Maverick Hybrid is inherently flawed (but I still love it)

[Joeneonturbo]

I think "slightly sub-optimal" may be a better phrase than "inherently flawed". If were any more optimal I probably couldn't afford it. The Hybrid Maverick is much better than nothing.

In order to compensate, I have taken to avoiding the main road, a dual highway with dozens of traffic lights and very aggressive drivers. Now I take the old colonial stagecoach road that has only 6 stop signs over 30 miles. Speed averages about 40 MPH. The scenery is marvelous, and the other drivers wave at you - you might be someone they know. It only adds about 5 minutes to a trip.

I love it, too.

That’s exactly how I drive it around town. I avoid the large fast busy streets; opt for scenic established neighborhoods with friendly dog walkers and stop signs vs stop lights. I don’t spend very much more time on the road, but it’s a pleasant EFFECIENT drive. Also less stressful.

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[jim442]

Average car price is $50,000. Maverick is as budget as you can get. It's the cheapest hybrid vehicle you can buy. Even the lariat is gimped to hit the price point.

If someone is disappointed in the maverick, I would argue expectations were set too high .

when I saw the price and "gas" mileage of the hybrid,, and a 4 dr vehicle,I said good will buy it--OBW it is a pickup! enough said--Jim

 

[Mc_Flier]

The brakes are flawed.
The transmission is flawed.
Or at least the integration and programming is flawed.

The battery pack is optimal for most users. A battery pack optimized for the mountain driver won't be optimal for the flat land driver.

The battery is large enough.
I would have liked more electric acceleration before the gas kicks on.
It's programmed to be very conservative.

Flat land, no elevation change, 25 MPH you can get 3.3 miles all electric.

Same. I want the software to allow it to stay in electric mode longer. So what if I’m not accelerating rapidly.

 

[BradnChristine]

when I saw the price and "gas" mileage of the hybrid,, and a 4 dr vehicle,I said good will buy it--OBW it is a pickup! enough said--Jim

It's a C-Max with a pickup bed. And I loved my C-Maxes. I lost auto-park (which I never used) and gained a heated steering wheel, and the MSRP increase from 2017 to 2023 was only about $2k for a 6 year newer vehicle. A no-brainer for me.

 

[dhill59]

Issues with 100 miles driven:

Shocks are STIFF. I feel EVERY little pebble on the road.
No rear wiper or defroster (Did not notice this until I sat in it... May prove to not be a problem... but I'm a little worried).

Otherwise, nothing to report... yet.

Don't forget that it is a 3/4 ton pickup.

 

[GPSMan]

Don't forget that it is a 3/4 ton pickup.

Well, lets not stretch things too far.
That doesn't mean what it used to.
Strictly speaking, 1500 lbs all in including the driver. And since there are no zero pound drivers....

"So, to answer the question of what a 3/4-ton truck is, by the government's definition it simply is any pickup with a GVWR that falls between 8,501 and 10,000 pounds. This would include the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, GMC Sierra 2500HD, Ford F-250 Super Duty, Nissan Titan XD, and Ram 2500 pickups."

 

[GPSMan]

Don't forget that it is a 3/4 ton pickup.

CORRECTION:

THE MAVERICK IS MORE LIKE A 1/4 ton pickup.


"
The 1/2-Ton Truck
Now that we understand that sticking to the maximum recommended weight limits for trucks is critical, we can break down the different sizes. A 1/2-ton truck can usually haul around 3,000 lbs in its bed and tow somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 lbs. So, why the name “1/2-ton,” you might wonder. This name is a holdover from the old days when 1/2-ton trucks could only support 1,000 lbs (exactly half a ton). Trucks have gotten much stronger, so the name doesn’t directly reflect the car’s capabilities, but the name stuck around."

 

[Scott Asheville]

Well, not vastly more.

A little more, sure.

Hybrid was an $800 option on the 2019 Rav4 for example.

Yea, you caught me in a moment of hyperbole.

 

[icegradner]

So crossing one year and 20k miles, I still love my Maverick, but I can't stop and think how it could be significantly better. The issue is the sizing of the hybrid battery. The Fusion Hybrid has a 1.4kWh, and the Maverick only has a 1.1kWh battery. This really cripples the Maverick at highway speeds. It barely can eCruise at 60MPH, while the Fusion could go almost a mile without need from the gas engine.

It's not the every so slightly bigger battery, it's aerodynamics. The Fusion is more slippery in the air, the Maverick is a box.

As much as people hate on the Santa Cruz for it's looks, in theory the Maverick Hybrid would do even better than it does now, with a less boxy design.

 

[surfstar]

The Rav4 hybrid "upgrade cost" vs ICE, gets you AWD too. Very much worth the $1200 or whatever the cost is now-a-days. If they put that drivetrain into a Maverick competitor we'd finally have another option. Toyota also includes ACC with their low end trims. No need for $10k upcharge like in the Mav.
One can dream.

 

[Pikey87]

Inherently flawed is how you titled the thread. The size of its battery doesn’t make flawed in the least to this 1st time hybrid owner. At the Mavericks price point, I thinks it’s quite a truck..

Honestly, as a first time hybrid owner, that's exactly how I feel. I mean, I do completely understand wanting more battery, I would like that myself, but... I paid less for my XL than a new Honda civic would've costed me.

 

[Bmr4mav]

The Maverick can do 60mph+ in pure electric mode while the 2014 Prius v I used to own couldn't go past 44 mph without the engine turning on even if going downhill. I'll take this as a win.

 

[svogt302]

So crossing one year and 20k miles, I still love my Maverick, but I can't stop and think how it could be significantly better. The issue is the sizing of the hybrid battery. The Fusion Hybrid has a 1.4kWh, and the Maverick only has a 1.1kWh battery. This really cripples the Maverick at highway speeds. It barely can eCruise at 60MPH, while the Fusion could go almost a mile without need from the gas engine. I sure the reason was price (they had that crazy idea of selling them for starting at $20k), and the increase in demand for batteries probably reduced the availability of cells. For them to make the Maverick fantastic, it needs something between 1.5-1.8kWh battery to help at highway speeds, which in my opinion is where it probably spends more of its time.

I thought the Fusion has a 14kw battery.

 

[Darnon]

I thought the Fusion has a 14kw battery.

@Egz has it right, 1.4kWh. The Energi, the PHEV version, had 7.6kWh and later 9kWh.

 

[jsus]

I thought the Fusion has a 14kw battery.

Presume you meant kWh? kWh is essentially a cumulative amount of energy; kW is a rate.

2020 Fusion Hybrid came with a 1.4 kWh air-cooled battery, compared to 2020+ Escape Hybrid and 2022+ Maverick Hybrid's 1.1 kWh liquid-cooled battery.

2020 Fusion Energi (their lame branding for plug-in hybrids on Fusion and C-Max) came with a 9 kWh battery (up from 7.6 kWh previously).

2020+ Escape (and Corsair) PHEV does have a 14.4 kWh battery pack, in part to provide greater plug-in-electric-only range than Fusion/C-Max.

No need for a 14 kWh battery on a non-plug-in hybrid, since the engine still has to run to at minimum keep recharging the battery anyway.

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