The reintroduction of the compact pickup truck has made a rather large splash with the Ford Maverick and its competitors like the Hyundai Santa Cruz. Within the reemerged segment, the Maverick was well received, so much that Ford was sold out of the Maverick for quite some time, leaving buyers on a long waiting list. After my first encounter with the new Maverick, I knew Ford had something special, and this week, I revisit the Maverick only in its new top-level Lariat Tremor trim, which adds all-wheel-drive and some off-roading chops to the compact formula.

Performance and Driving Character

For a small truck, the Ford Maverick has a serious punch with the 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost engine and an 8-speed automatic transmission, which is now a standard offering for the 2024 model year, where the hybrid powertrain took up place for the base version of the Maverick. Such change in equipment offerings is welcomed as the turbocharged 4-cylinder engine choice is a surprising combination when paired with my Maverick Lariat Tremor’s all-wheel-drive setup, which is only an option for the 2.0 turbo gas engine where the hybrid setup remains to only get front-wheel-drive.

The punchy part of the Ford Maverick with the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine comes via 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough power to get the Maverick moving in a hurry, making it to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds, which is considerably quicker than the hybrid Maverick that I drove a couple of years ago, taking 7.8 seconds to hit 60 mph. The ride quality of the Maverick is good, marginally better than the Bronco Sport, and handles rough roads with bumps and undulations well without the traditional jitters you get in larger trucks. The steering feel is good but void of feedback, but it tracks exactly where you point it without much play.

Having the new Tremor version of the Maverick, reserved for the XLT or Lariat trims only, elevate things a bit for the $2,995 package as you get unique 17-inch dark-painted wheels with orange pockets wrapped with all-terrain 30-inch Falken Wildpeak tires, an all-wheel-drive system with a torque-vectoring rear differential, underbody skid plates, off-road-tuned and elevated suspension, a full-size spare tire, and several off-road terrain drive modes, and a Trail Control feature that automatically holds a speed through rough terrain. Other bits that can be added to the Tremor package include $1,495 worth of exterior graphics and a grey-pained roof, which may not be worth the price of admission for some. If you opt not to get the exterior graphics, you still can easily recognize the Tremor version of the Maverick with its smoked LED headlights and taillights, and orange body accents.

The rugged aspects of the Maverick Tremor shouldn’t be compared to dedicated off-roaders. The Maverick Tremor is more of a package to add a taste of capability to the compact truck, which doesn’t reach the level of the Maverick’s shared platform-mate with off-roading equipment, the Ford Bronco Sport. The Maverick’s longer wheelbase hampers some of its capability but provides somewhat of a smoother and more compliant ride quality over the Bronco Sport, in addition to the Maverick having a usable 4.5-foot spray-lined truck bed to haul up to 1,200 pounds and tow as much as 2,000 pounds. That towing capacity is reduced due to the Tremor package as an all-wheel-drive Maverick turbo would otherwise tow up to 4,000 pounds with the 4K Tow Package installed.

Fuel Economy

The new Ford Maverick 2.0-liter turbo AWD has respectable EPA estimates of 22 mpg city. 29 mpg highway, and 25 mpg combined. However, when equipped with the Tremor package, the figures decrease to 20 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined, which is attributed to the all-terrain tires, higher ground clearance, and the extra weight of added equipment like the underbody skid plates and full-size spare tire. Such figures are easily obtained in the real world, as I have experienced.

Interior and Technology

Being a compact truck, the Maverick still offers a good amount of space up front. It seems that some of the space is compromised in the back seats, where passengers are at the mercy of the front seat adjustments, which have a surprisingly long travel for adjustability. The back seating area is very short on legroom but accommodating if you flip the set bottoms up for just storage. The front heated seats in the Maverick Lariat Tremor are comfy despite the smaller visual perception of them, and they look the proper part for the Tremor package, having unique orange accents.

The cabin is very basic but functional in the sense of having a rugged truck. While most of what you get in the Maverick seems to be a miniaturized version of features in larger Ford trucks, nothing feels out of place, even if there’s an abundance of hard plastics that have a unique depth and style to them.

The infotainment system, the expected Ford Sync setup but fed through an 8-inch touchscreen, remains to be responsive and user-friendly. There’s also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but only integrated through a USB connection even though you get a wireless smartphone charging pad as part of the Lariat trim level, which also includes the 8-speaker B&O premium audio system.

Safety

When you opt for the Maverick Lariat, you get the full array of available active safety features as part of the Ford co-pilot360 bundle, which include the highlights of blind-spot monitors with cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, lane-keeping aid, forward collision warning/emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control. Across the board you get auto on/off auto high-beam LED headlights, rear view camera, and pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking.

Price

The Ford Maverick is a respected alternative to much pricier trucks, even if you compromise on its overall size. However, with the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged powertrain and picking the upper trim levels, you have a decent little truck that doesn’t break the bank. In fact, a base Maverick XL 2.0 EcoBoost FWD starts at just $23,815 before any fees or options. However, moving all the way up the chain to my fully loaded Maverick Lariat Tremor test vehicle, you’ll expect to shell out $40,125, which includes a $1,595 destination and delivery charge.