Fuelup comparisons among three vehicles owned by me for the duration of ownership: 2020 Subaru Outback XT Onyx Edition, 2022 Ford Maverick XL Hybrid, & 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD Standard Range
Calculating: MPG/MPGe, Cost per Gallon of gasoline (or equivalent), and then by month to even the odds
Comparison Chart
2020 Outback (Gas)
2022 Maverick (Hybrid)
2023 Mach-E (BEV)
Time Owned
29 months
12 months
23 months
Total Miles Driven
18,503 mi
8,051 mi
15,0007 mi
Total Fuel Volume
941.0 gal
203.3 gal
154.8 gal-E* (5,216.2 kWh)
Total Fuel Cost
$3,243.92
$774.93
$1,229.31
MPG/MPGe
19.7 MPG
39.6 MPG
97 MPGe
Cost per Gallon (or kWh)
$3.45
$3.81
$0.24
Miles Driven per Month
638 mi
670 mi
653 mi
Fuel Volume per Month
32.4 gal
16.9 gal
6.7 gal-E (226.8 kWh)
Fuel Cost per Month
$111.86
$64.58
$53.54
Total Maintenance Cost
$596.62
$362.54
$465.39
Fun Cost(Additions)
$2623.03
$2536.99
$1032.88
*gal-E = gallons gasoline equivalent
Basic Vehicle Statistics
2020 Outback (Gas)
2022 Maverick (Hybrid)
2023 Mach-E (BEV)
Engine
2.4L F-4cyl Turbo CVT AWD
2.5L I-4cyl FHEV FWD
1-spd DD Electric AWD
HP
260 hp @ 5,600 rpm
162 hp @ 5,600 rpm*
266 hp
Torque
277 lb-ft @ 2,000 rpm
155 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm
428 lb-ft
Fuel Capacity
18.5 gal
13.8 gal
70kWh
Fuel Economy (city/hwy/comb)
23/30/26
42/33/37
99/86/93
Range (EPA)
481 mi
511 mi
224 mi
Weight
3,884 lb
3,674 lb
4,498 lb
Wheelbase
108.1 in
121.1 in
117.5 in
Length
191.3 in
199.7 in
185.6 in
Width (with mirror)
82.0 in
83.5 in
74.1 in
Height
66.4 in
68.7 in
64.0 in
Tow Rating
3,500 lb
2,000 lb
–
*191hp total hybrid power delivery; DD = Direct Drive; Fun fact: 70 kWh = 2.1-gal gasoline
Analysis
Easy to see that the data favors electrified vehicles: cheaper, less fuel consumed, better MPGs
Cost per gallon of gas (or equivalent) goes increases the more electrified the vehicle. Keep in mind, overall cost is less
Maintenace costs decrease with increased electrification. However, both electrified vehicles were owned for less time than the gasoline car
Materials: Fender Flares, Instruction Sheet, 16 retainer clips, Automotive Trim Removal Tools/Retainer Clip Removal Tool (or a screwdriver, but much easier with the tools), rubbing alcohol, paper towel, polyurethane sealant, scissors/knife, tape, stool (optional)
Shipping
Pretty tall box, lightOEMThey each come inside a sleeveStamped with the item part
Installation
Instruction sheet and fender flare
Wipe the install location with alcohol, then remove the 5 retainer clips (3 on the door side and 2 on the front end making sure there are 3 in between).
NOTE: The lowest clip on the door-side is a short clip as compared to the longer clips all the others have. This makes re-installation impossible, so while you’re not supposed to remove the 3 towards the front of the Maverick, I swapped the middle clip with the short one which fits perfectly.
Remove these 3Remove the blues, Keep the reds
To dry fit and mark the alignment points, you place, and resecure 3 of the retainer clips (don’t have to push them in all the way).
Dry fitDon’t have to push the clip all the way in, you’ll take it out in a second
Instructions called for a grease pen to mark the alignment, but I used painter’s tape as a guide. Less cleanup.
Remove the clips and the fender flare, then per the instructions, cut the 3M tape in the middle and tape them off. Honestly, before I realized I could use a plastic pry tool to help, this was the longest, most frustrating part of the installation. It’s impossible to get the edges peeled up without nails! The pry tool made it a cinch.
NOTE: As I’ll post a picture a little further down, just peel most of 3M liner at the bottom part of the flare (closest to the wheel). Otherwise, it’s really hard to pull it off later.
Pry tool is very helpful herePeel and secure more of the bottom piece than I did here.
Polyurethane sealant. I used Automotive Amazing Goop because I happened to have it on hand. The little nozzle I bought for it is super-duper helpful. Use your sealant in the built-in channel
Here we go! Same as before, place the flare on, line it up, secure it with the 3 clips. Now with pressure as you go, pull the red 3M liner off.
Pull and press
As mentioned above, the lowest 3M liner got stuck underneath and was difficult to remove, so just pull most it off before placing the flare. Makes it much easier.
Stuck. Had a bit of a time trying to get it out after everything else is secure
Yay! Here are the 2 front sides! After doing the first, the 2nd is very easy.
Midway point!
AAAAND here is where I hit a snag. As it turns out, the rear retainer clips are ALL the small/short clips. And there are 7 on either side that need to be used. I tried, but they are way too short to be able to hold the rear flares in place. Thanks, Ford, for that heads up! So, I have ordered what I think is the equivalent of the OE clips and then a set of generic clips just in case.
The installed flares look good, though. 🙂
CONTINUED!
The retainer clips from Amazon arrived and, wow! I can’t even tell them apart!
Old vs new
Alrighty, then, let’s get installing! Removed the 7 stubby clips from the rear. Here’s an image for size comparison. I said earlier that the most time-consuming part of this install was peeling the 3M liner…it is not. The most time-consuming part is trying to remove these stubby clips. They spin all around the place and it’s more difficult than the longer clips to get a good hold. You get into the groove after a time, though.
comparison
During the dry-fit, new, longer retainer clips work perfectly!
Peel, then secure!
Installed! Looks like I’m going to need to go back and apply trim restore again…the fender flares are clearly newer
Repeat on the other side! Now…I will add a warning here, because after doing 3 of them I was getting a bit cocky. For the very last flare, I decided NOT to do a dry-fit/alignment tape. Don’t do that. It ended up fitting just off-kelter to where the retaining clips wouldn’t even go all the way in, but the adhesive had already stuck and there was no going back.
It’s done! Here’s a before and after install picture of the last flare.
Completo!! It’s amazing how much different the Maverick looks with the fender flares on! I honestly can’t really remember what it looked like before!
Notes
They look really good. Really.
Installation was an overall breeze after I procured the proper parts. As you can see in my pictures, I do not have a driveway, but never had to move my car out of the parking space to install these.
After a week of driving, the flares give noticeably more drag and therefore reduce the gas efficiency. That part I’m not as big a fan of, especially since mine is a hybrid. Then I started wondering if the cab spoiler would help the aerodynamics at all or is simply another cosmetic thing? The internet is not yielding any real information about that. Hmmm…next addition? 😀
