Trucks and SUVs are the bread and respective butter for American automakers. Around 2018 and 2019, the Big Three of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler killed their sedan offerings in favor of what the market appeared to want: tall vehicles you can carry a lot of people, cargo, dogs, and more in. Trucks and SUVs fit that bill.
Enter the Ford Maverick ( recently updated for 2025 ). It's positively a truck in that it has a pickup bed, and yes it's also sort of a crossover in that it's compact, relatively high off the ground, and of unibody construction. It's more or less a Ford Escape that got a haircut, at least mechanically-speaking.
As for taxonomy, it's important to note that the Ford Maverick is not a mini-truck, like the popular models from Mazda, Toyota, and Ford in the 1970s and 1980s, and nor is it a compact truck like the Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado/S10, or Dodge Dakota, despite having a similar function. In fact, it's more closely related to the Honda Ridgeline and Hyundai Santa Cruz : the bones of an SUV, and the skin of a truck. If that sounds confusing, don't worry.
After testing a 2024 Ford Maverick Lariat AWD for a week, in the sake of editorial transparency and honesty, I couldn't be more excited to drive it and it was genuinely one of my favorite vehicles I've ever tested. One of the primary selling points for when the Maverick was released back in 2021 was the inclusion of a hybrid drivetrain — in fact, until the 2024 model year, the hybrid was standard — .