Hyundai Santa Cruz rival..Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD Cost-effective
Apr 14, 2025
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To join the pickup craze, Hyundai is selling a small pickup named `Santa Cruz' exclusively for the U.S. market. The model that leads the U.S. small pickup market is the Maverick made by Ford, a powerhouse in pickup trucks. Nearly four years after its first launch in 2021, it even has AWD on its hybrid powertrain. Overseas car media The Drive has started a test drive to see what performance it will show.
In 2021, Ford took a big gamble on a small truck.It launched a front-wheel-drive unibody pickup truck Maverick based on a small car platform.Boldly, the cheapest version was released as a hybrid. Finally, along with the launch of the 2025 Ford Maverick, we have even introduced a four-wheel-drive version combined with the hybrid power train, which we have longed for since the beginning.
I wonder why it took so long for all-wheel drive to be released. Since its launch four years ago, it has kept asking when all-wheel drive will be added to the hybrid Maverick.Ford replied only "It takes time because we have to go through various tests until we have durability."
Ford meant that it wasn't just a matter of mounting the rear axle on the turbo model or the Maverick C2 platform sibling model. There are already about six other AWD models in the pod lineup that have been sold globally, including Escape, Bronco Sports, Lincoln Corsair, and Focus.
In the United States, the genre of pickup truck is an informal name for Ford. Moreover, strict quality standards such as Built Ford Tough (BFT) must be observed. "Marketing terminology", but it's not completely wrong.
Maverick is Ford's first small hybrid unibody truck. Ford has so far thought that existing customers would not accept small pickup trucks. With the development of an Escape hybrid system, Ford has already secured a power train for small pickups. But few expected Escape to have amazing traction.
Escape maximum traction is about 640 kg, 220 kg less than Maverick's basic towing capacity.So Ford engineers focused on the same body strengthening they applied to the EcoBoost Maverick. The result is an AWD Maverick hybrid that boasts as much traction as a turbo engine.
Selecting the four-wheel toe package option provides approximately 1800 kg of trailer capacity comparable to the turbo model.The maximum load was 635 kilograms, down only about 45 kilograms.Not long ago, it was possible to call it a pickup truck with a load of 640kg. Ram and Silverado pickup trucks still have the mark "1500" on their names to this day.
The most surprising thing about the Maverick AWD hybrid is that it is ordinary.It provided the same output and torque (191 horsepower, 155 lb-ft) as a regular hybrid, but only increased by about 80 kg.There is only a weight difference of one adult.
Moreover, AWD shows almost the same fuel economy as the 2WD hybrid.Fuel economy is 17km/l when driving in the city, 14.4km/l when driving on the highway, and 15.7km/l when driving in combination. The 2WD has a fuel efficiency of 17.8/14.8/16.1 km/l for city/highway/complex driving. If you turn a corner a little more aggressively, you realize Maverick has more in common with Focus than Rangers or F-150s.
The test drive gently exits the corner without feeling comfortable and unstable. The minute weight difference of the AWD system can be easily forgotten thanks to the hybrid torque auxiliary system. CVT is as easy to forget as any other advantage. Unfortunately, I rarely had a chance to test the AWD system properly.
I drove to the mountains west of San Diego. It was difficult to evaluate Maverick EPA-certified fuel efficiency there, no matter how ideal the conditions were. Since it is mountainous, the average fuel efficiency has dropped to 12.07km/l. 16.5 to 17.4 km/l came out of the highway steadily.
Hyundai's Santa Cruz may be an alternative to Maverick, but it is a basic 191-horsepower, four-cylinder gasoline engine that does not provide the same economic feasibility as the Maverick hybrid. The same is true in terms of output. The biggest advantage of the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD is efficiency, but even though it provides AWD to the hybrid, the price is low, so the interior material feels that much cheaper.
The interior is quite pleasant, but the hard plastic texture is revealed as it is. Still, it's a blessing to be able to meet a vehicle like this for $25,000. As Mexican production will be affected by tariffs in the future, we are worried that prices will rise.
Such attractive Maverick hybrids are hard to find in Korea. Currently, Ford Korea has said it has no plans to launch Maverick. As the domestic pickup market is expanding, Ford Korea seems to need a strategic decision.
Editor Song Moon-cheol mc.song@carguy.kr
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
