Word on the street is that Ford’s new “compact” pickup has been such as smashing success that the automaker is fresh out of product — at least in hybrid guise.
While the 2.0-liter turbo offers substantially more power and towing capability, the default 2.5-liter Duratec four-cylinder gasoline engine with a hybrid electric motor still produces an agreeable 191 horsepower and 173 lb-ft of torque. Mated to Ford’s e-CVT gearbox, the Environmental Protection Agency suggest the pickup delivers 42 mpg around town and 33 mpg on the highway. Considering that the vehicle retails just below $20,000 (before you account for taxes and dealer fees), offers a conservatively sized truck bed, and seats five, it’s little wonder that Ford’s tapped out in an era where people are being forced to tighten their belts.
Granted, those interested in more routine work would be better suited in a Ranger (which is what the Maverick should have been called) or F-150 and there are plenty of competitive models coming from other brands. But the Maverick seems to have hit the market at the right time and basically has the entire baby truck segment to itself — save for the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which is more Ford Ranchero than vintage Ranger anyway.
CarBuzz confirmed the situation with Mike Levine, head of Ford North American Product Communications, following news on multiple automotive forums that the automaker had reached its production cap for the Maverick.
“That’s correct,” he replied. “Due to high demand, we are now fully reserved on Maverick Hybrid. Ordering will reopen next summer.”
Having considered scooping up a modest pickup as a secondary vehicle myself, even I’m a little disappointed to learn that the Maverick will be out of the running. Then again, my natural aversion to the introductory model year probably would have gotten the better of me.
For those less paranoid about getting a lemon, the EcoBoost version of the pickup is still available. Its 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque also allow it to bring the maximum towing capacity to 4,000 pounds (which is double that of the hybrid) when equipped with the necessary towing package. While that also swaps front-wheel drive for all-wheel drive (and a CVT for an 8-speed automatic), customers effectively have to shell out the kind of money required to get into a bare-bones Ford Ranger or Chevy Colorado — both of which offer a base towing capacity of 3,500 pounds (which is upgradable to over 7,000) and substantially larger truck bed for around $26,000.
[Image: Ford Motor Co.]
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The Maverick hybrid is probably all-around vehicle on sale today.
Probably all-around?
You see them EVERYWHERE!
You got me, I missed a two words in the initial comment.
“The Maverick hybrid is probably *the best* all-around vehicle on sale today.”
It is very difficult to argue against this on any objective basis, it’s the best “jack of all trades” vehicle in recent memory.
Let’s just hope it isn’t all undone by poor quality and/or reliability, which given Ford’s recent track record is unfortunately a legitimate concern.
I ordered a Maverick last week. According to the Ford website, a Ranger comparably equipped stickers $10k more than the Maverick.
Damn it. Meant to put in an order, but am crazy busy with end of semester stuff at my job, plus a COVID quarantine. Mine will be a FWD hybrid XLT lux.
I’ll wait until year three, but I plan on a hybrid XLT with spray-in bedliner, folding hard tonneau cover and bed extender.
Yup… i’ll get those too. But need lux for heated seats and steering wheel.
Just saw a C-Max come up locally for a good price. Will go check that out as an “until then” run about. See how I like the whole Ford hybrid thing.
Thanks for letting us know Steve. I was wondering.
@teddyc73, Your signal-to-noise level is a little low at the moment.
Good starting goal: Post 2 Constructive Comments for every 1 Cutting Insult. (Even higher ratio is permissible and encouraged.)
[You could even post Your Opinion – everyone has one.]
Despite gigantic, Ford did very well here as I think most of us believed. I’d be curious to know if or how much ADM went on these sales, because they really priced it well for MSRP.
“For those less paranoid about getting a lemon, the EcoBoost version of the pickup is still available.”
I actually think the lemon factor is higher on that than the hybrid.
“we are now fully reserved on Maverick Hybrid”
I don’t think they’ve actually shipped any Hybrids. The only Mavericks that have shipped are the regular version.
Correct. The hybrid has been getting built, but just got the ok to ship to dealers this week, so few if any actual customers have received the hybrids they ordered over the last 5 months. So basically it is going to take Ford until next summer just to build the hybrid orders it already has.
Doesn’t shock me. This is a pretty nifty little truck.
Think of all of the money wasted on Mach-E which could have been put into hybrid Mavrick production.
Hybrids for the tens of if not hundreds of thousands baaaaad.
EV for the thousands gooooodd.
The inevitable ‘slag an EV’ comment that just has to be inserted, even though the article has nothing to do with them.
Hybrid is and always was better choice for the masses, and it would always have allowed for continued battery research while achieving increased mileage and emissions goals. Sorry.
“Think of all of the money wasted on Mach-E ”
https://petapixel.com/2017/09/21/kodak-said-digital-photography-1975/
Kodak actually invented the digital camera, but IIRC nixed it because it threatened its core film business.
Do the Mach-E and the Maverick hybrid share parts?
Not sure but I would think mostly not at least on the driveline.
Well, then, I don’t think the Mach E does much to influence Maverick sales one way or the other.
Except all the money wasted on it not being invested in Maverick instead.
I’m looking for a replacement for my 2006 Scion xB (keep laughing, I have used it like a pickup truck for over 10 years now with no problems), and I stopped in a Ford Dealer while I was traveling. Talked to nice older salesman who said he had a co-worker who was able to drive a base model, and said it was absolutely terrible compared to the higher trim levels they normally get because they left out a lot of the sound deadening. I’m still going to drive one when they get one in stock, but I think given Ford reliability and short warranty, combined with much higher sticker price for a truck that a dealer will actually get, I’m thinking I might be better off getting a Hyundai Santa Cruz with a coated bed and lockable roll-up bed cover (expensive options on the Ford) that is better equipped with a 10-year, 100K warranty. I’m the perfect buyer for one of these vehicles, because I don’t need or want a big truck, but I love the idea of having a small bed to haul dirty stuff for all the wrenching I do (e.g., engine or transmission here or there, load of brake rotors for scrap).
23mpg combined on 191hp with the Santa Cruz 2.5L seems pretty weak to me.
I guess it depends how much you drive it.
I do like the Santa Cruz 2.5T a lot but it’s priced more like a premium car.
I still think waiting and checking out a Maverick Hybrid XLT would be a good call.
ajla, what’s the chance they’re NOT putting the 1.6 hybrid in the Santa Cruz… eventually? I don’t really like the look, but with a hybrid powertrain, I’d look at it tomorrow.
I think they’ll probably do it, but compared to the Ford 2.5H the Hyundai system is more powerful, more expensive, and less efficient. So I’m guessing it’ll be priced closer to the SC 2.5T instead of being a sub $25K bargain. Still a good option for people favoring the SC.
In the end it seems like Ford is getting a big volume home run with the Maverick while the Santa Cruz is going to end up more niche and more expensive. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the lower trims disappear from the Hyundai in the next two years.
Don’t forget the Hundai has a far more mechanically complex transmission compared to the power split device in Ford’s hybrid system.
The Santa Cruz is a nicer vehicle thus the price difference. The lower trim Mavs are, as their price shows CHEAP. They cut several corners and made them in Mexico to get the price down. No sound insulation, no cruise control, bed liner is optional.
The only reason to get a Mav is the hybrid, once you start loading up a Mav to match a SC in the higher trims the price difference disappears yet your still stuck with cheap Mav interior and less warranty.
I like the SC but I think it will only find a niche of people that want to have compact truck *and* also want to spend $36k+.
A Maverick hybrid XLT (so it has cruise control) with a bed liner, full size spare and trailer hitch works out to about $24K. It seems like a better buy compared to the lower trim SCs and I think a lot of people would rather have $10k in their pockets (or a bigger truck) versus stepping up to the turbo Hyundai.
Maybe they should do a less fancy version of the SC for Kia?
@Yankee: My 05 xB was excellent for the 7 years, 70k miles I had it. I got tired of driving a stick, and it’s a tough car to be in after 2 hours. But good for you, running one 15+ years.
Laugh? I’d buy a good condition first gen xB right now.
I think this thing is going to capture the hearts of all of those people still nursing along 15-year-old four-cylinder Rangers. Stone reliable powertrain, cheap, great gas mileage, easy to load, easy to park anywhere, perfectly capable of hauling around furniture or handyman quantities of building materials and tools.
I haven’t heard of this model until just now – but, my overall interest in vehicles has cooled substantially since my good eye went bad 4 years ago. This looks like a rather nice truck.
FWIW I traded my 2012 Impala last year for – wait for it – a 2020 Ford F-150! It’s an XL, regular cab, short bed, 2WD, 3.3L V6 automatic with a few nice upgrades. I absolutely LOVE the thing, the type of truck I’ve always wanted – AND it fits in the garage!
Anyway, I have to research this little truck some more.
First, it is nice to see a comment from you. Glad you are doing well.
Second, it’s hard to believe we are in a world now where Zackman doesn’t have an Impala.
Welcome back, mate. How are you living with a vehicle that doesn’t have roll down windows on the back doors?
Hello, guys. It’s nice to be back.
My truck only has two doors, regular or standard cab, remember those? The glass rolls down nicely, too – all the way!
I average 21.5 mpg around town and 25-25.5 on the highway, believe it or not.
I am having trouble changing my avatar…
I ordered a hybrid Maverick XLT in Area 51 with a spray in bed liner and full sized spare on July 25 and I have not heard anything except an initial email from Ford acknowledging my order. I hope my Maverick comes before May when I move out of state. For the price and its size it is the perfect truck for me especially the 42 mpgs for city driving.
Still waiting for EBFlex to come up and seal Maverick’s fate.
Regarding Ford hybrid tech it proved to be pretty reliable as well as similar Toyota technology. Ford Fusion was more popular in hybrid form than with pure ICE. I am talking about SF Bay Area, the birth place of the Church of Woke.
Glad to see this selling so well. It proves what a lot of us have been saying: That not everybody wants a pickup the size of an aircraft carrier, and that a small truck can sell. Maybe more OEMs will follow suit now.
“Ranger (which is what the Maverick should have been called)”
@Matt Posky – Just out of curiosity, if the Maverick should have been called a Ranger, what then should the Ranger have been named?
Sounds like a great question of the day.
F-100. Or perhaps the current Maverick could have been called the Courier. But the original Courier wasn’t around all that long. I prefer F-150, F-100 and Ranger.
@Steve Biro – Courier would have been perfect for the Maverick. Makes much more sense for a little trucklet.
Ford Everest Sport Trac? Ford TT 2.0?
Actually I don’t have a great answer since there aren’t a lot of great truck names to haul out of Ford’s past. It just seems too beefy to be the Ranger, whereas the Maverick seems sized, shaped, and priced to carry the torch.
I don’t like “Maverick”. “Courier” would have been perfect. “Ranchero” doesn’t fit.
While the Escape pickup is clearly a phoned in effort and “third world” cheap, it shows that, after years of Ford saying people don’t want cheap, inexpensive vehicles and there is no market for small pickups, there clearly is a market for such vehicles. Unfortunately with the Escape pickup, the execution is all wrong. When you cut corners so blatantly (like using incandescent lighting or not even offering a rear window defroster), you know long term reliability will be awful.
This “truck” also makes the equally bad Ranger pointless. With the Ranger already 9/10ths of the F-150 (and growing next year to be 9.5/10ths of a F150), why would anyone pay F150 prices and not get an F150? The Ranger doesn’t offer any better fuel economy, it’s cheap inside and out, and severely overpriced. But unlike the Escape pickup, it does have decent capability.
It has always been my understanding the Escape in standard and hybrid trim were fairly reliable. I can recall for sure riding in a clapped out Escape hybrid in San Francisco or Vegas that had some ridiculous # of miles 300k+.
Seems like the Maverick should be have decent if from a drivetrain perspective. FWIW, I have a buddy who has a Ranger, loves it. It is for sure smaller than a F150, more than 1/10 smaller.
The hybrid powertrain has been Toyota-level rock solid. EBF just likes attention.
The 2024 Maverick is on my short list to look at in 2 years. I assume supplies will loosen by then.
“It has always been my understanding the Escape in standard and hybrid trim were fairly reliable. I can recall for sure riding in a clapped out Escape hybrid in San Francisco or Vegas that had some ridiculous # of miles 300k+.”
I mean yes Toyota makes a good hybrid system. But this is not the same system that was introduced 16 years ago. Plus, there is more to a vehicle than just the powertrain. The newest Escape has very poor quality and reliability ratings. And with the massive cost cutting with the pickup version, it’s a reasonable assumption it will be far worse.
EBFlex has been informed before of the Escape Hybrid’s success as an NYC taxi (some of the most brutal conditions for any on-road vehicle in the world) but he forgets in his blind rush to hate everything Ford makes.
@dal:
Seriously, it’s like the company traumatized him. Maybe he came home from school early one day and walked in on some random Ford employee and his mom having furry sexcapades while his dad was away on business. Mom was a panda and Rando Ford Dude was a llama. The mind boggles.
Just point to the part of the doll that hurts, son.
The Maverick is a hit… a certain someone’s ire just proves it.
Some of us will pay for smaller. As mentioned the real problem is the Ranger is too big. After standing next to one in my neighborhood I took it off my list, like the F150 you need a ladder to access the bed. I’ll be getting a Santa Cruz, the Mav doesn’t impress me, its just too cheap looking and out.
Funny. When the Honda Ridgeline came out, people thought it was stupid. What you’re looking at here is a Honda Ridgeline, but slightly less ugly.
The Ridgeline started at $20k and got 35MPG combined?
You can’t even get into a Civic at $20K these days.
Owned a couple of Fords with the 2.0. Good engine. Decent power. Not buzzy like their smaller ones. Nominal torque steer. Solid mpg both city and highway. Well built. I’d take it over the hybrid even if they were both available.
The online car sellers are offering us nearly 37 grand for my sons two year old Ridgeline with 20,000 miles. So if you can buy one for 20 grand you should buy every one you can. In the real world good luck buying a new Ridgeline for under 40 grand right now. Even before Bidenflation they were over 30.
What’s Bidenflation?
That’s the anti-Biden term for the DerpConservative crowd. I mean, “Brandon” is just so…pre-Thanksgiving. Gotta keep the slogans coming.
In fairness, its the Fed’s inflation but instead of naming the enemy invariably things are devolved to red team/blue team antics.
“Brandon” will never lose momentum until the senator is removed from politics or passes away. “Deplorables” is an example of this, a five year old term coined by Hillary still in use. But after she passes (or they finally admit she has passed) it will probably die out.
“But after she passes”
I guess that’s why Bill was with Monica. No fun with a corpse… well…unless that’s your thing.
It’s what happens when billionaires who hate America put a puppet in office who has not one single worthy accomplishment in his 50 year career in politics. The early onset dementia patient then puts in place policy’s to stifle the economy in the name of public health and “Climate Emergency” while printing Trillions (yes that’s Trillions with a T) in unbacked dollars to feed the left’s pet programs and wealthy donors. For good measure open the southern border to millions of unvaccinated poor illegals and criminal cartels, totally blow the withdrawal from Afghanistan and kill a few civilians to make yourself feel better. Call self defense racism while “waiting for the facts” on actual racist who commit mass murder. But hey, at least he doesn’t send mean tweets.
O_o
A bit too much caffeine with lunch?
“For good measure open the southern border to millions of unvaccinated poor illegals and criminal cartels, totally blow the withdrawal from Afghanistan and kill a few civilians to make yourself feel better.”
I guess you don’t travel to the south very often, don’t you?
Business owners in border cities were begging the government to open the borders to vaccinated tourists because they represent up to 50% of their business’ income.
Take a drive down there, some businesses couldn’t make it after 18 months of poor sales.
There aren’t nearly 81 million billionaires, you don’t follow the senate, can’t parse the difference between a pandemics effects and the effects of attempts to mitigate the pandemic, seem not to understand our nations currency, don’t remember who negotiated our terms of withdrawal from Afghanistan, but otherwise you seem right on point.
I’ve yet to see a Maverick on the road, but I have seen two Santa Cruzes.
I saw one for the first time yesterday. It was orange and I didn’t get the best look at it as it was exiting and I didn’t want to be that guy causing a crash by not paying attention. But I did think it looked small, but only within the current mix of trucks for sale. Based on what I saw, it’s what the Colorado and Ranger should have been from the get go.
Not surprised by the Mav’s success at all. THe low base price will drive shoppers to the showroom and most buyers will gladly pay a few grand extra for the XLT with nicer trim and features. Combine that with the perfect timing for skyrocketing gas prices and who wouldn’t want a 40+ MPG, $20k pick-up with A/C and a full warranty? The 2.5L and 2.0L are well proven engines, as mentioned there are millions of Fusions and Escapes running around with that engine in Taxis and I still see them in NYPD community service in the Fusion. We own a ’16 Focus ST with the 2.0L EcoBoost, it’s been faultless in 70k miles and easily returns 25 mpg being driven hard daily by my teenage son. The tough spot is going to be for the “middle child” Ranger, as others have mentioned it’s close enough to an F-150 in size and price to make the choice between small and large easy and ignore “just right” mid-size Ranger which is easily over 40k in XLT 4×4 trim.
It looks like a Chevy. The front bar on the grill is the biggest offender. No way would I buy a first year Ford. Got burned before. Not even sure I would buy a Ford anything, but the concept is great. GM needs a competitive model.
I think we need a new Rampage. There are so many FWD utility vehicles in the worldwide Stellanis portfolio to use as donor.
Agreed, they even sell a Ram 1000 in South America based on the Fiat Toro. It’s got some Hyundai SC/Kona front end vibes with comparable length and 52″ bed size to compete.
Stellantis could fit the Cherokee’s powerplants and then it’s just a matter of picking a NA plant to avoid the chicken tax.
I have a feeling GM will be offering something similar in fairly short order.
Freed…
But if GM waited to see the high sales rate before committing to design and build, it will take 3-4 years.
GM tends to be way behind the 8 ball. FCA er Stelantis would have an easier time since they already have the Fiat Strada.
I don’t really need a pickup. I rent a small SUV 1 or 2 times a year for various tasks. However with this vehicle I keep trying to justify ways of getting one. I miss my old 93 B-2200, want good MPG, and the smoothness of a hybrid fits my typical driving slog. It certainly doesn’t hurt that exactly equipped how I want it it comes in at about 25/26k, and I can get it in a color that isn’t black, sliver, gray1, gray2, or gray3. FYI this thing is slightly shorter than the original Explorer SportTrac, but the bed is actually a little longer.
When the Maverick was first announced, I was intrigued. After reading reviews and checking out the specs, I decided that a Maverick would be our next vehicle acquisition.
Then I recently priced one on the Ford Canada website.
I wanted a ‘lower end’ model with the hybrid engine and FWD. My better half insists on heated seats and blind spot monitoring.
The MSRP for a base Maverick in Canada is $26k. However in order to get a Maverick with the options we ‘need’, the total cost including tax, prep/delivery charges is just under $40k Cdn. That sort of takes it out of my desired price point.
As Hyundai is only currently offering a ‘top end’ Santa Cruz in Canada the starting MSRP is $39k Cdn.
Ridgelines in Canada have an MSRP of just under $46k.
And for comparison, Ram 1500 Classics have a base MSRP of under $29k Cdn.
I’ve looked at prices of the Maverick, Ranger, and F150. There’s price overlap across the line.
Once “pandemic” price gouging settles down we’ll most likely go back to the pattern of year end deep discounts on less popular pickups like fleet spec regular cabs and extended cabs.
I like the looks of the Santa Cruz. It’s much better looking than the Maverick. I’ve seen one of each in the wild. Both were being driven by elderly people. That’s a plus. Appeal to the young but attract all buyers.
“Granted, those interested in more routine work would be better suited in a Ranger (which is what the Maverick should have been called)”
Ford already had a small pickup name, COURIER. It would have worked.
Also, it would have freed up the “Maverick” name to use on the Bronco Sport.