Manufactured in Mexico alongside the Bronco Sport off-road crossover, the Maverick is flexing a 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission, front-wheel drive, and twist-beat rear suspension for the not-so-princely MSRP of $19,995. The question is, can the fuel-sipping model do truck things as intended?
The short answer is yes, of course! The Fast Lane Truck had the opportunity of testing a mid-range trim level with the aforementioned specifications on a ranch, and it didn’t break a sweat. From fitting a four- by eight-foot sheet of plywood in the bed to hauling 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms) of firewood, the XLT in the featured video simply doesn’t care what you throw at it.
1,500 pounds is the maximum payload for the hybrid and the optional turbo engine. Including the aforementioned logs and two occupants, the unibody truck weighs 5,420 pounds (2,458 kilograms), which is a little over the pickup’s gross vehicle weight rating of 5,400 pounds (2,449 kilograms).
Even more impressively for a front-wheel-drive hybrid fitted with all-season tires from the factory, the Maverick makes easy work of a gravel-ridden hill with an incline of roughly 25 degrees. All in all, I can’t help but feel genuinely impressed by the most affordable Ford on sale these days.
In related news, the Blue Oval has recently OKTB’d the hybrid. That means that deliveries will begin in the nearest of futures although customers are begging the Ford Motor Company for an upgrade. More specifically, lots of order holders are genuinely interested in the hybrid with all-wheel drive.
During a Reddit AMA with Christopher Mazur, the chief engineer clearly stated “there is nothing architectural preventing an all-wheel-drive hybrid variant.” He further added that a plug-in hybrid or a full-electric option isn’t in the pipeline, but “as Ford drives down the cost to deliver electric vehicles, the Maverick could be a great candidate for full electrification.”
1,500 pounds is the maximum payload for the hybrid and the optional turbo engine. Including the aforementioned logs and two occupants, the unibody truck weighs 5,420 pounds (2,458 kilograms), which is a little over the pickup’s gross vehicle weight rating of 5,400 pounds (2,449 kilograms).
Even more impressively for a front-wheel-drive hybrid fitted with all-season tires from the factory, the Maverick makes easy work of a gravel-ridden hill with an incline of roughly 25 degrees. All in all, I can’t help but feel genuinely impressed by the most affordable Ford on sale these days.
In related news, the Blue Oval has recently OKTB’d the hybrid. That means that deliveries will begin in the nearest of futures although customers are begging the Ford Motor Company for an upgrade. More specifically, lots of order holders are genuinely interested in the hybrid with all-wheel drive.
During a Reddit AMA with Christopher Mazur, the chief engineer clearly stated “there is nothing architectural preventing an all-wheel-drive hybrid variant.” He further added that a plug-in hybrid or a full-electric option isn’t in the pipeline, but “as Ford drives down the cost to deliver electric vehicles, the Maverick could be a great candidate for full electrification.”