Drew Dowdell

Ford today revealed the 2023 Ford Maverick Tremor, a new version of the immensely popular Maverick with new off-road capability. The Tremor package is available on XLT or Lariat series trucks and comes standard with the 2.0-liter Ecoboost 4-cylinder producing 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. Building on the existing FX4 package, the all-wheel drive system is new to Maverick and features a twin-clutch system and rear differential lock that can divert all rear axle torque to one side or the other. Drivers can choose from five selectable modes, pavement, sand, snow, mud, and tow. Also included for off-roading is Trail Control which is like cruise control for trails. Maverick gains a 1" lift, along with unique front and rear shocks and springs, upgraded half-shafts, and a transmission cooler. On the styling front, Maverick Tremor comes with a new grille finish, blacked out Ford logos, headlamps and tail lamps. The front tow hooks get an orange finish along with matching orange accents on unique 17" anodized gray wheels shod with all-terrain tires. Also added is a new lower front fascia with a more aggressive approach angle and steel skid plates. Inside, the only interior color is Black Onyx with various pieces decorated with Tremor Orange. For those who want to really complete the look, there is the Tremor appearance package with a Carbon-gray roof and mirror caps, and black graphics on the hood and lower body. The 2023 Ford Maverick Tremor package costs $2,995 with an optional additional $1,495 for the Tremor Appearance packages. Customers will be able to place orders for the 2024 Ford Maverick Tremor in early September and production begins later in Fall of 2022. View full article

All of those are the rubber band style CVT. None of them are planetary. The only planetary CVTs that I can think of are inside the 2-mode Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade, but those also are tied to traditional automatics, yes both in a single unit. They have an unusual but not unpleasant acceleration The CT6 PHEV uses 2 planetary eCVTs plus one non-electric planetary CVT. Strangest “shifting” pattern of all because the engine can go on and off at anytime, but it does feel like there are gears doing work in there . It was the next generation of Voltec but used ICE for additional performance while Voltec was only used electric propulsion

As it is unlikely you’ve gotten to drive the “best” CVT, planetary systems in my view, probably not fair to judge.

Not all CVTs are bad. It’s just that what is now the traditional CVT isn’t great. There are other designs using planetary gear sets that would do very well in trucks (they were part of the Tahoe 2-Mode hybrid). CVTs and hybrid usually go hand in hand because it’s the best way to blend power from two sources. But not all CVTs are the rubber-band-drive units found in Nissans and Subarus.

GM has/had like 6 completely different hybrid systems developed, that said, the Colorado would never have gotten Voltec as it was the second most expensive hybrid powertrain they ever designed. (The first being the 2-mode hybrid, but at least they split those costs with Daimler-Chrysler and BMW). The other option would have been the hybrid from the CT6, but they aren't putting the powertrain from an $80k car into a $27k base truck. At best, it would have been a modified version of the final Malibu Hybrid, but that would not have stood up to truck duty because it uses a CVT.

I think a Maverick Lightning is way off. Manufacturers sometimes just trademark* names to grab them or hold on to them. GM routinely renews trademarks on names that have gone out of production years ago.... only once in a while do they come back, like Electra. There is such a thing as trademark trolls that try to guess the names of upcoming products and then hold them ransom.

All I can say is be here Monday morning for some interesting news from a competitor.

That's partially my fault that you don't see it. For some reason the chart breaks in the forum version of the article, but if you view it from the front page, you'll see that the highest tune is only for the ZR2 model. In both cases the engines get their peak torque at 3000 rpm, but the ZR2 gets 40 additional torques. Along with other performance stuff, it makes the ZR2 more specialer.

I could see myself in a nice Z71. I don't need the ZR2, I'm not under any illusion that I'll ever go off-road. Remember that the previous one actually dates back further than what we got here in the US. It probably wasn't compatible with the new engine without some major changes, so they held it back until the replacement.