The small truck market has seen a renewed resurgence the past few years with this Ford Maverick taking the lead. The Maverick is like its rivals, an unibody based small truck, that borrows components across the manufacturer’s range to build something that is greater than the sum of its parts. That is the long winded version of saying that this Maverick is based on the Ford Escape.
That may scare some people away but don’t be fooled. The Maverick still has the ‘truck’ feel through and through just better packaged. Using the Escape has a base, the Maverick is blessed with it’s best traits:
Direct and perfectly weighed steering
Generous cabin room
NVH suppresion
‘flingability’
Ergonomics
Ford could’ve easily (and cheaply) stuck an Escape front end on the Maverick and called it a day. But then the Maverick would be going down the path of the last generation Honda Ridgeline.
Which is to say, it looks nothing like a Ford Escape whereas the Ridgeline looks exactly like the untruck like Pilot. The Maverick is blessed with a blunt nose, squared off sides and a boxy rear…so you know…truck like. I think it looks fantastic.
The interior is another place where Ford could’ve easily shoved the Escape’s dashboard and gave each other a ‘high five’ for a job well done. They didn’t, Ford went through the effort of giving the Maverick an entirely different interior befitting a small truck rather than a small crossover. That means there are easily accessible buttons, a simple UI to use and easy to use controls. The Maverick is a vehicle you get it and immediately feel ‘comfortable’.
The ride and handling is another triumph for the Ford Maverick. It somehow combines the easy nature of the Escape but at the same the Maverick doesn’t feel ‘diluted’ into feeling LIKE an Escape. The Tremor package adds to the ‘truck’ effect giving the Maverick true off road goodness from lifted suspension, stronger driveshafts, bespoke AWD, locking rear differential, transmission cooler, skid plates, bigger wheels and tires. Add all of that up and you change the ‘cute-ish’ Maverick to a mean looking sunvagun! It also helps transform the Maverick from merely ‘truck-ish’ to full bore ‘pick-em up truck’!
The Tremor package also pairs the most powerful engine available to the Maverick a boosty 2.0 liter making a stout 250 HP and bolts that to an 8 speed automatic. All in all, on the road, it’s fine, it’s feels quick, sounds decent and shifts smoothly. It shuts up when you’re cruising and sinks into the background like any good drivetrain should. The only real issues are the throttle lag from a stop and the gas mileage was a pretty abysmal 14.9 average MPG.
So what do I think of the 2023 Ford Maverick Tremor?