TFL's Truck of the Year is...

https://youtu.be/wsOfT9WE_F0

 

wow very mathematical!

 

Isn't that a Ford Escape with a truck bed? It's a cool vehicle and performs pretty well but I must be old school cuz a truck to me is body on frame. I guess I will eventually need to change my way of thinking, but not yet.

 

Was it? I skipped to the end to see who won and was surprised by the outcome.

 

i said that because they did a lot of scoring and recorded a lot of numbers before coming up with their result... not that I agree with it.

 

Gotcha - I was legitimately wondering how they came up with the answer but didn’t have time to watch the video earlier. This makes me want to watch it now.

 

Fwiw, once upon a time I owned a unibody 91 Jeep Commanche pickup with a HO inline 6 4.0 and that was one stout little 4x4 pickup and it was a blast, loved that little rocket!

 

“Truck of the year” …hahah gtfoh

 

That inline six is one of the best motors Jeep ever produced.

 

We all like to make fun of the dude who buys a giant brodozer to drive to the office and Starbucks. Maybe the random Home Depot run. The Maverick is perfect for that.

The problem is getting said dude to buy the Maverick.

 

They had a Metric Ton package on the commanche that gave it 2200 lbs of payload. You know, like 700 lbs more than the best body-on-frame 2022 Tundras we've seen

 

At least the FX4 Maverick comes with front recovery hooks...

 

Yes, if no power, gas guzzling, and oil leaks gallore is your kind of thing.

They are only legendary because everything else in the '80s and '90s was surprisingly worse, but by today's standards the AMC/Jeep 4.0 is only good as a boat anchor. I'd never own another.

 

Yeah, even the Toyota motors sucked.

You had the 22RE that was a complete turd(ask me how I know) and you had the 3VZ-E that couldnt drive to the grocery store without killing a head gasket. The guys on the 2nd Gen 4Runner group im on can't get rid of the 3VZ-E's fast enough. Many of them have been swapped to 5VZ's or GM 4.3/V8's if that says anything.

 

Not surprised at the result since everyone loves compact trucks and there are literally none anymore. In all honesty, if it came with like a 2.5L 4 banger and a manual tranny, i would at least consider it.

 

I had the 22RE in my 91 4runner and it was a turd, but those motors could run forever. Mine didn't, but that is a different story.

 

Mines over 200k now but its tired and when I am really beating on it(like trying to drive the speed limit) it consumes oil at a ridiculous rate. I have talked to a lot of people about them and they say they usuallty need a refresh around 200k otherwise they start getting sloppy. They still run but not great.

 

Mine was hit one time when it was parked. Kid came around the corner and fished tailed and hit it pretty good. About a week later the timing chain broke. When they put the new timing chain in they didn't put the guides on correctly or something like that and the engine blew a couple years later. The mechanical speculated that it was under extra strain due to the incorrect timing chain installation. Got a rebuilt engine and ran it for another 5 years until I blew that engine. So I didn't have the best luck with it, but have heard many stories of people running them forever.

 

Ford Maverick...

 

I've had two 22re's. Reliable for the late 80's yes. Reliable by today's standards not at all. I really loved adjusting valves every year on a hot truck and replacing timing cover guides/chains/covers.

At least it put out 116hp.

 

I agree with TFL, I think the maverick will compete with the Tacoma #s for sales once ford starts flooding the market with them. It created a whole new class. And it starts at 20k, I'd have bought one already if these were normal times.

 

15 years ago they couldn't sell a compact truck so they all dropped them and moved to midsized. Now they are all the rave again.

 

im pretty sure the Maverick is more truck than a Ranger or S10. Especially with the Ecoboost.

 

The problem with the Maverick is that it is built like a car. Front wheel drive vehicles generally are not as robust and do not have the same longevity as a frame based truck that is rear wheel drive. They are also considerably more difficult to repair years down the road. If a Ranger is light duty, a Maverick is extra light duty. Doesn't matter what the numbers say, it's not going to hold up the same over time.

 

Well I have never had those experiences with mine. Had two of them but they were a 2004 and a 2006. Both were excellent with no issues.

 

It's been said before and I agree it'll do what 99% of truck owners want to do (including me). In my area, from what I see is average use, you would be able to:
-Drop off your trash bags full of clothes at Goodwill.
-Make your home depot runs for 16 footers hangin out the back.
-Hit the starbucks drive through.
-Buy your 1/4 yard of landscape bark.
-Load it up with skis and snowboards and promptly bury it into a snow bank going to Tahoe for the weekend. But it's AWD?!?!


But, you'll also be able to(over a Tundra):
-Pass me several times while i'm filling up my 11.9 mpg, 38 gallon Tundra.
-Have your Maverick paid off in half the time of almost any Tundra on the dealer lot, including most used ones with low mileage.
-Reduce your insurance cost for full coverage.
-Reduce your Ca DMV registration.
-Laugh while I scrape my wheels on the curb in drive thru's.
-Sneer at me like Snidely Whiplash as I six point turn my Tundra in the REI parking lot between the Tesla chargers and the crooked Prius next to me.
-Take all that saved money and put it into light stands and microphones to film your TikTOk video's. I mean why not, considering our local Ford dealer is offering a free pair of skinny jeans, flannel, a bag of exclusive coffee from Portland, and a thumb drive of garage band MP3 music to prove you heard of the band first. It's a no brainer.

All joking aside. It's super affordable and extremely practical. I think more people will jump on the midsized trucks really soon and we'll see some great competition. Three people where I work already have the ZR2 or the ranger after trading in their Full Size 1/2 tons. Makes sense to me.

 

Interesting video to learn something about the models they tested but the ToTY premise is pretty weak... they seem to be comparing apples to... I dunno... tennis balls maybe?

 

Here in Canada, Truck King and Autotrader.ca also picked the Ford Maverick as their 2022 Truck of the Year.

 

That thing reminds me of the K car. That's gonna be a huge winner for ford at the low price point

 

At least that hipster from the Tundra commercial was able to get a second job doing Maverick commercials.