OK, we love trucks. And lately we’ve been in some great ones, including the Toyota Tacoma PreRunner and the totally awesome GMC Sierra Denali EV. Uh, one thing, neither of those fit in our garage. And we’ve been able to get full-size SUV’s in there.

Ford realized that along with its popular F150, they needed a smaller truck to appeal to a more entry level buyer, and maybe people who live in more urban areas. With the intro of the Maverick, (we remember the original Maverick car, by the way!) they had a bona-fide home run – a small affordable truck, that was simple, fuel efficient and fun.

Well Ford didn’t rest upon their laurels either, they decided to build on this platform a cool street performance truck, with the kind of custom looks and upgrades we saw on small trucks going back all the way to the 70’s and 80’s – remember the Chevy Luv, and Datsun Li’l Hustler? Yes, those were the real names.

Enter the Ford Maverick Lobo – an in-house, factory-built ride that puts some Cholula sauce on an already tasty entrée. Hungry for some fun? Let’s go!

Lone Wolf Looks

And since Lobo means wolf in Spanish, Ford also gave it some great looks to go along with the cool name.

This wolf is crouched low and ready to pounce – the first thing you notice is the Lobo’s lower stance, dropped about a half inch up front and an inch in back. Up front, there’s special painted bumpers, a unique vertical slat grille and signature LED lighting.

The profile shows more color-keyed goodness with painted rocker moldings, a cool LOBO badge on the front fender, and our favorite, 19-inch, pizza-plate, blacked out wheels. We used to feel that blacked-out wheels were played out by now, but on the Lobo…. dang!

And it is a truck, with the same useful bed but like the front, but sporting a color-keyed painted rear bumper it gives a unified and sleek look from front to back.  

All Lobo models also get a black painted roof for contrast – except on our Shadow Black tester, that wasn’t necessary. But all blacked out, dropped and shiny, this is one badass looking truck.

Lobo Lux

While there’s no denying the pickup truck esthetic of the Lobo’s interior, some well-chosen options make this a great place to be. While the inside retains the familiar trucky, chunky looks of other Maverick trims, Ford points out that designer Kristen Keenan was inspired by street art as well as her experience designing athletic shoes.

There’s definitely a cool vibe in here, starting with Grabber Blue and Electric Lime stitching, which is actually more subtle than the names suggest, and a graffiti-inspired overprint on the seats as a nod to street culture. Even the faux leather they call Activex looks durable and tough.

We also like the tasteful application of Ford blue brought in on parts of the interior plastics, a wave-shaped flow that lives on top of the dash and in the door panels, and what custom truck wouldn’t have a little bling? In this case with LOBO stitched into the front seat headrests.

The rear seats are comfortable and for a compact truck, the ability to fit real adults back there, along with a flip-up lower seat cushion for storing valuables away from prying eyes – or just keeping items from rolling around. Well thought out.

Which also describes the Maverick’s driver-friendly setup, starting with a handsome leather wrapped steering wheel with contrasting stitching, and easy to use buttons on the steering wheel. The digital gauge display is equally straightforward, and it’s easy to call up key information.

Info-tainment is served up by a handsome 13.2-inch touchscreen, and we like the wide-screen approach that looks upscale and doesn’t impede your view like other tablet-style displays. All the tech is there as well, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless smartphone charging and Wi-Fi hotspot.

Ford also puts all the climate controls for the Mav on the touchscreen – normally a situation we’re not fond of, but since they had a dedicated place at the bottom of the screen it’s pretty easy to stay comfy. Speaking of comfy, we really appreciated our tester’s power moonroof – we’ve come a long way since small pickups were just commercial vehicles – this is one classy ride.

It’s hard to find gripes about the interior, but we’re scratching our head about the panel beneath the screen that has the Trailer Brake control close to the driver and the volume further away. It’s actually not that far of the reach, but we’re guessing you’ll be turning that volume knob a lot more often – especially with the Lobo’s great sounding optional B& O audio system.

Keeping things handy as it were, the center console has an easy-to-use rotary gear selector knob, with an electric parking brake lever located just below. Nice cupholders have a home there as well, and each of the 4-doors also have a cool dedicated space that can hold a tall water bottle. No one goes thirsty in the Lobo!

And you can bring along plenty in the Mavericks well designed bed. 4.5-foot long, it features scratch-resistant covers on the top of the fenders, fixed bed hooks, and side rails with sliding cargo hooks that give plenty of flexibility. The tough-looking bed liner looks up to years of abuse, and a power outlet in the bed is handy for work or play. We also liked our Lobo’s power sliding rear window to help give access or some added ventilation.

Dancing with Wolves

Driving the Lobo adds to the fun.

Under the hood is a 2.0-liter, turbocharged, 4-cylinder cranking out a stout 250-horsepower, running through a Lobo-unique 7-speed automatic transmission. Give it the boot, and 0-60 mph comes up in just under 6 seconds which is real-world quick, and the Lobo engine also impresses with its smooth refinement. Add in Lobo-unique paddle shifters, and it’s even more fun running through the gears.

On the sensible side, the truck is also efficient, with 24 mpg combined, and 30 mpg highway ratings.

To help you enjoy the performance, a cooling system upgrade keeps things from getting hot under the hood, including a larger radiator from the 4K towing package, and a transmission cooler as well.

While the Lobo is maybe just a hair quicker than other Mavericks, it’s really in the ride and handling department that it shines. Lowering the front by a half inch and the rear a full inch, it not only looks meaner, but it brings things lower down to enhance handling.

There’s special tuned steering that feels a bit heavier and more precise and a trick torque-vectoring rear differential that helps put the power down, especially in turns. You might think a lowered truck would have a rough ride, but the Lobo impresses with a taut, controlled feeling that remains smooth and comfy for daily use.

Upgraded brakes provide great feedback, and we were impressed that even under heavy braking the rear end stays well controlled, with no bouncing you might expect from a lightly loaded pickup.

While the daily is enjoyable, the wolf serves up a “Lobo” drive mode that Ford says is only for closed courses. Inspired by drifting and autocross, the mode improves cornering performance, grip and stability, and also pumps in a little more engine sound. Cool.

Should You Pick up this Pickup?

Value is a big part of the Maverick equation. The lineup starts with the XL at $28,145, with a 2.5-liter, hybrid engine, and standard Ford CoPilot360® Driver Assist Technologies, it’s a bargain, and we think it looks especially cool on its old-school steel wheels.

The Lobo sits in the middle of the line up and starts at $35,930.  Our tester had the Equipment Group 702 A, which adds goodies like heated front seats and wheel, sunroof, power sliding rear window, B&O audio and more, and pushes the MSRP to $40,750. Add in $1,595 for destination, and we rang the bell at $42,345.

While the Lobo offers a pretty unique proposition, we’d still take a look at the Hyundai Santa Cruz, comparably equipped at $42,950 it offers similar performance, but is more SUV-like (and a bit more upscale) – it depends how trucky you want your truck. Worth a test drive, to be sure.

Cool looks, sporty upgrades, and loads of fun to drive, the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo is a one-of-a-kind performance vehicle – that just happens to be a great pickup truck, too!