We gave the latest Maverick our biggest award. Now comes the hard part.
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Our Truck of the Year program doesn’t end when the Golden Calipers are handed out and the shined-up winning pickup poses for its glamor shots on a step and repeat. No, we take things well beyond that, validating our findings through a grueling yearlong test of the winner, with the Ford Maverick being the latest truck to face that crucible. Say hello to the newest long-termer in the fleet: a Stormtrooper-white 2026 Ford Maverick Lobo.
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After a near miss at taking home the award in 2022, the revised-for-2025 Maverick won our most recent TOTY thanks to some critical updates that improved its performance and livability without sacrificing its value and capability. Although we were duly impressed by the truck’s 1,500-pound payload capacity in its 4.5-foot bed and 4,000-pound towing capacity, we also fell in love with the duality of the truck’s thrifty Maverick Hybrid AWD and raucous Maverick Lobo “street truck” variants.
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When it came time to order our Maverick long-termer, we were mighty tempted to spend another trip around the sun in the Maverick Hybrid. Yes, another.
You see, we were so enamored by the then-front-drive-only Maverick Hybrid in 2022 that we bought one for our long-term fleet . That truck was beloved for its efficiency, comfort, and capability, but it wasn’t without its problems, having been recalled a whopping 10 times during its official stay in our fleet. Could the Maverick’s quality improve with the refresh?
We figured we didn’t have to test another Maverick Hybrid to find out. Plus, we couldn’t resist the allure of trying something completely new.
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Taking It to the Street
Our new 2026 Ford Maverick Lobo is currently the sole street-focused sport truck on the market, and we couldn’t say no to spending the next 12 months in the spiritual successor to old Ford sport trucks like the Ranchero GT, Ranger Splash, and original F-150 Lightning.
The Lobo is motivated by the same 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 with 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque as other EcoBoost-powered Mavericks, but pairs it with a “seven-speed” automatic with paddle shifters ( the same eight-speed the rest of the Maverick EcoBoost trucks use but with second gear locked out for quicker acceleration), standard all-wheel drive, and a torque-vectoring limited-slip rear differential from the Maverick Tremor. The Lobo also gets a lowered suspension, front brakes from the European Ford Focus ST, and a quicker steering rack from the European Ford Kuga. It also gets its own software tune and sinister styling that for some reason makes the ’90s kids on staff feel oddly nostalgic.
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Starting at $37,775, there’s not much left off the Maverick Lobo’s standard feature list. All Lobos are fitted with the performance hardware listed above, neat turbofan wheels, an 8.0-inch instrument cluster, 13.2-inch infotainment system with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and Ford’s active safety system package.
To that we added Equipment Group 702A, a spendy, $5,495 grab bag of an option package including luxury features such as an acoustically insulted windshield and a premium Bang & Olufsen sound system, interior upgrades like heated front seats and steering wheel, rear USB ports, and dual-zone climate control, plus work-focused upgrades like a spray-in bedliner, LED bed lighting, and Ford’s Pro Trailer Backup and Hitch Assist systems. We also opted for Space White Metallic paint (which is gratis), an illuminated Ford badge ($510), rollup tonneau cover ($1,280), and a handful of other small odds and ends like a full-size spare and tailgate lock. The total out-the-door price for our Maverick Lobo is $46,980.