2025 Ford Maverick Lobo: Autocrossing in a truck? Yep

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — It’s crazy to think anyone would take a pickup truck to an autocross. But that’s exactly what Ford Motor Co. did during its recent test drive with the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo. It was a blast.

Going up to the starting line, I tipped the Maverick Lobo into “Lobo” mode, which improves cornering performance, grip and stability. I took the first lap slow, getting a feel for the course, and then gathered speed with each lap. The steering tightened up, and the throttle got more responsive. The tail end drifted out, and I’ll admit I probably giggled a little. This truck is fun.

To be sure the Lobo mode actually made a difference, I tipped it into Sport mode for my last lap, and in comparison, everything felt sloppier.

To see what the truck could really do, I took a hot lap, and that was downright gleeful. The truck was equal parts controlled and drifty in the best possible way.

What in the heck is a ‘street truck’?

The 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo was inspired by the lowered trucks of the 1980s and ’90s. With a lowered ride height, and performance tuning, this street truck is designed to be a little sporty. It borrows the dual-piston front brake calipers from the European Focus ST, and it gets an upgraded cooling system with a larger radiator and transmission oil cooler. Plus, it’s only equipped with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost that delivers 250 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque.

The exterior design is unique with a scooped grille, body-colored front bumper, black roof and black 19-inch wheels. The interior uses Grabber Blue and Electric Lime stitching accents as well as a graffiti-inspired design on the leatherette seating surfaces. The overall effect is fresh and youthful.

Can the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo still do truck things?

There were several times I during the media drive that I forgot I was driving a pickup truck. On the highway and as we were driving through the mountains, I kept it in Sport mode, which added a little throaty engine noise and tightened up the steering and throttle. It all felt very carlike.

But lest you think the Lobo can’t do truck things, let me assure you it can. It has exactly the same bed you’ll see in the other Maverick trims. And it gets the new-for-2025 towing tech we see on the higher trimmed Mavericks. As a reminder, standard towing capability is 2,000 pounds on the Maverick, but the 4K towing package doubles that number. With the addition of the newly available Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Pro Trailer Backup Assist technology, the Maverick Lobo helps you better line the truck up to the hitch as well as back up with a trailer.

We had the opportunity to test this tech during the press preview, and while the system was a little glitchy, I’m going to chalk a lot of that up to user error (since I don’t tow) and sun placement.

First-look driving impressions

As with all first-look reviews, you have to take driving impressions with a grain of salt since the automaker carefully curates your driving experience from the roads to the exercises you get to do in the vehicle. In this case we did some “canyon carving” and highway driving in addition to the autocross and towing exercises.

I liked the OG Maverick and how it drove, so it should be no surprise that my first impressions of the Lobo are favorable. Driving on the twisty bits, it felt light and fun. While I wouldn’t say it drove like a sports car, it handled the tight turns very well. It was also comfortable and mostly quiet on the highway.

Plus, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine had just the right amount of pep for a vehicle of this size.

I had two quibbles with the Lobo. The first was the auto stop/start engine. While the operation as fairly smooth, I hate the fact that this feature still mutes your HVAC. On a hot day with the sun blaring in through the windshield, it gets really hot inside the cabin quickly when stopped a light. Needless to say, I disengaged this feature.

My other complaint is strictly a “Jill problem.” I have small feet (think women’s size 5 running shoe), and if I rested the heel of my shoe on the floor of the truck, just the tip of my foot came into contact with the gas pedal. So, unless I kept my leg in the air to plant my foot more squarely on the pedal, I found my foot slipping off and under the gas pedal under aggressive accelerations.

Two configurations for the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo

Ford lists the base price for the Maverick Lobo as $36,850, including destination. But that’s for the standard configuration. It includes the Lobo mode, leatherette seats, Sync 4 infotainment system and 13.2-inch infotainment screen as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The high configuration adds heated seats, heated steering wheel, Co-Pilot360 2.0 driver-assist technologies, 360—degree camera, spray-in bedliner, Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Pro Trailer Backup Assist. The price for this configuration, including destination, is $42,345.

Our take on the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo

I have to admit we were puzzled by the concept of a street truck at first. But at the end of the day, what the Lobo does is make the compact pickup truck fun to drive. This is strictly an on-pavement vehicle that has all the same on-road truck capability all Mavericks get.  

If you need to go off pavement, Tremor is going to be your trim of choice instead. But for city dwellers like myself, the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo hits a sweet spot.

Editor’s note: Driving impressions in this “First Drive” review are from an invitation-only automaker launch event that allowed special access to the vehicle and executives. Ford Motor Co. covered our accommodations, meals and transportation costs.

2025 Ford Maverick Lobo photo gallery

Editor’s note: All photos on this page are by Jill Ciminillo.