It shouldn’t be any sort of massive revelation to you that Ford’s pint-size Maverick pickup is awesome. It’s cheap (for a new car in 2024), has room inside for four adults, has a big enough bed to take care of most people’s truck needs, and it even looks cool. Also nice is its choice of a turbocharged four-cylinder and all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive hybrid drivetrain, but if you needed all-wheel drive and wanted the efficiency of the hybrid, you were pretty much boned. Not anymore.
Ford is facelifting the Maverick for 2025, and the biggest news is arguably the availability of a hybrid model with all-wheel drive. It’s like Ford got tired of dominating the minitruck market and decided just to take the nuclear option to make the perfect truck for most Americans. Also huge is a new option package that fully doubles the Maverick’s towing capacity to 4,000 pounds. Payload capacity is 1,500 pounds for both models.
Other major changes include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a 13.2-inch touchscreen that replaces the eight-inch screen you could get before. The new infotainment screen runs on SYNC 4 and includes a 5G wireless hotspot. The instrument cluster screen is now larger as well at 8 inches.
Safety gets a bump across the board thanks to the inclusion of pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, automatic LED high-beam headlights, and a rearview camera becoming standard on all trim levels. Lariat and Tremor buyers get more with adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, lane centering, and speed sign recognition.
Ford also changed a bunch of stuff that’s not really that important. For example, the styling has been updated and while it looks fine, so did the old styling. It’s not a massive change either, with the biggest difference being the differing grilles across trim levels. 19-inch wheels are optional now on the Lariat and there are new material and color choices for the interior throughout the range.
The new 2025 Maverick sounds perfect for its intended use case and that rules, but there’s always a catch. The catch this time is that the starting price is significantly higher than for 2024 models. For example, your base XL model with the EcoBoost motor and front-wheel drive starts at $25,515, including a chunky $1,595 destination fee. The same truck in 2025 will start at $27,890. For more perspective, the Maverick debuted in 2022 for $21,490 with the hybrid drivetrain that’s now a $1,500 option.
When asked about the reason for the significant increase in price, a Ford representative stated: “The increased starting price reflects material costs that have increased over the last three years since we first introduced Maverick for the 2022 model year. In addition, we’ve increased the standard content on all Mavericks, like SYNC 4, 13.2-inch center screen, 8-inch digital cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Sirius XM, 5G connectivity, and over-the-air software updates.”
While this is admittedly anecdotal (though I asked Ford for more information, its representatives weren’t able to give me a breakdown of sales by trim), the vast majority of Mavericks that I see in the Los Angeles area are XL models, with XLT being a reasonably close second. This says to me that the people buying them are choosing the Maverick because it’s an affordable way into a utilitarian new car with a new car warranty. Raising the price by nearly 26% could make the Maverick less affordable to those customers and send them back to the used car market. Time will tell.
The 2025 Ford Maverick will be available to order starting August 1, with deliveries set to begin at the end of 2024.
Preproduction model shown. Available late 2024. Compatible Android or Apple phone with compatible active data plan and software required. SYNC® 4 does not control third-party products while in use. Third parties are solely responsible for their respective functionality. Apple CarPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Don’t drive while distracted or while using handheld devices. Use voice-operated systems when possible. Some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in gear. Not all features are compatible with all phones.
Ford
“Ford Maverick with Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Pro Trailer Back Up Assist available early 2025. Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. It does not replace safe driving. See Owner’s Manual for details and limitations.”
Ford
