When I was one of the first to reserve my 2022 Ford Maverick in June of 2021, I had no idea what an experience the purchase and ownership of this new kind of vehicle would be. I just knew when I first saw the news release about it back then, it was going to be a winner. And I was right.
Four years later I finally decided to sell my Maverick and this is my closing statement on the good and bad of the entire experience.
After a six month wait for it to be built, my 2022 Ford Maverick XL Hybrid arrived in January of 2022. It was my first vehicle ordering experience, choosing exactly what color I wanted, the trim grade, and the options – instead of taking whatever a dealership had in stock.
I chose the putty blue shade of Area 51 with only one option, a $100 trailer hitch receiver. Its MSRP was a total of $21,590, reflecting is base price of $19,995 plus the option and destination charges. With dealer fees, sales tax and the purchase of an extended warranty my out-the-door price was $25,000 and some change.
In my four year ownership experience I made nearly 100 videos about the truck between both of our channels TestDrivenTV and TDTV Garage. They document my trials and tribulations, the driving experiences, Ford Maverick news, and a full collection of my own DIY modifications, accessory installs, and maintenance work.
All of these can be found on the Ford Maverick playlist linked at the end of this video and in the show notes below.
I bought the truck in the beginning for a few key reasons. First, it was dirt cheap back then starting at $19,995. Yes the price has gone up considerably since then, but I still think it’s one of the best deals out there for a new vehicle.
Second, I was hooked on the promise of 40 mpg. And boy did it deliver. In fact I exceeded that number often, with about a 41-42 mpg average in the cooler temperatures without AC and mid to high 30’s in Arizona summer heat with the AC on. Once I added a lift kit and larger off-road tires, my cooler daily average fell to about 35-37 mpg but that was still quite satisfying for a truck of any kind.
According to the spreadsheet I kept with all mileage and gallons used shows a total average of 38.73 mpg over four years.
The third thing that attracted me was the idea of customization. That’s why I bought the base model XL, so that I had room to who offered to partner with me on installing and demonstrating their newest products which I did. Most of the content we did with regard to new products were promotional projects.
In such, the truck had two distinct generations of customization. The first was a basic retro look that involved painting the steel wheels white and creating a vinyl graphic package inspired by the 1970’s Ford factory Freewheeling Package offered on their cars, trucks, and vans. Ford later has since then offered this package again on contemporary Broncos.
I eventually got tired of that look and went for a more off-road oriented theme with new alloy wheels and a leveling kit that gave me significantly better ground clearance in the dirt. Even with only front-wheel-drive this enabled me to go further out into nature. Added also was a sport bar from Keko, a tonneau cover and more. You can refer to our playlist for all of the installs and product reviews.
In the four years and 47,000 miles I spent with it, the Ford Maverick was one of the most impactful vehicles I have ever owned. Mind you it was no luxury car. It was cheap and basic with a plastic interior that rattled and scratched easily. It was few on the upper-end creature comforts. Regardless, it made the most financial sense of anything I have owned.
While my “out-the-door” sales price was around $25,000 – my total out of pocket expense with my initial down payment and financing monthly payments was $20,200 as I still had some payment term left on the loan.
I sold the truck to Carvana earlier this year for $19,200. After the remaining loan balance was paid off I walked away with $12,500 cash in my pocket. That puts my total out of pocket cost at $7,700 for 4 years ownership of the vehicle regardless of purchase or sale price. That’s some pretty strong resale value and low cost of ownership.
This is of course plus maintenance, fuel and insurance. There are more than a few ways to calculate full and total cost here but no matter how you get there, this was one of the best financially performing vehicles I have ever owned. Period.
Now to the experience.
In the four years I owned it there were half a dozen recalls for various things. Almost all of these were for minor items that were not actually presenting problems for my own truck – just preventative fixes and most were software related.
There were two major recalls that required a day or two at the dealership though. The first one for fire prevention measures for a small batch of 2022 hybrid models. The second was for side curtain airbags which had to be replaced because testing showed they didn’t deploy exactly right.
Both of these were done by Ford out of caution. There were no widespread fires everyone panicked about, nobody was injured or died because of side airbags that didn’t work properly. It was purely Ford getting out ahead of potential problems before they become one.
I did however have a few real issues with the truck.
First was the wonky brakes which would periodically slam on and abruptly grab at slow speeds. You would be coming to stop in a parking space or a drive through and it would just lock the brakes and cause an abrupt uncontrolled stop.
This was ultimately due to bad programming of its electronically controlled brake unit, and a cheap low grade brake unit in general. There are more sophisticated units out there that work more seamlessly when balancing regenerative and hydraulic braking, but Ford chose the cheap one to keep prices down and didn’t spend enough time tuning it right.
Finally after a few tries through technical service updates they came up with a software version that made it better. Some customers even on newer models however still complain about the brake modulation on hybrid models being not all that great.
The second complaint I had about the truck was the awful infotainment system with all but top-line 2022-2024 Mavericks came with. What I called a “clock radio from the 1980s”, didn’t have a good Bluetooth connection. It was difficult to keep a constant handshake with any device and it was just wonky. Furthermore, the screen and backup camera would lock up and freeze a lot, the graphics were slow. It was generally was just complete trash that should have never made it into a modern vehicle.
Ford did a few software updates on it over the years, but it really never got significantly better. The good news is that starting in 2025, all Mavericks now come with a much better unit that offers wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Much better screen, graphics, and functionality – even on a basic XL trim grade.
Now the big question. Would I do it again?
Hell yes. Even with all the first year production glitches I personally experienced, I would totally buy another one and totally recommend one to a friend – even at the 30-35% higher prices we see today. It’s still a standout compared to anything you can cross shop it with. There really are no direct competitors – not just yet.
I only sold the Maverick earlier this year because I just really don’t need it at the moment. We recently purchased a new 2026 Honda CRV Sport Hybrid which will have a review coming soon, that my spouse primarily drives. So we have a family car.
Additionally because I get new press cars to review every week, the Maverick was just collecting dust most of the time – why it only accumulated 47,000 miles in 4 years. Now someone out there owns this very truck and might just see it here on our channel and say, “hey that’s my Maverick!”
The last reason I chose to sell was because, I have future plans for another purchase. I was an early reservation holder and now have pre-ordered the new 2027 Slate EV pickup truck. I am into that truck for all of the same reasons I was into the Maverick.
It’s cheap, it’s basic and there is a lot of buzz around it. When it arrives in early 2027, my plan is to create a lot of content here at our channel around the Slate, my ownership experiences, and my customization projects just as I did with the Maverick. I can’t wait.
I will continue to add Maverick news and reviews to our channel playlist which is one of the largest Maverick collections of content on YouTube. I still much adore the trucks and will be keeping my eye on them. It’s due for a significant refresh in 2028-ish and you never know, it might make sense to bring one on as another long-term tester when it does. Time will tell.
