Great gas mileage might not be the first thing on most truck shoppers’ non-negotiables list, but true to its name, efficiency is one of the ways the Ford Maverick defies convention. The pipsqueak pickup’s hybrid variant boasts an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 42/33/37 mpg city/highway/combined — but on a good day, that’s not even the best it can do. In one of Cars.com’s most popular news articles of the past week, we put the Maverick’s fuel-sipping potential to the test.
On a 200-mile circuit in southeast Michigan that included about a quarter city driving and three-quarters highway miles driven under normal conditions, the 2022 Maverick Lariat hybrid in Cars.com’s fleet of long-term test cars returned 40.9 mpg on the trip computer and 41.5 mpg manually calculated. Both of those figures bested the Maverick’s published estimates for highway driving (33 mpg) and for combined city and highway driving (37 mpg) — while coming dang close to the city mileage figure of 42 mpg. That’s not to mention the fact that, for the first 45 miles or so of the trip, some 65% of which was spent in all-electric mode, we observed just a shade under 53 mpg.
For the full details on our real-world fuel economy assessment of the 2022 Ford Maverick, follow the link below to this week’s No. 2 news story.
Crossing the finish line just behind the Maverick is the 2023 Dodge Charger Super Bee, a retro, race-inspired version of the iconic Detroit muscle car. The Super Bee is the second of a planned seven so-called Last Call models (following the Challenger Shakedown) that are being revealed one at a time at weekly intervals until the big paradigm-shifting finale; the big shift is the implosion of internal combustion as a fuel source for Dodges lineup in favor of all-electric propulsion. The 1,000-unit limited run of the Charger Scat Pack-based Super Bee will be half Widebody and half standard body in Plum Crazy and B5 Blue paint, respectively, and will come replete with visual cues and off-the-lot drag-strip enhancements to ensure everyone’s aware this Last Call’s coming like when Semisonic’s “Closing Time” plays at a college bar.
For everything we know about the 2023 Dodge Charger Super Bee, follow the link below to the No. 3 news story on this week’s countdown.
Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Ford F-150, Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, Toyota Sienna, Dodge Hornet, Ford Mustang Mach-E and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:
1. What Does the EV Tax Credit Overhaul Mean for Car Shoppers?
2. 2022 Ford Maverick Real-World Fuel Economy: Extraordinary Achievements
3. 2023 Dodge Charger Super Bee Counts to 1320
4. Ford F-150 Lightning Vs. F-150 Hybrid: What We Learned Towing and Hauling With an Electric Truck
5. Stop-Sale Issued for Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride Over Tow Hitch Fire Threat
6. 2022 Toyota Sienna Woodland Edition: The Go-Anywhere Minivan?
7. Which SUVs, Minivans and Sedans Have the Most Cargo Space?
8. Cars.com’s 2022 Car Seat Fit Report Card
9. 2023 Dodge Hornet Up Close: Italian Beef, American Seasoning
10. 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Orders Reopen, Prices Swell
Keyword: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Ford Maverick Hits the Gas, Dodge Charger Super Bee Has Buzz