Transcription
Rev up your engines. All right. Today I'm going to talk about the Ford Maverick. Not the car, the pickup truck. They're just starting to roll them out. And as per usual, I'm going to tell you the truth. This isn't some dealer demo they sent and paid me money to say all kinds of great stuff about them. This is an actual guy in Virginia who bought it. And we're going to get the truth about it. Not lies from some company, but the truth about me analyzing it and him telling his experience so far.
If you get the base model, it's cheaper than a Model T Ford when you add inflation. Today, a Model T Ford would be about 25 grand and they start at 20. They're definitely lower priced. They are made in Mexico. They're not a full frame. They're a unibody construction like a lot of the smaller vehicles are these days. Almost all SUVs these days are unibody. They're not body on frame. And I got to say, they're a nice looking truck.
This is an XLT. This is a higher-end one. This is an all-wheel drive version, which most people are going to like for one reason. It's a permanent all-wheel drive system. Adjusts itself with computers. So, you're going to get the best handling. Now, interestingly enough, the cheaper Mavericks, they're only front-wheel drive. And you might think, front-wheel drive, pickup truck, pickup trucks are rear-wheel drive. No, their theory is completely different. Got a lot better gas mileage with front-wheel drive than rear-wheel drive. It's more efficient. There's less power loss between the transmission and the wheels. And two, they handle a whole lot better. You get in an average rear-wheel drive pickup truck. They spin all over the place, especially in the snow and wet roads. Front-wheel drive is better. These things actually handle a lot better with just the front-wheel drive. And of course, this is all-wheel drive, so it handles even better.
Now, that choice is up to you. Do you want to spend extra for all-wheel drive? Are you happy with front-wheel drive? If you're one of those guys that's going out in the woods, in the country, on dirt roads, mud, maybe you live where it snows and sleets a lot, the all-wheel drive is going to be more for you. All-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, it doesn't matter in the snow. The more important thing is your tires. If you're really going in snow, you have to ditch these tires and put more aggressive snow tires on. These are all-season tires. They're Continental tires. They're good tires. But realize another thing. Let's say you brought the front-wheel drive only version. You can get away with just buying front-wheel drive snow tires and drive it perfectly fine. If you got an all-wheel drive system, all four wheels have to have the same exact tires on them because of the design of the all-wheel drive system or it will wear things out faster. If you're thinking all-wheel drive, think you also got to buy four snow tires in the winter, all the same. Where you could get away with just snow tires on the front if you go for front-wheel drive. In the long run, it's going to be a lot cheaper with a front-wheel drive.
Now, these things come with a bunch of different engines, but this is the XLT. So, some strange reason, you got to pull it twice. I don't know, maybe they think their clientele is dumb and they're going to pull it driving down the road, so they got to do it twice. Well, whatever. It's a four-cylinder engine, and as you can see, here's a high-pressure pump. It's an EcoBoost engine. It's got gasoline direct injection. It puts out some decent horsepower. Now, it doesn't put out the 191 combined horsepower if you had bought the hybrid version because that's got a gasoline and an electric motor. That one puts out 191 horsepower. This engine puts out 250 horsepower. You get a lot more horsepower.
Now, that's where you got to decide what do you want to buy. Do you want to get a conventional four-cylinder engine with 250 horsepower? Or do you want to get a hybrid one that has an Atkinson cycle engine that's more complex, nobody knows how to work on them, and an electric motor, which is much more complex to get a total of 191 horsepower. Truthfully, I'd probably go for this engine. You're going to get better gas mileage out of the hybrid, of course. Average over 30 miles a gallon. This particular one on his trip, he said he got about 25 miles a gallon. Not bad for a pickup truck that's got 250 horsepower. You know, there's nothing wrong with that at all. But if you're the person who wants more gas mileage, then you'd want to go with the hybrid version 'cause you're going to get better gas mileage with the hybrid. There's no arguing that. Now, as it stands today, at least with the list price, you'd pay 2,2500 bucks more for the hybrid than you would for this. But let's face it, it's a pickup truck. Americans want a little bit of power in their pickup trucks. Most people will probably be a lot happier having 250 horsepower and losing a little bit of the gas mileage because they're going to be able to pull more realistically in the real world. You know, the ratings don't mean anything. You can rate things all kinds of ways. With 250 horsepower, you're going to be able to carry more and pull more. That's just the way that it is in the real world.
It's pretty well laid out. Easy to work on. There's the spark plugs. There's the fuel pump. There's a lot of working room if you need to do anything in the future. And as you can see when we go underneath, you really can't see anything because it's got all this plastic crap, but it is all-wheel drive. There's the drive shaft for the front. And when we go to the back, there's the differential. And you can see there's a lot of Ford technology in this. We got a lot of aluminum parts for less weight. Got a decent suspension system in the back, too. It's modernized. It's not just a plain old solid axle. They're independent suspension and the CV shaft coming out of both sides. It's not rough and tumble like an old solid axle just going straight to the wheels where they don't ride all that well. And you can see, like I said, it's unibody construction, all one piece welded together. Sort of like a frame here, you know, but it's all connected and welded together. It doesn't unbolt. And yes, for truck lovers everywhere, it still has a spare tire. A real spare tire, not some baby spare tire, something you can actually use in an emergency. It's a low-price truck, but it's still got discs in the back and discs in the front. Got a reasonable amount of room with four doors. He's a smart man. He's got a fire extinguisher in here. Quite a bit of room.
Now, it is an economy car, so it doesn't have the old Ford sliding window. You know, you'd have to add that extra yourself. Let's start it up. It's a bit shorter than me. So now they're economy car. So you got a hand slide. What the heck? It works as good as anything else. And it won't break either. So check it out. It's actually got a key. I like keys. Keys are harder to steal. Easier to work on. Sure, it's got a smaller screen, but it's an economy vehicle and there's still a reasonable amount of stuff on it. Man, these electronic transmissions, but what can you do? That's how they make them these days. And well, first we got to turn the parking brake off 'cause it's electronic parking brake. I'm not a fan of it either, but the first thing I notice is I put it in gear. It's not shaking at all. Got a pretty good backup camera. Look, it's gonna keep me from running into the neighbor's mailbox again. Put it back in drive and take off.
Now, the first thing you notice, it's a little pickup truck, but it's reasonably high up in the air. And yes, they are made in Mexico. But on this particular one, I got to say, I'm pretty impressed by the quality 'cause as we take a corner here, I don't hear any creaking or rattling, and it actually rides quite smooth. Now, I've read all about these, but it's the first one I've driven, and I do have to say it handles much better than any little bitty pickup truck I've ever been in. Granted, this is an all-wheel drive version that's set up to handle quite well. But from what I read about the front-wheel drive ones, they also handle quite well. Anybody out there got a front-wheel drive one? Hey, I'd like to compare it. This is the four-cylinder 2-liter. Ford's been making it for quite some time. We're coming up to the stop sign. Let's hit the brakes. Stops perfectly fine. No problems at all. We'll take it out in the country where pickup trucks belong. Step on the gas. It's got some pickup. That EcoBoost engine now. Yeah, it's going to shift a little funky. These transmissions are always a little laggy. That's just how they are. But let's get to our little drag race here. Ready? We got it in normal. Let's go. It starts to go pretty good. Not a race truck, but hey, it is all-wheel drive. And all-wheel drive vehicles aren't made to peel out and stuff. They're made for control and handling. Quite well designed, I got to say. For a little pickup truck, it's one of the best handling ones I've ever tried out.
Now, as you can see here, this particular one has 3600 miles on it. It's built now. And as it stands, I'm kind of impressed by it. No one knows what's going to happen to these things over time 'cause they just came out. Realize that. And they are all made in Mexico. Realize that, too. I've seen Toyota Tacomas that were built in Mexico that were 12 years old, had 250,000 miles on them, and they still ran like clocks. So, hey, you never know. It really does handle quite well and it rides on this bumpy road. It rides quite smoothly for a little pickup truck. They do have the suspension of this thing sorted out quite well. Here comes some twisties. We'll try them out. We'll speed up a little even though we're supposed to slow down and we'll see how it handles in the twisties. I got to say, you know, it's not particularly over or under steering. Dry pavement. I wish it was pouring rain now. Then we can see what it does in the pouring rain. I would assume it would do pretty good. And again, it might be a four-cylinder truck, but hey, slam the brakes on. It's got the shut off. I don't like the auto shut off, but they do that for gas mileage. Not a fan. Not a fan. Now we'll step on the gas. It starts itself up again. I just find that stuff annoying myself because contrary to what anybody says, if you keep starting and stopping your engine, you're going to wear things out. The battery will wear out, the starter will wear out, the engine bearings will wear out, the timing chain will wear out. Not a smart idea. I do not like that start-stop technology, but a lot of companies are going for that to get EPA ratings, blah blah blah. So, what can you do about that? Me, I just don't like it. I'm not a fan of brand new vehicles made from scratch 'cause who knows what kind of problems they're going to have. But I got to say, it's got some good designs to it. It's got a nice strong engine. It's decent gas mileage for a pickup truck. He got about 25 miles a gallon driving from Virginia to Tennessee. It's got good enough zip and very responsive handling for a little pickup truck. That's the thing I got so far, the suspension and the handling. Let's just hope it doesn't end up like the mid-2000s Corvettes that I analyzed and said, "Boy, these are great cars, but you know, it's a new car. Let's see if they have any problems." Then the wheels were breaking and the automatic transmissions went out on all those Corvettes and they're trying to fix them all. On the plus side of Ford, the transmission's been out a while, so that stuff isn't new. New new in the suspension and the body, I think they got it pretty well sorted out. I can't see why their bushings would break and the wheels fall off or anything. You know, it looks solid made. That aspect of it, I got to say, it's once I got in it and drove it, I'm impressed.
You got to realize that is an economy pickup truck. When you step on the gas, sounds more like a motorboat engine, not making big roaring noises. It's an economy pickup truck, though. I suppose Americans will start ripping off the exhaust systems and put noisier ones on. Americans are always into doing that kind of stuff. I mean, that's what I did with my Triumph motorcycle. Truthfully, when I bought it, it's a 2011. It sounded like a lawn mower 'cause it had the full mufflers. So, at the shop I bought it from, I said, "Hey," I bought a used one. I said, "I see your new one has those little shorty mufflers. Take those off of that and put them on this used one, and I'll buy it." So, he did, and I bought it, and I like the sound. So, you'll always be able to modify that kind of stuff if you want, if you're into that. It is an EcoBoost engine. The purity of your oil is the absolute biggest thing. You want to change your oil a lot in one of these things. Now, interestingly, see, they want these things to last. So, they suggest 5W30. Now, they weren't stupid in that suggestion. You see a lot of cars these days, they say 0W10, very light oil. They know this is a truck. They know people are going to abuse it. So they designed it to use a slightly heavier oil. Now my advice is get the 5W30 full synthetic, the GF6 oil. Now, some of the GF6 oils are only for zero W16. You don't buy that. But they also make 5W30. Use the GF6 oil. It was designed for these EcoBoost engines so that the turbocharger doesn't wear out. That's lubricated by the engine oil. And so that the valve train, the variable valve timing doesn't wear out, that you got clean oil. The most important thing on these is change the oil. I don't care what anybody says. I bought one of these. I would change the oil every 5,000 miles or once a year. I wouldn't care unless you did all kinds of highway driving, which is like 10% of city driving. Then if you did nothing but highway driving, you could change it every 10,000 easily or once a year and you wouldn't have to care about that. But normal city driving, you'd want to change it about every 5,000. Oil is cheap. Engines cost a fortune. And as you can see, all modern engines have a lot of plastic on it. You don't want to chance ruining stuff just because your oil was dirty.
So what do I think? Well, I'm not a fortune teller. So only time will tell if these things hold up. You don't know. Hey, they might just all fall apart when they're 3 years old. I don't know. Who the heck knows? But if this succeeds, it could be another Model T for Ford since the base model's cheaper than a Model T with inflation. Kind of a radical idea. A pickup truck that actually gets good gas mileage but rides quite well. And I really have to accentuate that. This thing rides quite well for a pickup truck, even for a car. I'll tell you right now, that thing rides 10 times better than this Matrix. Mind you, it's an '07 Matrix. It's got a motorcycle-type suspension in the back. It corners like a dream. This would corner a lot faster for sure. But the smoothness of the ride of that truck, most people like a smooth ride, and this thing certainly has it. Plus, it's got four doors. You can fit a bunch of people in it. Regular people could sit in the back. And look, they made a nice big window, so you get a decent view, too. You can carry quite a bit. Of course, it's a small bed. It's a small truck. It's not a full-size bed, but you could still carry quite a bit. They're not particularly made for towing. And he's waiting on the hitch. They don't have them yet. Now, with the towing package, the 2-liter EcoBoost engine can pull 4,000 lbs. That's what they're rated for. You could do more if you're going slow or something, but that's a reasonable amount for a small truck just to pull stuff around. Let's face it, you don't buy a small truck to pull things around all that much.
Now, the owner just informed me he has no complaints at all. And I have to say, if I got on this thing, I don't have any serious complaints. Like I said, I don't like the electronic transmission controls and all that electronic crap, electronic parking brakes. I just don't like that stuff because I'm the guy who has to fix them and they're a pain in the butt to fix. In terms of driving, gas mileage, how it looks, how it stops, rides. I gotta say, I'm impressed. Now, maybe time will make a fool of me. We'll find out that oh boy, those things they made in Mexico, what clunkers they were. Time will tell. Time told on the Model T Ford when they first came out, they had glitches here and there, but they ironed it out and sold millions of them. So, if they end up selling millions of these things, it proves that they had a pretty good idea. Turning the Maverick into my favorite old car. I had a '70s Maverick with a three on the tree and then to a small pickup truck that rides about 10,000 times better than my old Maverick car did. It was a nugget in the snow. It was rear-wheel drive, just spun around. Could be a very good thing that Ford came out with if they hold up over time. So stay tuned and see what old man time has to say about it in the future. So, if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos, remember to ring that bell. [Music]