Pity the rear seat users
Actually watched the Doug Demuro review today and there is actually a decent amount of room.
Just watched that video.
Like I said, I pity the back seat passengers.
I find your position a bit strange. It’s clearly meant to be a very small truck and if rear passenger space is a concern Ford offers a bunch of larger trucks.
What would you expect?
Anyway, a size like this at a good price point is a good thing. There’s a market for people that want a pickup but not a 60ft long one.
Because it’s not good at anything. It doesn’t fill any niche. The cab is small, the bed is small, it is FWD based.
With a short bed and limited cargo weight can it haul
1. Wall board or plywood. NO
2. Adult bicycles without a wheel dangling outside the bed. NO
3. Kayak without leaning up. NO
4. Twin/Full size mattress without leaning up. NO
5. 1 cubic yard of soil. NO
6. 1 cubic yard of gravel. NO
7. 1 cubic yard of mulch. Maybe
As a fullsize truck owner, I can tell you that almost NO truck can do most of that stuff:
1. Wall board or plywood - Any truck short of an 8' long bed will either need the tailgate open, or the boards leaning up on top of a closed tailgate. Ford has demonstrated that the Maverick is capable of hauling 4x8 sheets of plywood with the tailgate in the partial-up position
2. Again, 5.5' long bed of my Tundra strikes again - I CAN fit 2 adult bikes in the back of my truck, but it's very awkward, and I can't close the tonneau cover - and they're at an angle. If I were to carry them straight fore/aft, my tailgate would need to be dropped. I'm currently shopping for a hitch rack to carry bikes with the truck. The Maverick seems almost as capable at hauling two bikes as a short bed Tundra.
3. Sorry, is there a truck in the world that can carry a kayak in the bed without it overhanging the tailgate? If there is, then it's not a 'real' kayak.
4. This is a limitation of almost any shortbed truck. You'd need at least a 6.5' bed in order to haul a mattress with the tailgate closed and the mattress laying down flat.
5/6/7. Okay, hauling a yard of anything - this is something a half-ton does very well, not only because of the increased payload of a half ton, but also because of the volume of the bed. I can manage (and have hauled) a yard of topsoil in my truck. I reversed as far as I could into my backyard in order to fill my planters, but due to the sheer massive size of the Tundra, could only get about halfway to the planters, and had to complete the job with a wheelbarrow. It's possible that due to its smaller size, something like the Maverick could actually reverse and maneuver fully into my backyard and right up to the planters. Yeah, I'd have to do twice as many trips to the soil place (about a 5 minute drive from my house), but those extra trips would be countered by getting the load closer to where it needs to ultimately end up.
Look, I'm not saying the Maverick is a replacement for a half ton. There are things that a Crew Cab, short bed half ton does very well, that the Maverick won't do. Like hauling 4 people in comfort with plenty of legroom. Half Ton will also tow a lot more competently. Yeah, you can fit a larger load of cinder blocks or lumber in a half ton. But how often are truck owners really doing that sort of thing? Anybody who's doing it often probably already owns a truck. I did strap a king-size mattress and box spring down in the bed of my truck (tailgate open), which is probably something a Maverick just would not be able to do at all. So yeah, I guess you got me there. The Maverick won't be able to haul a king size mattress, something which a half ton can do, something which I've had to do all of once in my 38 year life.
For what is IS, I think the Maverick is excellent. Nobody is pretending it will be as capable as a half ton at hauling or towing. But for the occasional bulky or messy item, it should serve just fine.
