pezdyspensr
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2025
- Threads
- 0
- Messages
- 68
- Reaction score
- 46
- Location
- New England
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Ranger STX
I, too, jumped prematurely from a Transit Connect Wagon that uses the same trans as the Mavericks - the 8F35. Loved that thing for every day in-town living but it was woefully under-equipped for adventures, had like 6" of ground clearance and the trans always had me so nervous. It felt like it was made of cardboard, shuddered when braking, and had lots of bad press for premature failure - like they ALL seem to bomb by 80k miles. For that reason alone I would not ever consider a Maverick. If going for a unibody platform the Ridgeline makes better sense. So far my base model Ranger still feels worth it.
I am coming from a 2023 Ford Maverick Tremor with 40K miles.
It was great affordable small pickup, very capable and useful. I wouldn't say it was fun to drive. The build quality and amount of recalls led me to trade it in. Transmission makes a bunch of noise when shifting gears. I broke the cabin air filter cover notch (flimsy plastic piece). The Maverick drives more like car with better handling. The Tremor did do well on some desert and dirt off roads in Eastern Oregon with decent impact absorption. Driving over 80 mph felt squirrely on the Maverick.
Acceleration and speed, I would give it to the RR. I would recommend a test drive to see if you like it before buying.
If the build quality was better (unfortunately at a ~30K price point nowdays likely not), I would probably get the Maverick Hybrid AWD with a 4K tow package. Then with the extra money saved, get a second car for fun things like a GR Corolla or GR86.
I was between an overpriced, less fun, less reliable than prior gens Tacoma with a hybrid system that does not significantly improve fuel economy, or a Ranger Raptor, so I chose the RR.
The fuel economy and small gas tank on the RR are probably the biggest drawbacks. KO3s are also dangerous on wet pavement for the first 2-3K...
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