2024 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid

The pint-size hybrid pickup became a sales monster overnight. If it can put up with our abuse, you better believe it's built as tough as any other Ford.

- by David Beard

"I love that you can drive the absolute snot out of the Maverick and still get 31 mpg." --Austin Irwin, technical editor

WE LIVE IN A WORLD where more begets more.

We're overtaxed by the man. Treats are sweet, so we overeat. And with the average transaction price for a new vehicle now around $50,000, it's easy to overspend. Bucking the idea that more is better, larger is king, and consumption is necessary is the 10Best-winning Ford Maverick.

When the Maverick launched for 2022, it was anything but over the top. With a base price of $21,490, a standard hybrid powertrain driving the front wheels, and eye-popping EPA fuel economy, it became an instant hit. Who would've thought a small, front-drive pickup would be so successful?

Apparently not Ford, as demand was so intense out of the gate that the company couldn't build the trucks fast enough.

Eager to try one out for a 40,000-mile long-term test, we twiddled our thumbs waiting for our Maverick to be produced. We did debate which model we wanted. The optional 250-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four paired with all-wheel drive was a strong front-runner, owing to its 5.9-second sprint to 60 mph and 4000-pound maximum towing capacity. In the end, though, we went with the more popular powertrain: the front-wheel-drive, 191-hp hybrid.

At launch, the hybrid was the base powertrain. Perhaps in response to the machine's popularity, Ford pulled a switcheroo. The turbo four became the base engine, and the hybrid became a $1500 option. Probably also in response to the trucklet's popularity, Ford kept raising the base price, inflating it by thousands.