Maverick hybrid is a serious sipper, Bentley goes sideways, Tesla forecasts 1M annual units

[Hagerty]

Intake: EPA testing results for the Ford Maverick's standard hybrid drivetrain have returned some seriously impressive numbers, and not just for a pickup truck. The Maverick hybrid is good for an EPA-estimated 42 miles per gallon city and 33 mpg highway, netting out to 37 mpg combined.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/the-manifold/2021-10-21/

[hyperv6]

Just don’t expect to tow anything. 

[Air_and_Water]

With the hybrid? No, not really. With the tow package in the turbo you can tow 4,000 lb. and that's pretty good for what it is. Personally I'd go for the hybrid. I could use 40 mpg more than I need towing or AWD.

It's almost the perfect vehicle for me. If it sat a little lower and had a manual transmission it'd be perfect, but I have no delusions about that kind of thing ever happening.

[Tim]

It can tow whatever it was designed for. Think of those little flatbeds you see at Home Depot or Lowe's--the ones that are good for maybe 1,500 pounds. If one's thought of "towing" involves a 21-foot boat or camper, this was never the right vehicle for the job. As described in the article, "weekend gardeners and such who want enhanced hauling capabilities without the need for an unwieldy full- or mid-size pickup" seems to be the target demographic.

No need for an F-150 to haul that flat screen from Costco. Or the couch or refrigerator or a ton of other things. The great idea about the Maverick is that during the 98% of the time it's not being used as a truck, it's getting good enough gas mileage to not worry about it not being used as a truck. I can't say the same about our F-150 getting 15-17 MPG.

[hyperv6]

This truck requires the turbo to tow as Ford removed the option from the Hybrid. 

the bed is small in this truck and very limited to size it will haul even with the gate down. 

[MarveH]

It is a SMALL truck designed to replace a small or midsized car or SUV. And it has a bed which is far more practical than an SUV because the Maverick can haul a 4X8 sheet of plywood.
I would look at the basiest, base, base model I can find as I don't need heated and cooled steering wheel or seats. If the vehicle has AC I'm good to go.

[JGeske]

You mean like the vast majority of truck owners who never tow? Strategic Vision did a survey of 250,000 truck owners in 2019 and some of the results are as follows:

75% reported towing 1 or 0 times annually (and one can assume that of the remaining 25%, some tow small trailers only such as a single ATV trailer or a small 10-14ft fishing boat, not everyone owns a 35+ft camper or fifth wheel).

70% of respondents go off-road 1 or 0 times annually.

35% of respondents hauled a large load in the bed 1 or 0 times annually.

So what we see is that a significant portion of truck owners own a truck for the same reason one owns a fast car: to project an image. Most Corvette and Mustang owners don't race on weekends, and apparently most truck owners neither tow or off-road at Moab (despite what they like to claim on the internet). The Maverick (and the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Honda Ridgeline) is aimed at those who are realistic about their needed capability, are not buying to satisfy their ego, and would like a place to put wet or dirty cargo instead of in the carpeted back of a crossover.

Now, I will admit, some of those that only towed 1 time a year (or 2 to 3 times) may on that 1 time tow something that is over the limit of the Maverick, but if those people stopped to think for a moment, for the literal thousands of dollars they would save on the initial purchase, gas, insurance, etc over 3-5 years of owning a Maverick vs say an F150, they could rent a larger truck for that 1 tow a year and be saving money.

[JGeske]

Out of curiousity, I went to AutoTrader and did a search for New Mavericks and New F150s within a 200 mile radius of my location. I then sorted the lists to look at the most expensive Maverick and cheapest F150 (crew cabs to keep this equal) in that radius. The most expensive Maverick was an AWD for $37,000. The cheapest F150 was a 2021 XL for $42,500. So, we are starting with a worst case savings of $5,500 in price, and likely more if we were comparing comparable trims (lowest trim to lowest trim, vs this example which is highest to lowest).

The fuel economy of the AWD Maverick is 26 combined mpg (and remember gets better with the cheaper hybrid model), and the F150 as spec'd for the XL was 20 combined mpg. Using the average from the USDOT and FHWA of 13,476 miles driven annually by Americans, the Maverick would consume 518 gallons of fuel in 1 year, the F150 674 gallons, so the Maverick uses 156 fewer gallons per year (and again even less gallons if the hybrid). Regular unleaded here in northern Wisconsin is $3.10 a gallon, assuming it stayed there for 1 year, the Maverick would cost $483 less in fuel for 1 year of operation.

So in year 1 I would save a minimum of $5893 by getting a loaded Maverick with its worst fuel economy (the AWD turbo). Assuming the gas price stayed constant, I would save an additional $483 annually. I can currently rent an F150 XL for $139 per day at my nearest Enterprise. So I could rent an F150 XL for 3.5 days to tow a camper for the cost of the fuel savings in 1 year of owning the Maverick, and I would still have $5500 more in my savings account (not to mention saved interest on the vehicle loan due to lower principal balance).

[JGeske]

One final note, I do not post the above to in any way knock truck ownership for trucks of any size. I personally own a mid-sized truck as I need to haul muddy dogs, camping gear, 2 mountain bikes, and landscaping materials on a fairly regular basis (1-2 weekends each month) and the bed is way better for this than the back of a minivan or SUV/CUV.

I tow trailers less than 10 times annually (and I only count hauling my camper to the campsite in the spring and back in the fall as 1 trip, as it is a round trip split into 2), but am realistic about my needs. The camper is my heaviest trailer and, if maxed out on cargo with full tanks, tips the scale at only 3900lbs (2020 Coleman Lantern LT 17b for any curious). The rest of my trailering needs are a 17ft Lund boat (2800lbs for boat/motor/trailer) and a 5x8 aluminum trailer for various things, including hauling my Honda Pioneer 1000. So I need a truck for the bed, but realistically, I could actually pull my camper with the Maverick or almost any 3 row CUV such as Pilot, Highlander, Atlas, etc.

I think truck owners in general just need to be realistic about what they are going to do, and what capability they need. If you plan to do a lot of off-roading, but little towing, get a Tacoma. Hauling a 5th wheel or gooseneck regularly but not off-roading, get a 3/4 ton. Hitting dunes on the weekend, get a Raptor. In my case, light towing fewer than 10 round trips annually, trips to the home improvement center, weekend excursions to bike/boat/tent camp, and otherwise commuting to work 3 miles a day 5 days a week. I bought the Honda Ridgeline, as it was suited to my needs. If I had a popup camper instead of the bunkhouse, saving some weight, I would probably get the Maverick, as the city manners and fuel economy are what I need 90% of the time. If I ever get a larger camper, I will likely look at a 1/2 ton with decent fuel economy, such as a diesel GMC Sierra 1500 or equivalent.

[JohnU71]

Just picked up my Maverick today in the same color but with the 2L ecoboost and 4000lb tow package. What a great vehicle and inexpensive. They will sell like hotcakes!

[dcx]

A hybrid is 100 times more practical for most people than a pure BEV. 220V outlet not required, fill up in five minutes, no losing half my range in the dead of winter.

[Air_and_Water]

Nice. I didn't realize they were at the dealers yet.

[Tim]

Looks like the same color as Area 51 on the Bronco. Is that what it's called on the Maverick?

[JohnU71]

Yes same color. Looks better in person than in photos

[fredwhyzer]

The electric Thunderbird will chew the tires off the new Vette and spit them on the Chevy's windshield. Both cars are "look-at-me" weekend drivers. One will just be faster. Way to go Ford.

[Tim]

Where is this electric T-bird of which you speak? Would love to read about it.

[ClifT]

I expect better reporting from Haggerty. Tesla has NOT claimed to have manufactured over a million cars in a year.
The exact quote is that they "were able to achieve an annualized production run rate of over one million cars towards the end of the quarter." That may only mean that production rose to almost 20,000 cars during the last week of September.
A quick search at Tesla.com instantly reveals that actual production by quarter this year has been 180k, 200k and 230k. That's barely over 600,000 cars so far this year - an impressive performance, but clearly not a million cars a year.

[Sajeev]

I agree with your statement and I have made adjustments to the article accordingly.  Thank you for your correction. 

[Dave404]

Why compare to the Silverado when the long standing king of efficiency is the Canyon and Colorado Duramax Diesel?

[CoreyG]

As someone who actually needs a vehicle that tows, I would say to everyone who says just rent something, most general rent a car places have verbage in the contract that specifically says you are not to do that. And if your familiar with towing larger heavy loads like a camper, big boat, enclosed car trailer you need a brake controller which not many rentals will have, the newer fords more commonly do have them build in but many fleet vehicle managers try and get trucks without them. I do agree this will tick many boxes for people who want utility, and hybrid systems should be standard on any large personal crossover, truck or suv as they waste so much fuel in the stop and go if you just have that battery power to deal with the low speed and the flexibility and power of a gas engine for long haul and hauling its really the best of both worlds. ICE have evolved, fuel injection, direct injection VVT, etc etc and Hybrid is simply the next step.

[Rick2]

As soon as the Maverick is available with two doors and a longer bed I will be heading to the local Ford dealer!

[Mogowner]

A Bentley going sideways is nothing new. Youtube has a good film of a Continental really going for it on a Welsh rally stage--worth watching, most impressive.

[GRP_Photo]

I would buy the Ford next year if they offered the old-fashioned "extended cab" option. I have no use for a crew cab.

[mfp4073]

Regarding (exhaust) comment about the fuel mileage "Fords decision to stop selling small cars in America makes a bit more sense." Think not! Why not put fuel efficiency in a sleek stylish small sports car? Sweeping beautiful body lines about the size of a solstice or Fiero. Super low drag coefficient. Getting 60 m.p.g. or there about with that tweeked Maverick system.. Now that makes sense!

[SAG]

I owned a Ford Maverick [x2],
Didn't look anything like this??

[SAG]

Have a '78 VW Scirocco
that still gets 38mpg.
& its "tweeked up, but still has the 'factory Fuel injection'.

New cars bragging.
Ha