The Ford Maverick Lobo Is a Silly Little Truck: First Drive Review

Ford is nice at discovering unclaimed floor within the truck market. The corporate launched the fashionable luxurious half-ton everyone knows at present, primarily invented the super-truck with the F-150 Raptor, and reignited the mini-truck section with the Maverick. For 2025, Ford is urgent that benefit with a brand new car-based road truck for the lowrider set. It’s referred to as the Maverick Lobo, and it kinda rocks.

“Kinda” is a weight-bearing a part of that sentence. As a result of on the floor, a unibody manufacturing facility road truck is a bizarre promote. The Maverick’s lengthy wheelbase, unibody construction, lack of low-range gearing, and large overhangs already make it a less-than-ideal dirt-road companion. However the Lobo—with 1.1 fewer inches of clearance on the rear and a widebody equipment—isn’t even making an attempt to promote on standard truck bona fides. It’s someplace between a GMC Syclone and a Ford Escape, defying standard categorization.

That, admittedly, is the chance with a “white-space car.” However if you happen to like the thought of the Ford Maverick Lobo, you’re going to like driving it.

Why Does the Lobo Exist?

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

In its easiest kind, the $37,545 Maverick Lobo is Ford’s try and seize some social media magic in a from-the-factory package deal. Principally, Ford execs noticed individuals on Instagram slamming their Mavericks and thought, “We must always try this.” So, they did.

Road vans are about two issues: Type and pace, in that order. To handle the previous, Ford lowered the Maverick Lobo by 0.5 inches up entrance and 1.1 inches out again. General clearance is down from as a lot as 8.4 inches within the inventory Maverick to 7.4 inches right here. Ford additionally threw on a black roof, a physique equipment, and 19-inch “Turbofan” wheels that look cool on their very own, however I’m not offered on them right here. The $100 improve for the extra conventional sport wheels is likely to be price it.

The one main ding towards the Lobo visually is the restricted variety of paint choices: Black, white, grey, or an astounding shade of Velocity Blue (the right choice). It wears all 4 colours effectively, however on condition that lesser Mavericks may be had in higher shades, it appears a missed alternative. Nonetheless, the Lobo appears cool.

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

Execs: Enjoyable To Look At, Straightforward To Slide, No Main Practicality Penalty

It has to behave the half, although. Right here, Ford reworked the system a bit with upgraded cooling from the Max Tow Pack and a seven-speed automated from the Euro-market Focus ST. It even will get the Tremor’s torque-vectoring rear differential. But, the Lobo makes use of the identical turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the usual Maverick that makes 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. So, there’s no straight-line benefit.

The Lobo, then, is meant to be the twisty-roads truck. Is it?

Kinda Enjoyable, Kinda Flawed

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

The Maverick Lobo is each higher than anticipated and nonetheless confounding in function. Most road vans are home-brew tasks, extra about foolish personalization than efficiency. However since producers are obsessive about authenticity, the Lobo will get retuned suspension and steering, a track-adjacent “Lobo” drive mode, and a stability management setting that likes to let the truck rotate.

These upgrades made the Lobo spectacular on an autocross course. The Maverick could also be front-drive-based, however that torque-vectoring rear let me steer with my foot, inducing tidy slides. Stability management ultimately cuts the enjoyable, however the extra throttle and fewer steering angle you employ, the extra it’ll allow you to play. The Lobo additionally turned in aggressively, with an appropriate stage of physique roll and sufficient chunk to vary route rapidly.

It’s all surprisingly good for a “mini” truck that’s longer than my 2001 Chevy Tahoe. But it surely isn’t a lot enjoyable. The steering is just too numb, the slides are reliant on black-magic diff work, and stability management makes me really feel an excessive amount of like a hero. The engine, too, isn’t a lot of a charmer. It’s clearly tuned for low-end grunt, with a growly exhaust notice that dies out close to what must be the enjoyable finish of the tach. The lengthy overhangs additionally make the Maverick a bit unwieldy within the turns; I clipped a number of cones with the again nook.

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

Cons: Not Very Enjoyable To Drive, Not As Cool As A Dwelling-Constructed Road Truck

The Lobo fares even worse on a twisty street; it’s not communicative or thrilling sufficient to make me need to discover its limits. With the inventory powertrain, the Lobo additionally isn’t quick sufficient for on-ramp shenanigans.

The excellent news is that, in contrast to a home-brew road truck, the Maverick Lobo rides very well. It’s simply snug sufficient as a each day driver, albeit noticeably stiffer than the inventory Maverick. You additionally don’t pay a lot of an effectivity penalty for the package deal, because it’s a inventory powerplant. The Lobo will get 21 miles per gallon metropolis, 30 freeway, and 24 mixed. That makes it 1 mpg much less environment friendly than the bottom all-wheel-drive mannequin within the metropolis, however 3 mpg higher than the Tremor on the freeway.

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

The inside, too, is a pleasant place to be. Like all 2025 Mavericks, the Lobo has a 13.2-inch central touchscreen with Wi-fi CarPlay and Android Auto, and a cabin that feels utilitarian and spare with out feeling low-cost. The Lobo provides Grabber Blue and Electrical Lime coloured stitching, and a “graffiti-inspired” print on the seats, however largely I simply felt like I used to be sitting in a Maverick.

The sacrifices come while you need to do Truck Stuff. Just like the Tremor, the Lobo will get considerably much less most payload capability than the lower-end fashions. It will probably haul 1,045 kilos, down from 1,500 within the base EcoBoost. Towing is proscribed to 2,000 lbs, whereas hybrids and a couple of.0-liter automobiles with the Max Tow pack can often tug 4,000 lbs round city.

Road-Truck Silliness

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

Road vans are silly, I say with love. No one buys a GMC Syclone or a first-gen F-150 Lightning or a Ram SRT-10 to resolve an issue. They purchase them as a result of they’re foolish, and foolish vans are cool. Ford absolutely is aware of this, which is why the irrational Lobo exists.

But, Ford is aware of higher than most why this section steadily pops out and in of existence. The enjoyment of the Lobo is that it’s totally different; it’s recent, thrilling, and stands in stark distinction to the lifted 2500s that rule the day.

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

Picture by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

However when the novelty fades, we’re nonetheless left with the unchanged fact: Road vans don’t make a lick of sense. They persist within the aftermarket as a result of—whether or not it’s a slammed Tundra or a supercharged Silverado—individuals discover them enjoyable. Personalization is central to the road truck scene, limiting what number of die-hards Ford—or anybody else—can seize with a manufacturing facility rig.

Some informal followers, nonetheless, desire a road truck with a guaranty they will drive to work. For these individuals, the Maverick Lobo is a damned good product. For the remainder of us, the usual Maverick is even higher.

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Supply: Mack Hogan / Motor1