2025 Ford Maverick

Introduced in the 2022 model year, this diminutive pickup truck quickly rose to a top-seller at the Blue Oval Company. One reason: price. Surprisingly, the compact Maverick checks the box as Ford's least expensive offering in 2025 despite a versatile, non-entry-level appeal and $29,840 starting price for a front-wheel drive edition. It's also the lowest-priced pickup sold in the U.S. and pleasant to drive. 

During the past decade, Ford retired the subcompact Fiesta hatchback along with four-door sedans of multiple sizes (bye bye Ford Taurus, once proudly Chicago built at Ford's longest-serving assembly line on Torrence Avenue) paving the way for Maverick's entry friendly status.  

A new Maverick trim level joins the herd in 2025, the well-equipped, performance-minded Lobo boasting upgraded brakes, quicker steering, unique front/rear styling and a torque vectoring rear differential. This brings the total number of available trims to five as Lobo joins the XL, XLT, Lariat and Tremor.  

Lobo also includes an extra drive mode summoned via up/down steering wheel buttons (3 o'clock side) labeled of all things 'LOBO' activating the torque vectoring system through a twin-clutch rear drive unit enhancing cornering capabilities. Other selectable drive modes include Normal Eco, Slippery, Sport and Tow/Haul.  

Unlike its full-size F-150 sibling available with multiple cab configurations and bed sizes, Maverick arrives with a crew cab interior cabin standard conveniently boasting two full-size side doors and a conventional second row. The comparatively stout bed measures 54.4 inches long (translating to 4-feet, five-inches) and 53.3 inches wide at the sidewalls. This provides enough girth (36 cubic feet) to handle the ubiquitous 4 x 8 sheet of plywood with the multiple-setting, manually operated rear tailgate stationed at its mid-level half-closed position when manually adjusting a pair of side cables up or down. 

Ford markets this versatile back end as 'Flexbed' with an array of customizable and standard features including multiple fixed D ring-type tie down points, a built-in tail gate bottle opener on the outboard side (doubling as a tie-down area), LED bed lighting and multi-purpose side bed rails (available as a factory accessory). All trims sans the entry XL include 12-volt and 110-volt power outlets.  

Maverick arrives in two basic flavors unchanged from last year including the conventional 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost internal combustion engine (ICE) version generating 191 horsepower connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission along with a fuel-extending gas-electric hybrid combining a 2.5-liter, naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine working with an electric motor and battery pack producing 191 horsepower and 155 lb.-ft of welcome low-end torque. The conventional 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine comes standard in Lobo and Tremor editions while optional in XL, XLT and Lariat. The hybrid combo arrives standard within XL, XLT and Lariat.  

In addition to the new Lobo trim, all 2025 model year Maverick gas-electric hybrids, also known as hybrid electric vehicles or HEVs, now offer an all-wheel drive option (adding $2,220 to the bottom line) in addition to standard front-wheel drive. With its front-wheel drive bias, all-wheel-drive power directs to the rear wheels through a mechanical driveshaft automatically through multiple sensors with no driver input. Those residing within the upper Midwest boundaries should consider the all-wheel drive investment as pricing for this grippy extra has decreased throughout the decades and adds a welcome grip during wintery mixes. 

EcoBoost represents Ford Motor Company's highly refined turbocharged engines generating additional power, lowering emissions and improving performance. Turbochargers recycle exhaust gases into a pinwheel-like turbine forcing extra air into the engine creating a bigger power boost. EcoBoost incorporates direct fuel injection (rather than a port-style) feeding gas directly into the combustion changer enabling higher compression ratios. Maverick includes a 2.0-liter four-cylinder size. However, the EcoBoost design offers other variants including a 2.7-liter V-6 and 3.0-liter V-6 outputs.  

Fuel economy generated by the hybrid powertrain checks in at 40 miles per gallon city and 34 mpg highway, strong, but a bit less than 2024. Our EcoBoost tester's 2.0-liter engine cooled those numbers down to a rather plebian 21 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. The EcoBoost engine teams with a slightly larger 16.5-gallon tank (compared to a 13.8-gallon hybrid tank). Both engines utilize regular, 87-octane fuel. Ford includes a capless fuel lead negating the need of a plastic twist cap as the fuel nozzle lead breaks through a thin barrier that self-seals once the tank fills and the thin fuel nose removes.  

Engine start/stop deactivation allows the driver to override the process where at prolonged stops, the engine quietly slips into sleep mode to conserve fuel. When stepping off the brake pedal, the engine wakes back up with a gentle rumble.  

Both engines include a 2,000-pound towing capacity when teaming with front-wheel drive. Towing capacity doubles to 4,000 pounds with all-wheel drive models equipped with the optional 4K tow package. Some competitors, including Hyundai's Santa Cruz compact unibody pickup offer up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity when teamed with all-wheel drive and upgraded 2.7-liter turbo engine. Maverick's payload capacity checks in at 1,500 pounds for most trims, about 90 pounds better than Santa Cruz. This metric includes all the poundage residing in the cargo bed and the weight of passengers.  

Maverick's unibody construction and shorter cargo bed paves the way for limited body roll through short tight turns and minimal understeer not usually privy to larger pickup trucks with heavier body-on-frame construction and longer cargo regions. Maverick's tighter turning radius remains the envy of larger, longer full-size pickups. Lighter weight unibody builds grace a majority of sedans and coupes and smaller five-door crossovers. Maverick shares a unibody platform with the popular Bronco Sport crossover.  

Another mid-cycle upgrade includes wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto interaction with the center multi-function screen, negating the need to bring along those long white cords. Of course, cords are always welcome and Maverick accepts both USB Type A and smaller Type C varieties. The center touch-sensitive screen increases in size to 13.2 inches and sits within a mid-section shelf extending up in a flat-screen-like format. It also interacts with the latest version of SYNC (the 4.0 version), a factory-installed entertainment/communication software assisting with hands-free calling navigation and downloadable apps. Many of the HVAC commands operate through the 13.2-inch touchscreen.  

Our shadow black Lobo tester included a $40,750 starting price with 19-inch black aluminum wheels ($100) checking in as the sole factory option. The bottom line reached $42,454 after factoring in a $1,595 destination charge. An entry Santa Fe starts at around $33,000, $3,200 more than Maverick.  

The exterior presents unassuming, conservative, workmanlike hints. Centering the horizontal grille; Ford's Blue Oval logo with its retro cursive lettering. This jibes with the interior grille fill itself resembling narrow, radiator-like yesteryear coils. The flanking headlight housing includes 'C' shaped daytime running lights on the passenger side and the mirror image towards the driver's end. Two vertical halogen taillight bulbs flank the tail gate framed by C-clamp-like highlights. The flat, vertical rear window includes a small center window that powers open via a dashboard switch, an open-air approach to cabin ventilation.  

In 2025, the Pro Trailer Backup Assist comes standard in Lariat and Tremor trims and was included within our Lobo tester. For those trailering a large backside load, this system works in tandem with the multi-functional center screen's camera feed providing an added visual to a dashboard dial easing the task of reverse driving. This software helps to steer the vehicle when in reverse with the driver's hands off the steering wheel. Press the center knob to activate and the driver turns this same dashboard knob to the left to direct the trailer to the left; turn the knob right to direct the trailer right. The driver is still in charge of acceleration and braking.  

The Pro Trailer Backup Assist dial locates along the lower center dash below the prominent touch-sensitive center screen and two horizontal air vents. It's the left flank of a row of four push buttons summoning window defrosting, hazard light flasher and forward/reverse audio functions within the screen and a second right-flank dial monitoring audio on/off and volume. More than once during the week, my hand inadvertently drifted to the Pro Trail dial to adjust the volume.  

The electronic transmission shifter resides between the front bucket seats with a circular design with 'Park' at the arch's far-left end and circling to the 'D' at the opposite end with R and N in between. In the dial's center, the letter 'M' (think manual) allowing drivers greater input to shift forward gears manually without the use of a foot clutch via forward and rear tabs on the steering wheel. The electronic parking brake resides just to the rear as does traction control deactivation and engine start/stop deactivation.  

Maverick conveniently includes several small storage pockets throughout our solid black interior with minimal brushed aluminum highlights. A larger storage opportunity awaits in row two as the entire bench seating lifts up revealing under-storage. With seats in the traditional position, limited leg room welcomes two riders with optimal comfort, three in a pinch. Generous head space awaits both rows with the straight-across, non-slope roof design. Another handy storage lockable compartment resides in the passenger side cargo bed area capable of handling large extension cords, portable drills or a couple two-liter beverage bottles.  

Despite its 'truck' status, Maverick features welcoming entry and exiting thanks to a comparatively low ground clearance. Those with limited mobility or aging infrastructure may be pleasantly surprised as to the ease of entry.  

Maverick's U.S. sales reached 155,051 in the 2025 calendar year, a healthy 18 percent rise from the previous year. By contrast, Ford's thunderous F-150 full-size pickup recorded another banner year as the best-selling vehicle of any size here in the states with 828,832 units out the door, an 8.3 percent rise from the 2024 calendar year.  

At a Glance: 2025 Ford Maverick
Price as tested: $42,445
Engine: 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost
Horsepower: 191
Wheelbase: 121.1 inches
Overall Length: 199.7 inches  
Overall Height: 68.7 inches
Overall Width: 72.6 inches
Fuel Economy: 21 mpg city/ 30 mpg highway
Powertrain Warranty: Five year/60,000 miles
Assembly: Hermosillo, Mexico