Last year I reviewed the 2024 Ford Maverick, with a gasoline powered engine. It was one of my favorite cars I've reviewed and I still stand by that decision to give it a perfect rating. It's a fantastic truck, and every time I see one going down the road or parked in someone's driveway, I still think about calling my local Ford dealer and making a deal.
It's invaded my brain enough that when people ask me "what's your favorite car you've reviewed?" I usually answer with the Maverick, and I've driven
fantastic cars like the BMW M5 and Aston Martin Vantage. For a normal person, who just wants no nonsense transportation with the added utility of a pickup bed, it's hard to look anywhere else than the Ford.
However, there was one major gap in my Maverick experience: I had not driven the hybrid version. After all, one of the main draws of the small pickup back when it launched was the availability of a hybrid drivetrain. So, when I saw that I was going to be getting a Maverick Hybrid, one with newly available all-wheel drive, I was pretty excited.
Read more: 6 Of The Worst-Looking Fords Ever Made
Under The Hood Of Efficiency
The 2025 model year for the Maverick is a little bit of a refresh, the biggest change is the addition of all-wheel drive for the hybrid models. Previous model years were limited to just front wheel drive if you wanted the electrified engine. This specific 2025 Ford Maverick was in the XLT trim, which sits right around the middle of the pack, between the base model XL, and the more feature-rich Lariat trim.
Mechanically, the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid really isn't all that interesting. It has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine and an electric motor for a total of 191 horsepower. It's worth noting that the hybrid model has 59 horsepower less than the 2.0-liter EcoBoost-powered non-hybrid Maverick.
The benefit of that hybrid drivetrain is that it is rated at a combined 37 miles per gallon. That's a significant jump over the non-hybrid's 25 combined miles per gallon. However, with a little bit of careful driving, I was able to get the little hybrid to over 40 miles per gallon, which is frankly ridiculous for a pickup truck.
The Practical Little Pickup
For doing truck and truck-adjacent activities, the Maverick Hybrid has a payload rating of 1,400 pounds (100 pounds less than the non-hybrid). The standard towing capacity is 2,000 pounds, but that can be upgraded to 4,000 pounds with a towing package, just like with the non-hybrid version. The bed measures at 54.4 inches in length across the lineup.
Actually driving the Maverick Hybrid brings about all of the excitement you would expect out of an SUV-based hybrid with less than 200 horsepower, meaning not a whole lot. It's a bit less peppy than the non-hybrid model, although not distractingly so. It drives a little bit like a tractor and the exhaust "note" backs up that assessment. But that's really all I can expect out of a car with its set of specifications, so I can't knock it for operating within fairly strict parameters. It's a fuel efficiency and practicality-focused machine and not a racer.
The interior was not much to write home about, other than some fun blue accents over the cloth seats and Playskool-grade plastic everywhere. It's not a Maybach, but it's perfectly serviceable for daily usage. If anything, the somewhat spartan accoutrements (or lack thereof) was a nice change of pace from all the ostentatious gadgets and gizmos that many modern cars are adorned with. The XLT trim gets you some extra tie-downs in the bed, aluminum wheels (over the base model's steelies), and push button start. It's not a luxury trim, or even luxury adjacent, but it's not like a doctor's office or bare-bones work truck. It's fine.
Checking A Lot Of Boxes
I wish I could say that I took the Maverick camping, or towed a boat, or went to the landfill with a bed full of stuff, but I didn't do anything like that. I simply drove it around, which to be fair is what I've seen plenty of Maverick owners do (and owners of larger pickups, too). The numbers speak for themselves. The Maverick Hybrid is extremely practical within its stated parameters, even if those parameters are fairly unexciting -- if no less worthy -- in the grand scheme of automotive excellence.
There are a number of cars more practical than the Maverick. Full size-pickups minimize the Maverick to irrelevance when it comes to hauling. There are cars more efficient than the Maverick, with models like the Prius capable of well over 50 miles per gallon if you're crafty enough. And everyone knows that there are cars that perform better than the Maverick when it comes to the exciting driving. But is there another car that does a pretty good job at all three? And for a starting price of under $30,000? The Maverick is alone in that segment and, for that, it deserves a fair amount of praise.
Pricing Up The Maverick
Price is a key element of the Maverick's appeal, as it's currently the least expensive pickup currently on sale. Base price for a 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid XL front-wheel drive starts at $28,145 (without destination); the Maverick Hybrid XLT AWD that I drove has a base MSRP of $32,865. The "Ruby Red" paint color adds $390 and the bed tie down rails are $225. This truck was also equipped with the $1,890 "XLT Luxury Package" which adds an 8-way power drivers seat, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and a 400 watt power inverter with outlets in the cab and bed.
The $795 Ford Co-Pilot 360 option adds a suite of driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking, rear-cross traffic alerts, and a lane-assist system. Lastly, it had a spray-in bedliner that was $495. Throw all that together with a destination charge of $1,695 and an acquisition fee of $695 and you arrive at the final price of $39,050. There are worse ways to spend nearly $40,000.
2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid Verdict
Were I checking off the options sheet myself, I would likely forgo some of the pricier options like the XLT Luxury package and the Co-Pilot 360 suite, but that's just a personal choice. $39,050 still puts it under a base model Ford Ranger XL with four-wheel drive. When it's all said and done, the Ranger totals at $39,240.
Within its own extremely small batch of competitors, a similarly equipped 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL (which is not available as a hybrid) saves you a bit of money at $35,235. Its payload is rated at 1,411 pounds and has a maximum towing capacity of $5,000 pounds. Still, the Maverick beats the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz in fuel economy by a significant margin.
The 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid is a good truck, it might even be a great truck given its versatility and sheer efficiency. My only qualms would circle around better options pricing and maybe making it even just 5% more interesting to drive. That said, you'd be hard pressed to find a vehicle, let alone a truck, that checks as many boxes as the Maverick, hybrid or otherwise.
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