Unfortunately, I’m not as lucky as all the other auto journalists in the industry. I still haven’t driven the illustrious Ford Maverick. Not for lack of trying, but the opportunity just has yet to present itself; maybe Ford’s annoyed at my contrarian-ass stance when the trucklet first dropped, and I was confident that it was going to be more of an Internet Car—a niche vehicle whose appeal was limited only to Weird Car Twitter folks—and not any kind of mainstream success.
Well, I’m eating those words, obviously. The new Ford Maverick is a hit. Hampered by supply issues as it has been, it’s still a sales success, outpacing stuff like the Nissan Frontier and Ford’s own Ranger in Q3. The styling isn’t the most convincing to me, but I can’t deny the 40+ MPG package of a right-sized, not very expensive truck. Turns out that lots of folks agree.
So I bought one. Kind of. And maybe a bit accidentally. But now I think I need to get comfortable because I’ll be waiting for a while.
I walked onto the showroom to take a gander at a Maverick Hybrid, only for the salesman to tell me that they don’t have a demo to drive, only a lone customer car that can’t be driven on the road due to the fact that if I wrecked it, it would be months to replace this already sold unit. Not to lose a potential sale though, glibly, the salesman asked “You wanna order one? No strings attached,” he said.
So, on a random Thursday in June, a Ford salesman entered my driver’s license into the Ford ordering system, and we sat down and spec’d out a Maverick Hybrid piece by piece, in a method similar to picking out mesmerize cologne and Skin So Soft lotion from an Avon catalog. I shook the man’s hand and let my information go into the ether.
And then, I forgot about it. Order books for the 2022 Maverick had already closed when I ordered, but the salesman assured me I’d be right at the top of the line when the 2023 list opened up. I wrote somewhere that the list did open up, and barely a week later, Ford closed them again. “Eh, I don’t think my order actually went in, I haven’t even driven the thing or put any money down,” I thought.
But in late September, I got an email from Ford that my order had been placed. Sure, my orange Maverick Hybrid XLT had turned into a grey one, but as far as I know, I was in line for a 2023 Maverick XLT with a sunroof, bedliner, and heated seats. After the nonplussed exclamation on social media, I promptly went back to forgetting I had placed an order for a truck.
Until, yet again, Ford sent me an email. And now I’m wondering, is this truck that I bumbled and fumbled into ordering, am probably horribly misinformed about, and very ambivalent about, ever going to come?
I, and other Maverick reservation holders, got this e-mail:
“Dear Kevin Williams,
As promised, we want to update you on the status of your Maverick XLT order. We are still experiencing delays due to the supply chain challenges that Ford and our industry are facing at this time.
Please understand that while getting your vehicle into production is taking longer than usual, we are doing all we can to minimize the delays.
There’s nothing we want more than to deliver your new Maverick XLT. We are fully committed to keeping you updated on your vehicle’s status, and will let you know as more information becomes available. We apologize for any inconvenience, and truly appreciate your patience and understanding.”
Naturally, I’d expect that the hybrid’s traction battery and its concert of computers that make the truck-shaped thing get 40 MPG probably require more chips and resources that the turbocharged model doesn’t.
This dealership memo being circulated on the Ford Maverick forum has me, uh, a little worried if I’ll ever get my hybrid Maverick I’m not sure if I actually want it yet. Apparently, Ford only had the capacity for 35% of its Mavericks to be of the Hybrid flavor. It also appears that actual allocations are dealer-based, meaning, if you switch to the EcoBoost, there’s a real chance you’ll get your Maverick faster.
But, no offense to the probably-good EcoBoost 2.0-liter turbo, I don’t know anyone who is yearning for that Maverick. Arguably, the Maverick’s ace-in-the-hole is its subcompact car fuel economy from its hybrid system coupled with the capabilities of a truck body.
With the turbo engine, those benefits disappear, making it a somewhat thrifty, but not all-that-impressive truck. Worryingly, some Maverick owners assert that Ford took anywhere from 38% to two times as many hybrid Maverick orders as it could have ever hoped to fulfill. With numbers like those, I can’t see me actually taking delivery of a hybrid Maverick until 2024.
I reached out to Ford for comment and haven’t heard back yet, likely on account of the holidays.
It seems like Ford is a victim of its own success—and supply chain disruptions that have impacted the whole industry. It may have underestimated how much people really pined for an economical thing with a bed. Cars, or utes, or coupe utilities, whatever you want to call them, like the Dacia Duster Oroch, Volkswagen Saviero, Chevrolet Montana, or Ram 700 have been fairly common in South America and Eastern Europe for years. Today, the Maverick only really has one direct competitor in the Hyundai Santa Cruz.
Yet, the OEMs would shoo us away, insisting they were too small, crude, or ugly for North America—and wanting us to spend $65,000 (financed over 10 years, naturally) on much bigger trucks we probably didn’t need. Who knew that revising the formula for more of a focus on refinement, economy, and styling would create a product that was so successful?
Personally, I think it’s wild that other OEMs haven’t rushed to market with their own hybrid compact unibody truck. If Toyota was so worried that it wouldn’t sell as many of the sleek new Prius as in years past, maybe the engineers should have added a truck bed to the back of it. Automakers: Get on it. Ford’s onto something here and it can’t even keep up with demand.
I only started seeing them in the flesh a couple months ago, and they are still really thin on the ground around here. The factory must not be spitting many out, or they are making it to the coasts faster than the Midwest.
Yeah, you’ll be waiting a while. I ordered one in October 2021, just went in production and got the window sticker last week.
I ordered my Maverick on 17 Dec., 2021 and finally took delivery on 7 Nov., 2022. Mine is an Eco-Boost AWD but it still took forever. I needed AWD so the hybrid was not an option but the mileage has been excellent so far. In the past I’ve owned everything from S-10’s and rangers to F-250’s and can honestly say that I love the Maverick.
Hmm, a hybrid truck? Well, that opens up camping possibilities. A hybrid that can be used as a power source for off-grid camping is a really great idea. However, can the Maverick hybrid system be used this way? Some hybrids can (Prius, Rav4), and some can’t (Volt I think).
Sort of. The luxury package has a 400w inverter in the truck bed…but it only works when the Maverick is on.
Turning radius is the most important factor in a vehicle. That’s why I commute to work on a John Deere zero-turn mower.
You went from ORANGE to GREY? You get on the phone to Ford and tell them to change it back to orange or you’ll cancel it!
Actually, the Cactus Gray is pretty cool. Non-metallic, medium gray.
At least you *got* status updates. I ordered a Escalade diesel last year. After 10 months I gave up. Dealer was nice enough, and checked on my order every month, and every month it was the same – still no build slot, no change in order status other than “thanks for sending it in.” No communication from GM AT ALL. And this is on one of their higher-end vehicles, where they have higher margins. I guess these companies have so many orders that they can’t fill that they don’t car if they fill yours or not anymore.
This might be a stupid question, but has the dealer checked what’s holding up the build slot on your Escalade? GM publishes a weekly restrictions report that outlines what options are limited (anywhere from a certain percentage allocation per dealer to just not happening). Depending on what your flexibility is, and if the dealer is willing to work with you, it might be worth seeing if there are any changes you can make to get your order more production viable.
I ordered a hybrid XLT in October 2021 before the original order bank closed. It hasn’t been built yet, and I have no idea when it might ever happen.
It seems like it’s a good truck, but at some point Ford has to build the damn thing.
It’s entirely possible (and this is only an educated guess) that Ford unintentionally underpriced it, and if they are not losing money they are certainly not making any. If that’s the case they may be restricting supply until they can work a bit more margin into it.
If you get to Bel Air MD. I’ll let you drive mine.
I ordered a front wheel drive ecoboost XLT with the luxury package in June 2021, and got it 7 months later. I traded in a Chevy Colorado extended cab which was a great truck, but a bit big. I was ordering the Maverick to replace the Colorado AND my Ford Edge, which I think it does well. I didn’t need a heavy duty truck just the convenience of a truck bed for occasional light hauling: and, I wanted a back seat for passengers.
I like the comfort, the gas mileage of the 2.0 Ecoboost, and the handling.
Is is really well made, no. But it is a good value for the price.
I hate driving big vehicles (unless they’re old school land yachts, but even then, not every day) and have minimal need for a truck, but I was thinking the Maverick hybrid was going to be my next car until the GR86 came out and I liked it much better than the 1st gen, so I have that now. Point is that the Maverick appeals to a whole new market that weren’t interested in trucks, couldn’t live with such a big vehicle, or didn’t want to pay for a large truck in purchase and mileage that has far more capabilities than they would ever use. The base hybrid gets compact mileage for almost a subcompact price with better utility and the high seating everyone else seems to love. They’re even cheaper than a Transit Connect, so would appeal to the same contractors that don’t need a full size or who work in urban areas. Then there’s the people who already have big trucks they found they didn’t need the capability of and wanted to downsize, but lacked the option. Even for someone who doesn’t like trucks, for less than a Prius, you get a quicker, far more useful vehicle with a more palatable conventional interior and styling for what’s really a pretty irrelevant mileage penalty unless someone is driving several times over the average. Even then, I would bet the Maverick is better to spend that much time in. (Of course, I’m talking about the current Prius, not the upcoming one that looks much better and isn’t so slow, but it’s still more expensive and less flexible.)
The shortsighted criticism I kept seeing was about bed size, but nobody gets a full size truck with a 4×8 bed to fit full sheets of plywood, drywall, etc. anymore and, for loose stuff, even an extended bed can only hold about 2 yards of material (I fit 1.5 yards in a Focus hatchback), which is only about enough for a small garden (IIRC, it took us 18 yards of dirt to fill the shallow holes from removing an above ground pool and a juniper bush). For most average homeowner requirements, if they need more bed than a Maverick, they probably need a trailer or to have stuff delivered, anyway. Yeah, some people need the towing and HD capabilities of a full size, but there are plenty who don’t. I was surprised almost everyone didn’t see it was going to be a hit.
I figured the investment would pay huge dividends on just fleet sales. The old Ranger was hugely popular in the Denver area in Parks and Rec departments. With the Maverick’s. I’ve been seeing them used in parking lot security applications, which is odd enough for a new vehicle. Was so used to old Crown Vics, then RAV-4s. Maverick’s make sense, I just didn’t expect it. I figured it’d be popular, but I wasn’t expecting this.
I’m amused with the concept of cross-shopping a Maverick and a GR86. Because I had really wanted a Maverick, I’ve been tempted by the GR86 but yet right now I’m thinking about taking advantage of the slight reprieve on the Kia Stinger…
I’m seeing the same thing with public works and security. I’m surprised they can get them with the demand as I’m sure they’re buying lower margin versions and I would think Ford would prioritize the higher end ones (maybe there are less microchips involved allowing them to build, like, 10 bases for every 8 loaded?). If they catch up to demand, I won’t be surprised if my work will replace the aging mix of Escape hybrids and full size stripper pickups with them.
My Focus ST blew up, so I needed a car, but the few remaining hatches were underwhelming, overpriced, and almost all automatics, so I was going to go for the Maverick as it was cheaper and got good mileage—if I wasn’t going to enjoy driving it, it might as well be cheap with some utility. I also always wanted a vintage lower tier exotic sports car, but the values have gotten ridiculous. In a lot of ways, the GR is closer to a vintage sports car in feel than a new performance car, but isn’t an old maintenance hog with 50 years of baggage, so it kind of fits both roles of the sports car and daily. It even fits a lot more than I thought it would inside and it cost less than a regular Civic hatch with a manual before the inevitable markups (though I lucked out on not getting any on the GR).
It’s funny because I’m in a similar boat. I don’t need an F150 or Ranger but I would like something with a bed to toss bike and dirty gear into on weekends and a Maverick hybrid fits that fuel economy niche that I didn’t know I was looking for. Since I probably won’t be able to find one new in the next few years I’ve been looking at the Kona to eventually replace my Elantra. Never would I have thought that I’d be cross shopping a Maverick with a Kona but here we are.
Personally I do value bed size because I can throw a couple of 10′ kayaks in the back of my long bed pickup and I routinely haul stuff that needs at least 6 1/2′ of bed. I’m interested in the Maverick but I have a perfectly good crossover for when I want fuel economy and 4 doors and an old and cheap truck to actually haul and tow. I would be more interested in a Maverick with an extended cab and a longer bed. I’m also a minority so there it is.
I’m always a little jealous when I see people with kayaks in the back of a truck. Mine are 17′, so they have to be heaved onto the roof no matter what it is (or on a utility trailer like they will next year, which will be more useful than any bed, though not so convenient).
I think most everybody thought it was going to be a hit other than the author of this article. I agree with you, would never even consider buying a newish full sized truck or even a new Ranger,but the price, size, and MPG of the Maverick have a very utilitarian appeal to me. I would have tried to talk my wife into buying one instead of our Crosstrek last year, but knew that argument was a non-starter with her.
Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t even consider ordering a vehicle that I wasn’t allowed to test drive.
I agree. I’d have a tough time dropping new car money on something I haven’t even taken a lap in. Hell some people haven’t even sat in one of these. Buy it completely blind.
Yeah, I’m largely the same way. I remember past car buying advice when it came to whether or not to leave a deposit when ordering a car was that the dealer doesn’t want to get stuck with some oddball that will just be glued to the lot if you back out. But now with limited inventory for even the most mundane vehicles, someone else is all but guaranteed to buy it if you don’t, so no wonder the dealer says “no strings attached” – either way, they’re gonna have a high demand unit to sell.
I went into the local Volvo dealer and they wouldn’t even let me test sit in the new models, let alone test drive. I’m 6-6 and long of leg, so the test sit is critical before I can even think of buying.
What? That’s insane
Oh, same, I even wrote a whole take about that elsewhere, but it truly was a no stakes thing. They didn’t take any money from me, and the salesman was adamant that “if you change your mind, that truck is as good as sold.”
So, it was kind of like a “why not?” type deal.
Not crazy, I pretty much feel the same way, but we did order a Honda Fit when the first came out and none were available to drive. We ended up loving it and keeping it for 15 trouble free years.
Don’t understand the appeal of this vehicle, probably never will, but kudos to Ford for having more foresight than I do and coming up with a hit.
It’s small, affordable, fuel efficient, seats 4 adults, and is extremely useful. If you live in a dense area and either do the sort of work that necessitates a truck bed or have hobbies that it might come in handy for (like gardening, biking, etc) it’s a pretty perfect do-everything solution that almost anyone can afford. I totally get that it’s pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum compared to what you enjoy, but I’m not sure what there is to “get”, per se. It’s just an extremely useful vehicle for the masses.
This is also the same person who will only buy an EV if it has 2,000 miles of range, doesn’t lose any range for towing or cold weather, cooks his breakfast, lunch and dinner and costs less than $20,000. Us normies can see a ton of use for something like that.
Nah, I’d be OK with only lunch and dinner actually.
It’s just about the best city truck you can own. I live in Los Angeles and parking something the size of a F150 is a struggle on a good day not to mention that my driveway was built in the 1920’s so pulling a full sized truck back there takes patience and a jar of Vaseline.
The only real thing I can knock about the Mav is the crazy turning radius. This thing turns like a barge.
My good friend got his hybrid maverick about two months ago finally …he ordered long before the first ones even shipped to dealers. Pretty sweet truck in the Orange pearl . He’s been experiencing even better economy than was stated they would have as well. I’m not into new vehicles but the maverick is a Win! And wouldn’t mind one ….but I would Instantly drop it and do some crazy paint on it .
Somebody who put a deposit down on a Cybertruck is going to read this article, then throw his computer out the window. If he has a real computer.
I❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ my 2022 Hybrid Lariet Maverick. Took 13 months of patience to wait for delivery. Well worth that wait.
Kevin – you say the opportunity hasn’t present itself to drive one yet so here it is: I’ll let you test drive my ‘22 Maverick Lariat Hybrid on the condition that after you love every 40 mpg, easy handling, utilitarian, $30k second of driving my “weird internet car”, you eat your goddamn words publicly. I’ll even buy you lunch so you can have an opportunity to process and debrief how fucking great it is and how utterly incorrect of a take you previously had. I’ll also let you pet my dog. Seems like a win-win deal. (Just like buying a Maverick.)
I’ve been getting the same email on a Mach-E reservation that was supposed on built on 12/18/22, all while getting calls from the dealership trying to sell me a higher end version they have on the lot that someone cancelled.
I have a 2022 Maverick hybrid. AMA.
Can I have it?
Um, no.
You could have mine https://www.reddit.com/r/FordMaverickTruck/comments/zyri0i/any_advice_for_getting_this_maverick_to_a_good/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I feel like this is currently an enthusiast flex on par with like “I have a 911” or “I have a Ferrari”. Sheesh dude, way to rub it in our faces!
I’m kidding! Mostly. Actually maybe not at all…
Ours is built. Waiting for a hitch I think, and then shipping. But have the VIN, window sticker, and the electronics are popping. ’23 Lariat Hybrid
I’ve seen a couple of these on the road now. I’m not a truck person, but I will say the Maverick is unique in that the styling is much friendlier. It’s doesn’t look like it was built to kill people.
I’m jealous. I want an XLT hybrid in Cyber Orange. I didn’t reserve one when I had the chance because a first year anything is a no go, especially a first year Ford. Plus I had no idea how few would actually be available. I regret it because if I reserve one now I probably wouldn’t see it until like 2025 or later. If someone made a similar vehicle in a hybrid or PHEV and could guarantee delivery in early 2023 I’m 90% sure that I’d reserve it immediately.
Other manufacturers aren’t going after this niche because no one wants to make economy cars anymore and the truck market in America is extremely fickle. When you’re as big as Ford, have household name/brand recognition behind the product (Ford=Trucks for many people) and can churn out tens of thousands of the things and sell every single one the economy of scale makes the Maverick viable where other economy cars aren’t.
Unfortunately most other manufacturers don’t have those benefits. It would be a big risk for, say, Honda or Subaru to try something like this because they’re not an established player in the truck space, where buyers are EXTREMELY fickle and brand loyal to the point that it’s cult-like…not to mention they don’t have the same resources that Ford does in regards to R&D, platforms, and experience in a space like this.
I think a lot had to go right for the Maverick to work. To Ford’s credit, they did their homework and made a great product. But outside of Chevy or Dodge I don’t think there are any other brands that have the right combination of resources and brand relevance to make a mini truck viable. Hell, the Hyundai Santa Cruz is by most accounts a really good car but it’s not doing anywhere near the sorts of numbers that the Maverick is. We also saw this experiment with the Subaru Baja, which was an absolute flop even though it’s the apple of enthusiast eyes many years after the fact.
The Maverick is a phenomenon and to be honest I don’t think any other companies are going to be able to capture lightning in a bottle like Ford did. Sometimes the stars just align perfectly and what happens can’t be replicated again. Hell, if my memory serves me correctly Bauhaus recorded Bela Lugosi’s Dead on their first take after coming up with the song that day….and even though I’m sure The Bishop will have a valid reason why I’m wrong, I don’t think the band ever quite captured that sheer creative magic again.
Sometimes that just how it goes, and I see the Maverick as something similar. The mini truck is UNDEAD UNDEAD UNDEAD!
Economies of scale is exactly it. The Maverick’s underpinnings are a mix of Escape and Bronco Sport, mostly. And the Bronco Sport has been a pretty big hit for Ford. To bring the Maverick out wasn’t as much of a gamble as many might think because of that.
As much as many would love to see a CRV-based mini-Ridgeline or Rav4 pickup, you are absolutely right that many truck buyers don’t think of Honda and Toyota as “truck” brands.
(as an aside, i’m still hoping for an AWD Hybrid Maverick, but with the insanity of the ordering process/production capacity, that probably won’t happen)
An AWD hybrid would be awesome and should be relatively easy, especially if they do electric AWD. That is, the gas engine powers one axle, while the electric motors power the others.
Honda does this on the CRV hybrid, for example.
A Ford engineer did an AMA around the time of the launch. I asked if they could do a AWD hybrid like the Escape and he said since it’s essentially the same platform/parts, there isn’t anything that from a technical standpoint prevention it. The main assumption is that Ford will unveil that option during a mid-cycle refresh.
Except for one key fact. Having the Hybrid as FWD only may be the only thing regulating the take rate of the Hybrid drivetrain. Ford probably doesn’t want any more demand for the hybrid than it currently has. Given the pricing disparity between the hybrid and gas only pricing tiers of Escapes and Mavericks, I feel it’s safe to assume Ford is losing significant amounts of money (or at least operating on a much slimmer profit) on every Hybrid Maverick it sells. For reference, for 2023, the FWD Hybrid drivetrain is a $3,500 upcharge on the Escape and the FWD Hybrid is priced the same.
Not Honda but with the amount of Tacomas I see (and some Tundras too) Toyota definitely has *SOME* truck identity. Obviously much less, but I feel like it’s enough to try something in this space.
The only viable competitor would likely be Ram/Jeep. They have the truck cachet obviously, and they have the huge parts bin of FCAtlantic to pull from. A little Renegade/Compass here, a 4xe powertrain there, and bingo. I’d be surprised if this wasn’t under serious consideration already. If Ford is still struggling to keep up there’s clearly unmet demand in the market that’s just there for the taking.
A Jeep version would sell like popsicles on the 4th of July. A mini truck based on the Renegade? Normies absolutely love Jeep and the faux off roader vibe. While I think the Maverick would remain the enthusiast pick Stellantis would absolutely print money with a Jeep mini truck.
Hell if they took it seriously and gave it some genuine off road chops and a powertrain that isn’t stuck in 2005 I might even take a look at it. Maybe. Probably not…but still, it would be intriguing
They already build smaller pickups in Latin America and just launched a new model a year or so ago.
It’s important to remember that this is not the first time Ford has done this – when they introduced the Ecoboost V6 in the F150, the take rate on it was significantly higher than their projections. Ford set themselves up for this by making the base model Maverick a hybrid, which was primarily intended to help lower the CAFE penalties on their trucks, and they never considered or severely underestimated the actual demand for the hybrid model. Which really speaks to the larger issue of many automakers diving head first into EVs without putting any real effort into hybrids, which actually appeal to a much larger segment of the population. The charging infrastructure necessary to support much wider adoption of EVs continues to be a major challenge that is unlikely to be resolved satisfactorily for many people in the next 10-15 years, when the sales bans of new IC powered cars start coming into effect around the world.
I’m guessing there are still plenty of people at Ford who still believe that “fuel economy doesn’t sell”
Toyota would do very well making a truck smaller than the Tacoma
They do, it’s a Hilux
Hyundai flirted with the idea for so long with the Santa Cruz concept, but like you said, without being a known player in the space, probably would have just flopped without the Maverick also on sale.
Perhaps a good comparison to the economies of scale, it’s not very different from what contributed to the crossover madness. Chrysler could have built another Neon coupe – but did the PT Cruiser instead (hear me out!). The PT sold in greater volume and for more money than any plain Neon would’ve. Maverick stickers in the same price range its C2-based cousin Focus would have, but sells for more than any Focus would have even if they weren’t unobtainium right now. Or even a new Fusion, if we count the new C2-based Mondeo on sale in China.
IMO the problem with the Santa Cruz is its price. It has capabilities closer to the Maverick, but a price closer to the Ridgeline. The pricing confuses me a bit, because Hyundai usually comes in pretty good on the value proposition. I just don’t see it with the Santa Cruz.
I agree with most everything you said, except having trouble wrapping my head around the Maverick being a mini truck. I remember the first time I saw a new Ranger. I did a double take, unless you see it next to a full size truck it is kind of hard to tell it is downsized. A mini truck is one of those little JDM things or an 80s Japanese truck. The Maverick is mid-sized, basically less huge. It is 18′ long, not much under 6′ tall, and weighs 1.75 tons.
>Today, the Maverick only really has one direct competitor in the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Santa Cruz, right?
Yes, and this was my error, not his. Fixed!
> Sure, my orange Maverick Hybrid XLT had turned into a grey one…
Did Ford just default it to grey, give you a choice on the order update, or was there a “second choice” with the dealer when you initially ordered?
I’m curious about this too. I’d be pretty upset if the vehicle I special ordered, configured in a specific way was changed by the manufacturer for seemingly no reason.
This is fairly commonplace with ordering popular models of Ford’s these days. If your order doesn’t make it to production within the model year, you are subject to changes such as color swaps or option reshuffling. These changes can even happen mid-year due to shortages. There are forums full of people ordering Bronco, Mach-e and Mavericks who are dealing with this. Ford is typically offering credits for things that are no longer available, and if your order is bumped to the next model year, you basically have to re-spec it. I have a ‘23 Bronco on order, but I will not be surprised if it gets bumped to a ‘24 model year or later.
Agreed. I don’t understand why I can’t custom order a car in the color I want! It’s not like you’re picking from existing stock. I would be furious if I ordered a fun orange and was told I had to accept a nasty grey. I’m sure the grey is just fine, but I despise greyscale colors on cars. Give me a real color!
What the hell is the point of a “custom order” if it isn’t your actual custom order? Getting the color I want would be big reason for going that route.
When I got my email confirmation from Ford the picture showed the truck in dark grey truck. I had to scroll down a bit to the order summary to that my order was indeed for showed the proper Cyber Orange. As shown in the article, the generic updates from Ford since then make no mention of my requested specs. So it’s possible that Kevin’s self-admitted fuzzy memory of his order may have carried over to the details of Ford’s initial confirmation.
He also expressed a great deal of ambivalence, both in this whole article and in even that one sentence, so it’s quite possible he just wasn’t invested enough to look super closely.
The Ford Maverick Pickup isn’t compact. It’s 6.6 inches longer and 5.9 inches wider than my 1994 Toyota Pickup Xtra Cab with seating for 5 AND a 6.5ft bed while the Maverick only has a 4.5ft bed and doesn’t seat anymore people than my pickup. However I do agree the Hybrid really seems like the only one of the current production Maverick drivetrains worth getting.
The reason we don’t get small pickups like the Ram 700 and the Chevrolet Montana in the US is because of the footprint rule which incentivizes automakers to make wider and longer automobiles. Here’s a good video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eoMrwrGA8A
An Accord doesn’t seat any more than a Mirage either despite being over 2 feet longer, but one’s going to be a lot more comfortable for 5 than the other.
Unlike an Accord or a Mirage Pickups are meant to be work vehicles to haul stuff, not people.
So having jump seats in a work vehicle designed to haul stuff makes a lot of sense. Making a 4 door crew cab unibody pickup with a 4.5ft bed and ONLY seating for 5 (when they could have easily put a bench seat up front) is idiotic. It’s not a good work vehicle and it’s not a good people mover, it’s an oversized unibody sedan that has a turning circle less than a foot smaller than some current production F-150s.
The Europeans got it right with everyone having a utility trailer and a hitch on their cars. A small car and a small trailer is much more practical than a Maverick.
There’s no one single category that a vehicle type has to fit into. While a multiple car for different purposes does make more sense in a perfect world, it’s not realistic or feasible for everyone – so people need a single car to wear multiple hats.
There are people that want the utility of a pickup bed but still want dry, accessible, lockable interior storage space – which a crew cab allows. I rarely have more passengers than myself in my GTI, but I use the back seat more for stuff, more than I use the cargo area. And I say that as someone who probably would have bought a 2-door if it was offered.
A small trailer would make more sense for a lot of people, I don’t disagree. However, not everyone has a place to store a trailer – they might have one parking space, or live in an apartment or with an HOA or similar that will limit how and where you can park. (“So don’t live there” doesn’t work, either.)
Not to mention, U.S. market typically has lower rated towing capacities compared to the Euro market – so likely have to take some liability risk getting around that given the litigious nature here.
Speaking of, the amount to engineer a bench seat in a consumer focused vehicle wouldn’t have been worth it, as even the midsize trucks are moving away from it – a new Tacoma Access Cab doesn’t have a front bench, just seats 4. Much like how several existing midsize trucks already gave up regular cabs and seem to be shifting away from extended cabs too.
The Maverick isn’t meant to be a pure work vehicle. A Maverick in the low 20s (ignoring general unobtainable status of the model as a whole) is the same MSRP as a compact sedan, carries people in similar comfort, gets similar mileage with the hybrid, scoots much faster with the Ecoboost, and offers more utility with the small bed. It isn’t truck buyers that have been buying Mavericks, it’s current car owners. I think a report from Ford a few months ago said the Civic was one of the most frequent currently owned vehicle for a lot of Maverick buyers.
As far as HOAs are concerned everyone should know by now how horrible they are and how they always end up with bad people at the helm as every other centralized power system has. If they have one parking space in a relatively rural area then yeah the Maverick can make a lot of sense, however they trade a lot for that. Getting in a minor fender bender with the Maverick results in repair costs that regularly exceed the value of a NEW MAVERICK. So, it’s cheap until you need to replace it and you can’t do so for at least a year and not for what you originally paid for it.
What’s the point of having a dial shifter on the dash that most people dislike if you don’t use the space it saved? You could easily have a combo middle seat/center console/arm rest in the Maverick as it is plenty large enough to fit one and NOTHING is in the way of it.
I never said the Maverick was a bad vehicle or a bad deal. For below $25K a Maverick Hybrid is a great deal for a new car with a utility focus. However that’s because of the price and the lack of competition. The price is only going up, Ford refuses to make enough Maverick Hybrids to meet demand (can’t even meet 1/3rd of current demand) while making more than double the amount Ecoboosts that there are orders for.
However I think the Maverick could have been a much better more practical pickup that in exchange for a slight MPG penalty you’d be able to make it body on frame with a COE configuration (using Ford’s tiny 3 cylinders) with more than one cab and bed configuration AND AN EXTREMELY TIGHT TURNING CIRCLE (for the standard RWD drivetrain variants).
Even if Ford didn’t want to do a full clean sheet chassis and body design they could have at least not made ANY ECOBOOSTS and in doing so they could have afforded to make the Pickup smaller dimensionally because they wouldn’t have to worry about the footprint rule as the Hybrid Maverick already greatly exceeds the average MPG requirement of the footprint rule. So they would have a smaller vehicle dimensionally that was just as comfortable and as practical as the original Maverick Hybrid that carries more and gets better MPG (because it’s smaller and weighs less).
Yes, that’s why “so don’t live there” wasn’t an answer, it’s just an example. I live in an apartment and only have one parking pass, so people are working with that they’ve got.
What does the fender bender and repair costs have to do with anything? That’s not limited to the Maverick in any way, that’s all cars lately with the supply chain issues and repair costs. Windshields alone can be a pain to get with all the camera/tech tied to them.
You could do a center seat, but then you have to engineer a 3-point seatbelt, headrest, etc. for it too, and maybe tweak the front airbag design to cover it too. Tacoma, Ranger etc. don’t offer a front bench now so doesn’t seem like there’s demand for it.
I didn’t say you said it was a bad deal. Just seems like these are a lot of specific points either not limited to Ford or directed at the vehicle like there was an actual business case for a different type of small truck – which I would also like to see, so not in disagreement with you. An extended cab version would make a ton of sense for the fleet market
They didn’t want to do a full clean sheet chassis, that’s the whole thing – it came from economies of scale, as summed up in earlier comments. It’s based off the Escape, shares its powertrains, interior volume is similar to the Escape and its competitors. They sure weren’t going to go BOF, even the smaller pickups like the Montana are unibody, derived from shared platforms. Turning circle isn’t automatically going to be smaller especially just because it becomes RWD – Tacoma and Ranger are both over 40’.
And any fuel economy gain is probably diminishing return at that point too. I know it seems like smaller and lighter should automatically mean better fuel economy, but I don’t think it would play out that way. A good comparison IMO is midsize sedans, compare to the same-brand’s smaller/lighter/less engine displacement sedan beneath it and the mileage is at best 10% better – Altima is 28 city/39 highway vs. Sentra is 29/39; Camry is 28/39 vs. Corolla with the more efficient 2.0L engine is 31/40. Even at Honda, Accord is 30/38 and a Civic with the same 1.5T engine is just 1 mpg better in the city.
This is an absolutely pointless point you are making here. Who cares what size it is compared to a 1994 Toyota? Who cares what size it is compared to a vehicle we cannot have in the US? Those don’t meet modern crash standards, nor can you buy one new. You are not cross shopping those against a new Maverick. What the Maverick is, is small compared to every other truck on the market currently and its cheaper. Arguing about it not meeting some standard you have in your head or what’s available in other countries is not realistic.
You also claim 4 people can fit in a 1994 Toyota pickup, not if they are taller than Yoda.
Exactly. I love old Toyota Pickups, but its no competition when it comes to interior space. 5 Adults in a Maverick is cozy. 5 Adults in a 90’s Toyota is impossible without serious personal space violations.
I agree that the Toyota is not built as a people mover, it’s built as a stuff mover as all pickups should be built, having the jump seats is a bonus allowing you to move extra people legally in a pinch.
In exchange for having a people mover interior the Maverick gave up stuff moving ability in the form of a 4.5ft bed and by going with a FWD car platform and the long overall length the Maverick has a turning circle less than 1 foot smaller than some current production F-150 variants and considering how much larger a new F-150 is compared to a Maverick that’s just really sad for an automobile labeled as “compact”.
Who cares? People who don’t want to do a 3 point turn every time they pull into or out of a parking space. People who have small garages. People who are larger in size so they need to be able to open their driver’s door more to get in and out (I’m 6ft & ~170lbs so it’s not an issue for me but still).
Small in what dimensions? It’s smaller than the now full size Ranger but not by much, especially in width. It’s definitely smaller than the now Plus Size F-150 in size but it has a turning circle less than 1 foot smaller than some current production F-150 variants!
While noone who has sat in the xtra cab portion of my pickup has been over 6ft they’re all much taller than Yoda, and legroom isn’t really a concern in the front seats.
The turning radius on a Maverick at 40′ is comparable to that of most minivans – Odyssey (39.6′), Sienna (38.3-39.2′) – as well as the Tacoma (40.6′). I think people will be fine.
Minivans have sliding doors though, which are definitely more practical than traditional car doors.
But not in the front…and the sliding doors don’t help the car turn, which was your point about the turning circles.
Yeah but you can usually move from the front seats to the rear seats easily in most minivans (sadly not the case with the current gen sienna).
Still a massive turning circle for a pickup marketed as a city vehicle.
All minivans now have a center console between the front seats. And you were saying about entry/exit in tight spaces, which the space between the front seats is a tight one to slip through?
I don’t understand what a 4.5′ bed could be useful for, but I’ve made a conscious choice to set aside my bafflement and be happy that folks are buying more hybrids and (maybe) fewer F150 commute-a-barges.