2025 Ford Maverick Lobo First Test: A Howlin’ Good Time?

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notabot0100@reddit

I really like the concept of this aside from its price. It’s a shame we haven’t seen tons of maverick competitors but im holding out hope our mini truck days will return

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MarkIsARedditAddict@reddit

We need a Kei truck clone that costs 15k

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omegaalphard2@reddit

There are some fancy golf carts that fit your requirement

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Plastic_Willow734@reddit

Best you’ll get is a SLATE that’s 27k MSRP with literally zero features but a power train

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Plastic_Willow734@reddit

I agree, unless Bezo’s gives them a sweetheart deal and buys 100,000 of them to be Amazon delivery trucks in cities where vans are too difficult to drive or whatever.

People do yearn for a new barebones truck…for $15k OTD, not $27k before incentives. I also hate the idea of incentives because you never know when that well dries up

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RelativeMotion1@reddit

People can want a $15k mini truck all day.

It’s impossible.

People’s perception and wants have not caught up with the devaluation of the dollar. There’s no way you could build any vehicle that meets all the necessary regulations, sell it for $15k, and make a cent. Even at massive volume. The battery and battery management systems alone are going to be about half of that.

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defund_aipac_7@reddit

Exactly. And most likely those incentives will die with Trumps BBB. At $15k it could be considered a toy for some people (like a motorcycle), for $27k? That’s competing with normal cars I.e. Camry.

I do think Jeff buys a bunch, he’s an investor and wants them to succeed. He threw Rivian a lifeline also.

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Thee_Sinner@reddit

So a truck.

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barkx3@reddit

A 2025 truck that has less features than a 30 year old Ford Ranger lol

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Thee_Sinner@reddit

Exactly what I want

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barkx3@reddit

Might as well get that 30yr old Ranger then and save yourself $25k

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Thee_Sinner@reddit

lol downvoting me for wanting a new vehicle without the bloat.

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Mojave_Idiot@reddit

Most people choose not to exist at the intersection of performative austerity and WEF “you will own nothing and be happy” especially on a vehicle that’s price leans so heavily on the whims of the government

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Thee_Sinner@reddit

There’s nothing performative about this. I want my vehicle to be just a vehicle. I like what Slate is offering. Before they showed up, my plan has been to find a mini truck from the 70s or so. Now that this is being offered, I can get something that passes modern crash testing without needing to buy something with a bunch of “features” that I don’t want.

And how tf do you interpret anything I’ve said to be “you will own nothing”? Half of the appeal of this truck is that I can add my own peripherals as I feel instead of dealing with what seems to be the growing trend among other manufactures of trying to make their features subscriptions.

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Mojave_Idiot@reddit

It’s absolutely performative. The most miserable shitboxes on the market have features this thing lacks despite it costing nearly 30k dollars. Omitting parts that cost less than 100, 50, 30 dollars off the shelf, let alone replacing them with blanks, hand cranks, etc is absolutely more of a tool to generate buzz than it is a pragmatic decision.

It’s overpriced, by their own specification sucks at its own stated purpose, and everyone is still blown away that it has manual windows.

A god damn Nissan leaf still has a 1000 pound payload and gets double the range and is way more equipped and effectively costs the same.

And it exists.

I feel like I’m in crazy town.

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TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

Not everyone gives a crap about "features".

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Thee_Sinner@reddit

I’m sorry that I like something that you don’t.

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Mojave_Idiot@reddit

My opinion never came into play here. Just looking at numbers.

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TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

Bro, reddit has this obsessive hate boner for the Slate. Just buy it but don't ever mention it on here otherwise people get butthurt.

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barkx3@reddit

Wasn't me who downvoted either of your comments! An extreme stripper model car isn't a bad idea, I like basic cars too though I do want at least stuff like power windows and a radio lol.

Charging $25k+ for a vehicle without these in 2025 is the crazy part to me. It makes everything else in it's price bracket look like a Rolls Royce by comparison.

As far as trucks go, the 1400# payload is decent but 1k towing is honestly terrible. You can barely even use this for towing a small trailer to the dump. Even the Maverick can tow 4k.

If this cost $15-20k I could see where it's coming from.

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Thee_Sinner@reddit

Power windows and radio are supposed to be available…as add-ons lol

For me personally, the price isn’t too far off from what I think I’d be willing to pay. But that’s because it’s basically exactly what I’ve been looking for: single-cab, short range, mini truck. I am also concerned with the haul and towing capacity. Would really have holes for at least 1500# towing.

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Plastic_Willow734@reddit

Yep! For 27,000..

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intern_steve@reddit

You forgot to mention that the range is awful as well. I don't wish ill of a company trying to cut down on the excessive bloat and feature creep of modern vehicles, but I don't see a case for me to own one.

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West_Independent2551@reddit

The closest vehicle to that currently available is the Chevy Express Van for 40k

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SonovaVondruke@reddit

Just about everyone has one in development, the market is just tight and weird right now so no one is taking chances that might cannibalize sales of their safer bets and standbys. I’ve got deposits down on a Slate and a Telo, but I don’t have an overabundance of confidence in either.

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defund_aipac_7@reddit

I really doubt you’ll end up dishing out $27,000 for the slate. It’s a deeply unserious vehicle and another company learns to not trust what redditors say they want I.e. a no frills, single cab truck, EV, etc etc etc.

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SonovaVondruke@reddit

The Maverick gave them most of that and couldn’t keep them in stock for 4 years. I don’t think the demand is so minimal as you think.

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defund_aipac_7@reddit

Yeah but Maverick is: from a name brand, crew cab, and ICE. Slate is none of those and that chips away at its market. It’s gonna be a major flop imo

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TempleSquare@reddit

The Maverick was an awesome value proposition at $20,000. I felt like it was the car that was going to put Ford back on the map and then see tons of them everywhere.

But a 30 grand? Meh

At 40 grand? They're out of their freaking minds

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BrendanKwapis@reddit

I like the Maverick and I think this is a cool idea, but “Lobo” is the dumbest name for anything I have ever seen. Who wants to brag that they have a “Lobo”? You got a truck lobotomy? I do not understand how they greenlit this stupid name.

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myshortfriend@reddit

This is bait right

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OldRed91@reddit

Where'd the cool "turbine" wheels go?

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dabocx@reddit

43k as tested is pretty wild.

I would have hoped for a 2.3 at that point. But I guess the maverick has really gone up

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ZeGermanHam@reddit

And the problem is, it still has the bones and build quality of $22k vehicle which it's based on. I've priced out Mavericks and just cannot find a way to justify the MSRP they are going for now.

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metengrinwi@reddit

They still sell them 27-28k, just people won’t “lower” themselves to that. People just want to complain about price, but always go for all the options.

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TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

Exactly, plenty of XL's available sitting on dealer lots for under 30k, but people can't live with a basic truck.

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Plastic_Willow734@reddit

Tbf you can say the same thing about the Elantra N and CTR, you can only do so much to a car that’s got a trim selling for $24k.

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SonovaVondruke@reddit

The base trim of the current model year Maverick is now almost $30k out the door ($27k with current “employee pricing” promotion) and is still built like a $20k entry-level vehicle.

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Plastic_Willow734@reddit

Yeah the Maverick was an awesome buy when it was ~23k OTD, but for $30k out the door you’re better off just shelling out the extra $5k to up to a Ranger/Frontier/Colorado if you actually use the bed, get a lot more from those

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SonovaVondruke@reddit

The size is the primary appeal for me, but I just can’t see paying 35k to get everything I want out of it when I have a perfectly good 3rd gen Tacoma.

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ZeGermanHam@reddit

The Maverick is especially bad in this regard, though. It's a super cheaply built vehicle under the skin, unfortunately.

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caterham09@reddit

Yup, and the base civic is super nice for its price.

The maverick is a great 20-25k truck but a terrible 40k truck

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dat_tae@reddit

You right.

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BTTWchungus@reddit

Ford being delusional as usual. That's Ridgeline money

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dabocx@reddit

I was hoping a new ridgeline would come out soon based on the new passport. It would look great

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Shmokesshweed@reddit

Same. Until July 2021, when I ordered a Maverick. And there's still no new Ridgeline.

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halcykhan@reddit

You should see the stickers on Tremors and Bronco Sport Badlands. A local dealer had one of each optioned to $49k…

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75CaveTrolls@reddit

I know $16K is a considerable sum but with the Raptor being sooo much more truck with all the imaginable features, what is the point of this thing?

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Mojave_Idiot@reddit

It’s absolutely performative. The most miserable shitboxes on the market have features this thing lacks despite it costing nearly 30k dollars. Omitting parts that cost less than 100, 50, 30 dollars off the shelf, let alone replacing them with blanks, hand cranks, etc is absolutely more of a tool to generate buzz than it is a pragmatic decision.

It’s overpriced, by their own specification sucks at its own stated purpose, and everyone is still blown away that it has manual windows.

A god damn Nissan leaf still has a 1000 pound payload and gets double the range and is way more equipped and effectively costs the same.

And it exists.

I feel like I’m in crazy town.

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CorneliusVan@reddit

I drove one of these on autocross course at an event hosted by Ford a little while ago. I thought it was maybe a little over-ambitious to set up an autocross for a trucklette on all-seaons but it handled itself really, really well. Even got it to hang the back end out - and like, a little power slide, not a shitty ass-drag. It's a lot of fun, I think it'll do well.

The engineers on hand implied they kind of set the truck up as a canvas to be built on. They know 99% are going to be commuters so there wasn't much point in doing it themselves (and it would drive the price even higher). but it's not hard for you to get a lot more out of it. For example, the front two-piston calipers are off a Euro Focus ST, but it still uses stock Maverick pads. The tires are an obvious weakness too, BUT, anyone who's actually serious about play time is gonna do pads and tires at a minimum on pretty much any vehicle anyway. EcoBoost tunes aren't exactly hard to come by, either.

It was also tongue-and-cheek implied that there's more coming... possibly in the form of dealer installed accessories or something.

Either way I think it's pretty kickass.

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fullofshitandcum@reddit

You didn't feel like it needed more power? I tossed around a regular 2L Maverick before, and while I plenty of fun, I feel that the Lobo should've had a power bump. I may be wrong, as I haven't driven a Lobo specifically, but for 40k, I'd want a little more than 250hp

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CorneliusVan@reddit

It didn't feel slow, I didn't feel like it needed more power for what it is, and more power (plus the safety certification and warranty validation and possible driveline upgrades needed to support that and all the other red tape that exists in any massive car company) would only drive up the cost and then they'd be criticized even more. Their cost to muscle it up would be far more than your cost to buy an off-the-shelf tune, I'd imagine.

Wish I had more time to pick the engineers' brains about this stuff, they were really cool. The vehicle dynamics engineer for the Maverick is also responsible for the Mustang so it's coming from a pretty legit place.

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LocoMotoNYC@reddit

“Trucklette”

It’ll never catch on but I love this.

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beermit@reddit

I call my Bronco a trucklet because it's smaller than a majority of trucks in my area lol

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SonovaVondruke@reddit

Bleh. It sounds like something someone who drives a lifted F250 around the suburbs so they can tow a camper once a year to go “camping” would say to make them feel superior to people buying a more practical vehicle.

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Mojave_Idiot@reddit

This only suggests that you’re the one with that preconception.

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eza50@reddit

Sounds like some Focus RS Brembos will bolt right up then

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stoned-autistic-dude@reddit

This is the perfect canyon truck imo. I’d love one of these things with some bucket seats and a list of fun mods (pads, SS lines, brake fluid, good tires, sway bars, and such). Be such a monster.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

I feel like this would be an absolute hoot with an LSD up front and literally any performance-oriented all season tyre but as they said, its in a class of one so there is only so much you can complain about

(and I'm sure many will point out that yes, the people actually buying this would probably prefer a cheap AWD + daily tyres)

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coffeeshopslut@reddit

They put the torque vectoring rear in but no LSD front?

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

The torque vectoring diff is from the tremor etc., it was designed for mild off-road functions, probably cheap enough to stick it in here, revamp the tuning call it a day. They don't offer a front LSD in any car on their lineup, which makes sense.

I think the only ford with a factory front LSD was the Focus RS in a specific spec.

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notheretopost69@reddit

Not US market, obviously, but the MK.8 Fiesta ST got an LSD. I’d guess the Focus did as well.

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DaBombDiggidy@reddit

its insane they couldn't fit those things in with the 40k starting price.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

eh is there anything that has awd + lsd for under 40k? I guess just barely the gr-corolla but I'd argue the maverick is a better daily.

I don't think its unreasonably priced for what it offers, I just personally would've loved a fwd hot-truck especially considering the payload on this is down to 1000lbs anyways (from 1500lbs), but I'm not interested in one regardless so I'm just talking shit

Also the wheels are a HUGE disappointment vs the concept that had sawblades.

You can choose between the turbofans and standard rims

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tugtugtugtug4@reddit

Considering the Maverick was a 20k truck, you'd think they could have added AWD and an LSD for less than 20k.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

Its starts at 28k now, which is basically 30k otd

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Csalbertcs@reddit

It's also 45k in Canada which is a really good price here.

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JEs4@reddit

Unless you’re specifically excluding 4x4s, both the Ranger and Colorado can be optioned with an electronic rear locker for under $40k.

I know they aren’t direct comparisons to this truck, and this truck does have people interested specifically in the platform but I am curious how many accidental buyers there will be or if they’ll end up in lower spec but equally priced midsized pickups.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

LSD isn't the same as a rear locker though

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sixtninecoug@reddit

Having cars with both, they behave significantly different.

Can’t tell the LSD in my Mustang or Ranger is even there.

The Detroit Locker in my Cougar on the other hand is not afraid to let you know it’s there. It’s a goddamn on/off switch basically.

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DruidB@reddit

The locker in my old ZQ8 2wd Canyon used to surprise you mid corner in the rain.... scared the shit out of my wife lol

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sixtninecoug@reddit

First rule in my Cougar is no throttle mid corner. You’ll snap to “straight ahead” very violently

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ZachtoseIntolerant@reddit

A detroit locker isn’t the same as a button-operated air locker or e-locker.

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sixtninecoug@reddit

Didn’t say it was.

Was referencing differences between a locker and an LSD that was commented on in a real world example.

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Crash458@reddit

Maybe Ford can introduce some cosmetic and performance accessories at different prices that can be bought and installed at official Ford dealerships? That can satisfy owners and potential buyers who want more options to improve the Ford Maverick Lobo.

Maybe add-ons like lowered springs, performance summer tires, bigger and/or better brake kits, slight horsepower, and torque increases covered by an official Ford factory backed warranty, etc.

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dabocx@reddit

The saw blades are actually the default I think. These are the optional ones

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zaluss@reddit

Those wheels are the "optional" wheels from the black appearance package. You can still get the sawblades.

I agree the optional wheels are worse.

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CortaCircuit@reddit

I think it's funny, the Ford Maverick is a budget pickup truck and people are already trying to make it more expensive.

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BlueFiSTr@reddit

I had dws06+ on my lowered maverick and it was all the grip it needed. I had a ton of fun in that little truck

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Daneth@reddit

This is clearly who it was named after

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CapsizeDnB@reddit

Think they’ll be had at MSRP?

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kon---@reddit

They likely mean it to be lone wolf but really, Ford cocked the name up.

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OtterCreek_Andrew@reddit

May actually buy one, maybe. I’ve been wanting a smaller truck to daily as my ram 2500 is just massive and sometimes parking can be a pain

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AStorms13@reddit

I wanna see someone lower this thing and put stickier tires on. Not sure how the mod-ability will be but you could make a cool little drag truck out of this I feel like

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AStorms13@reddit

This gonna be the new S10?

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Daetah@reddit

Ive had my Lobo with the 702A equipment package since March now, and its been absolutely wonderful. The 2.0T is fine, definitely wish it had the 2.3T but the ASS load of turbo noise this thing makes more than makes up for it and in sport/lobo mode its downright quick for a 3800 pound mini-truck. Im weird and love the turbofan wheels.

I have a feeling Ford either nearly caught lightning in a bottle (no pun intended) by either not giving it proper tires, or keeping the 2.0 rather than the 2.3. Either that, or the Lobo is a guinea pig for a proper Maverick ST or Maverick Thunderbolt/Lightning with a 2.3T, proper tires and a LSD. Just my 2 cents though, really kickass truck, 2600 miles in and I adore it.

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