2022 Ford Maverick Lariat First Edition: The Hit of the Decade

One Year Later

Last time around, the 2022 Ford Maverick Lariat First Edition had a few thousand miles on the odometer before it went with me to the 2022 edition of the NSRA Street Rod Nationals. Other than more miles travelled since then, what\’s changed about the Maverick between its visits to my Old Dominion home?

For one, the SiriusXM trial had expired, so I used the SiriusXM app on my phone to fill the silence for the hours-long drive to and from Louisville. For another… nothing. The adaptive cruise control still adapts to traffic, the drive modes still do their thing, the EcoBoost still drinks quite a bit of gas, and it still draws eyes wherever it goes, though probably not as much as it did a year ago due to more Mavericks hitting the road since then.

In Closing

The Maverick in all its forms is still one of the hottest models Ford has on the market today. So much so that for the 2024 model year, it\’s the EcoBoost with all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive (depending on trim) that\’s the standard offering, with the front-drive-only Hybrid becoming a $1,500 option on all trims. As far as packages go, the First Edition was replaced with the Tremor package in 2023, which brings the Bronco Sport Badlands\’ G.O.A.T. modes and all-wheel drive system to the compact truck.

So, which C2-based Ford would I opt for now for the 2024 model year? Part of me leans more towards the Bronco Sport, mainly for the covered cargo area and its more off-road focus. Yet, the Maverick would give me a bed for all of the stuff I couldn\’t fit in the back of the Bronco Sport (or would want to). I\’d love to review the Escape and the Lincoln Aviator to complete the C2 Tour to determine which C2 ride would be the one for me. Perhaps if the Hybrid gets all-wheel drive, we might have something else to consider.

As I said for SlashGear back in 2022, though, I would take the Maverick over its competitor (singular, for now), the Hyundai Santa Cruz. While the Hyundai can out tow the Ford by 1,000 pounds, and look good doing so, the haptic sensors making up the controls for the HVAC and radio on the center console just doesn\’t do it for me compared to the big knobs, dials and buttons in the Maverick. The Ford is just more down to earth to me. And I\’d rather have something like that in my driveway than the most hyper-tech machine on the block.

Photos: Cameron Aubernon/Aubernon Highway