Who doesn’t love a bargain? At $47,148, the average price of a new car is quickly approaching — yikes! — $50,000. So when I recently tested two vehicles that cost only half as much, you might assume such rides appeal to my penchant for being kinda-sorta cheap.
OK, this is partly true, but along with affordable MSRPs, these low-cost chariots offer lots of other pleasant surprises. FORD MAVERICK$22,000Mpg: 42 city/33 highway0 to 60 mph: 7.7 seconds With all the hoo-ha over electric vehicles, I wasn’t expecting to go gaga over a rather traditional pickup.
Yet that’s what happened with the Ford Maverick, an all-new compact truck that comes standard as a hybrid. While a non-hybrid is available, it’s hard not to love the hybrid’s stellar fuel efficiency.
I also think this pickup looks sexy, with sumptuously curved sheet metal that any fashionista could love. Another plus: The Maverick is the least expensive tiny pickup out there.