Prior to 2021, the only unibody pickup on sale in the U.S. in recent history was the Honda Ridgeline; a truck that, despite some clever design touches and Honda’s traditionally great 3.5-liter V6 engine, was never viewed favorably by the majority of buyers. In the last 20 years, Honda has moved around 500,000 Ridgelines, though sales have been trending upward in the last few years.
In 2021, however, both Ford and Hyundai launched brand new small unibody pickups, the Maverick and Santa Cruz, respectively, and holy cow have they taken off. So far annual sales of the Santa Cruz have only roughly matched the Ridgeline, but as for the Maverick, it’s been on sale almost exactly three years and in that time has sold almost 300,000 units as of July 2024.
And why is that? Well, much like how the Bronco Sport I reviewed recently achieves the same goal as the Ford Escape from 20 years ago, the Maverick effectively sits in the spot held by the Ranger in the 1990s and early 2000s. As trucks have gotten bigger and more expensive (mostly more expensive), the Maverick is a welcome refresher to the market: a fantastic option for those looking for a smaller, significantly more affordable pickup.
Unlike the old Ranger, the Maverick is unibody like the Ridgeline. Underneath, it shares a platform with the aforementioned Bronco Sport and the current Ford Escape crossovers. Technically, that means it’s not a true truck in that sense, but I’d argue there’s really no negatives in this case.
Ford has certainly put effort into engineering the Maverick to be truck-like. While the bed is on the smaller side at 54 inches long, you can unhook the tailgate supports and lock it into a slightly raised position which enables level, stable hauling of 4×8 sheets of plywood or other long items. There are also cutouts on each side of the bed that allow for 2x4s to fit perfectly across if you want to DIY your own shelf or bed divider solution. As for surprising specs, the Maverick’s 1,500 pound payload is actually more than a giant F-150 Raptor and only a couple hundred pounds shy of a mid-size Toyota Tacoma. With the optional 4K Tow Package, the Maverick can also tow 4,000 pounds, as the name suggests.
Moving up to the back seat of the Maverick, you’ll find under-seat storage bins just like in an F-150 (though naturally scaled down slightly), as well as a handful of what appear to be empty T-shaped slots throughout the interior. These are part of Ford’s Integrated Tether System (or F.I.T.S. for short) and now that they’ve made the geometry publicly downloadable, anyone can 3D-print custom accessories to fit in them (pun absolutely intended), from extra cupholders to grocery bag hooks and more.
The Maverick’s entire cabin is decidedly budget-friendly but quirky and clever enough to make up for that. There’s tons of hard plastic surfaces, mainly on the doors, but Ford has thoughtfully left a cutout between the grab handle and armrest so that taller bottles can fit in the cubby below. There’s also a raised pattern and texture to both the door panel and dashboard trim, which helps dress things up a bit. The three-tone grey, black, and dark blue color scheme of the XL version is also far more interesting than any other base-model car I’ve been in recently. Higher trims offer brown and orange accents for even more flair.
Speaking of it being the entry-level XL, features are a little light but the basics are still included. With the CoPilot360 package, you get blind-spot warning and lane-keep assist, but things like cruise control, automatic LED headlights, keyless entry, and Apple CarPlay are included by default. The XL’s standard steel wheels also get a huge thumbs up from me. It’s important to remember the Maverick — especially the base XL — is a sub-$30,000 brand new pickup. When the average new car transaction price is over $45,000 these days, some corners do have to be cut to make that happen, but the interior is by no means a penalty box. In fact, I appreciate its simplicity even more for that reason.
Behind the wheel, the Maverick doesn’t drive dissimilarly to a Ford Fusion sedan. Once again, just like its Bronco Sport sibling, that’s a compliment. The front seats are comfortable, the driving position is good, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost is plenty peppy, and optional all-wheel-drive helps mitigate the turbo-four’s inherent torque steer tendencies. The motor doesn’t make any interesting noises, but is equally unobtrusive at the same time.
Where the Maverick shines in the powertrain department, however, is the available 2.5-liter hybrid that’s capable of 40 MPG around town. The 2.0-liter turbo’s high-20s figures are a little bit disappointing, but can still easily beat the body-on-frame Ranger. For 2025, Ford has announced the pairing of AWD with the hybrid system for the first time, which will probably be the best way to go going forward. If the addition of AWD allows for the higher towing capacity package to be offered, that will really seal the deal.
Either way, for the price point, you really can’t go wrong. The size and specs of the Maverick are plenty for most folks that would otherwise be looking at a Ranger or Tacoma, and the pricing is undoubtedly favorable as well. The Ranger was once the entry-level truck, but now costs about $10,000 more brand new across the board. Mind you, it’s still marginally more capable, but again the Maverick is more than adequate for most shoppers whether they want to admit it or not.
Personally, I would love to see Ford make a two-door version with a longer bed, akin to its spiritual successor, the ’90s Ranger. But the current bodystyle makes me reminisce of my old Subaru Baja, and I love that just as much.
| Vehicle Tested | 2023 Ford Maverick XL |
|---|---|
| Color | Cactus Grey / Black Onyx & Dark Slate |
| Drivetrain | 2.0L turbo I-4, 8-spd automatic, All wheel drive |
| HP / Torque | 250 horsepower / 277 lb-ft |
| Curb Weight | 3,700 lbs (est.) |
| Towing Capacity | 4,000 lbs |
| 0-60 mph | 5.9 seconds (est.) |
| EPA Fuel Econ | 22 city / 29 hwy / 25 combined |
| MSRP | $27,785 |
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