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The exterior of the 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT.

Courtesy photo

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The exterior of the 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT.

Courtesy photo

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The exterior of the 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT.

Courtesy photo

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The interior of the 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT.

Courtesy photo

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The interior of the 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT.

Courtesy photo

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The interior of the 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT.

Courtesy photo

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There is a new truck in town from Ford that has pretty much written the book on what a truck should be, and it’s called the Maverick. This new truck slides into an area of the market that has, for the most part, been untouched — that of a compact truck.

We can remember small trucks such as the Datsun 620 that were around in the late ’80s. Craig even used one of them back in the day to haul sound equipment. Then, for a time, there was the Subaru Brat. It was definitely a compact truck.

Neither of these were capable of doing much more that hauling two people and stuff around, as was the case for most normal trucks. Now, with crew cabs, most full-sized trucks can haul up to six adults and a whole lot of their stuff along with them.

So, it seems we have gone back to the past to come up with a truck that is smaller and easier to travel around in while getting fantastic gas milage. Along with Ford, Hyundai has also come out with a compact truck this year in the Santa Cruz that looks and hauls like a small truck but drives more like a similarly sized SUV.

Much of the difference between the two approaches to a compact truck comes along the lines of cost and mpg, where Ford really wins hands down on both points. As tested, the new Maverick comes standard with a hybrid propulsion system that allows the truck to get up to 40 mpg. We managed a very nice 36.4 mpg for a week in early January that brought both a huge amount of snow to the valley and the most frigid temperatures to date, which may have added to the somewhat lower numbers we experienced.

Regarding the cost of getting into a new truck, Ford has come up with a starting price point of under $20,000. This is not bad for a small vehicle that will hold up to five adults (OK, one smaller adult in the middle back) and still haul a large amount of stuff around!

With the tailgate down, the bed has room for a 6-foot-long object, and it also comes complete with places to insert 2×6 pieces of wood to break up the storage or hauling abilities of the small pickup.

“The Maverick product proposition is like nothing else out there. It’s a great-looking truck featuring four doors with room for five adults, a standard full-hybrid engine with city fuel economy that beats a Honda Civic, plenty of towing and hauling for weekend trips or do-it-yourself projects, and it starts under $20,000,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Maverick challenges the status quo and the stereotypes of what a pickup truck can be. We believe it will be compelling to a lot of people who never before considered a truck.”

We found all of this to be completely true. Having the small truck for a week gave us the opportunity to get out and about in what really performed more like a mid-sized SUV than a truck. With the front-wheel drive version that we enjoyed, even getting around in 4 inches of snow proved to quick and easy.

We were able to load up a large snow blower and transport it to our house from Craig’s sister’s place, all with relative ease since the truck sits so much lower than a normal full-sized truck or even one of the mid-sized offerings. This fact alone would make the new Maverick a great choice for us age-advanced folks as getting stuff in and out of the bed was so much easier.

For those who want more out of the smaller truck than gas mileage, Ford has found a way to add a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine to the Maverick through which the horsepower increases from 191 horsepower to 250 ponies and the torque goes from a mere 155 foot-pounds to a whopping 277 foot-pounds. This gives the pickup the ability to tow up to 4,000 pounds, so something in the neighborhood of a 21-foot boat.

Inside, the new Maverick is nice but very truck-like, with hard surfaces that will be easy to keep clean and take years of abuse, allowing the owners to go many places they may never have considered in the past.

A standard 8-inch touch screen comes with all of the trim levels, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allow users to keep the same look and feel as their personal phone experience. Each level also comes with the Ford Pass system with Wi-Fi enough for up to 10 individual devices.

On the safety side, our test ride came with blind spot monitoring and forward collision prevention.

About the only complaint we had was that the small truck at the XLT trim level still required a key to be inserted into the console to get it started. Having to find a key every time we got in was certainly a first-world problem; however, it seems like it would be easy nowadays to make any vehicle have a push-button start as long as the key is in the vehicle.

The most brilliant addition was that of a FITS (Ford Integrated Tether System) slot in the back. This is a system of seven slots in the rear of the Maverik that will hold things like cup holders or places for garbage bags or tethering grocery bags. Most of them look exactly like a place for an after-market addition from the dealer.

However, Ford has gone one step further and put all the specs online so owners can actually 3D print their own accessories for the back for the pickup. This is kind of a cool idea and something owners should embrace. Watch for more to come in other models with easy user-definable additions.

The new Maverick is a fine smaller truck that would make a great addition to any family’s auto lineup, even those who didn’t know they needed a truck.

Base price: $22,280

Destination charge: $1,495

Price as driven: $26,950

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