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The Maverick doesn’t have the usual body-on-frame truck design. Instead of spinning it off from bigger trucks, Ford adapted its compact-crossover-SUV Escape and Bronco Sport for this task. That gives the Maverick nimble handling more like that of a car than a truck. With a point for that ride/handling tune, it’s a 6 here.
Only the turbo-4 Maverick can be fitted with all-wheel drive. On the Tremor edition, Ford lifts the truck and fits off-road shocks, and gives the driver control over the locking rear differential.
How fast is the Ford Maverick?
Base Mavericks now tote a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, with front- or available all-wheel drive. It’s an eager power unit with corner-scrabbling power, but the 8-speed automatic connected to it gets flustered by requests for quick shifts at low speeds.
We like quick, but we like the Maverick’s slower, costlier, but far more efficient hybrid powertrain better. It melds a 2.5-liter inline-4 with a battery pack and an electric motor to stream out 191 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque through a CVT to the front wheels. This powertrain has smooth if unexceptional power delivery, and it’s quiet, too. The EPA pegs it at 37 mpg combined, stellar figures for a utility vehicle with a bed.
Ford lets drivers choose a few drive modes in the Maverick, ranging from those to handle snow and slop to normal conditions.
Alas, to tow anything with serious weight, the turbo-4’s almost a requirement. Hybrids can lug up to 2,000 pounds, but the turbo Maverick can pull 4,000 pounds. Either powertrain enables a 1,500-pound payload capacity.
One spin in the Maverick and you’ll understand why the bigger Ranger feels like a rough-handling handful. The Maverick reacts quickly to steering inputs, and that doesn’t upset its softly tuned suspension. It can snake its way through a winding valley or knife through traffic with the responses of a car smaller than its 3,600-pound curb weight, no matter which suspension setup it sports. Front-drive Mavericks have a prosaic twist-beam rear end, while turbo-4 editions get a multi-link rear setup. With either the Maverick damps out bumps with confidence and with zero slop.
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