Hard to believe but the Ford Maverick's been out for a couple years now is it living up to the initial hype well let's find out I'm driving the hybrid Mar the biggest sensation in the pickup Market these days is small Ford's Maverick it's not really tiny though a couple inches longer than a kellor ride and it uses the same kind of unibody architecture it's been in Supply since the day it hit the market if you're
Still waiting for yours to arrive and wondering if you should stick with your order I snagged a hybrid model from Ford to see if it still lives up to the lofty Praise lavished on Maverick when it debuted it was so unique at the time it might have clouded judgments I mean at the launch event people stopped me to ask what it was I I'm interested to see what these are like I don't know they look interesting back in the fall of 2021 when Maverick launched the hybrid
Was the base model and Ford crow that you could buy one for $19,995 which was never really true because destination added 1,500 bucks to that price now the hybrid starts at 265 quite a price hike you can save $1,500 on a Maverick by going with the turbocharged 4 EcoBoost powertrain but consider this the EPA says over 5 years the fueling cost differences between the two models is around $3500 so spend a little bit extra on the
Hybrid up front save on the back end not sure about you but I'm always looking to Sock away two grand as equipped this midlevel XLT model msrps for $3,600 the major options being the luxury package black appearances package updated adash technology and a spray in bedliner a quick recap on the hybrid model it's only available as a front driver moved to the EcoBoost powertrain for all-wheel drive and I'll note that since launch
Ford has added an off-road oriented Tremor model with an advanced four-wheel drive system here the onew punch of a 162 horsepower 2.5 L 4 cylinder and 94 KW traction motor with 171 lb feet of torque team up to produce 191 horsepower to move a 3700 lb hauling machine the battery is tucked under here here's something I haven't seen in a while a key that you turn not much sound on Startup this is a hybrid push button keyless ignition is
Available it's an option the transmission is an ecvt compared to the 8-speed mated to the EcoBoost the gas engine does kick on occasionally when sitting around hey look a full-size spare Drive modes yeah of course Maverick hybrid is rated to tow 2,000 lb at 8.3 in the hybrid has the lowest ground clearance all four wheels get disc brakes when it comes to acceleration the hybrid will do the0 to 60-h in just under 8 seconds
Which is just as quick if not quicker than the turbocharged Chevy Colorado or the new Toyota Tacoma the instant torque off the gives Maverick a zippy feel there I go using technical jargon uh the ride height is slightly elevated what you'd expect from a vehicle this size all right what everybody's curious about the fuel efficiency the EPA rates the Maverick at 37 m per gallon average I am pretty much nailing that and you got to remember
This is more efficient in the city so if you do a lot of urban driving this is the truck for you speaking of the size is terrific Seattle streets tend to be narrow situations like this would cause standard pickup drivers to wait for the UPS driver to return or drive up onto the neighbor's lawn not cool and Maverick is fling in Corners it's the Miata of pickups some will dismiss this because it's not body on frame but like
The larger unibody Honda ridgel line if it looks like a truck and works like a truck it's a truck Maverick drives pretty much like a crossover SUV and that shouldn't be any surprise since it's based on the same architecture as bronos Sport and escape the suspension is set a little bit firmer and so when you hit broken Pavements it does skitter about a little bit at least without any load in the bed this one's optioned with the co-pilot 360 system at 650 bucks it
Adds great stuff adaptive cruise control evasive steering assist Lane centering and blind spot warning it's well worth the outlay considering the $5,000 price rise Forge should make this standard Maverick hybrid will tow up to 2,000 lb if that's not enough for you then go with the EcoBoost model properly equipped it'll tug up to two tons now you got to remember that the only real competition in this segment the Hyundai Santa Cruz will tow 5,000 lb but it's
Not not available as a hybrid the Hyundai is positioned more as a premium lifestyle machine pricewise it's now more competitive after Maverick's price hike the ecvt doesn't have much of that rubbery droning Dynamic that you might expect from this kind of transmission it's very well calibrated very very livable and the nature of the hybrid's power delivery is smooth and seamless after a while it Blends into the background remember when the concern
About hybrids was a real Lumpy pedal feel when it comes to the brake not an issue with this one the feel is Progressive and natural nice job Ford maybe because of its compact size Maverick overcompensates in the storage cubby Department there are features that other pickups should copy the door handles are can levered they can be grabbed in different ways it means that large water bottles fit here and they kind of click in nice and secure lots of
Little places that Ford Engineers say are specifically sized to hold headphone cases access cards Leatherman tools and such these are carved out all over the cabin any place a divot can be molded in Ford made it happen that's in addition to all of the expected places the back gets a bunch of cool stuff too oh and I forgot to mention that Maverick is only made as a crew cab with a 4 and 1/2t Bed Ford calls it the flex next bed the load floor is just 30 in off the ground that
Helps to load heavy things praying the bed top the plastic protection is easily replaced even compared to midsize pickup trucks Maverick is better to work out of need something out of the bed it's easy to reach over and grab it there's a 400 wat inverter option to run tools though all of mine are cordless these days the usual slots are here to position 2x sixes so owners can create cargo Management systems or build a shelf to carry sheetrock with storage underneath
This is 18 sheets of quinch plywood Max payload is 1,500 lb close to matching or sometimes exceeding some larger trucks what's this QR code for you can scan the flex bed QR code which is on the bedside of all Mavericks and we'll show you um exactly what to buy and how to build this do-it-yourself bike rack for about $40 there are dozens of do-it-yourself projects what you'll find on both the left and the right side of all Mavericks is this cap that says 12vt DC what we've
Done is on the back of this cap you'll find this 12volt harness and then in your glove box we've provided a universal adapter we call it which is the male connector and about a 5T lead we've enabled easy routing to the bedside module area as well as all the way up the d-pillar to the flange in this particular truck we did a blue LED light kit we'll show how to do eedy light installations and a uh a DIY air compressor installation the cabin space
Is fine remember it's a compact pickup no faux aluminum or wood trim the materials some recycled aren't trying to look like anything else than what they are I know some people that would benefit from that approach Plastics don't look rich or luxurious but they're honest with some interesting graining and patterns forgot your work gloves well at least the wheel is heated as optioned exposed Allen bolts work for pickups door releases these feel as
Basic as they look the heated cloth seats are average in Comfort powered on the driver's side the passengers is do it yourself with no access to a time machine the upholstery seems durable move to the lariat level to get synthetic leather the real stuff is unavailable I'll point out that Ford uses Navy colored plastics instead of black which kind of elevates the vibe the interface is sync 3 pretty rudimentary after setting Maverick up to
Your liking in the menu you'll probably be using the small screen for Android auto and Apple carplay for the most part phone charging check and check I'm happy that there are hard buttons for many of the things that people want to control quickly thanks Ford Maverick is smaller than Colorado Tacoma and Ranger none of those have particularly roomy back seats so manage expectations okay but that said at 5 fo9 I have a good amount of head room adequate knee and leg room
Feet go underneath the chair look if your friends complain they can always pay for an Uber there's the same Canal door poles and door Pockets found in the front what a great design though it would be nice to have a pocket on this seat back power options to charge Electronics you bet plus this little slot lets you add a cup holder or a trash can you can either 3D print those or buy them at your Ford dealer some might find the seat back rake a little
Too upright remember they can always take an Uber plus as you can see storage back here storage underneath the seats yeah a little bit not tons but you know it's useful the space is good enough for for three kids or two adults if they want to fold down the armrest and have some hot coffee let's wrap things up with red light Greenlight green lights pickups have grown a lot in the last 20 years finally there's a choice for those that don't
Want a behemoth the hybrid model is miserly when it comes to fuel I average 38 m per gallon why don't all vehicles have clever storage Nooks like Maverick for a small truck it's extremely capable in some cases substituting brains for Brawn yellow lights this is a compact truck don't expect 1,500 comfort and room in the back seat the cabin materials have an authentic look some will see that as auster overall Maverick's utility is great but some
Chores will still require a full-size truck duh red light the sync 3 interface and its small screen is basic Ford I know you have the much better sync 4 system no all-wheel drive system for the hybrid powertrain that's something that can be had on Escape originally positioned as an affordable vehicle the price has climbed considerably in the last couple years a fully trimmed out Tremor model is over $40,000 in other words Chevy Trail Boss
Money and that's MSRP then there's the issue of dealer markups Maverick is popular the factory in Mexico can't pump these out fast enough supply and demand it's a thing I really like the Maverick and I understand the appeal those that drive a lot in the city this is the perfect size it handles well it gets great fuel economy when you go with the hybrid and it's very capable maybe not as capable as an F-150 but you got to remember that these are tools and
Sometimes the biggest one isn't right for the job buy the tool tool you need there are rumors that competitors are looming on the horizon but Ford pretty much has this segment all to itself for now Maverick is small in a big way and looks to be in a class of its own for the foreseeable [Music] future one more thing that's unique not to Maverick but to Ford is the Secura code pad I'm a runner and often don't
Have a pocket for my keys this comes with a five-digit code lock the keys in and be on your way open it up with the pad when you return smarts um not sure how that would work with keyless ignition anyone out there with experience everyone say thanks to Martin Campbell who drives while I shoot running footage and he shoots the thumbnails he's an excellent still photographer um it's time for coffee I I pay Martin and coffee um so if you want
To support this channel donate to the the coffee fund okay um and gas fund uh venmo at Tom vulk okay or YouTube super things these videos are a passion project they're not about wealth building we're very proud of our independent Boutique vehicle reviews they take a lot of work and time and we don't want to waste yours okay before I go I suspect that in the comments there will be complaints that four dealerships are adding second stickers to Mavericks
Because they're in short supply to which I will say walk away nobody's holding a gun to your head you don't have to pay that price the last time that I bought a car I walked away four times before I got the price that I wanted and not all four dealers are adding second stickers I know I've checked you got to shop Hard okay and remember we live in a free market economy and a lot of times that benefits Us by lower prices when things are scarce prices rise it's a thing
Thanks for watching hey subscribe to this Channel and click notifications if you have a question leave it in the comments thanks for watching that's driven I'm Tom vulk
