Ford Maverick

[Jeff H]

I would bet that 99% of the pickup truck driving population has very little need for 4WD. Certainly some folks do but most don't. And the added weight and expense is a negative.

I'd say 99% of the people driving pickup trucks don't even need a TRUCK, let alone 4WD.

I see many, many trucks on the road and very, very few being used as a truck. They're as much a status thing as anything. They come with so many plush, posh options that they are more comfy than an older Cadillac. I really don't see hoe people can afford them, especially when all they do with them is drive to and from work in it.

I personally don't need a truck and I haul firewood, logs, lumber, rocks, hay, straw, building materials, scrap, etc. I can drive my little Cherokee station wagon anywhere I need to all week, but then back it up to a trailer and suddenly have a 1-ton truck. My Cherokees are about like @CWLONGSHOT 's vehicles though and for the same reason.

Trouble is - I do not see an even remotely attractive alternative in anything newer.

 

[Bret4207]

I live in the Great White North. You don't necessarily need 4wd, you need real snow tires (skinny with lots of snow tread and studs, maybe even chains) and you need to be able to say, "Nope, not going out in this." And if you have to, you need to know how to drive. Never had a 4WD Troop car in 20+ years and never had an excuse of not being able to get there. I've handled hundreds of accidents with people in 4WD's who simply didn't know how to drive in snow. 4WD is handy and it will enable you to get further off the road before becoming hopelessly mired. Where 4WD really comes in is on hills in the snow and ice IF you have the right tires. It's all about traction. A 4WD with "all season radials" will make it 30 feet further than the the same vehicle w/o 4WD IME. With the right tires, it's another story. My F350 4WD came with monster mud tires on it. They suck in snow, but no one makes fat snow tires, actually no one makes REAL snow tires anymore for modern vehicles. The reason we got around for decades with 2 WD Troop cars was because of Firestone Town and Country or Goodyear F-32 tires. When we couldn't get them anymore things got tougher. You can still get the old style snows but only in sizes for things like Jeep CJ's and older pickups/cars. When is the last time you saw a 6.50-15 snow tire?

The late 80's/early 90's Toyota pickups with the 5 speed and 22R were, without doubt, the pinnacle of small truck excellence. I drove all the others and owned or drove S-10's, Nissans, LUV's, D-50's, etc. Nothing comes up to the Toy's of that era. I hauled 100-150 40 lbs bales of hay on a ho'made flatbed trailer out of the St Lawrence Valley and into the Adirondacks for several years, 12 months out of the year, with a 91 Toy with a 22R and 5 speed. Most people would even try that with a "real" 1/2 ton domestic truck. It was slow on the hills but it did the job. Today no one would try it with out at least a 3/4 ton pickup and those I see doing the same today usually have dually 1 ton diesels!

My mind is made up on few things, 2 of them being the superiority of FN cast bullets on flesh and Toy PU's from the period I stated!

 

[462]

I'd say 99% of the people driving pickup trucks don't even need a TRUCK, let alone 4WD.

I see many, many trucks on the road and very, very few being used as a truck. They're as much a status thing as anything. They come with so many plush, posh options that they are more comfy than an older Cadillac. I really don't see hoe people can afford them, especially when all they do with them is drive to and from work in it.

That, sir, is one of life's unqualified facts.

And I thought it was a local phenomenon.

I was going to post along the same line, but your wordsmithing is lightyears beyond mine.

 

[Michael]

Lifted 4x4s, gas or diesel, $2k in rims, with highway tread, what the hell for. Ok, so yours is bigger, ain't that special.

Don't get me started.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Driving in snow is one of those dying skills.

I couldn’t agree with Bret more. Skinny tires, the correct tread, and a driver that knows what he/she is doing, will get the job done in snow.

4WD goes better in snow/ice but it doesn’t stop or turn any better. Like the line in Steve Earl’s “The Devil's Right Hand”, it can get you into trouble, but it can’t get you out.

Edit - I quoted the wrong Steve Earl song, Thumbcocker correctly pointed this out and I've made the correction. Thanks

 

[richhodg66]

I believe that line is from "The Devil's Right Hand".

 

[JustJim]

I'm a fan of the small trucks (my '87 Toyota lasted me ~250k miles). I still have a '92 S10, I'm just tired of the repairs needed so it is parked til I get around to it. My recent choice for a needed truck was an '89 K1500--but I would have jumped at the chance to have a decent small truck with an 8' bed.

A friend has a Maverick, so I've ridden in it a few times and driven it once or twice. I think it is a hybrid (didn't like it enough to check). I don't like the transmission being a knob on the dash, having to constantly hunt around to find things, etc. (I've never liked change for the sake of novelty.)

The cab seriously lacks room: it felt like a "luxurious" version of a Suzuki Samurai with a bit more headroom (I'd rather have the Samurai).

Less room in the box than a 1st gen Jeep Cherokee. If you leave the tailgate down, and tie everything down more securely than any Nebraska farmer ever has (and I include myself in that number), you can haul 8' sheet goods (but not drywall--hit a bump and they break at the end of the tailgate--DAMHIKT). It could use more cargo ties for the folks who want to cruise around with their kayaks sticking out of the box. If you usually have a mostly-empty box, it might work for you.

But for most drivers of pickups today, it would work fine. Once they get the kinks worked out, if they brought out an extended cab version (maybe 18" longer than a regular 2-door cab), I could see getting one to replace my commuter car.

 

[RicinYakima]

This talk of the new Maverick and the 'offerings' of other manufacturers make me think you are looking to buy a new or near new vehicle? I ask this, Because there are plenty of vintage simple small trucks with low miles and in good condition being offered. While I rarely look for them, I spend 5 minutes searching locally, and seen a real nice '93 toyota reg cab short bed 4 cyl 5sp with 56Kmi for under $10K...fresh listing [yesterday] on FB marketplace.

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Low miles? I have not seen a truck of any kind, except a rebuilt wreak, with less than 150,000 miles in ten years!

 

[RicinYakima]

I live in the Great White North. You don't necessarily need 4wd, you need real snow tires (skinny with lots of snow tread and studs, maybe even chains) and you need to be able to say, "Nope, not going out in this." And if you have to, you need to know how to drive. Never had a 4WD Troop car in 20+ years and never had an excuse of not being able to get there. I've handled hundreds of accidents with people in 4WD's who simply didn't know how to drive in snow. 4WD is handy and it will enable you to get further off the road before becoming hopelessly mired. Where 4WD really comes in is on hills in the snow and ice IF you have the right tires. It's all about traction. A 4WD with "all season radials" will make it 30 feet further than the the same vehicle w/o 4WD IME. With the right tires, it's another story. My F350 4WD came with monster mud tires on it. They suck in snow, but no one makes fat snow tires, actually no one makes REAL snow tires anymore for modern vehicles. The reason we got around for decades with 2 WD Troop cars was because of Firestone Town and Country or Goodyear F-32 tires. When we couldn't get them anymore things got tougher. You can still get the old style snows but only in sizes for things like Jeep CJ's and older pickups/cars. When is the last time you saw a 6.50-15 snow tire?

The late 80's/early 90's Toyota pickups with the 5 speed and 22R were, without doubt, the pinnacle of small truck excellence. I drove all the others and owned or drove S-10's, Nissans, LUV's, D-50's, etc. Nothing comes up to the Toy's of that era. I hauled 100-150 40 lbs bales of hay on a ho'made flatbed trailer out of the St Lawrence Valley and into the Adirondacks for several years, 12 months out of the year, with a 91 Toy with a 22R and 5 speed. Most people would even try that with a "real" 1/2 ton domestic truck. It was slow on the hills but it did the job. Today no one would try it with out at least a 3/4 ton pickup and those I see doing the same today usually have dually 1 ton diesels!

My mind is made up on few things, 2 of them being the superiority of FN cast bullets on flesh and Toy PU's from the period I stated!

Everything Bret said out here in the mountainous west also.

 

[richhodg66]

I would likely buy that Toyota JonB mentioned if it were local though that price is pretty high. I have only ever owned one 4x4 truck, and frankly, don't see a need. I have rarely gotten stuck, and even this little one I have now does OK getting me to work (and I live half a mile off any road I can ex[ect to be plowed quickly) in a few pretty heavy snows we've had. For purposes of hunting and such, I'm really not afraid to walk, so the 4WD thing doesn't really mean much to me.

 

[RicinYakima]

I would likely buy that Toyota JonB mentioned if it were local though that price is pretty high. I have only ever owned one 4x4 truck, and frankly, don't see a need. I have rarely gotten stuck, and even this little one I have now does OK getting me to work (and I live half a mile off any road I can ex[ect to be plowed quickly) in a few pretty heavy snows we've had. For purposes of hunting and such, I'm really not afraid to walk, so the 4WD thing doesn't really mean much to me.

I have three friends that I have coffee with; in the winter you can't get up their drive ways without 4X4. That is the reason SUV's out sell sedans ten to one in my county.

 

[Rick H]

It is a whole new world in PU trucks. The 2024 Chevy Silverado full size PU comes standard with a 4 cyl. engine, turbo charged to be sure but a 4.
I currently drive a Chevy Colorado, it has a 306 hp. V-6 normally aspirated engine and the curb weight is 4007lbs. dry. My 77 Ford F150 V-8 automatic weighed 3600lbs and it had an 8' bed. My point is the "intermediate sized trucks are bigger/heavier/more powerful/and have a larger payload than the "Full size" PU's of old.

The Maverick, is simply an Escape/Bronco Sport with a small bed. My son has a Bronco Sport and it is a decent small car, good performance and Ok fuel economy. I like the Maverick and could see one for a small around town utility vehicle so long as I never wanted to tow anything. I tow a boat and an ATV on a trailer. The Maverick might handle the ATV but the boat is out of the question. If you would rather have open air storage rather than the covered storage of a small SUV the Maverick is for you. Under the skin they are the same vehicles.

 

[Winelover]

Cindy has the same engine in her 2016 Colorado with the Z 71 package. She recently went on line to peruse the 2024 model. Chevy no longer offers a V-6 in the Colorado line. Their loss. She'll hang on to hers that much longer. One of her hiking/kayaking friends, recently bought a brand new but older model Jeep (don't recall the model) because the new model doesn't come with a six cylinder.

 

[richhodg66]

Heaviest thing I ever routinely pull on a trailer is a riding mower, the 25 year old JC WHitney special kit trailer works fine. Can't see that changong much, and if I ever need to do a one time thing like moving, there's always U-Haul.

I tend to drive slow, last time the gas prices sky rocketed, I started conciously shifting up as quickly as I can and keeping it 55 or under, makes a four or five mile per gallon difference in the Nissan, over the course of a year, it adds up.

I just don't need or want a big, powerful truck. Unfortunately, you can't get anything else nowadays, and for quite a while previously. Still, I do enough stuff that a truck bed comes in handy that I think I need to have one around.

The aforementioned Dodge may take up those duties and I swap out the Nissan for some kind of an economy car. Seems like the auto industry has pretty much abandoned that class of car as well.

 

[richhodg66]

While we're on this subject, does anybody make anything with manual transmissions? The CVT types seem all the rage, and based on my son's Mitsubishi, they are extremely efficient, but my mechanic friend tells me the whole concept is designed to be doomed to failure eventually and Nissan had a class action suit against it due to premature failures of the CVT in their Versa.

Is it really that hard to produce and sell a normal five speed?

 

[Winelover]

The auto companies give what the majority customer wants. And it's not a small economy sedan, as past history has shown. Except, of course, when gas is in short supply and getting expensive. That's when the manufacturers have to scramble.

 

[richhodg66]

And I get that, but all this move towards electric and hybrid cars when we had very fuel efficient "normal" cars for years. I know everybody "needs" bigger, faster, shinier, etc.

Reinforces my opinion that the average American is pretty stupid.

 

[Bret4207]

I'd say 99% of the people driving pickup trucks don't even need a TRUCK, let alone 4WD.

I see many, many trucks on the road and very, very few being used as a truck. They're as much a status thing as anything. They come with so many plush, posh options that they are more comfy than an older Cadillac. I really don't see hoe people can afford them, especially when all they do with them is drive to and from work in it.

I personally don't need a truck and I haul firewood, logs, lumber, rocks, hay, straw, building materials, scrap, etc. I can drive my little Cherokee station wagon anywhere I need to all week, but then back it up to a trailer and suddenly have a 1-ton truck. My Cherokees are about like @CWLONGSHOT 's vehicles though and for the same reason.

Trouble is - I do not see an even remotely attractive alternative in anything newer.

You don't have a one ton truck. One ton trucks these days haul trailers with near 20K pounds GVWR. I owned 2 Cherokees, nice utility vehicles, but you aren't going to haul a cattle trailer with 30 head behind it.

And it's not that people don't "need" a PU. A PU, or full size van, makes as much or more sense than the "crossover" or mini cars IMO. Put a cap on the back and you have your father station wagon, minus the seats. The stodgy old station wagon was probably the most common sense vehicle ever made for 80% of US drivers.

 

[Thumbcocker]

Driving in snow is one of those dying skills.

I couldn’t agree with Bret more. Skinny tires, the correct tread, and a driver that knows what he/she is doing, will get the job done in snow.

4WD goes better in snow/ice but it doesn’t stop or turn any better. Like the line in Steve Earl’s “Copperhead Road”, it can get you into trouble, but it can’t get you out.

Fact: 4 wheel drive will not suspend the laws of physics. Also line was from the "Devil's Right Hand". I personally disagree with that line. I can think of a couple of occasions when a pistol if not getting me out of trouble, sure kept trouble from starting.

 

[Jeff H]

You don't have a one ton truck. One tone trucks these days haul trailers with near 20K pounds GVWR. I owned 2 Cherokees, nice utility vehicles, but you aren't going to haul a cattle trailer with 30 head behind it.

And it's not that people don't "need" a PU. A PU, or full size van, makes as much or more sense than the "crossover" or mini cars IMO. Put a cap on the back and you have your father station wagon, minus the seats. The stodgy old station wagon was probably the most common sense vehicle ever made for 80% of US drivers.

OK, but I can more easily handle what I'd have overloaded a 60s-era half-ton with and don't have to lift it over my head to get it in my means of conveyance.


No cattle, not hauling implements or tractors either. The point is that I have to haul a lot of stuff that won't fit into the car/truck combo thingies, and driving a full-sized pickup every day doesn't make sens for me. Can't afford/don't want the maintenance of a car and a truck, so... the "stodgy station-wagon" rules the day for my needs. The compact size of the Cherokee is just enough for what I have to do. I'm not pulling stumps either, but I've drug some logs out of the woods that weighed almost as much as the "car." It's a compromise, but so woiuld be a real truck for me - I just picked my own optimum set of compromises and a truck didn't fit - for ME.

I don't know what it's like everywhere else, but most pickups I see on the road these days never get used as a truck. You see pretty people drive them in town to run errands and go to work. I think most of those are "look at me - I've got the baddest truck in town."

That's not counting the young guys with "old" pickups that are three colors, require a step-ladder to get into and have a set of wheels on them that are worth four times what the truck's worth. I kind of like those kids. Their truck sits in the yard between paydays and parts runs, but hey are very dedicated to "old" trucks.

Vans and mini-vans, if they still make them, would make a LOT of sens for a lot of people. I like the idea too, really. There's a lot of space inside some of those minivans. Ground clearance could be an issue for me and I won't be dragging a 6'x12' trailer full of firewood out of the woods with one, but all that room inside! Just don't like all the motor-driven opening/closing/folding/unfolding, or the rest of the fancy, electronic stuff that's on everything these days.