My humble review of my new Velocity Blue Maverick XL

[Tone]

Oh, it was just an April fools joke on fordauthority.com. But we can wish, right?

I totally fell for it as I read it this morning and didn't notice the date. It was very plausible!

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[uh50]

I totally fell for it as I read it this morning and didn't notice the date. It was very plausible!

When I first read it, I fell for it also and thought. Man, I wish I had waited. Then finally I found the post date of April 1, 2021 and the fact no one else was saying anything about the special edition model. I for one would love to have almost three hundred horses, a little lower better suspension, Race Red, and special trim. I don't know about the $40,000 + part, but we can dream.

 

[uh50]

1500 Mile Update of Mi Camión Azul

We've had our VB 2.0 EB XL five months and we just passed the 1500 mile mark. The truck has not lost its luster for us and still is a pleasure to drive. I enjoy the time that I get to run to the grocery store or to the local Family Dollar. I'm looking forward to the next two days as we have a family jaunt to Tyler this afternoon and I have to go back for two meeting tomorrow. I hope to give it a good ceramic coating sometime this summer after the Spring rains are gone.

It still cleans up very nice even though I've not put a ceramic coat or wax on the paint. I have purchased a Turtle Wax spray on/wipe off then buff solution. Have used the product before and it looks good although it doesn't stay on long, but that's ok, I like to tinker with the truck.

The Commander Touch display module finally has a home in the truck. I've tried it in four different places and the final location on the left vent in the center stack with a really old school vent mount. I've tried velcro on the center stack, a really good vent mount on the left side driver's vent, and a cubby mount. The old school vent mount only has two clips and the tab that fits the adapter on the back of the display. It does not stick out like the other mounts. I like the fact that is is close to the vent and kind'a looks like the display is framed by the vent trim. The Commander Touch display has great resolution and with the firm mount it is easy to use. Naturally, I would rather it to be part of the Ford's display but the display is bright, easy and intuitive to use. I probably will update the Ford Shark fin antenna to include a Sirius antenna in the future, but the magnetic antenna presently mounted behind the Shark Fin works well and is unobtrusive.

I have only three weeks left with the insurance dongle. It always being reminds me that I don't need to take off quicker or get in situations that require emergency braking. The 40% discount will be nice.

Speaking of audio I've been playing with the sound settings and the more I do, the more I recognize the need for upgrading the speakers. I've done a lot of research about speakers, amps, and subs and need to decide what direction to go. One good thing is that there are many audio posts here on Maverick Truck Club that have provided valuable information to help with my installation. Maybe my wife will let me keep the insurance savings to upgrade the audio system with new speakers, an amp, and sub. And, I still want to add the new steering wheel switches and enable the OEM cruise with ForScan. A leather interior is on my list of things to do in the future as well as some type of 1960's retro red line wheel treatment. I've been thinking about a little red trim on the grill, red Maverick tailgate lettering, and a little conservative red pin striping. A guy can dream some, right?

Went to Family Dollar last Saturday. I always park at the end of the building so no one parks next to the truck and risk paint chips to the door. After loading our soft drinks in the truck, I wheeled our cart back to the rack. On my way back to the truck, a young woman parked in the handicap space leaned out her door and asked, "Is that the new Maverick?" I stopped and answered. She then said she really liked the blue truck and that her father wanted one. Turns out he was in the passenger seat. She asked about the safety features so I told her about the co-pilot 360 system and she kept looking over at her father with a big grin. We also talked about the mpg I was experiencing so I told her that around our little rural area I was averaging about 24-25 mpg, but on longer trips with highway driving it was a little over 30.

We talked a bit about pricing and the ordering system. I explained the demand situation with Ford not keeping up with present order has restricted dealers from having them on the lots. I told her about Granger in Iowa and the dealer where I bought mine.

It's ironic, even a bit funny, what we notice when talking to others. She pretended to be talking for her father in the passenger seat, but I could tell she was excited about seeing the Maverick. Also, I noticed the car they were driving was a base trim so I can see why the Maverick's price would appeal to them. It was a pleasant discussion with a future Maverick owner.

I've been spring cleaning the yard. Our lake lot has quite a number of downed tree limbs and other yard waste that needs disposal. I've got a good start but I also have couple of medium size trees to cut up in manageable sizes. I'm 75 and things take me so much longer to accomplish, so this will take a couple of weeks or so, maybe more. When I get through with the trimming and gathering up a pretty good pile of yard debris I get to haul to the burn pile. This will be the first true work for the Maverick. Yep, I have a spray-in bed liner but thinking of putting some plastic down just to protect from gouges and scratches when hauling the stuff. It will help with unloading also. First time I've found myself looking forward to actually cleaning the yard and hauling it off.

The last week or so I've had two neighbors mention the new fancy truck in our carport. It's funny how perception about a new truck is formed. I don't think either of the two neighbors realized it was a base trim XL with just a few goodies added. One of the neighbors drives a nice Tacoma and the other had to sell his Ranger after an accident a few years ago. I don't think either of the neighbors keep up with the car/truck market, but it's nice to hear their compliments about Mi Camión Azul.

 

[uh50]

Drove to Tyler yesterday for my two monthly meetings. After the meetings, I went to Walmart to pickup groceries, but they experienced a power failure the day before and had rescheduled our order. Just part of life in today's society. I came on home and my wife canceled the order.

I absolutely love the Maverick suspension and being able to drive it. I drove back from Tyler on highway 2015 which we call the back way, since it cuts through the middle of the north part of Smith County. It is curvy. Although I still have the insurance dongle on and couldn't punch through the curves, it's still fun just to be a to...to...well, drive. The Mavs suspension is not too bad for a cheap little trucklette and feels almost as good as the beefier suspension on my 2003 ZRX Sonoma. Anyway it was a fun 20 minute diversion.

My wife ordered some fajitas for her and a fried catfish platter for me from Richie's Grill near our house. I went to pick it up and they couldn't find our order. Yep, twice in one day an order was not processed! Richie's had a new person that took our order, but had not put it in the register, thereby not sending it to the kitchen. I was not ugly to anyone there and just told them I would sit and wait. To be honest, when the mistake was realized by the staff, they jumped through hoops to correct it and actually turned out to have received great service.

While I was sitting there, I looked out the front window of the restaurant and saw an older guy get out of his truck and purposely walk directly to my truck. He stopped by the driver's side door and looked inside, then he paused and slowly walked around the truck. Again, someone wanted to look at the truck and it had a layer of yellowish green tree pollen all over it. But, that happens in East Texas this time of the year and there's nothing that can be done about, except to turn our carport into a garage (which I want to do). None-the-less, in our little rural community, several people have either stopped me to talk about the truck or have taken long looks at it. This little cheap truck with base XL trim still attracts lots of attention. I've not heard any adverse comments about how it looks. The guy that looked at it yesterday at Richie's was driving a large and very nice Ram, yet he spent 3-4 minutes pausing to look at my truck that probably cost 1/3 of what he paid for his truck. Amazing!

You know things happen to us but to two separate orders not be processed in one day is a bit unusual. There was a time when I would have reacted indignantly and expressed anger. I've worked hard on my response in such situations and yesterday I chose to be understanding and forgiving, yet not condescending. My reaction reaped enormous benefits and the time I spent with the attendants at Walmart and Richies was enjoyable. Plus, they will remember me the next time I visit and they are working. Both the attendants at Walmart and waitresses at Richies worked hard to make up for the error and were very apologetic. It is truly amazing at the reaction of people when we are accusing them or bashing them when we have an opportunity. This shows we have the ability to control the narrative in every day situations.

The Maverick Truck Club is amazing resource for Mac owners and can be additive. There's tons of information posted here that helps all Maverick owners. My wife says I'm obsessed with my truck. Maybe, but I could be obsessed about much worse things.

 

[VICKY]

I dig the picture of the happy couple and their new truck. We should all hope to do the same.

YES, they do look like a very happy couple!

 

[sgsweet]

Maverick Review

The 8” screen with the audio is just ok. The Screen looks good and the controls are intuitive and easy to use. I’ve not used my wife’s iPhone with it yet, but I assume the interface with Car Play is typical Apple quality stuff. The audio plays FM music and the system probably doesn’t deteriorate the poor sound of FM music. I have not hooked up our old SiriusXM, from 2005 or so, but I don’t expect great audio quality, but again I like news and sports talk radio. Interestingly, Ford chose to have USB ports for auxiliary audio inputs instead of a mini audio port. I have to get a cable to go from the mini audio to USB to see how our add-on Sirius will work with the 8” screen and audio. Hopefully it will have some control. I have two more SiriusXM add on radios but haven’t found a great place to add them. Because of our age, we probably will keep the XL for a few years so an aftermarket sound and screen system with SiriusXM are not out the question. I would love to have a Bose sound system with maybe a Kenwood screen, etc. We’ll see.

The instrument panel screen is a good size, bright, and feature ladened. The steeling wheel controls for the instrument panel and audio are intuitive and easy to use. Other than cruise, there are plenty of useful and easy to use features.

T

Added 11/18/2021: Installed the Ford Soft Tonneau Cover and bug/hood screen yesterday. The Bed cover is very short for the bed it is covering and barely extends from the bed bulkhead to the tailgate only barely overlapping. They provided additional weather stripping but the instructions were not clear. I like the looks ok, but wish I had chosen a trifold my wife picked out. The bug screen was an easy install and unfortunately I got it 1/64" off center. You can't tell but I know.

Another add: We picked the truck up on 11/10 late in the afternoon and it turned dark before we got home. It was my first experience with the auto dimming headlights since my 1953 Chrysler Winsor Convertible with the big ol' honking pedestal on the dash with a oval shaped sensor. The auto dimming headlights and rear view mirror worked well and is just another convenience for us old guys.

Yes there is some equipment on both the XLT and Lariat I would love to have, especially the wheels, cruise control, and SiriusXM. And, after adding cruise control, SiriusXM, security system, co-pilot 360, trailer hitch, moonroof, Remote start Fob, tonneau cover and spray in bed liner we will end up paying as much for the XL as a lower cost XLT. Again, we just could not deal with the XLT interior colors.

on the XL. I especially like the UConnect Audio/Screen/SiriusXM/iPod/Phone interface of the Dodge. But, considering all, I have to give Ford Kudos for the Maverick XL.

Do you have any photos of your placement of the Commander Touch? I am in need of acquiring one and am curious about placement

Thanks

 

[uh50]

Do you have any photos of your placement of the Commander Touch? I am in need of acquiring one and am curious about placement

Thanks

Sorry, I do not have a photo and my flip phone does not have a camera. I need to get my wife to take a bunch of photos so I can post including one showing the location of the Commander Touch.

It is mount with a cheap vent mount that has two clips sorta like this one:

The small form factor of the Commander Touch is ideal and fits in front of the left vent on the center stack slightly canted toward the driver. I finally chose this mount because all the other mounts made the Commander Touch display stick 2" out from the dash or in front of any vent

 

[uh50]

Happy Mother's Day. If you think about it, Mother's have the greatest of all responsibilities, which is to raise the future of our great country. I'm thankful for my Mother who raised me and for my wife that has chosen to raise children not our own. Both are great examples.

Hauling brush, tree limbs, and yard trash off to the burn pile today...loaded the XL yesterday. I put down two heavy canvas painter's cloths draped over the side to ensure I don't scratch the paint. Took two hours yesterday to load the Maverick since I had to separate the scrap treated wood that the guys at the burn pile dislike and will not accept. Gotta follow them rules! I still probably have another two loads of limbs, etc. to haul off and it probably will take me another two weeks to get it all collected and hauled off. Actually, as slow as I move anymore, I'm hopeful I get it all done by summer's end.

Thankfully, our little lake community has an area that does have the burn pile and thankful for the volunteers that actually burn our yard trash.

Looking forward to this week as I have two trips to Tyler. One trip on Monday and one on Thursday, both for meetings.

 

[uh50]

A few days ago my wife surprised me with a car washing kit.

Interestingly, it had lots of hot pink items in the kit and trim on the cheap plastic tool box. Sunday I had hauled off a truck load of brush, limbs and yard trash, so yesterday morning I hand washed my XL with my new kit. Since I was in a hurry, and had an afternoon appointment an hour drive to Tyler, I blew it dry with my leaf blower and it actually worked very well. I didn't notice any spotting. Anyway, I enjoyed the time washing the truck and I have to admit the car wash kit that my wife bought came in handy, especially the extension for the wash mop. Sure made washing the top, windshield, back window, inside the bed, and the tonneau cover very easy. Shoot, I don't even care if it is pink.

Yesterday afternoon, I drove to Tyler for my appointment and enjoyed the drive over. Filled up the gas tank at the Brookshire's grocery store in Hawkins and it cost me $45. Regular unleaded was $4.189 a gallon, but we had 300 grocery points so we got $0.30 a gallon off the price. For years I managed construction on new Refinery Units which exposed me to the cost side of gasoline production. I know that cost per barrel is up, but it's been this high a few times in the past. But, the price at the pump has never been this high. There doesn't seem to be a valid reason for the high cost of gasoline at the pump right now.

I've mentioned the back way home from Tyler on Texas Highway 2015 in the past and it's a curvy road. Our time with the insurance dongle expired last week and I sent it back to the insurance company. So, it was nice to drive the curvy road with the XL in sport mode. The sport mode driving was only 15 minutes but it sure was fun and the fact there was very little traffic made it so much better. I'm very pleased with the way the truck handled and responded.

 

[uh50]

Rinsed off the road dust and went over the tailgate, black trim on top of the tailgate, and the black bumper with Isotope Alcohol. Then I tried the Turtle Wax's Spray on Wax & Dry. I love the results on the black plastic looks after the first application and the blue paint on the tailgate is amazingly reflective. I'll rinse this afternoon and put on another coat and see how it looks and see how the water behaves on it before doing the whole truck with the Wax & Dry. It's easy to work with and hopefully it'll last 60 days or so. Besides I like fooling with the XL.

Yesterday afternoon I rinsed the tailgate and rear bumper with clean well water and put a second coat of Wax & Dry on. I also cleaned the tonneau cover and put a coat of Wax & Dry a rear 6" section so I could test it on the plastic cover. I want something that repels dust. We live on a lake lot and the road in front of our house is an ol' East Texas oil sand road, so there is appreciable dust along with the tree pollen common this time of the year.

While I was walking past the hood I decided to clean it off and put on a coat of Wax & Dry to test it there as well.

Looking forward for this morning's trip to Tyler. It's going to be a nice day, maybe a little warm but a good day to drive with the moonroof open.

Hummmmm...I'm already looking forward to college football season.

 

[uh50]

Passed 2000 miles on my XL on yesterday's trip to the store. Haven't experienced any real issues, but received a warning when I started the truck yesterday telling me that my key fob battery needs replacing. Hmmmmmm...seems way too soon since I've had my XL for only 6 months and 7 days. Not worth a trip to the dealer, so I guess I'll replace the battery. Although, maybe an excuse to get to drive the XL and visit with the dealership about my Maverick.

I noticed that the tailgate did not have as much dust on it that the rest of the truck has including the hood. I'm sure part of the reason is the vertical tailgate and the flat horizontal hood, but maybe part of it is the Spray Wax & Dry since I put two coats on the tailgate. I'll be washing the truck this week and the Wax & Dry is easy, certainly not time consuming, but adds a little protection and it looks good. Thinking about applying vinyl protection on the tonneau cover and let it cure for an hour or so, then wet it down and apply Wax & Dry to seal it. We'll see how it goes.

I read lots of reviews about Turtle Wax Spray-on Wax & Dry. Lots of good reviews and very few complaints. Of the few complaints I noticed a lot of them were obviously because the people did not follow the instructions and applied the Wax & Dry on a dry vehicle or some other application mistake. The YouTube.com reviews were generally good and it does reportedly last a couple of months. But, since it aids in drying, why not use it on most washes. It's cheap, doesn't take an appreciable amount of extra time, and it looks great when complete. I don't see any downside to its use. Some reviewers have used it as detailing spray after a ceramic coating when they wash their vehicle, which sounds like to me the way to go.

I've reviewed lots of different ceramic coatings and still am not sure which to use. I'll make a choice one of these days but right now I'm leaning towards maybe first trying Turtle Wax Hybrid Hybrid Solutions Pro Flex Wax, Graphene Spray Wax just to see how it does. I've use drive through laser car washes and allowed others to detail them for the last 35 years or so. Well, for me hand washing my truck and learning best ways to keep it clean is a process—one that I'm throughly enjoying.

Anyone notice how many carbon black accessories available for the Maverick now? Etsy has many, especially a vendor named Tuff Skins. Good stuff I'm considering, but maybe wait until pricing comes down a bit. Wish a vendor would offer an entire interior kit of carbon black panels. I found a place with a great looking carbon black seat covering. Pricy, but a little cheaper than a DIY Katzkins. Would carbon black seats be too much? Options are welcome!

 

[uh50]

A couple of days ago, I went to pickup groceries and medicines at the local grocery that has curbside pickup. I parked and looked to my left and there was a guy in a mini van staring at the Maverick. He just nodded.

I had to wait a while for the guy to bring out the groceries so I rolled the window down and turned off the truck. It was a really nice day. I waved at out rural postal delivery guy, he waved back then brought a package over to me. As I opened the door to get the package, the vehicle alarm went off. I had forgot to unlock the XL with the key fob and the VSS read it as an intrusion at an entry point. I pushed the alarm button but it did not stop the honking horn. Finally, I unlocked the truck with the key fob and the honking stopped. The postman laughed at this and I sheepishly looked over at the guy who stared and he was laughing at me. In the end the postman saved him some time because he always puts our packages at the front door.

Later, I went out to mow the back yard. I had some things in the bed that I had picked up at the storage unit so I reached up to pull the tailgate down. The alarm went off. It wasn't enough to activate the motion sensor in the VSS, so the truck's computer read it as an intrusion. Again, I had trouble shutting down the alarm. Ironically, it was the second time the alarm went off when I opened the tailgate without unlocking the truck. Guess, I need to re-read the VSS manual. But, I'm still glad that I installed the alarm and at $207, it's not a bad deal. Oh yeah, got the back yard mowed as well.

 

[uh50]

Rinsed off the truck this afternoon. Thank goodness for products like Turtle Wax;Wax & Dry. Two weeks since washing and applying the wax & dry and the road dust and pollen just rinsed off without any effort at washing the truck. Blew it dry with our leaf blower. Man, it still looks good.

Had to go back into town and a highway construction crew started resurfacing the asphalt on the hi way. Probably delayed the trip into town 20 minutes and 10 minutes on the way back. Not a very efficient effort on their part. While I was stopped waiting on the "follow" truck, I saw two things that interested me. One was an 80s model Buick Grand National in black and it sat on a trailer next to a metal building. Beautiful car. The other was a Hyundai Santa Cruz in front of a store. It was kinda like an Area 51 color. Ironically, it did not look small. For me it was not completely ugly, but also it was not a real pleasing look, and the extended c-pillar remind me of the Chevy Avalanche and their buttresses behind the c-pillar, which I never really cared for either. But I was glad I saw one and it confirmed my choice of a Maverick.

Really enjoyed seeing the Grand National.

Plan on cutting a bed divider this weekend. My wife wants to remodel the kitchen cabinets so I'm going to try some router work on the divider and see if she likes it. We'll see.

 

[RRaynor2]

"I’m extremely pleased with the Co-pilot 360 from every aspect. I’ve not tested the collision braking assist..."

If it's anything like the Fusion's you'll be glad to have it when you need it. Mine has saved me a few times when people decide they need to make that shopping mall driveway and go from 45 to 5 in a few seconds. I try not to follow too close but man people are too comfortable with slamming on the brakes to avoid missing the Target entrance.

 

[uh50]

"I’m extremely pleased with the Co-pilot 360 from every aspect. I’ve not tested the collision braking assist..."

If it's anything like the Fusion's you'll be glad to have it when you need it. Mine has saved me a few times when people decide they need to make that shopping mall driveway and go from 45 to 5 in a few seconds. I try not to follow too close but man people are too comfortable with slamming on the brakes to avoid missing the Target entrance.

You are so right. I put something up in the morning about my experiences today with a truck that pulled out in front of me.

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