Scotty,
Im looking at buying myself a new ford maverick but am not sure what engine to get. I put on a lot of traveling miles to work everyday, but it’s mostly highway driving with a little in town driving. What engine would preform best the 2.0 turbo or the 2.5 hybrid as I’ve only heard that hybrids are good for stop and go traffic, and not long distance.
Thanks,
Jake
I’ve only heard that hybrids are good for stop and go traffic, and not long distance.
Generally modern hybrids are good at both, much better economy than a petrol with similar driving characteristics.
Ford Maverick
It’s built on the same platform and shares most of its parts with the European Ford Focus.
It’s based on a small European market family car, has nothing to do with ford’s other trucks or trucks in general.
Thats not a good thing considering how mediocre and of bellow-average reliability other cars on the same platform have generally been.
2.5 Hybrid
According to a review on Youtube the Maverick hybrid does about 38MPG (if you hyper-mile 53MPG HWY, 48 MIXED, 60 MAX)
Although the initial build quality, efficiency and warranty seem good ( 8 year / 100k mile warranty on "Hybrid components")
I do not know if it includes the Atkinson engine and the e-CVT gearbox, and the general reliability is unknown.
Ford previous attempts (with ZF) at CVT gearboxes, both regular and hybrid, have been not good at all.
Same with the 2.5L Atkinson, IMO Ford does not have a good reputation with trying to build futuristic engines.
I'd REALLY suggest waiting a few years before buying one - it could, like any other new powertrain, be a disaster.
2.0 turbo
The 2.0L with the 8 speed automatic transmission, is the same powertrain as the European 4th gen Ford Focus.
So far I haven't herd much positive things about the mk4 Focus,
it's 8 speed automatic is based on GMs 9 speed (and those don't have a great reputation)
And we all know how 'great' EcoBooms have been in the past, especially smaller ones.
So I wouldn't expect it to be reliable in the long term.
I put on a lot of traveling miles to work everyday, but it’s mostly highway driving with a little in town driving.
I'd recommend buying a Prius (Toyota offers most hybrids nowadays with a 150k mile warranty on Hybrid components).
A Corolla Cross hybrid probably will offer a superior experience, SUVs are really nice to commute in.
If gas prices aren't really critical to you (the difference on the highway is about 13MPG-18MPG so it's not that much),
you can get a regular Corolla or Corolla Cross petrols and they're also excellent reasonably inexpensive cars.
As far as the question, probably neither engine option.
My recommendation is to avoid the Maverick for at least another three-four years
(until it'll be clear if it's any good.)
The Maverick is not a good truck and it's most likely a worse car to commute in than most others,
I just don't see a good reason to buy an unproven lifted Ford Focus Active without the boot. I'd avoid it.
Nice summary
Thanks for the information it’s really appreciated. I am just in the market for a work truck and considered the Maverick as an option.
I’m also a little brand loyal to Ford.
Do you think Ford will be loyal in return?
Dealership practices and the way they treat customers absolutely stinks.
They gave the Maverick contract to Mexico.
You make a good point. Any suggestions then about a solid work truck? Taking all brands into account.
It depends on your business requirements and budget
Say, $40,000 max and a truck that can haul materials and still get decent mileage on longer trips.
what kind of material? Duck feathers and hay, or excavators and landscaping boulders?
You can forget about mileage. We're talking about work trucks. You charge the fuel back to the customer.
Hauling plywood and building materials.
OK that still doesn't tell me anything. A few sheets or a whole lift?
You really need to know the weight you're going to be carrying. Trucks are sold by their weight capacity.
I would probably go with a Tundra or GM 2500 pickup but then you're talking closer to $100k, so maybe a used one.
Tacoma doesn't have a full size bed, and 1/2 ton pickups are not the greatest.
A 2.5L engine for work is a joke.
Ok that helps, for weight it would only be likely a few sheets of plywood and mostly carrying deck boards and such at various lengths. I guess I got more to consider than I thought.
Why are you even considering a Ford Maverick? Just curious with about 50 or so better choices out there.
I am in the market for a work truck and considered the maverick as an all rounder almost with mileage and the fact it’s a truck. I’m also a little brand loyal to Ford.
Any suggestions then about a solid work truck?
Depends on what you plan on using it for (towing, bed size, etc.) but I would suggest the Toyota Tacoma; it's much better than Ford in my opinion.
Thanks for the input, I’ll take a look at the tacomas.
You're welcome. Given your further explanation I think you'll want to consider the Tundra instead as it offers bigger bed sizes compared to the Tacoma, unless if the Tacoma bed sizes are enough for your needs.
Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll take them into account.
Any suggestions then about a solid work truck?
The Maverick 2.5L has a towing capacity of 2,000 lbs.
(That's only 200 lbs more than my tiny city crossover with all of 100hp and 98 pound-feet... and only 500 over a CVT Prius)
So I assume you need a simple light truck...
Consider a Tacoma although they're quite expensive (about the same as a Frontier or a Ranger)
or maybe "commercial" GM truck, The Colorado is based on the previous generation Isuzu D-Max. And you can option a 4WD Extended Cab, Long Box with a 4 cylinder (sadly it's a GM engine, not a commercial generator / heavy equipment engine put in a car as Isuzu does) and a 6 speed auto (avoid the 8 speed, they're nightmares - there's currently a class action about it) for under $30k.
Maybe other forum members know more about it.
BUT at that price you can already get a F-150 so I just really don't know... Maybe a base model F-150?
As InThrustWeTrust said, the Nissan Frontier is also possibly a good option - but I'd recommend going only for previous generation used ones after the market goes back to normal.
(made after 2009/2010 as before that they seem to have had issues where ATF mixes with coolant and totals the transmission. New ones don't really make sense as they're high-tech and cost the same as a Tacoma)
Maybe the Maverick isn't too bad IF the hybrid warranty has good coverage, it's really just too new to know.
It's a shame they don't sell the Mitsubishi Triton, Isuzu D-Max diesel and the Toyota Hilux in the US - all of those have a reputation for lasting a million kilometers...
Thanks for the ideas, it really helps getting a second opinion.