New Ford Maverick First Impressions From a Picky Small Truck Fan

Upskirt. Really?

Might Max? Issuzi? I guess autocorrect doesn't catch either of those -- Mighty Max and Isuzu, of course.

I am a long-time Subaru BRAT owner and I'm jealous when we visit... well, almost every other country on this planet and see plenty of small trucks.

I hate it when an automaker cannibalizes its own product names. I remember GM used the Nova platform to make a Pontiac GTO.....really?? Here we go again. The Ford Maverick name is from the '70-'77 model years in the US market. It came out when I was in high school. A friend of mine had one. An entry level car. Affordable and meant to compete with foreign nameplates in that segment. But to call it a Maverick smacks of no imagination. Hardly sound intimidating, but then again it isn't. Perhaps later models will have a dose "bad-ass" added to the platform. Hope it is a hit. For lots of folks, this is all the truck they need. I guess GM will come out with their version and call it a Nova

Not all configurations have a spare. Just an FYI.

Thanks for the look from underneath.

When I first read a Maverick announcement, I did a double-take because of my memories of the shoddy buck of bolts Maverick sedans from the 1970s. I certainly like the idea of an at least small-ish truck. The new Maverick is huge by Chevy Luv standards, but it is much better built and surprisingly fuel-efficient versus other small-ish trucks. I had several 1990s era Rangers and liked them, especially the standard cab, manual transmission, long bed 1994 Ranger I had.

It is a disappointment to see the doughnut spare tire instead of full size. I suppose that is necessary to save weight and make room for the hybrid battery pack. That crank-down cable to lower the spare looks kind of iffy for use in road salt states. My 2005 Tacoma had a mechanism like that, and Toyota had to recall and replace it with something with a much thicker cable and a safety chain to prevent random dropping of tires in the road.

I would be in the queue for the Maverick, but…. I really don’t want a 4-door crew cab in a small truck. A little space behind the steaks is handy, but the odds of those rear seats in my truck ever being occupied is close to zero. I’d much rather trade that rear seat space for a longer bed. I know there is a fancy tailgate with detents that is supposed to make hauling plywood panels easier, however that doesn’t help for hauling large quantities of other stuff like bags of mulch, or a big item like a lawn tractor. Unless a Maverick with a longer cargo box appears, the Maverick is a no-go for me.

Ok, and how did it turn out? Is it actually a small truck, or is it just slightly smaller than the other behemoths on the road? The deck and roof height both seem high. The fact it only comes in crew cab is another disappointment.

Is it just a midsize truck pretending to be a compact?

Great little piece. Important info and good personal take.

Can the Maverick be towed 4 down behind a moterhome? If yes, I'll buy one.

I think it will be just perfect for my liking, not nearly as big as the std half tons and a bit bigger than other country’s mini pickups ( or our Chevy Luv/ Ford Courier) from years past.

My brother had a Chevy Luv Mikado p/u truck, somewhere a '79 model year. It was manual transmission 4WD. Put it in "granny gear" and the engine sounded like it was gonna go through the hood......and creep along ever so slowly in that gear. That gear was used to pull out of mud and such......keeps from spinning the tires. It was a neat little truck to knock around on. Rust was its greatest enemy. He eventually go rid of it.

I ordered a hybrid lariat. I've had lots of trucks, ford, chevy, Toyota, Nissan. I've always wanted a good gas mileage truck. For: bicycles, couches, moving, groceries, small suburbia items, this is a perfect fit! No construction workers want a mini truck. But, I don't give a truck. Truck em.