2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD First Drive Review: Budget Overachiever

Since it rolled onto the scene, the Ford Maverick has essentially been in a class of one.

Sure, you can count the Hyundai Santa Cruz if you want. That’s more of a lifestyle vehicle, and its pricing reflects that. The Maverick provided a welcome riposte to the always-bigger, always-fancier evolution of full-size pickups, one of the truest expressions of “cheap and cheerful” this industry had seen in years.

There was just one issue: the desirable hybrid setup was only available with front-drive only. For 2025 Ford has finally fixed that, and brought in a raft of other updates to make its lil’ trucklet even more appealing.

Easily the biggest upgrade is the one that everyone was asking for: all-wheel drive is now available with the hybrid powertrain. It’s the same 191 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque as before, but funneled to all four corners. The 4K tow package, which doubles the towing capacity to 4,000 pounds, is also available on the AWD hybrid.

The 2.0-liter EcoBoost continues on for those craving more power than fuel economy, supplying 250 hp and 277 lb-ft through an eight-speed automatic. This engine powers the new Lobo, a street-focused performance model; get the full scoop on the Lobo later today.

The cabin sees the typical tech improvements, headlined by the 13.2-inch central touchscreen and wireless phone mirroring. There are also more towing assists to make hauling easier.

Ford doesn’t get enough credit for its hybrid powertrains. The Maverick’s on-paper stats only tell part of the story; the torque-fill from the electric motor keeps the trucklet moving forward more than adequately. There’s very little e-CVT drone either, even on the hillier sections of the drive route outside of San Diego. The hand-off between the two propulsion methods is seamless, and there’s no jerkiness to be found.

Across an afternoon of driving, the XLT tester I was in saw roughly 30-percent of its mileage handled on electric power. That’s a nice bit of gamification found in the digital instrument panel, by the way.

Official fuel economy pegs the hybrid AWD at 37 mpg combined (6.4 L/100 km), slightly down from the front-driver. We saw figures very close to that during the drive, and again I need to stress just how hilly most of the route was.

It’s easy to forget there’s a bed slung out back when behind the Maverick’s wheel. The little truck is a comfy and agreeable thing to drive, with well-judged damping and good sound insulation. You hear the suspension doing its thing more than you feel it in the Maverick. With the squidgier tires of the XLT combined with a long wheelbase, the Maverick rides like a compact crossover. There’s good weight to its electrically-assisted steering too, while the brakes are progressive and predictable. There’s such a solid base foundation here, it’s almost as if Ford could make a high-performance version if it wanted…

I’d love to tell you how the AWD model differs from the front-driver. Just two issues: firstly, there were no front-drive Mavericks on the event, and secondly, this is San Diego we’re talking about. Low-grip situations were limited to the light misting that occurred on the beginning of our drive.

Ford hasn’t changed up the recipe too much inside the Maverick. The basic architecture is the same as before, with plenty of interesting textures to liven the place up. Nobody will be mistaking it for a Honda Civic inside, but Ford has done a good job steering away from piano blacks or other materials that easily show dirt or scratches.

Grabber Blue highlights perk up the place, though they do clash with certain exterior colors. As solid as the interior door pulls feel—those exposed bolts aren't just for visual interest—the few remaining physical buttons on the center console sure don't: the whole panel flexes when pushed.

I spend a brief time with the unofficial Journo Spec model: a green XL hybrid AWD on steelies. Its cabin is workmanlike, replete with a classic twist-key start, but I find the cloth seats still comfy. Manual-adjust exterior mirrors is a throw-back maybe too extreme for most, however.

Goodbye, weird tiny storage space beside the old touchscreen. Every single ’25 Maverick ships with the larger 13.2-inch screen seen here, and it’s a good one. Powered by Sync 4 it’s much quicker now, and allows for wireless pairing to iPhone or Android devices. Thankfully it’s still quite easy to use too, with large menu items and little in the way of sub-menu diving. Apple CarPlay can now be expanded to take up the entire screen if you’d prefer; there are a few swappable widgets to the right by default. Well, almost the whole screen: even the affordable Maverick can’t avoid having all of its climate controls migrating to the touchscreen. An 8.0-inch driver instrument cluster provides key details and slick graphics when changing through drive modes.

New this year is the addition of three key available features: a 360-degree camera, Pro Trailer Hitch Assist, and Pro Trailer Backup Assist, all tech we’ve seen on other Ford trucks. The latter uses a dial to easily steer the truck and trailer down the desired path, while Trailer Hitch uses a combination of the sensors and camera to align to a trailer automatically. Since so many Maverick buyers are coming from non-trucks, these sorts of assists should prove incredibly useful at building confidence.

Framed within Ford’s own “$20,000 truck” messaging from the Maverick’s launch a few years ago, the $28,590 ($36,695 CAD) starting price of the 2025 model is a steep hike. That first price never included destination though, and there’s been a serious bump in tech during the ensuing years.

The XLT is the sweet spot at $31,090 ($37,900 CAD), adding all-important bits like a power-locking tailgate and seat plus steering heating. Lariat, Tremor, and Lobo all fall right around $40,000 (~$45,000 CAD).

All-wheel drive is an additional $2,200 upcharge.

How long these prices will stay level in this political climate, for a vehicle built in Mexico, remains to be seen.

Since it launched three years ago, I—and many others—have argued the Maverick is all the truck most people need. That’s still the case now, so much in fact that I’m still surprised nobody else has tried to seriously compete. With the broadening of the lineup including better tech and hybrid AWD, the 2025 Ford Maverick isn’t just the best small truck you can buy, it’s one of the best affordable vehicles on the market full stop. Hopefully it stays that way.

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