I would buy another but I'm looking for something new and the current Soul seems to have lost some of that magic.

The Maverick, I think, is an excellent Soul replacement.

OP - get the hybrid.

 

[Heydaddy91]

I live in Canada and FWD is more than enough if you're worried about snow...Proper tires for specific use. In fact in some provinces (starting to catch the trend) it is required by law to have snow tires come winter time. FWD with proper tires is way better than people rolling with AWD with all seasons.

 

[Bohefus]

There have been pictures of the AWD frame stickers that actually show less hauling capacity than the hybrid, most likely due to that weight being taken up by the AWD system.

The Tremor has less payload capacity, not AWD.

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