From the moment Ford confirmed that its entry-level Maverick pickup would be offered with a hybrid powertrain, only one question lingered: All-wheel drive when? I get it. Not everybody needs more than front-wheel drive, but some people want it. That fact certainly wasn’t lost on Ford, whose truck customers have insisted on four-wheel-drive availability since the beginning of time, but it also wasn’t enough to motivate the company to offer the option at launch.
In hindsight, Ford might count that as a mistake. But consider this: The Maverick launched at the worst possible time. Trying to roll out a cheap car during the supply shock of COVID would be akin to taking your kid to the beach for a swimming lesson during a hurricane. On top of that, Ford was taking a pretty big gamble. But boy, did it pay off.
Byron Hurd
The Basics
Back in 2021, the Maverick represented a lot of things Ford hadn’t tried in the U.S. market. It was a front-wheel-drive, unibody truck essentially based on the old Ford Focus. And a hybrid to boot? Whoever pitched it might as well have asked Jim Farley to lead a naked conga line at the next shareholder meeting. Fortunately for whoever that was, it was a smashing success. From the instant the Maverick hit showrooms, an electrified all-wheel drive model became inevitable. A year (and several price increases) ago, it finally happened.
It’s pretty remarkable how effectively Ford managed to make its “C2” unibody car platform look like a truck. It already had plenty of practice with the Bronco Sport, I suppose, but the Maverick was a far more challenging ask—it has a bed, after all. Like the Ranger, it lacks some of the F-150’s sharper angles, but the result is nonetheless truck-like.
As an inexpensive pickup, the Maverick has precisely two jobs to do, and both of them are right there in the description. If the exterior does a great job of establishing the Maverick as a truck, the inside is similarly effective at establishing its cheapness. That may sound unkind, and perhaps it is, slightly, but the cabin is colorful and plasticky in that way that says “I need to look interesting without costing anybody any money.” The loss of physical controls on the Maverick’s center stack (part of a light refresh that corresponded with the introduction of Lobo and the AWD hybrid) contributes to the overall barrenness of the little pickup’s cabin. Clean is one thing; empty is another.
Driving the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD
When I first drove the AWD Maverick Hybrid in San Diego, it was the epitome of “as expected.” And why not? This is an inexpensive car (by today’s standards) with an economy-focused powertrain. The Maverick Hybrid makes 191 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque on paper, but the actual shove in the back you feel is stronger than that, thanks to the 94-kilowatt motor.
Despite its relatively small size, the Maverick isn’t exactly a featherweight. With all-wheel drive, you’re closing in on 3,900 pounds with the hybrid, resulting in a fairly mundane power-weight ratio even with that grunty electric motor. This is a car that just goes where you point it, with neither drama nor encouragement. This is an A-to-B drivetrain in an A-to-B car. Want fun? Get the Lobo. This is the sort of truck you buy not to drive the wheels off of, but to drive into the ground.
I lucked out with the delivery of this loaner in some ways. The weather was about as cooperative as it can get if testing an all-wheel-drive system is a priority. The Maverick was delivered on all-season tires, but performed admirably even with several inches of snow on the ground. The CVT does a solid job of meting out the torque down low, keeping wheelspin to a minimum without letting the engine bog down completely. If it were mine, I’d want my Wrangler’s winter tires on it, but the stock Continentals are plenty adequate for light or moderate snow. Leave plenty of stopping distance and you’ll be in good shape, but anything deeper than the (rather low) factory air dam may be worthy of second thought if you’re rolling on the factory rubber.
The Highs and Lows
After a week with the Maverick, I learned that its highs and lows both directly flow from its core identity as a cheap truck. It’s a capable, competent, efficient little commuter car. That mission was only augmented by the addition of all-wheel drive. And while yes, it makes the Maverick a little more expensive, it’s easily offset by the peace of mind that comes with knowing you should be able to get where you need to go under all but the sort of circumstances that typically shut the world down anyway.
But at the end of the day, it is inescapably cheap, and you’ll be reminded of it whenever you clunk your elbow on the hard-plastic door cards or reach for the nonexistent climate control buttons. This is about as basic as an interior gets in 2025, and while the Maverick may be on the cheap end of the new-car spectrum, you’re still looking at more than $35,000 before you start adding options. That may not be luxury car territory, but you can get a nicer cabin in virtually any compact crossover or SUV. Even the Bronco Sport’s interior is nicer, and it’s basically the same car.
2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD Features, Options, and Competition
How many modern cars can you name with manually adjustable side mirrors? Not folding, mind you—I mean actual adjustment of the mirror itself. I’ll give you a hint: you can put the base Ford Maverick at the top of that list. My XLT loaner was better-equipped than that, but hey, there are only so many ways I can use the word “cheap,” right? A well-optioned Maverick gets most of the fundamental equipment you’d expect in a modern car, but Ford’s not even entertaining the notion of offering high-end options here. This is not a candidate for the company’s Blue Cruise self-driving suite, for example, nor should you expect that to change anytime soon.
My critiques lead to an obvious question: Sure, the Maverick is cheap, but compared to what? Its only “competitor” (at least on paper) is the Hyundai Santa Cruz. Hyundai’s hustled-together pickup was always meant to be more of a lifestyle car than a practical utility vehicle, but it’s nonetheless trucky enough to qualify as an alternative to the Maverick. It won’t beat Ford’s truck when it comes to doing actual “truck stuff” (towing, hauling, etc.), nor can you get it with a powertrain anywhere near as frugal as this hybrid, but its interior at least resembles a real car’s, where the Maverick’s looks like something out of a Chuck E. Cheese arcade cabinet circa 1997.
Fuel Economy
According to the Maverick’s built-in readout, I managed 38 mpg in my brief time with the car. It’s rated at 40 miles per gallon city, 34 mpg highway, and 37 mpg combined with all-wheel drive (slightly better without, of course). I suspect our result would have been better in nicer weather. The cold temps meant lots of starts with the gas engine running, something that doesn’t happen by default in the Maverick.
These numbers not only make the Maverick Hybrid significantly more fuel-efficient than other variants of the same truck, but they also make it far superior to its only real competitor. The Hyundai Santa Cruz lacks a hybrid option altogether, despite its availability in models sharing the same platform.
Value and Verdict
If you’re looking for value, the Maverick AWD Hybrid has it in spades. Even with the way the goalposts are moving these days, this little pickup offers a ton of capability for the money, and it doesn’t punish you in any of the ways you’re normally hamstrung by traditional truck ownership. It’s compact, convenient, and competent, and yes, it’s cheap—less cheap than it might have been in a world free of COVID, inflation, and tariff pressures, but cheap nonetheless.
And then there’s the uncomfortable truth: Despite its size and relatively humble underpinnings, the Maverick is still more truck than the average buyer needs—and at a relative pittance.
Ford provided The Drive with a seven-day loan of this vehicle for the purpose of this review.
| 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD Specs | |
|---|---|
| Base Price (XLT as tested) | $31,505 ($36,115) |
| Powertrain | 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid | continuously variable automatic | all-wheel drive |
| Horsepower | 191 @ 5,600 rpm |
| Torque | 155 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm |
| Seating Capacity | 5 |
| Cargo Volume | 33.3 cubic feet |
| Curb Weight | 3,685 pounds |
| Max Towing | 2,000 pounds 4K Tow Package: 4,000 pounds |
| Ground Clearance | 8.1 inches |
| Off-Road Angles | 20.3° approach | 16.7° breakover | 22.2° departure |
| EPA Fuel Economy | 40 mpg city | 34 highway | 37 combined |
| Score | 8/10 |
Quick Take
The all-wheel drive Maverick hybrid didn’t exist when the truck launched, but this newly unveiled variant proves it probably should have.