How We’d Spec It: 2025 Ford Maverick XL, Lobo, and Tremor Trims

The Maverick is entering its fourth model year, and Ford decided it was time for a new look. In addition to a redesigned face and fresh tech, the 2025 Ford Maverick lineup has grown. The off-roady Tremor becomes a standalone trim, and Ford brings back the street truck with the new Maverick Lobo. Since we planned on spending our working hours on the configurator anyway, we decided to make that time somewhat productive by writing up our picks for you to scrutinize. Here’s what we came up with:

Austin Irwin’s $31,335 Maverick XL

Well, it’s a shame you can’t equip a large wooden stick in Ford’s configurator because when the neighborhood catches wind that you’ve bought a new vehicle in 2024 for under $32K, they could grow violent. While my $31,335 Ford Maverick XL isn’t the cheapest truck you can buy today, it’s pretty close. I chose the 238-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder over the hybrid for two reasons: It has more horsepower and uses an eight-speed automatic instead of the hybrid’s gearless CVT transmission. I added the 4K Towing package ($745) that increases the maximum towing capacity from 2000 to 4000 pounds. It includes a trailer brake controller, a 2.0-inch receiver with a four- and seven-pin harness, and a transmission cooler. That package requires all-wheel drive ($1020), but if I had originally picked the hybrid powertrain, adding all-wheel drive becomes a $2200 expense, which would’ve pushed my final bill to $32,565. I’m not made of money, folks!

There are some options penny-pinchers like me are forced to pay, that come standard on higher trim levels. The spray-in bedliner ($495) and the optional locking tie-downs with brackets ($225) are an important duo when it comes time to bring home a plastic storage bin from Menard’s that our dog will eventually chew into a dog house. Both of these options are standard on the Maverick Lobo. One thing that’s not standard anywhere in the lineup—even on the most moneyed Mavericks— is the keyless entry keypad ($195). Still, once you’ve experienced using that keypad versus digging into your jeans pockets just to unlock the truck, you’ll never go back. For as much as a couple of iPhone 15 Pluses, I feel I’ve added some meaningful options to a base trim level. The Eruption Green paint is a freebie and the easiest way to tell it apart from the fleet version with these same 17-inch steel wheels—29 mpg, here I come. Wait, how much did my neighbor pay for his used 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2 diesel? “Honey, grab the torch, let’s pay him a visit.”–Austin Irwin

Caleb Miller’s $28,655 Maverick XL

When the Maverick nameplate reappeared for 2022 on Ford’s first compact truck in ages, the efficient hybrid model carried an extremely enticing $22,470 starting price. Three years later, the Maverick’s starting price has ballooned to $27,890. So for my 2025 Maverick, I aimed to spec a hybrid model as frugally as possible. This meant starting with the base XL trim, which rides on steel wheels and is motivated by a hybrid 2.5-liter four-cylinder paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission. Luckily, all of the paint options on the XL are free, so I selected Velocity Blue, which goes a long way towards making the XL look less like a cheap work truck.

I kept my options to a minimum. Living in an urban area, I wanted a tonneau cover to hide whatever items I might have lying in the bed. The cheapest option was the soft-folding cover for $590. My only other add-on was front and rear rubber floor liners to protect the cabin against salt stains during the winters. My restraint paid off with a $28,655 final price, but it’s still way higher than a similarly specced truck might’ve been just a few years ago.–Caleb Miller

Carter Fry’s $42,870 Maverick Lobo

I have to go with the Lobo. Street trucks are very cool to me, and looking back at recent automotive history, I’m surprised the trend tapered away by the end of the 2000s. Now it seems everyone is jacking up their trucks to the point of looking like a crop-sprayer in traffic begging you to drive right under it—of course, we advise against that behavior. Once the pandemic hit and America fully embraced the overlanding/camping lifestyle, it seemed people just started putting lift kits on whatever was in their garage. Four years later, Ford releasing a street truck could be a sign the pendulum is beginning to swing in the other direction. Will we start to see pickup trucks approaching speed bumps at an angle again? I sure hope so.

The Maverick Lobo comes standard with a lot of features, which explains its $40,495 starting price. However, Ford doesn’t give you many options to choose from. In fact, I only selected four. The first one, at no extra cost, is the Carbonized Gray Metallic paint. I know, the last thing the streets need is another vehicle in a grayscale color, but who’s to say I can’t wrap it later? I chose to add the soft-folding tonneau cover for $590 because let’s face it, the Maverick’s bed is a glorified trunk and not nearly as big as a heavy-duty truck’s cargo bed. Maverick owners can feel free to prove me wrong in the comments. I also selected the $140 bed mat to keep things from sliding around back there and added the $50 first-aid kit because I can. The total comes to $42,870, and I would most certainly buy a 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport for that money.–Carter Fry

Jack Fitzgerald’s $41,390 Maverick Tremor

I’m not sure I should let out a sigh of relief that my truck wasn’t the most expensive or groan at the pain of a $40K Maverick. Along with the rest of the staff at Car and Driver, I love the Maverick. It’s a capable little truck, but it’s at its best in the cheaper trims. Unfortunately for my bank account, my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, and I can’t help but like nice things.

I went for the Maverick Tremor, which starts at $41,390. You’ll notice that the starting price and my overall price match. That’s because despite what I just wrote about liking nice things, Ford ticks most of the option boxes for you on the Tremor. Transmission cooler and towing package? Check. Adaptive cruise? Got that too. Trailer hitch receiver, spray-in bed liner, locking tie-downs and brackets? Check, check, check. Plus, with the truck’s improved approach angle and higher ride height, I’ll be ready for some light off-roading or any sudden Midwest weather changes.–Jack Fitzgerald

Source: Motor - aranddriver.com