Full-size pickup trucks have grown significantly in the last decade, leaving a void for people who perhaps don't need something quite that large. In 2019 Ford reintroduced the midsize Ranger pickup after an eight-year absence and debuted the even smaller compact Maverick in 2022. We expect the 2025 Ford Maverick to show up with some minor feature updates and additions, though spy shots point to a street-performance variant in the works that could be called the Lobo. We don't know whether that might materialize for 2025.
The compact Ford Maverick is obviously not as utilitarian as its larger pickup siblings, but it can still handle plenty of truck duties. The bed is wide enough to hold a 4-foot sheet of plywood or drywall, but 8-foot lengths will extend past the tailgate by several feet. Towing maxes out at 4,000 pounds, so you can easily pull smaller trailers. As the smallest Ford pickup, it's also the most affordable, and the savings won't end when you buy one. The hybrid model will save you at the pump with its miserly fuel economy.
The only direct competitor to the Maverick is the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which has similar capabilities but distinguishes itself with more of an SUV personality inside and out. The Santa Cruz can tow 1,000 pounds more than the Maverick, but the lack of a trailer brake controller evens the playing field. Toyota unveiled an all-electric small truck called the EPU, but it's unclear if or when it might go into production. If it suits your needs, the Maverick can also be an alternative to larger midsize trucks — check out our full Expert Rating for more information.
Edmunds Expert Rating
Our VerdictThe Edmunds Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.
If you want a compact truck that looks like a truck, drives like a truck, and feels like a truck — congratulations! You've found it! The Ford Maverick is priced competitively, fuel economy is very impressive, and interior storage is masterful. The Maverick may not be very exciting to drive, or even to look at, but it's certainly utilitarian.
Rated for you by America's best test team.How does the Maverick drive? We tested both Maverick engines: the base engine 2.5-liter hybrid as well as the optional turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. Our test truck, equipped with the latter, zipped from zero to 60 mph in just 6.4 seconds. That's quicker than any midsize pickup truck and just a smidge quicker than the Hyundai Santa Cruz. The automatic transmission shifts quickly when you're accelerating, and it doesn't hunt around for gears on long uphill grades thanks to abundant power from under the hood. The Maverick with the base hybrid powertrain is a bit slower to 60 at 8.4 seconds, but it's a trade-off we'd make given the improved fuel efficiency.
Steering and handling aren't as satisfying, however. The Maverick feels more like a traditional truck in this sense. You don't get much feel for the road through the steering wheel, and there's a significant amount of body roll when going around turns. The Maverick is a bit stiffly sprung so midcorner bumps will upset its handling a bit too.
Off-roading isn't a strong suit for the Lariat trim level, which is what we tested, but there's a decent 8.3 inches of ground clearance and all-wheel drive to be had. Plus, you can get the optional FX4 package if you want to go even farther off the beaten path.
How comfortable is the Maverick? When it comes to comfort, the Maverick embraces more of the truck vibe than its Hyundai Santa Cruz rival. Over broken or bumpy roads, it has a choppy ride quality that never seems to go away. The seats are firmly padded but supportive, and they hold up over long trips. But there are hard plastic door panels right next to your knees, and they're uncomfortable to brace against when navigating down curvy roads.
There isn't much noise from the engine on the highway, but it's a bit unrefined at idle and under full-throttle acceleration. We also noticed a strikingly loud drivetrain noise coming from beneath the rear floor that we couldn't identify. These traits are a bit of a harder pill to swallow on the top-trim Lariat.
How’s the interior? You'll love the Maverick if you like your truck interiors simple. There aren't a lot of frills or buttons, but finding the controls you need is very easy. Getting in and out requires some ducking of heads for most, but once you're inside there's a decent amount of headroom all around. The driving position is relatively upright, and the driver's seat and steering wheel don't offer much adjustability. Legroom is limited in the rear seat, as is the space under the front seats for feet.
The Maverick's boxy cab, however, provides excellent visibility. Big, squarish windows mean that you can see well in every direction, and while they're a bit on the small side, we like Ford's useful integrated blind-spot mirrors.
How’s the tech? Without the optional Luxury package, there isn't much tech to explore inside the Maverick. You do get an 8-inch touchscreen with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, and it's quick and easy to connect, but that's about where it ends. The standard stereo is pretty underwhelming when it comes to output volume.
Spring for the Luxury package and you'll receive adaptive cruise control, enhanced voice controls, an upgraded 8-inch screen, a wireless charging pad and lane keeping assistance. A lot of these driver aids and options missing from our top-trim test vehicle come standard on the base Hyundai Santa Cruz.
How are the towing and storage? The Maverick's party piece is the massive number of cubbies and interior storage areas. The doors can accommodate huge water bottles, the rear underseat storage is relatively large, and there are all sorts of useful dividers in the large center console. The Maverick has mastered small-item storage.
Loading in a large car seat will be a bit difficult because the top tethers are located behind the folding rear seats. Plus, the underseat storage is accessed by lifting up the entire rear seat bottom, so you'll have to remove any child seats to get underneath. What a pain.
The Maverick's maximum towing and payload capacities are impressive for such a small vehicle: 4,000 pounds and 1,500 pounds, respectively. The Maverick also offers a four-pin and seven-pin connector and an integrated trailer brake controller, the latter of which is missing in the rival Hyundai Santa Cruz. So while the Santa Cruz ultimately has a higher overall towing capacity, the Maverick is better equipped to tow straight from the factory.
How’s the fuel economy? With the turbocharged 2.0-liter engine and all-wheel drive, the Maverick gets an EPA rating of 25 mpg combined. That's a respectable number that we were able to easily achieve in the real world. On our evaluation route, our test Maverick returned 27 mpg in mixed highway and city driving. On the same route, a Santa Cruz actually topped that by 2 mpg, but if fuel efficiency is a top concern, the real trump card here is the Maverick's hybrid powertrain. The hybrid Maverick gets a segment-topping EPA estimate of 37 mpg combined. That beats most non-hybrid compact sedans. In the real world, we regularly saw over 40 mpg combined during testing, which is promising.
Is the Maverick a good value? At its entry price, there's no denying the Maverick's appeal. An EPA estimate of 37 mpg combined with the hybrid engine and an as-new starting price in the low $20,000s are both very impressive. Our test Maverick with the hybrid powertrain lacked some advanced driver aids that come standard on other vehicles at this price, but it's still one of the better values out there. Our other test truck with the upgraded engine came across like less of a bargain.
A three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty are pretty typical among trucks, and that's what the Maverick gets. But the Santa Cruz blows it out of the water with a five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.
The Maverick is relatively nondescript. It accomplishes its mission of looking like a truck, and therefore it goes mostly unnoticed. The optional engine is peppy and it can be relatively fun to drive, but there is a more entertaining vehicle in the class.
We give it some credit for its efficient hybrid engine, along with its no-frills interior and low starting price. Pair that with a functional and easy-to-use bed, and you've got a unique offering but not one with a ton of personality.
Ford hasn't released official information on the 2025 Maverick as of this writing. We'll update our recommendation if anything changes, but based on last year's Maverick we recommend the base XL trim, which comes relatively well equipped and at a low starting price. You'll need to upgrade to the XLT trim to get access to optional features like the XLT Luxury package, but the XL will suit most people's needs and desires.
[Editor's note: The following unofficial information is based on last year's Maverick. We expect the 2025 model will have a similar lineup and we'll update this section once we have complete information.] The Ford Maverick is a compact crew-cab pickup available in three main trim levels: XL, XLT and Lariat. Each trim comes standard with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that produces 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque and is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard; all-wheel drive is available. Optional is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a hybrid system to produce a combined 191 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque. This combo is mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and is only available with front-wheel drive. Keep reading for our breakdown of the Maverick's significant standard features and options.
XL
This base trim includes features such as:
- LED headlights
- 17-inch steel wheels
- Cruise control
- Cloth upholstery
- Power windows
- Air conditioning
- Rear underseat storage compartments
- 8-inch touchscreen
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration
- Six-speaker stereo
- Forward collision mitigation (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
XLT
On top of the standard equipment, the midgrade XLT gets:
- Alloy wheels
- Upgraded upholstery
- Rear center armrest with cupholders
- Power-locking tailgate
Lariat
This top-of-the-line trim adds to the XLT's equipment with:
- Proximity keyless entry with push-button start
- Dual-zone automatic climate control
- Spray-in bedliner
- Trailer hitch
- Synthetic leather upholstery
- Power-adjustable driver's seat
- Power-sliding rear window
- Upgraded driver information display
- Heated seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Upgraded infotainment interface (Ford's Sync 3)
- Navigation system with voice control
- Wireless smartphone charging pad
- Eight-speaker B&O premium sound system
- Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-set distance between the Maverick and the car in front)
- Blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic warning (alerts you if a vehicle is in your blind spot during a lane change or while in reverse)
- Evasive steering assistance (enhances the forward collision mitigation system with steering-based collision avoidance)
- Rear parking sensors
Some of the Lariat's extra features are available on the XLT through the XLT Luxury package. Other key optional packages for the Maverick include:
4K Towing package
- Trailer hitch receiver with seven-pin trailer wiring harness connector
- Integrated trailer brake controller (allows adjustment of a trailer's brakes from the cab)
- Upgraded powertrain cooling
FX4 Off-Road package (requires all-wheel drive)
- All-terrain tires
- Exposed front tow hooks
- Hill descent control
- Skid plates
Ford Co-Pilot360 package
- Blind-spot warning (alerts you if a vehicle in the next lane over is in your blind spot)
- Lane keeping assistance (steers the Maverick back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker)
Tremor Off-Road package
The Tremor package is available on XLT and Lariat models with the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive. Feature upgrades include:
- Off-road-tuned suspension with elevated ground clearance
- Trail Control (low-speed cruise control for off-roading)
- Underbody skid plates
- Upgraded transmission cooler
- Trailer hitch receiver
- Full-size spare tire
- Advanced four-wheel-drive system
- Locking rear differential
- Additional terrain drive modes
- 17-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tires
- Unique exterior styling elements and badging
The Tremor Off-Road Plus Appearance package can be added to this package, and it brings a gray hood, roof and mirrors.