Talk me into or out of the Maverick--getting cold feet

[AznMav]

Own both >>>Maverick does not hold a candle to honda quality Have 45 k on honda not one warranty claim... Man has had 3 service calls in 3 months... go with the Honda.....

I've had both bought a 2017 CR-V EX-L new. Bunch of problems. Shifter knob broke after a few months of ownership. Went thru multiple batteries that were not covered under warranty even though we were well within the warranty period. The dealer said we have to drive it for 43 minutes per day or else the battery would die?? Honda cheaped out on the battery and we paid the price. The infotainment would go dark every so often and not turn on. We were only getting high 20's MPG for the CR-V. Japanese reliability has been a myth in recent years. Almost 10k miles on my Lariat hybrid no issues. Getting 45 mpg consistenly

To the OP having had both and young kids. We use 2 boosters now because just easier to remove and put back in when needed. With one toddler I don't see it as an issue. We have a 5 and 9 year old so we are past the rear facing seats phase. If you are going for number 2 that would depend on how tall your passenger is. We got the CR-V because it was roomy to haul around 2 kids but after getting the Maverick I think I would have preferred that if it was available in 2017. The ability to just throw stinky stuff in the bed instead of in the cabin and stinking everything up is a real plus. Trips to the beach just toss the sandy stuff in the bed. Soccer games just throw the chairs and cart in the back. Strollers and coolers just toss in the bed. So much easier and faster than trying to tetris everything into the cargo area of a CR-V.

Sponsored

 

[Huchipapa]

I'm not getting cold feet per se, but now that my long-awaited (16 months) Maverick is in production (expect it to arrive here late December/early January), I'm going to take it for a test drive and make a final decision then. I've never had the opportunity to test drive one, but have sat in an EB to make sure I fit comfortably since I'm 6'3" and many cars are not that comfortable for me. It passes that test fine. If I decide to pass, my runner-up is a CRV Sport-L, which are plenty in abundance around here.

 

[Backyard-Dawg]

So, I ordered a '24 Hybrid XLT back in August and I was very surprised to get a build date email yesterday (February 2024). But--in part because I expected more like a year's wait--I've been looking at Foresters and especially CR-V Hybrids instead these past few months.

While I've always wanted a truck (and not a huge one, which is why I was so excited about the Maverick and the hybrid), I'm getting cold feet for a couple reasons and would welcome some perspective from current Maverick owners to help me decide whether or not to go with the Maverick. I'll outline my main thoughts below:

• I'm not not sure how well the Hybrid (no AWD) will do in the snow, which we get a few times a year in my area (southern Ohio). I know it's not rear-wheel drive and we don't get a ton of really bad snow (usually!) but I do think an AWD (and especially a Subaru) would have the edge. I didn't order an EB because I wanted the fuel economy of the hybrid. How has your Maverick hybrid done in the winter? ,
• I'm not sure how practical the Maverick is for a family of three (including a toddler still in a carseat), in part because it doesn't seem like there's much cargo space (aside from the bed, which is of course exposed to the rain, and because I've seen on here that carseat space is very limited. How has the Maverick worked as a family vehicle for you?
• Finally, I'm a little concerned about the overall build quality/reliability of the Maverick. I know people tend to post more complaints than praise in general, but seems the CRV-V hybrid and Forester are more reliable and, overall, better built/more comfortable (especially the CR-V hybrid). I worry about the deep sleep issue, the recalls, etc. I've always owned Toyotas and Hondas and really appreciate a reliable vehicle I can keep for 10+ years.

Thanks for any thoughts and perspective! This forum has been very helpful.

I have a 2022 Maverick Hybrid Lariat and my wife has a 2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid Touring.

We have a 10 month old still in a rear facing car seat and due to his height/length we are already having to use a convertible backwards facing seat. I have to put this behind the passenger seat in the Mav because I'm like 6'1". Would be difficult to have 2 backwards facing seats in the Mav or one front and one back. I could see a forward facing seat allowing for more room, though. The CRV is definately more roomy. However, since we moved to a convertible backwards facing seat, I've had to move that from behind the driver to behind the passenger in the CRV also. We typically also have a dog on longer trips and it is easier to leave him in the back of the CRV than in the back seat of the truck with our son or in the bed of the truck.

I enjoy driving the Mav better than the CRV on trips less than 2 hours. I think more than 2 hours and it is better to have a little more room. Now if it is just my wife and I taking a trip, I'd probably push to take the Mav. Family trip-> CRV. I think I have averaged like 43 MPG (higher since break in period- probably closer to 45-46mpg) and she averages closer to 35-36. We live in GA so I can't attest to harsher conditions. The AWD is probably nice for dealing with snow.

We have not had any issues with the CRV. My Mav has had some paint issues, and the recalls from the 2022. However, I've gotten the computer recalls completed and the vehicle seems to run much better now than it did a couple weeks ago. The only recall outstanding is the engine fire issue that doesn't seem to have a fix. The only other issue we had was due to me leaving the flashers on while unpacking the vehicle and the battery dying. When we jumped the vehicle with a Bronco Sport, it caused a bunch of error messages and would not turn over or leave nuetral. it died again when we unhooked it. We then jumped it with my wife's Hybrid CRV and it seemed to start right up and would move into gear. Had a few errors still showing on the dash that went away after a couple days.

To sum it up. I use my Mav as more of our town vehicle and short trips. We use her CRV for longer trips and family trips. Have not had an issue being a small family.

 

[elspumante]

OP, your worries are well phrased and seem valid to me. My personal (purely anecdotal) answers after owning a Maverick for 13 months and 18,000 miles are...

1. You have a point about storage space if the inside is filled with passengers. There isn't a frunk because it's an ICE vehicle. Especially if you have or get a dog - no room left for stuff. And we all know families with kids generate stuff.
2. You have a valid point about reliability. Mine's been rock solid, but that's anecdotal and we simply won't know the Maverick statistics until we've had the fleet in service for 3 to 5 years.
3. The other vehicles you listed are rock solid choices. I especially love the Forester for visibility and practicality. And they just did a big refresh on the 2024.
4. FWD is no problem in snow if you use snow tires. It's a hassle few perform to get a set of snows and change them out spring and fall, but well worth it in poor conditions. Better to have snows than AWD. BTW, Michelin has a very good all season tire - can't recall the name. TFL reviewed it and loved them. I used to drive a RWD.

I had buyer's remorse five minutes after I drove my eco Maverick away from the dealership a year ago September. But it's grown on me as a solid ride. Not a good inner city ride, but a solid country or suburban ride. I drove it around narrow streets in Asheville for 9 months and it was a PITA on sharp right turns and congested streets. But now out in my new countryside location, that's no longer true.

Whatever you decide, best wishes for a great automotive experience with your new ride.

Thanks for the thoughtful response.

Good to know about the Maverick being tough in the city. We live in a major city and a lot of our driving would be here in town.

 

[elspumante]

If you're thinking about more than one child, go with the SUV.
I had a Sport Trac (essentially a Maverick 20 years ago). One child is fine. Two is cramped. Because you already know room is needed for their toys, stuffed animals books, snacks etc. for a trip of any length. Stopping to get stuff out of the bed is not near as convenient as reaching over the seat.
After a couple years with child #2, I traded the Sport Trac for a Trailblazer EXT. A couple years after that we had child #3 and was glad to have 3 rows.
Now they are young adults and have their own vehicles, so looking forward to having a truck again.

We only have one child and no plans whatsoever for a second. We may get a dog before too long, though, so that would be two adults, a 2.5-3 year old, and a dog. Thanks

 

[elspumante]

I'm in michigan and had 0 probs, just put it in slippery mode if it snows...you get very little snow - so it's not a big deal anyways. There's plenty of storage in the bed - you can set it up with partitions to store whatever you want back there, had mine 1 year and 0 problems, i've carted 4 other adults around in this thing and there's ample leg room and nobody complaints. I wouldn't overthink reliability issues - you're right the squeaky postings get the most attention. From other posts it does appear to be a safe vehicle you can see accident posts where pretty much everyone walks away uninjured. Hey - if you buy it and drive it and don't like it you can always just sell it and get at least back what you paid.

Thanks--makes sense. But I'm not so sure about being able to sell it without taking a loss. That used to be true, obviously, but now that they're become less scarce and demand is going down? Not sure.

 

[elspumante]

I agree with several posts that basically state it is up to each individual to decide on needs and preferences in a vehicle. Current owners can share their experiences with a Maverick (or any vehicle for that matter).

I am a 60 year old male. In August 2023, I bought a fully-loaded EB AWD Maverick Lariat. I bought it from a dealer's inventory, so I paid a premium over MSRP. The Mavericke replaced my 2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E, which is top line trim. I purchased the Ridgeline used in 2018. I live in New Jersey, so having AWD is a benefit with the winter snow, although I would have been okay with front-wheel drive. Note that only AWD is available with Honda Ridgelines in all trim levels.

I previously owned front-wheel drive Escape hybrid for a few years. It handled the snow fine on the main roads. Unfortunately, the anti-lock breaks went out and I could not get a timely appointment with a Ford dealer to have them fixed (over 1 week until next appointment and non-Ford shops did not want to deal with anti-lock brakes on a hybrid), so I traded the Escape for an AWD Hyundai Tuscon (regular gas) that my wife drives. She is much more comfortable having AWD than front-wheel drive.

I was happy with the Ridgeline and highly recommend it to anyone interested in a truck primarily for comfort. My need for a truck is very basic - haul yard waste to the dump, pick up stuff from Home Depot, and take lawn mower / snow-blower in for maintenance/repair. The Ridgeline met this need and then some. I wound up using it to tow a small u-haul trailer to help my niece move ... I hardly knew I was towing a trailer.

So, why did I purchase a Maverick when I was happy with the Ridgeline?

My son and his wife started a candle-making business in Georgia. It has done very well. They had a need for a truck to haul equipment and inventory to local markets. Since the Ridgeline was more truck than I needed, I bought the Maverick (too small for their needs) and passed the Ridgeline onto them.

An additional consideration is that the Ridgeline RTL-E has all the modern safety features; I expect grandkids to be in the picture soon and the Ridgeline will be a safer vehicle for them than the 2012 Civic that my daughter-in-law was driving (of course the Civic is a good vehicle for its time and purpose). The mileage on 2017 Ridgeline is very low, so there is no doubt that it will last them for some time ... my son is driving my old 2007 Ridgeline that now has over 200,000 miles on it (mostly from his driving, not mine when I owned it). My son and daughter-in-law love the 2017 Ridgeline. I guess you could say it is more her car since it replaced her Civic.

Now that I have owned the Maverick Lariat for 3+ months, I would say that it is a very nice vehicle ... not as spacious or luxurious as the Ridgeline RTL-E, but it meets my needs. The Maverick has the 4K towing package, but I have yet to use it.

My only real complaint with Maverick is the Hot Pepper Red ... not my first choice of color, but that was the color for the only truck available with all the features that I wanted. My wife loves the color, so everyone is happy .

One additional thought about the Maverick that relates to age ... in my earlier days, I have owned a Toyota SR-5, a Chevy Luv, a Chevy S-10, and a Chevy Silverado. All trucks were model years from 70s to 90s. Sizewise, (other than the Silverado), I think of the Maverick as a retro truck .

If one looks at the picture associated with my profile, you can see the outline of the gray Ridgeline on the other side of the Maverick. I took the picture before driving the Ridgeline to Georgia.

Sorry for the long post ... guess I got carried away "talking" about myself.

And I will end this post by sharing the link to the candle business ... most of their business is done online
https://www.jackabeecandles.com/

Thanks. I like the Ridgeline a lot but WOW is it an expensive vehicle (I've only owned sedans and hatchbacks, but of course knew that pickups were priced a lot higher). The Maverick price was one thing I was very excited about when it first came on the market.

 

[rret]

So, I ordered a '24 Hybrid XLT back in August and I was very surprised to get a build date email yesterday (February 2024). But--in part because I expected more like a year's wait--I've been looking at Foresters and especially CR-V Hybrids instead these past few months.

While I've always wanted a truck (and not a huge one, which is why I was so excited about the Maverick and the hybrid), I'm getting cold feet for a couple reasons and would welcome some perspective from current Maverick owners to help me decide whether or not to go with the Maverick. I'll outline my main thoughts below:

• I'm not not sure how well the Hybrid (no AWD) will do in the snow, which we get a few times a year in my area (southern Ohio). I know it's not rear-wheel drive and we don't get a ton of really bad snow (usually!) but I do think an AWD (and especially a Subaru) would have the edge. I didn't order an EB because I wanted the fuel economy of the hybrid. How has your Maverick hybrid done in the winter? ,
• I'm not sure how practical the Maverick is for a family of three (including a toddler still in a carseat), in part because it doesn't seem like there's much cargo space (aside from the bed, which is of course exposed to the rain, and because I've seen on here that carseat space is very limited. How has the Maverick worked as a family vehicle for you?
• Finally, I'm a little concerned about the overall build quality/reliability of the Maverick. I know people tend to post more complaints than praise in general, but seems the CRV-V hybrid and Forester are more reliable and, overall, better built/more comfortable (especially the CR-V hybrid). I worry about the deep sleep issue, the recalls, etc. I've always owned Toyotas and Hondas and really appreciate a reliable vehicle I can keep for 10+ years.

Thanks for any thoughts and perspective! This forum has been very helpful.

I need a 2nd Maverick. Buy the Subaru or Honda.

 

[Deleted member 44642]

I need a 2nd Maverick. Buy the Subaru or Honda.

You’re like 2 years late on the reply

 

[Hoagus]

A real Maverick would confidently make his own decision.

You should get a RAV4.

 

[Timothyd]

So, I ordered a '24 Hybrid XLT back in August and I was very surprised to get a build date email yesterday (February 2024). But--in part because I expected more like a year's wait--I've been looking at Foresters and especially CR-V Hybrids instead these past few months.

While I've always wanted a truck (and not a huge one, which is why I was so excited about the Maverick and the hybrid), I'm getting cold feet for a couple reasons and would welcome some perspective from current Maverick owners to help me decide whether or not to go with the Maverick. I'll outline my main thoughts below:

• I'm not not sure how well the Hybrid (no AWD) will do in the snow, which we get a few times a year in my area (southern Ohio). I know it's not rear-wheel drive and we don't get a ton of really bad snow (usually!) but I do think an AWD (and especially a Subaru) would have the edge. I didn't order an EB because I wanted the fuel economy of the hybrid. How has your Maverick hybrid done in the winter? ,
• I'm not sure how practical the Maverick is for a family of three (including a toddler still in a carseat), in part because it doesn't seem like there's much cargo space (aside from the bed, which is of course exposed to the rain, and because I've seen on here that carseat space is very limited. How has the Maverick worked as a family vehicle for you?
• Finally, I'm a little concerned about the overall build quality/reliability of the Maverick. I know people tend to post more complaints than praise in general, but seems the CRV-V hybrid and Forester are more reliable and, overall, better built/more comfortable (especially the CR-V hybrid). I worry about the deep sleep issue, the recalls, etc. I've always owned Toyotas and Hondas and really appreciate a reliable vehicle I can keep for 10+ years.

Thanks for any thoughts and perspective! This forum has been very helpful.

After a couple of years I would heartily reccomend the Maverick for 3. Very happy with mine and have found the quality to be good and averaging gas milage in the mid 40s. No issues in 2 years. There's plenty of ways you can customize it for your storage needs.
Stock tires aren't great for snow (in my FWD) but I got some spare wheels for Blizzaks snow tires for winter that handle Wisconsin weather nicely.

Sponsored