[Ergo Sum]

I ordered my Maverick in 2022 and had been delivered just before the deadline in January, 2023 for the delivery; I was pretty much ready to get the '23 RTL-E. Initially wanted the hybrid Maverick, but changed it to a Lariat with EB 2.0 engine. I owed the Maverick for a year and traded it in for '24 RTL. My personal take on the Maverick....

It's one thing to test drive the Maverick and an entirely other to own one. For me, being 6' 4", the driver seat and legroom was just enough, but could have used a little more room. On the other hand my wife like it, especially the "warm hug" it gave her when she drove it. My grankids had no issues in the back. I really could not stand the EB 2.0 turbocharged engine sound, it sounded like a sewing machine. Mileage wise, it had been about the same as my RL, 16 - 17 MPG in my use case of ~95% in city driving. The Maverick's acceleration is better than the RL; this is probably due to the weight difference between the two.

Technology wise the Maverick is ahead of the RL by a large margin, especially if you take it into account that some of the "features" just don't work in the RL. The Maverick does come with heated steeering wheel and seats, including passenger seat. The vehicles security system cannot be compared in my view. The RL has the same alarm system behavioral wise as my '05 Avalon. The Maverick has motion sensors on the suspention; jumping in the bed could set off the alarm, so is raising the truck, connecting to the hitch receiver, etc. Most of the features work in the Maverick, auto headlight, ACC, etc. When you stop at the light, you can let go the break pedal even uphill, it won't roll back at all when the gas pedal pushed. The stereo system isn't as good in the RL, than in the Maverick. Both the Maverick and the RL have issues charging the battery charging in my use case. The first symptom for both is that the auto start disabled. Recharging the battery restores the auto start feature for both for awhile.

If you disregard the technology advantages of the Maverick, the RL is a more comfortable, better built, better ride and in my case, the MPG is pretty much a wash. My suggestion is to drive both of them for couple of days, you can probably rent both, and make your decision based on that.

 

[Ergo Sum]

Most of my issues are "driver acclimatization" like dog clutch shifts and push button transmission.

I don't know the time frame for the dog clutch shifts acclimatization, but after ten month owning the '24 RL, the ZF9 tranny is one thing that I still don't like in the RL. The delays in shifting is annoying at best and downright dangerous at worst when not accounting for it, like merging into traffic, passing slow vehicles, or downshifting has a surge in speed. The RL also moves ever so slightly when started, despite the fact that the parking break is on. I would not say that the drivetrain is "impeccably operating". Maybe in another year I will get used of it.

It certainly took shorter time to get used of that most of technology features don't, or barely work. 😉

 

[Ergo Sum]

Sometimes I feel like I resemble a fat old rusted dog … actually makes me like my Mav a little better.
Joking aside those Ford acrostics are funny and creative.

Not sure what i am going to do … my 2022 MAV is almost paid for and I may just keep it to give to our oldest grandson in a few years. And that also allows me to wait for a Gen 3 hybrid RL!

I somewhat have the same feeling, even after beating up on the Maverick. Although, I am not prejudice and beat up on the RL probably just as much. Some of the posts about the Maverick are just pulled from thin air, instead of actual experience with it. On the other hand. there are quiet of few posts defending the RL.

I don't know about the Gen 3 Hybrid RL in couple of years. Based on Honda's development progress with the RL, it may take quite a few years to make the new "features" actually work... 😨

 

[Ergo Sum]

But we have been to the moon ...so you're saying there's a chance

AI will make physics bend like Beckham

But I hear ya...I hear ya

There is a chance, just not in the US at an acceptable price point. Ford Ranger PHEV, it's coming in the EU to market, but not in the US. Other brands, like the BYD Shark PHEV truck is available in the EU, Mexico, etc., but not in the US. Yes, we have been on the moon, so has been China, but currently we need Russia to ferry people to and from the ISS. We'll get there, if we can bend like Backham....

 

[Ergo Sum]

As others have said, the sweet spot for the Mav is the base edition hybrid. Great for stages of life where funds are needed for investment elsewhere, like funding education or paying down a house or retirement investing, or kids . Ford deserves credit for introducing a hybrid pickup and for offering the hybrid power train as the standard, at first anyway. Can't blame them too much for trying to increase the price by by 50% on the higher trim models for the addition of a few electronics add-ons and padding. Kind of shameful how the dealers gouged on the prices, but I was never under the impression dealers were capable of feeling shame, so no surprise there.

I'd go so far as to say that if I had chosen a high-trim Maverick over a Ridgeline, that I'd like to keep that information away from all the marketing databases. I'd be afraid it would mark me as a sucker.

And that is different how from the RL trims?🤷‍♂️ Oh yeah, I remember; at least the electronic add-ons do work in the Maverick, while not so much in the RL...😏

The price difference between the base/high trim is 16K for RL and 11K for the Mav. While you can call people who purchased high-trim RL/Mav whatever you'd want, keep one thing in mind. The high-trim vehicles get higher price at the time of the trade-in/sale, there is that....

 

[Ergo Sum]

I think it is a lower percentage change on trim price in the RL, at least when I purchased, but I am open to listening to some numbers.

My previous post had a typo, sorry about that; the RL's trim difference is 6K and not 16K. Percentage wise the trim difference for the RL is 15% vs. Maverick 37%.

People may not want to pay the higher cost of the RL for various reasons, be that their financial circumstances, their needs, etc. In '23, I just didn't think that 12 - 15K more for the RL than the Mav is justified. Frankly, knowing what I know about the RL now, I was probably right in '23. That doesn't mean I don't like my RL, I do with all of its flaws. Would I change it to something like the BYD Shark truck? Of course, but nothing like that available in the US at that price range.

 

[Ergo Sum]

The RL is certainly larger; dimensions for both in the format of Ridgeline first and Maverick second:

Length: 210.2/199.7
Height: 70.8/68.7
Overall width without mirrors: 78.6/77.9
Wheelbase: 125.2/121.1
Ground clearance: 7.6/8.6
Curb Weight (lbs.): 4,475/3,731

Anecdotally, once I stumbled slightly next to my former Maverick and leaned on the rear fender. The body panel made a popping sound as the panel slightly bent in and popped back out. I doubt the the RL fender would do the same. Just raise the hood on both, you can raise the hood on the Maverick with one hand, but for the RL you'll need both hand. This is funny meme about the Maverick, but not without merritt:

https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/posts/3372167/

The Maverick is what, three years old model? Yes, the reliability isn't bad, but remains to be seen for longer time period.

 

[Ergo Sum]

Yes the RL cost me more, but I am thrilled with the decision. Drives/rides like a dream and checks all of my boxes. Like others, I’m frustrated with some to the tech limitations. But I drove plenty of cars that had none of that, so some tech is better than no tech.

I don’t doubt that the Mav is a good truck. Their owners rave about them, just as RL owners do. But, I have zero regrets about the RL.

The RL would even be better, if the limited tech it has would consistently work, or just work...

I don't regret trading in my Maverick for the RL. In my view, the two of them are not in the same class. That's not to say that the Maverick isn't a good truck, it is, but I like the RL better.

 

[Ergo Sum]

Interesting. My experience after 9 months of 24 BE ownership is the exact opposite. The 9-speed works just fine for me. And I became accustomed to the nannies after a month or two, no problem. I simply switch off the auto-stop when appropriate.

I am still learning though. It would help a lot if I would RTFM...

I didn't state that the ZF tranny does not work, it does as it intended to. I just don't like the delays when it shifts in certain gears. These dog clutches are acting like manual shifting and the gears need to line up to shift in certain gears. These delays are more noticeable after ten month, than in the first month. The delay had been noticeable when shifting between reverse/drive, but by now, I notice the minor surge in speed, when coasting to the red light. This is how the dog clutches work:

The second video goes through on how the actual gears put together, the dog clutches operation, gear ratio, etc. Again, it works just fine, but I don't like the delays.

The auto-stop doesn't bother me either ways, most of the time it is disabled by the system anyway for engine warming up, battery charging, AC on, etc. As for RTFM, I am with you... 😉

 

[Ergo Sum]

The name of that clutch just cracks me up. Dog clutch. Like the Chevy Nova, which means no-go in Spanish. Maybe they should have named it the Cheeta clutch.

I believe the name of the clutch is appropriate, based on how the gear changing is delayed at times... 😉 🤣