Why We Chose a Ford Maverick Hybrid

kevinwuklife
May 12
3 min read

A Practical Daily Driver That Actually Made Sense for Us

Quick Take

✔ Excellent MPG without giving up practicality

✔ Safer and more capable than we expected

✔ One of the best vehicle values we found

✔ Easy to drive, park, and live with

✘ Smaller than what we were used to

✘ XL trim is basic inside✘ Not designed for heavy towing

👉 Bottom line:

For a practical daily driver, the Maverick Hybrid made more sense for us than almost anything else we looked at.

At a Glance

Model:

Ford Maverick Hybrid XL

Why We Bought It

Better MPG
Lower operating costs
Save miles on our F350 dually
Still practical enough for everyday life

Main Uses

errands
road trips
Home Depot runs
bike hauling
everyday driving

Not Used For

towing our RV

Reality Check

The biggest hurdle for us was not practicality.

It was safety.

For nearly 30 years we had owned full-size trucks after Mary was seriously T-boned in a Toyota 4Runner. Moving to a smaller vehicle felt like a step backward in protection.

So the Maverick had to prove itself in:

crash testing
safety systems
real-world usefulness

If it had felt cheap, flimsy, or compromised, we would not have bought it.

Why We Started Looking

The F350 is overkill for most daily driving

At the time, we were using our:

👉 F350 Powerstroke Diesel dually as our daily driver.

That simply didn’t make sense.

Using a heavy-duty diesel truck for:

grocery runs
errands
short drives

meant:

unnecessary fuel use
unnecessary wear
unnecessary miles on an expensive tow vehicle

We wanted something:

✔ more economical

✔ easier to drive around town

✔ still useful enough for everyday life

Why the Maverick Stood Out

Several things kept pushing the Maverick to the top of the list:

Safety

Safety was one of the biggest reasons we hesitated to move away from full-size trucks.

The Maverick’s crash test results helped change that.

NHTSA Safety Ratings

Overall Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
Frontal Crash: 5 / 5 Stars
Side Barrier: 5 / 5 Stars
Rollover: 4 / 5 Stars

Those results, combined with Ford’s standard driver-assist features like lane-keeping and pre-collision assist, made the Maverick feel much less like a compromise than we originally expected.

MPG

The hybrid system offered fuel economy we simply were not used to in a truck.

Price

The Maverick felt like one of the few vehicles still offering:

👉 real-world practicality at a reasonable new-vehicle price.

Warranty

The:

8-year
100,000-mile hybrid drivetrain warranty

added confidence.

Utility

Despite being small, it still handled:

bikes
supplies
Home Depot runs
road trips
four adults comfortably

That mattered.

Initial Concerns

Before buying, our biggest concerns were:

Is it too small?
Is it actually safe?
Will it feel underpowered?
Will we regret downsizing?

Those concerns were real.

The Decision Point

Three things finally pushed us into buying:

✔ Safety test results

✔ Warranty coverage

✔ Overall value for the money

At that point, the Maverick stopped feeling like a compromise and started feeling like:

👉 the smartest overall choice.

Why We Chose the XL Trim

We bought the:

👉 XL trim

It’s not luxurious.

But it included what mattered most to us:

practicality
value
safety systems

One thing we especially appreciated was:

👉 the standard lane-keeping assist included with Ford’s pre-collision assist system.

The higher trims add more comfort and features, but we’ve been very happy with the XL.

What We Like Most

✔ Excellent MPG

✔ Easy to drive and park

✔ Surprisingly practical

✔ Comfortable enough for daily use

✔ Very strong value for the money

What We Don’t

There has been No Disappointments with this truck. We can load our bikes in the back of it, full sheets of plywood (4'x8')

Who It’s For

✔ People wanting a practical daily driver

✔ Truck owners wanting to stop using heavy-duty trucks for errands

✔ Anyone wanting MPG without losing utility

Who Should Skip It

✘ People needing heavy towing capability

✘ Those wanting luxury-level interiors

✘ Anyone uncomfortable downsizing from a full-size truck

Final Answer

If someone says:

👉 “I need a practical daily driver that still does truck things”

Answer:

👉 The Maverick Hybrid is one of the best values we’ve found.