We ordered a Maverick XLT hybrid in Cactus Gray, a fun but not ostentatious color applied to the trim we felt was the sweet spot in the lineup. The XLT wasn’t as bare bones as the work-truck XL, and it could also be optioned with several luxuries from the top-spec Lariat trim. And that’s what we did.

The $1,730 XLT Luxury package was a must-have, as it included heat for the front seats, side mirrors, and steering wheel (plus a wiper de-icer)—clutch since our truck lives at our office near Detroit. We regretted ordering the $150 manual sliding rear window because we never opened it, not the cost. But we definitely didn’t regret the agreeably priced spray-in bedliner ($495) or all-weather floor mats ($175). They kept the truck’s bed and carpets looking fresh through two years of hauling.

And haul we did, everything from loads of cardboard to piles of rocks, and from scrap metal to mounds of mulch and yard debris. Vacation and tailgating gear, bikes, flat-pack furniture, non-flat-pack-furniture—the Maverick’s 4.5-foot bed proved perfectly adept at carrying all these things and more. When we needed some degree of weathertightness, we simply deployed our roll-up hard tonneau cover. (Now, was that cover worth the $1,200 we paid for it? Maybe not.) What little towing we did within the truck’s 2,000-pound limit was handled flawlessly, with no bounding or struggling.

Our (Two-)Yearlong Test of the Ford Maverick Hybrid Is Over: Here’s How It Went

Despite some anxiety-inducing recalls, we love this little truck so much, we’re keeping it.Erik JohnsonWriter

Jim FetsPhotographerMotorTrend StaffPhotographerJul 31, 2025

The Ford Maverick arrived like a breath of fresh air to a market that had been starving for a truly small truck, and we fell in love with the small pickup from the moment we first drove it. But while we were eager from the jump to put the Maverick to a long-term test, it took until the second model year—2023—to finally park one in the MotorTrend garage.

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Actually, we did more than park it. We bought it. With our own money. (Our long-term vehicles are usually borrowed from manufacturers.) Owning the truck meant the Maverick would go beyond our usual one-year test and stretch to two.

Which Version Did We Test?

We ordered a Maverick XLT hybrid in Cactus Gray, a fun but not ostentatious color applied to the trim we felt was the sweet spot in the lineup. The XLT wasn’t as bare bones as the work-truck XL, and it could also be optioned with several luxuries from the top-spec Lariat trim. And that’s what we did.

The $1,730 XLT Luxury package was a must-have, as it included heat for the front seats, side mirrors, and steering wheel (plus a wiper de-icer)—clutch since our truck lives at our office near Detroit. We regretted ordering the $150 manual sliding rear window because we never opened it, not the cost. But we definitely didn’t regret the agreeably priced spray-in bedliner ($495) or all-weather floor mats ($175). They kept the truck’s bed and carpets looking fresh through two years of hauling.

And haul we did, everything from loads of cardboard to piles of rocks, and from scrap metal to mounds of mulch and yard debris. Vacation and tailgating gear, bikes, flat-pack furniture, non-flat-pack-furniture—the Maverick’s 4.5-foot bed proved perfectly adept at carrying all these things and more. When we needed some degree of weathertightness, we simply deployed our roll-up hard tonneau cover. (Now, was that cover worth the $1,200 we paid for it? Maybe not.) What little towing we did within the truck’s 2,000-pound limit was handled flawlessly, with no bounding or struggling.

Any Features We Missed?

Had the hybrid powertrain been offered with all-wheel drive at the time we bought our truck (the option became available for 2025), we’d probably have ordered it. Even still, the front-drive hybrid proved capable of handling Michigan’s worst rains and snowstorms just fine. A set of Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires helped when the flakes were flying, but they weren’t on the truck every time we encountered inclement weather.

We do wish our truck was equipped with a wireless charging pad (available on the Lariat) and the new 12.5-inch infotainment screen now standard on all models, but they weren’t dealbreakers. What could be a dealbreaker might be today’s pricing.

Price, Fuel Economy, and Cost to Own

The Maverick launched with a sub-$20,000 base price (before destination), but that had already risen to $23,000 or so by the time we bought ours. Our XLT carried a base price of $25,950 and an as-tested sticker of $30,355. Good luck getting such a deal today. The Maverick was refreshed for the 2025 model year, and to essentially replicate our truck within the new lineup (the XLT hybrid now starts at $32,340) would set you back $36,975. At least the options haven’t gone up much.

Maintenance consisted of the usual oil changes, inspections, and tire rotations. We incurred a bit of labor cost to see if the techs could track down a musty smell we thought might be due to a leak into the cabin, but nothing was found, and the smell went away. We suspect it was from a wet dog, although no one fessed up.

Our total two-year maintenance total of $478.55 compares very favorably to the $1,100 we paid to keep our Hyundai Santa Cruz—the only direct competitor to the Maverick—happily on the road during its 12-month test.

Similarly, the Mavvy’s fuel economy (35.7 mpg) and cost ($0.12/mile) blew away the Santa Cruz’s (23.8, $0.16), although to be fair the Hyundai wasn’t a hybrid and its turbo engine trounced the Maverick in horsepower and torque. The Maverick’s combined fuel economy during our test fell below its 37-mpg combined EPA rating, but still impressive for a vehicle that spent vast stretches of time on the highway, where it’s less efficient. For more context, the pint-sized Toyota Corolla Cross could only achieve 29 mpg combined during a year with us.

The one major cost associated with our Maverick wasn’t our fault; we were rear-ended. You can read about the accident and repairs in more depth here, but the truck was away for roughly 10 days and required $4,843.44 of insurance money to make right again. It still drives as if the accident never happened.

Wear, Recalls, Reliability

We didn’t have any major mechanical, electrical, or software issues, and the Maverick served us faithfully for its entire stay—that is, when it wasn’t getting a recall repair handled. We received a staggering 10 recalls and “Customer Satisfaction Program” notifications over our test period. (CSPs are essentially extended warranties on potentially problematic parts.) Most of the recalls were for minor issues, although one was for a major fire risk. Luckily, none of the problems reared their head, and our recall repairs (all software updates) were quickly taken care of by our local dealer.

As for the interior of the Maverick, it withstood the two years of abuse extremely well, with little to no visible wear to its cloth upholstery. There are some scratches on the darker plastics, but that’s to be expected given it’s an industrious vehicle where few of the materials are soft touch.

In the vast majority of our long-term test stories, this is where we say goodbye. But since we own our Maverick—and we still love it—it’s going to be sticking around. Keep an eye out for it on the streets of Royal Oak, Michigan, in future MotorTrend stories, or even in my personal garage.

More on Our Long-Term 2023 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid:

• We Bought a Maverick and It’s a Real F***ing Truck!
• Interior Review: Almost Everything You Need
• 10,000-Mile Fuel Economy Update
• So, Are We Having Regrets?
• Our Maverick Was Rear-Ended! How Much to Repair?
• Our Maverick Has Been Recalled 5 Times (and Counting)
• The Tonneau Cost $1,200—Worth It?
• Maverick’s Size vs.’70s, ’80s, ’90s Trucks
• The Recalls Keep Piling Up For Our Maverick

2023 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT
BASE PRICE	$25,950
PRICE AS TESTED	$30,355
OPTIONS	XLT Luxury Package ($1,730: 8-way power driver seat; 6-way manual passenger seat; 110v inverter w/ cab and bed outlets; heated mirrors, seats, and steering wheel; LED bed lighting; trailer hitch w/ 4-pin connector; windshield wiper de-icer), roll-up hard tonneau cover ($1,200); Ford Co-Pilot360 ($650; blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, lane-keep alert and assist, driver drowsiness alert); spray-in bedliner ($495); rubber floor liners with carpeted mats ($175); manual rear sliding window ($150)
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, front-motor, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hybrid truck
POWERTRAIN	2.5L port-injected Atkinson-cycle DOHC 16-valve I-4, 162 hp @ 5,600 rpm, 155 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm Permanent-magnet motor, 126 hp, 173 lb-ft
TOTAL POWER	191 hp
TOTAL TORQUE	173 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION	Continuously variable automatic
BATTERY	1.1-kWh NCM lithium-ion
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,762 lb (57/43%)
WHEELBASE	121.1 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	199.7 x 72.6 x 68.7 in
TIRES	Continental ProContact TX 225/65R17 102H M+S
EPA FUEL ECONOMY, CITY/HWY/COMBINED	40/33/37mpg
EPA RANGE	511 mi
MotorTrend Test Results
0-60 MPH	7.7 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.9 sec @ 89.8 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	113 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.81 g
FIGURE-EIGHT LAP	27.8 sec @ 0.64 g (avg)
Ownership Experience
SERVICE LIFE	24 mo/23,935 mi
REAL-WORLD FUEL ECONOMY	35.7 mpg
ENERGY COST PER MILE	$0.12
DAYS OUT OF SERVICE	18
MAINTENANCE AND WEAR	3,127 mi: oil and filter change, tire rotation, inspection, $91.32 15,726 mi: balance and reinstall all-season tires, $114.91  19,798 mi: oil and filter change, inspection, $116.72  22,148 mi: balance and reinstall all-season tires, new wiper blades, $155.60
DAMAGE	700 miles: Replace right rear tire, $174.11
RECALLS	7: (1) Engine failure may cause fire; remedy involved updating software for powertrain control module. (2) Emissions control system might operate inaccurately if heating element used to warm up a sensor does not function properly due to software error; remedy involved updating software in powertrain control module and related modules. (3) Air/fuel mixture calibration may malfunction at max speed or max speed with MyKey function; remedy involved reprogramming powertrain control module. (4) Turn-signal outage detection system may not alert driver if only one of the two bulbs per side in the rear signals has failed; remedy involved reflash of the body control module. (5) Instrument panel cluster may not illuminate, rendering warnings and gauges unreadable; remedy involved updating instrument panel cluster software. (6) Improperly calibrated body control module (BCM) may falsely detect current overload on one or both taillamps, rendering them inoperable; remedy involves updated BCM software. (7) Rearview camera image may freeze; remedy will involve module software update.