Ford Maverick (US) review

The Maverick, as a whole, is a winning package, though mainly because many of its attributes don’t particularly stand out on their own. Such is the case for the drive feel. It’s fine, it feels like a budget compact sedan on stilts, but it isn’t particularly bad or good, it just… works. The Maverick is easy to handle, much more so than the bulkier members of its Ford family, and that alone is enough to grab attention.

What it lacks for in driver enjoyment, it makes up for as a pickup that doesn’t trigger panic attacks in crowded lots, tight streets or situations where space is at a premium, such as loading furniture in a crowded city block. The Maverick is also fairly well equipped for light handy work, though it can’t power half a construction site like the F-150, Lightning or otherwise.

How is it off-road?

Depending on the package, the Maverick has enough off-road chops to make it a decent, low-level adventure machine. The available FX4 package adds skid plates, tow hooks and all-terrain tires to the Mav along with two new drive modes added to the included ‘off-road’ setting. These are mud/ruts and sand, with hill descent control also thrown in for good measure.

At the moment, hybrid-powered Mavericks are FWD only, which has been the most lamented oversight in the otherwise lauded little pickup. Seems a bit unfair to keep those customers away from a good chunk of the Maverick’s use case just because they want some electrification, no? Due for a refresh next year, this will finally no longer be the case and AWD will be on offer regardless of what’s under the hood.

How about that Tremor version?

The Maverick Tremor is pretty nifty in a lot of ways outside of its distinctive orange accents that make it look like a serious piece of equipment in your hiking kit. It has similar FX4 upgrades but it’s also an inch higher, has a unique bumper and updated suspension components. While it doesn’t have the agility of its bigger and more sophisticated Ford family members, it’s equipped enough to handle most of what the average adventurer is likely to encounter. Can it handle everything? No, but it can handle most things, and that’s likely to be all you’ll ever need.