FORD'S EXCELLENT SMALL PICKUP EARNS OUR HIGHEST HONOR AT LAST

Are pickups becoming caricatures of their former selves? They seem to grow larger and heavier with each successive redesign to the point where you need staircase tailgates just to load them. Swimming against this tsunami is the wee Ford Maverick, a pickup that allows normal-sized human adults to reach in over the side rail and grab items off the bed floor without even standing on tippy-toes. The climb into the bed is manageable without steps, and many tailgate partiers may find their feet resting on the ground. Revolutionary.

- WORDS FRANK MARKUS PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW TRAHAN

Of course, that revolution started four years ago, when the Maverick narrowly lost our Golden Calipers to the slightly more revolutionary Rivian R1T that had just carried us on the first-ever all-electric crossing of the Trans-America Trail. For 2026, this cheerful can-do compact pickup receives significant midcycle enhancements that broaden its appeal, improve its capabilities, and generally up the ante in this segment.

With nearly half a million sales under the Maverick's belt (triple the volume of its only competitor, the Hyundai Santa Cruz), Ford is updating the hardware and software in ways that make it both a better truck and a friskier, more fun commuter. Over two weeks of testing, it quickly distinguished itself against our key criteria: performance of intended function, engineering excellence, value, advancement in design, efficiency, and safety.

Performance of Intended Function

This is the prime criterion for truck intenders. A truck's gotta do truck stuff well, and the new Maverick impressed us by adopting many of the F-150's trailering features. A new 13.2-inch touchscreen enables Pro Trailer Hitch Assist, which uses the backup camera and corner radar units to steer and brake the truck's ball right under a trailer hitch.

Another new optional feature is Pro Trailer Backup Assist. As with the big trucks, you must apply a sticker to the trailer tongue and program the system for it, but once that's done, reversing a trailer is as easy as steering it with a dashboard knob (useful with the small, easily jackknifed trailers Mavericks typically tow).

These features are standard on Lariat and optional on Lobo models. Everyone reported towing 1,420 pounds of Sea-Doos with the greatest of ease, though "accessory towing mirrors would be welcome," features editor Scott Evans said. "These little ones make it hard to see where your trailer is going in reverse."