Check Out What’s New for the 2024 Ford Maverick!

The 2024 Maverick didn’t experience your average annual update but rather one that makes its grandest change under the hood—and without inspiring fuss from fans and critics alike. Passionate drivers may be averse to major changes, but people seem to be enjoying Ford’s primary change for the 2024 Maverick.

Ford dealerships around the country are proud to offer the 2024 Maverick because its base-level performance is dramatically better than that of last year’s model. How did this happen? We’ll get to that soon enough, and you’ll see why people are excited about this compact truck.

The Ol’ Switcheroo

The main difference between the 2024 Ford Maverick and its predecessors is one thing: the hybrid is now optional. For those familiar with the Ford Maverick, you were previously getting the hybrid powertrain in its standard configuration. Sure, you didn’t have to buy the hybrid variant of the Maverick, but if you wanted anything other than that, you would have to pay some extra money. The 2024 Ford Maverick performs what we like to call “The Ol’ Switcheroo” as the tables have turned.

With the purchase of a new 2024 Maverick, you don’t get the hybrid powertrain off the bat; instead, you get the non-hybrid powertrain, with the hybrid variant now getting placed into the optional category. This has the effect of increasing the Maverick’s base-level performance, while fuel efficiency expectedly gets slashed. There’s another benefit to the base 2.0L EcoBoost Turbo I-4 engine coming standard, and it’s that it can be paired with AWD, which the hybrid powertrain doesn’t do.

The hybrid powertrain is still as efficient as ever, with EPA-estimated ratings of 42 MPG in the city and 33 MPG on the highway (for 37 MPG combined). This 2.5L I-4 hybrid engine—acting as the heart of its powertrain—helps the Maverick achieve 191 hp, and it’s paired with a Continuously Variable Automatic Transmission (CVT). These hybrid models have a maximum towing capacity of 2,000 lbs.

With the base 2024 Maverick, its turbocharged 2.0L I-4 engine (paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission) provides powerful performance, with 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque. The powertrain swap also means you can officially say the base Maverick can reach a maximum towing capacity of 4,000 lbs. One thing that remains between the two powertrains is the payload capacity of 1,500 lbs, but what about those fuel economy ratings we mentioned? Are the “slashed” ratings as bad as they sound? Not quite!

If you stick with the base 2.0L Turbo I-4 engine, FWD will net you the most fruitful results, with EPA-estimated ratings of 23 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the highway (for 26 MPG combined). AWD models barely differ from these ratings, which is substantial news for those who prefer improved traction, whether that be because of where they live, where they travel, what they like to do for fun, etc. The EPA-estimated ratings of the 2024 Maverick with its base powertrain and AWD are 22 MPG in the city and 29 MPG on the highway (for 25 MPG combined).

It’s Not Broken, Don’t Try to Fix It

Some elements of the 2024 Ford Maverick are reminiscent of recent predecessors. Take cargo space, for example, and we’re pleased to report the 2024 Maverick is still that capacious pickup truck you love, with a bed that’s not oversized but also not undersized either, meaning the capabilities sit perfectly where you’d want a compact truck to.

The 2024 Ford Maverick has a four-foot, five-inch bed, which makes it long enough to store plenty of cargo—and if you’re using the truck for mostly hobbyist reasons, it’s more than enough. Even for in-depth DIY projects at home, you can still make heavy use of the available cargo space. This bed also measures 54.4 inches, but in regards to how this correlates to the available cargo room, you’ll have 33.3 cu.ft. of space beneath a bed cover.

Something great about the Maverick is that you aren’t only restricted to the face value of available cargo room as there are other ways to store your belongings with the 2024 Maverick. For example, this truck comes with a storage compartment under the back seats, which adds 2.6 cu.ft. of cargo space to the base model and 2.0 cu.ft. to hybrid models. There’s also a storage cubby that comes with certain variants and can be added to others.

It’s not only about the size of the Maverick’s bed but how you can access it, too. The 2024 Ford Maverick comes with a multi-position tailgate that can be either folded down in its open and closed positions—like any pickup truck—but can also be halted in the mid-position, which not only serves as protection from your cargo falling out of the bed but the more protruded length means you can store longer pieces of cargo (like long pieces of wood for your at-home projects, for example).

It’s aspects like the multi-position tailgate that make the 2024 Ford Maverick a viable solution for your work. You won’t be hauling cargo the likes of the F-Series can handle, but if your job doesn’t require more than a towing capacity of 4,000 lbs, this model can be perfectly helpful on the worksite. Even better, you can power your tools with two 12-volt ports in the bed, and you can also opt for two 110-volt outlets that can pump out 400 watts.

A Memorable Driving Experience

You may be surprised to learn that driving the Maverick can be a rather lavish experience, especially when opting for one of the more premium trims. Granted, the Lariat costs significantly more than the XL, but it still finds itself below the starting price of many other trucks on the market, from Ford or otherwise. With the 2024 Maverick, manual seats come standard on the XL and XLT, but an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat comes standard with the Lariat, and you can also opt for this seat as an available configuration for the XLT.

The Lariat also comes standard with a six-way manually adjustable passenger seat, which is available on the XLT, too. At the base level, you’ll get cloth seats, upgraded to what Ford calls “unique cloth seats” with the XLT, and the Lariat comes standard with ActiveX-trimmed seats. The Lariat comes standard with heated seats, which are optional on the XLT and not available for the XL, and the main thing you can add to the Lariat (that doesn’t come with it) is a four-way headrest, as this trim otherwise covers the extent of what Ford offers with the 2024 Maverick.

A Welcomed Change of Pace

Although this model’s recent changes may seem insignificant, we assure you the change is more momentous than you think. The swapping of its powertrains—going from a standard hybrid in the 2023 model to an optional one in 2024—means that you’re getting the best performance out of the gate, which is what you’d expect to be the case for a pickup truck. Not every driver wants a hybrid powertrain—and that’s okay.

The 2024 Maverick is the first in its lineage where an aspiring shopper can walk up and think to themselves, “I don’t need to configure this base model any more than I need to. I like it the way it is.” And we can’t wait to see what the future of this compact truck has in store.