Mont Tremblant, Que. – When it was first announced, I very boldly claimed tat the Ford Maverick was the most important new vehicle in years – and now that it’s been a few years, it’s received some very important updates so that it can stay just as important. Our friends at Ford invited us to picturesque Mont Tremblant to check out those changes to the 2025 Ford Maverick.
The most vital tweak to the Maverick lineup is the addition of a new drivetrain option that people have been begging for since day: the previously front-drive only hybrid engine is now available with all wheel drive. This is huge, as it was the hybrid engine that set apart the Maverick from so many of its competitors, and now it can be had with all drive, which is seen as a necessity by many and is definitely a nice-to-have in Canada.
The addition of two more driven wheels has a negligible effect on fuel economy too: it averages 6.3L/100km, which gives up just a tenth of a liter to the front driver, and the drive from Montreal to Mont Tremblant corroborated this. Moreover, Ford was keen on the hybrid having no compromises next to its Ecoboost engine’d sibling, and as such, the hybrid all wheel drive model can be fitted with the same towing package, enabling the same 4,000 pound towing capacity and the same 1,500 pound payload rating. On that note, the Maverick inherits the same trailer management and backup assist systems from the Ranger and F-150.
I had never driven a hybrid Maverick before, and it’s a sweetheart. Paired with a very clever eCVT, which effectively uses a generator and a planetary gearset (no belts or chains like a typical CVT), the 2.5L four cylinder engine is impressively smooth and quiet, and delivers seamless acceleration. With 191 horsepower on tap, it’s not exactly fast, but it feels perfectly adequate unless you’re driving it flat-footed like a goof. Ford estimates the hybrid all wheel drive model will end up representing more than half of Maverick sales, and I can see why, as it’s sweet powertrain with unparalleled efficiency and excellent manners.
For those wanting more, Ford offers the highly anticipated Maverick Lobo, a new trim level that’s an homage to the compact street trucks of the 80s and 90s. Not only does it look kickass on it’s “turbofan” 19-inch wheel and 8-piece bodykit, it has some real hardware behind it to back up the tough look. The suspension is lower and stiffer, the front strut mounts are firmer, the steering rack is a quicker ratio, it has the added cooling capacity of the towing package, two-piston front brake calipers from the European Ford Focus ST, and a twin-clutch electronic rear differential.
The 2-liter turbocharged engine is largely unchanged from the existing EcoBoost models (a powertrain engineer on hand advised they all have a new head and some tweaks to gain marginal improvements in efficiency and emissions, but the end user experience and specs are the same) but the transmission is modified for better performance. It’s a 7-speed unit that’s externally identical to the 8-speed on all other EcoBoost Mavericks, but has had its second gear eliminated; they found it accelerated better by eliminating the 1-2 shift.
To demonstrate that they mean business with the Lobo, Ford set up an autocross course to flex the Lobo’s chops as a real performance truck, and I’m thrilled to report it handled itself very admirably, especially for what is still fundamentally an entry-level compact crossover on 225-size all season tires. Feedback from the quicker steering rack is excellent, the front end of the truck is easy to place confidently around cones, and when in it’s LOBO drive mode, the active rear differential can rout up to 100% of available power to one side, giving the fun-sized truck a very natural balance and even a proclivity to break into a gentle drift if you’re really hounding it.
The Lobo is far more effective on track than it has any right to be, and it’s only a few tweaks away from being properly fast (tweaks that were very coyly alluded to by a smirking engineer). The same vehicle dynamics engineer that signed off on the brilliant Mustang also developed the Maverick, and spent a ton of time getting the Lobo dialled in just right – it shows. A lot of “performance cars” don’t handle as well as this lovable little truck.
Another new-ish trim level for the Maverick is the off-oriented Tremor – it’s now a dedicated trim level, rather than being an option package. Mechanically it’s largely unchanged from the previous year’s model, with the notable exception of a larger, much stronger skid plate to better protect the trucklette’s vital organs. This skid plate got used and abused on an off-road test course that was set up to demonstrate that this little trucklette could hang with the big kids and handle all but the most difficult of situations.
It was raining that morning, the ground was loose, and the Maverick Tremor didn’t give a damn, even while climbing up steep inclines. The water wading section was running higher than usual as a result of the rain, with the water being more than a foot deep, above the bottom line of the doors, and it casually rolled through without complaint. We got to test some new software tools borrowed from the bigger Ford trucks: a trail control mode that acts as a cruise control, allowing you set a speed and trundle up or down hill at whatever pace you feel okay with, and a one pedal mode that sounds dumb but actually makes crawling down spookily steep terrain a cinch. I’m glad Ford set this course up for the Maverick Tremor because honestly, I wouldn’t have attempted any of this on my own. It’s extremely impressive what it can handle out of the box.
So along with some changes to better ride alongside it’s bigger and/or badder brethren, it also receives some soft changes to better resemble it’s siblings. All models get new headlights and front fascias, with a new LED projector and 7-shaped running lights to bring the lil’ Mav more in line with the Ranger and F-Series. The loaded Lariat that I drove into Mont Tremblant also gets new machined face 19-inch wheels, and a new interior color called Truffle, which pairs nicely with the standard Maverick blue.
There’s another vital tweak to talk about: a new 13.2-inch screen running Ford Sync 4, which replaces the old small screen, and it’s standard on all trims of Maverick. Along with Sync 4 comes the addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which will be a huge boon for most – I personally like the built-in software and found it worked very well. The bigger screen does mean that some physical controls have been simplified/deleted, but I didn’t miss them, personally (…except the tuning knob, but such is progress). All this comes with a new digital gauge cluster that looks great and is easy to configure to suit your needs.
All told, the lil’ Mav was already a fantastic little truck, and the 2025 Ford Maverick just takes that lovely recipe and makes it that much better. The hybrid powertrain that was outsold 2-to-1 now gets to shine as the lovely centerpiece that it is, and compliments the Maverick’s fabulous road manners and furthers its mission of being affordable, efficient, and capable. The Tremor punches way above its weight as an off roader, and the Lobo is the only truck on the market that’s genuinely old-school cool and will almost certainly be a trendsetter in its own right.
New Mavericks are already on dealer lots, with pricing starting at $34,500 for base front-drive hybrid. $35,000 is the barrier to entry for an all wheel drive EcoBoost model, and $37,000 is what it’ll cost to get into a best of both worlds all wheel drive hybrid – Ford was keen to point out these are the three most inexpensive trucks on the market, respectively. The Lobo starts at $41,800, and can be optioned up to nearly match the loaded-by-default Tremor at $48,000. Regardless of which flavor of the 2025 Ford Maverick you’re most into, you can rest assured you don’t need to go big to make a big statement.
