Ordered a 25' Lariat Hybrid , Having second thoughts ...

[710-oil-614]

In your quest for better MPG, I'm sure you've looked at upping your tire pressures. I have found that about 2-3 PSI increase over the recommended 35 does make a big difference and does not make the ride terrible. Have you tried anything?

No I am not going to over inflate my tires to chase an EPA rating that is bullshit for real world applications.

Increasing your PSI is robbing Peter to pay Paul. You’re going to get better MPG while causing cupping and premature wear to your tires and are likely resulting in WORSE efficiency overall than filling to spec or slightly less.

Nobody needs to change their driving style - 37mpg combined is 37mpg combined or it’s bullshit.

and its bullshit as we’ve all seen.

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[zorki1c]

Man...skip 8 pages of reading and get the Hybrid. You won't be sorry. If you are...trade it in on an Eco...and then say..."Dam...I should have kept the Hybrid"

Might as well skip 8 pages. It appears the vast majority of posters are members of the hybrid mutual admiration society

 

[zorki1c]

I'm going to chip in, long-time reader, first-time poster. I agree with what 710-oil-614/Cal has been posting about their findings on the 25 AWD Hybrid and I think there needs to be a dose of reality when looking at the YouTube mileage numbers folks report. I assume since everyone here is on a forum about their vehicle, we may tend to be a little hyper-focused on research/data and take a deep dive into items, which irritates the wife to no end. I've spent the last two months reviewing/watching/consuming the Reddit, YouTube, and web forum posts about anything Maverick that I could find.

I have been looking at a hybrid Maverick for a few years but hadn't pulled the trigger until 3/3. I have a 43-mile commute that breaks out to 6 miles of 55 mph rural road, 1 mile of 30 mph town, and 36 miles of 75 mph interstate. I have been driving a '17 Escape SE FWD with the twinspool EB 2.0 on this route and average 25 mph fairly standard regardless of weather over every fill for five years now. This is being handed down to a 16yo new driver so the Maverick was purchased.

I bought a 25 Lariat AWD Hybrid w/ 4k tow on Monday, 3/3 and I think I expected mid/high 30s for mileage. That is not the case. The highest I have seen for this route, in ECO and setting cruise to 71 mph as soon as merging onto the interstate, is the posted image below of 31.4MPG. Weather is low to mid 20s and this was with the heat set to 71F, the seat on for about 6 miles, and the heated steering wheel on. Elevation is 900' to 1400' approx with 1500' gain and 1200' loss through the trip. Basically flat interstate in the great lakes area.

I am happy with the trim level, the ride comfort, the tech, and pretty much everything about the vehicle, however, the expectation of higher mileage has made the actual mileage a disappointment. With the 2L EB in the Escape, the cruise would be set to 78 MPH and would still get 25 on average. A trip with the Maverick cruise set to 78 MPH was around 26 MPG.

Lots of factors could see the mileage improve over time as the engine breaks in, the weather warms up to have the heater and heated seats/steering wheel not on, and less wind on a normal day but it still comes down to setting reasonable expectations of performance. I'm not sure at this moment if the hybrid over the EB was the best choice for my usage, I would almost wager that the EB would have been the better decision if it was a straight MPG return for this commute. I'm sure with additional driving outside of the commute the average on the whole will be a large improvement over our Jeep Gladiator Rubicon.

It's likely that the use of city/highway doesn't really reflect the road/travel/speed that is actually being driven. I'm sure I could get 40+ MPG numbers folks are posting on the interstate but that would be driving 50-55 mph instead of 75-80 mph. Having an apples to apples comparison would be helpful when posting mileage results. Our state highway roads are 55 MPH and very little traffic outside of a farm tractor that may slow vehicles and the interstate, which I would have referred to as highway travel, is 80+ MPH traffic and posted 75mph.

I guess the unsatisfying answer for @LilMags500 is that it depends and to temper your expectations. The Hybrid was likely a poor choice for my use case as a rural commuter vehicle and likely a better choice for more urban or suburban folks. I'm putting 86ish miles a day on the vehicle and will hopefully see 35MPG through the summer but I'm not holding my breath. The vehicle is not a disappointment but it is a bit of a downer. I do see 60MPG trips to town and running around to kids things but those miles are fractions of the commute.

If your new ride is awd it’s not going to get as good mileage as 2wd. Takes more power to drive 4 wheels than 2 wheels.

 

[mittencamper]

Why would you say that?

The conventional wisdom is that EV’s are the better urban and suburban commuter vehicles and that hybrids are better for rural commutes because of their longer range.

When it comes to being a commuter car, I don’t really see any place for an ICE only vehicle. The hybrid always beats the ice car on mileage numbers regardless of it being urban or rural.

But the slight increase in mpg doesn’t offset the increased cost for the hybrid in my use case. The difference between 28 mpg and 32 mpg is ~ $200 a year in gas at $3 a gallon. I would have rather had the fx4, but maybe that will change the more I drive the hybrid.

 

[mittencamper]

If your new ride is awd it’s not going to get as good mileage as 2wd. Takes more power to drive 4 wheels than 2 wheels.

Correct me if I’m wrong but the awd system in these is front wheel heavy and spins up the rear when the front slips, not full 4 wheel at all times. Wouldn’t that have minimal friction impact on mileage?

 

[Dave O]

But the slight increase in mpg doesn’t offset the increased cost for the hybrid in my use case. The difference between 28 mpg and 32 mpg is ~ $200 a year in gas at $3 a gallon. I would have rather had the fx4, but maybe that will change the more I drive the hybrid.

Agree - I know at highway speeds between 65 mph - 70 mph my AWD hybrid is using ice most of the time on flat highways instead of all electric in town it’s just the opposite

 

[Kenv24]

But the slight increase in mpg doesn’t offset the increased cost for the hybrid in my use case. The difference between 28 mpg and 32 mpg is ~ $200 a year in gas at $3 a gallon. I would have rather had the fx4, but maybe that will change the more I drive the hybrid.

Come on man… change that three to a four if I’m not getting over 40 ….something’s wrong with the hybrid. I cut $400+ on my fuel bill MONTHLY by not having to drive my 250 diesel back-and-forth to work. I understand people want the Eco and that’s just fine… but man you cannot beat this Maverick hybrid for what it does.

 

[mittencamper]

Come on man… change that three to a four if I’m not getting over 40 ….something’s wrong with the hybrid. I cut $400+ on my fuel bill MONTHLY by not having to drive my 250 diesel back-and-forth to work. I understand people want the Eco and that’s just fine… but man you cannot beat this Maverick hybrid for what it does.

It’s going to be a different calculation per individual. It would be great to see 40 for my drives but that’s not the drives I do.

 

[dochawk]

Takes more power to drive 4 wheels than 2 wheels.

It's not that driving the extra wheels that takes more power, but that you've added an extra system to get it to the wheels that is an additional source of power loss, and more weight to haul around.

 

[LilMags500]

Some here are saying the hybrid "cant get out of its own way" , and others say "it rips
and tows very well" , anyone have solid insight on this , its one of the reasons I'm skeptical ... If
I'm giving up a lot of power and also not getting great MPG with hybrid maybe EB is the
way to go . My build date is 03/31 2025 so its coming up fast .

 

[Dave O]

I took delivery of my 2025 Lariat AWD Hybrid in late January and just turned 1,000 mile which are a mixture of city and highway driving including a few road trips exceeding 100 miles of continuous driving.

It’s a four cylinder so I can’t say it ”rips” nor would I say it’s a dog that can’t get out of its on way. I purchased this one to flat tow behind my RV so I don‘t worry about towing performance it’s likely I’ll never tow anything - I prefer to accelerate from a stop light in electric mode but still want to merge into traffic without worry and IMO it accomplishes both so it is what It is and I have not been disappointed and would purchase this vehicle again. definitely more pros than cons…

 

[mittencamper]

Some here are saying the hybrid "cant get out of its own way" , and others say "it rips
and tows very well" , anyone have solid insight on this , its one of the reasons I'm skeptical ... If
I'm giving up a lot of power and also not getting great MPG with hybrid maybe EB is the
way to go . My build date is 03/31 2025 so its coming up fast .

I'm pretty happy with the output on it, it scoots along quite well. When it's in ECO mode it feels constrained but in Normal or Sport and it's as peppy as the 2L turbo in our 2017 Escape ever was. As for mileage, we did a drivers training 2+ hour drive of around 100 miles with my 15 year old and on a trip that was mostly 50-65 mph roads, she averaged 45 MPG on that trip. Temp was around 50F. My drive this morning (43 miles at 70-75 MPH) was 28.5MPG. Temp was around 28F.

Incidentally, she asked for it to be in ECO because Normal was too responsive for her as a new driver. If you have a heavy foot, you'll have fun in the hybrid, it has plenty of scoot and it will put you in your seat with the electric motor. Is it a drag car? No, but it has plenty of put you in the seat if you get heavy with the pedal.

 

[dalola]

Some here are saying the hybrid "cant get out of its own way" , and others say "it rips
and tows very well" , anyone have solid insight on this , its one of the reasons I'm skeptical ... If
I'm giving up a lot of power and also not getting great MPG with hybrid maybe EB is the
way to go . My build date is 03/31 2025 so its coming up fast .

There is plenty of performance data on the previous gen Mavericks, and the EB is generally 1 or 2 seconds quicker to 60 vs. the hybrid. So again, what is your priority? Max efficiency, or max performance? It's really that simple.

 

[TNFurb]

Some here are saying the hybrid "cant get out of its own way" , and others say "it rips
and tows very well" , anyone have solid insight on this , its one of the reasons I'm skeptical ... If
I'm giving up a lot of power and also not getting great MPG with hybrid maybe EB is the
way to go . My build date is 03/31 2025 so its coming up fast .

Take a look at the below article from Car and Driver. It has 0-60 times for both the eco boost and hybrid. 5.9 seconds and 7.7 seconds respectively. So if you really care about mashing the gas on each take off and feeling like you’re rocketing away, the ecoboost is your choice. If you’re ok with very adequate acceleration in exchange for better gas mileage then the hybrid is your choice. No matter what you’re hearing on here, your overall average MPG will be better than the eco boost. How much better is so dependent on so many controllable and uncontrollable variables specific to you that you won’t know until you get one and drive it for several months. I don’t regret having my 2024 hybrid at all.

https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/maverick

 

[npaladin2000]

It's not that driving the extra wheels that takes more power, but that you've added an extra system to get it to the wheels that is an additional source of power loss, and more weight to haul around.

The AWD system also uses a heavier and more complex rear suspension that actually can't handle quite as much payload as the FWD version, but rides better (I speak from long experience).

Some here are saying the hybrid "cant get out of its own way" , and others say "it rips
and tows very well" , anyone have solid insight on this , its one of the reasons I'm skeptical ... If
I'm giving up a lot of power and also not getting great MPG with hybrid maybe EB is the
way to go . My build date is 03/31 2025 so its coming up fast .

In some way both are true. The electric motor gives the hybrid system amazing low-end torque from essentially zero RPM (dead stop) but sacrifices some top-end to do so. Putting your foot in it to pass...it'll work but it's generally not a pleasant experience, the engine will do it but you can tell it really would rather not, you know?

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