The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Hybrid fuel economy…
- … or turbo power
- As much truck as many really need
- Good ride
Dislikes
- Not actually all that small
- Some cheap bits inside
- Price has risen substantially since 2021…
- … and price can climb fast with options
Buying tip
features & specs
An update for 2025 keeps the Ford Maverick fresh and even more useful, though watch that price tag closely.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Ford Maverick? What does it compare to?
The 2025 Ford Maverick is a small crew-cab pickup. It compares best with the Hyundai Santa Cruz, though those who need more towing capacity should look at the automaker’s larger, costlier, and thirstier Ranger.
Is the 2025 Ford Maverick a good pickup?
So long as you don’t need to tow heavy trailers, it’s an exceptionally smart choice. Sure, the Maverick isn’t the bargain it once was, but overall the Maverick is one of the smartest new vehicles around. It’s an easy 6.6 on the TCC scale. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Ford Maverick?
Ford finally offers both the hybrid and turbocharged versions of the Maverick with all-wheel drive this year. Both versions can be equipped to tow up to 4,000 pounds, too.
Inside, the Maverick gains a new 13.2-inch touchscreen as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a surround-view camera is newly available. Additionally, a new Maverick Lobo trim level features street-oriented styling and a firmer suspension.
The Maverick receives new headlights and a different front grille, with LED projector lights on higher-end vtrims and available 19-inch alloy wheels. The interior has the same look, but with slightly different materials and color options. It’s still playful and fun inside, with convenient small-item storage throughout.
The Maverick shares its basic underpinnings and its powertrains with the Ford Escape. The most appealing setup is a 191-hp inline-4 paired with an electric motor and a CVT that offers upward of 37 mpg in front-drive form. This setup can now be spec’d to tow up to 4,000 pounds and it’s available with all-wheel drive, which makes the thirstier turbo harder to rationalize. That setup takes a 2.0-liter turbo-4 and pairs it with an 8-speed automatic. With 238 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, it’s decidedly quicker, but now feels like an awkward stepping stone to the bigger Ranger.
The Maverick has an almost sporty feel with its poised suspension and quick steering. The new Lobo may blur that line even further; it includes a lowered suspension and a torque-vectoring rear axle. For burgeoning off-roaders, the Tremor package offers up decent capability, too.
Mavericks do a good job balancing passenger and cargo hauling, though they don’t excel at either. The cabin is innovative and reasonably comfortable, if far from spacious or luxurious. So too the 54.4-inch bed, which has storage bins and tie-downs, but definitely won’t haul home an extra-long couch. That said, it’s a perfect setup for the way many pickup owners actually utilize their trucks.
Standard safety fare includes active lane control and automatic emergency braking, while some models have blind-spot monitors, rear parking sensors, and adaptive cruise control. Outward vision is good for a pickup.
How much does the 2025 Ford Maverick cost?
The base Maverick costs $27,890, or about $7,000 more than it did when it launched a few years ago. It’s not hard to nudge one up past $30,000, while a loaded Lariat or Tremor will likely be into the $40,000 range.
The best values here are toward the bottom of the lineup, though Ford is a bit stingy about adaptive cruise control availability.
Where is the 2025 Ford Maverick made?
In Mexico.
2025 Ford Maverick Styling
The Maverick takes a nothing-you-don’t-need approach to its looks.
Is the Ford Maverick a good-looking pickup truck?
It’s interesting, if not exactly gorgeous. The 2025 Maverick has a new front end with sideways J-shaped headlights and a more crossover-like grille this year, which seems to distance it even farther from the Ranger and F-150 pickup trucks. It’s interesting enough inside and out to net a 7 on the TCC scale.
The Ranger comes only in crew-cab form with an integrated body and bed, rather than the separate bed arrangement seen in conventional trucks. Each trim level has its own distinct look, culminating in the Tremor package’s bright orange accents that even extend to a single spoke on each wheel. It’s a bit much, to be honest.
The cabin sticks with what we consider Cozy Coupe-grade trim on its dash and doors, but it’s easy enough to overlook those surfaces since the design is so intriguing. The cabin feels bright and airy, with few buttons but plenty of small storage compartments. This year’s new widescreen better fills the big dashtop panel than the little display that was up there last year, but Ford has chosen to toss the volume knob below the climate controls, which seems like an afterthought. The automaker paid far more attention to trim colors, though. There’s not a dull gray, beige, or greige in this lineup.
2025 Ford Maverick Performance
The 2025 Ford Maverick doesn’t drive like a typical pickup truck.
The 2025 Maverick has a good ride and relatively nimble handling, which combine for a 6 out of 10 on the TCC scale. That’s crossover SUV territory, which isn’t surprising since the Maverick’s underpinnings are basically a stretched version of the Escape and Bronco Sport models.
Is the Ford Maverick 4WD?
It can be. A simple all-wheel-drive system is optional regardless of powertrain. (Last year, the hybrid version wasn’t offered with all-wheel drive.)
If you want to go off-road, the Tremor version has a slightly higher suspension and off-road shocks, plus a locking rear differential to better transfer power between the rear wheels. It’s no Raptor, but it’s good enough for light-duty work.
How fast is the Ford Maverick?
The Maverick is quick with the 2.0-liter turbo-4, which spins out 238 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque. Unfortunately, this engine is saddled with an 8-speed automatic transmission that lunges out shifts at lower speeds. It’s hard to drive it smoothly.
We actually prefer the hybrid, which blends a 2.5-liter inline-4 with a battery pack and an electric motor for 191 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque, sent to the wheels through a CVT. It’s not quick, but it’s quiet — though, to be fair, we’ve yet to drive this setup with the newly available all-wheel-drive system.
While the Maverick Hybrid can now be equipped up to a 4,000-pound tow rating, we suspect the turbo (or, frankly, a midsize truck) will be better-suited to heavy loads. That said, the Maverick is just fine lugging a small utility or moving trailer.
Underneath, the Maverick rides on a suspension with tuning just the soft side of sporty. It responds like a smaller vehicle, which is especially impressive given the Maverick stretches the better part of 200 inches long. Front-drive models have a simple twist-beam rear axle that can feel a bit skittish when pushed hard, while all-wheel-drive models swap in a more sophisticated multi-link setup out back that does a better job absorbing bumps and keeping the vehicle feel planted in hard cornering.
Quick-witted steering with surprising heft adds to the sporty feel, while strong brakes bring the Maverick to a halt with confidence.
We’ve yet to drive the new Maverick Lobo, which pairs the turbo engine with a suspension lowered about a half an inch up front and an inch out back. It also features a rear axle with torque vectoring and upgraded brakes.
2025 Ford Maverick Comfort & Quality
The 2025 Ford Maverick is well-suited to hauling some people and some stuff — just not a lot of either.
So long as you don’t regularly tow a heavy load or take the entire basketball starting lineup to practice, the 2025 Ford Maverick will likely do everything you need. Its 200-inch overall length is split well between passenger and cargo space. We give it a 7 for its interior storage and its 54.4-inch bed out back.
Mavericks have acceptable but not exactly plush front seats, which are power-adjustable on most trims. Rear-seat riders will find a somewhat tight 35 inches of legroom in hybrids, plus another inch in non-hybrids since they don’t have a battery pack to contend with. That’s not great space, but it’s in line with midsize trucks.
More impressive are the myriad small-item storage bins, which are scattered about the cabin. You’ve likely never had so many pockets in which to lose your phone, glasses, wallet, and Baskin Robbins punch card.
Out back, the bed is definitely short, but it has a pair of covered storage bins, a power outlet, and interior rails, plus many tie-downs. A bed extender is available for longer loads, and the tailgate can be angled to carry long plywood.
2025 Ford Maverick Safety
The 2025 Ford Maverick comes with decent crash-avoidance tech.
How safe is the Ford Maverick?
Last year’s model wasn’t great, but we’ll see if the updates for 2025 bring a better result from the NHTSA or the IIHS. Back then, it had decidedly mixed scores all around.
Every Maverick leave sthe factory with automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and automatic high-beam LED headlights, while Lariat and Tremor models come with adaptive cruise control with stop-and go. A surround-view camera is newly optional, though outward vision is decent thanks to somewhat narrow roof pillars and a low beltline.
2025 Ford Maverick Features
The 2025 Ford Maverick costs a lot more than it used to, though it can still be a good value overall.
The 2025 Ford Maverick can be a good overall value, so long as you don’t go too crazy with options. We give it points for standard equipment, a big touchscreen, and myriad configurations, bringing it to an 8 for features.
True, the Maverick is no longer the bargain it once was. It starts at $27,890, and it’s not hard to punch your way past $30,000.
The base Maverick XL now comes standard with teh hybrid powertrain, plus 17-inch steel wheels, cloth seats with manual adjustment up front, a 13.2-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and cruise control. It’s definitely not lavish, though you can add blind-spot monitors, rear parking sensors, and, to all-wheel-drive models, a tow package that ups the ante to 4,000 pounds. It’s also available with all-wheel drive and the turbo engine.
All Mavericks are backed by a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty, but Ford doesn’t include any free servicing.
Which Ford Maverick should I buy?
The step-up XLT will likely be worth the extra cost. We’ll update this space when we know how much more Ford wants for its features like 17-inch alloy wheels, a power tailgtate lock, upgraded cloth upholstery, and a proximity key. It’s also the gateway point to heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, the FX4 off-road package with skid plates and chunky tires, and a few other niceties.
The Lobo builds on the XLT with a lowered suspension, 19-inch wheels, and numerous styling features. The Lobo is the least-expensive Maverick with available adaptive cruise control, though it’s bundled with a step-up trim level that includes a ton of features like heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a power sunroof, daul-zone automatic climate control, and an 8-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system.
How much is a fully loaded Ford Maverick?
That depends on what you’re after, though we’ll update this space when we know exactly what Ford wants for either the luxurious (ish) Lariat or the capable (ish) Tremor.
The all-wheel drive-only Lariat has synthetic leather seats, 19-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, premium sound, a surround-view camera system, adaptive cruise control, and a bunch of other niceties. Even then, Ford offers a tow package, a blacked-out design package, and a few other items.
The Tremor starts with the Lariat and adds off-road pieces like skid plates, 17-inch wheels wearing all-terrain tires, and a locking rear differential. It comes only with the turbo-4 and it’s only available with a few options, including a sunroof.
2025 Ford Maverick Fuel Economy
The 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid is a downright frugal pickup.
Is the Ford Maverick good on gas?
Yes, but stay tuned since we don’t know just how efficient it is. In the past, the Maverick has rated as high as 42 mpg city, 33 highway, 37 combined with the hybrid powertrain and front-wheel drive. It’s possible that this year’s design tweaks will result another mpg or two, though certainly the all-wheel-drive option will hurt things.
The turbo-4 has traditionally been estimated in the 25 to 26 mpg range, while the Tremor is rated at a downright midsize-like 21 mpg.
