If you’re looking to buy a small truck, the 2022 Ford Maverick is the newest contender that should be on your radar. Sharing a platform with the Bronco Sport, this new tiny Ford certainly won’t be the most powerful truck around. However, to everyone’s surprise, this new offering comes standard with a hybrid powertrain. The benefit? up to 40 mpg. As a result, this should make an excellent, efficient yet capable daily driver.

According to Ford’s latest release, if you want a more powerful variant, you can certainly have one. However, if you stick to the lower trim levels, you’ll get a truck that starts under $20,000.

How powerful is the 2022 Ford Maverick?

Let’s start this look at the 2022 Ford Maverick by going over its two main engine options. As standard, you’ll get a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder hybrid powertrain. This base engine develops 191 hp and 155 lb-ft. All of this power goes to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission. While it certainly isn’t the most powerful powertrain out there, it still gets you a standard payload of 1,500 lb and a towing capability of up to 2,000 lb. As Ford sees it, this should be good enough to tow a decently-sized pop-up camper trailer.

If you want the most out of the 2022 Ford Maverick, you’ll want the larger 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder option. This gets you 250 hp and 277 lb-ft. You get an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard and can opt between front or all-wheel drive. The main benefit of this larger engine is that you can opt for the 4K Tow Package, which, as its name suggests, gets you 4,000 lb of towing capacity. According to Ford, this should be enough to tow an average 21-foot boat.

The base hybrid powertrain offers up to 40 MPG

If you don’t need the 2022 Ford Maverick’s max towing rating consistently, the smaller and cheaper engine option seems like the best way to go. This is because Ford claims it’ll consume around 40 mpg in the city. While these figures won’t be made official until later this year, that’s this truck’s target. In total, you should expect to get a combined rating of around 37 mpg. Additionally, this fuel-efficiency rating should allow the Maverick to cover around 500 miles on a single tank.

For a bit of context, the recently introduced 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz cant come close in terms of efficiency. According to Autoweek, the most efficient version of the Santa Cruz offers up a 2.5-liter inline-four-cylinder engine. You can expect 21 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. As a result, if the 2022 Ford Maverick can meet its target fuel economy, it’ll blow the Hyundai out of the water.

How much does the 2022 Ford Maverick cost?

Despite being a brand-new small truck, the 2022 Ford Maverick won’t break the bank. That’s because it has a sub-$20,000 starting price for the XL trim. If you want to move up the trim levels, Motor1 reports that the XLT will cost you $22,280. From there, the Lariat comes in at $25,490. The aforementioned larger 2.0-liter engine exists as a $1,085 option across the range. If you want all-wheel drive, get ready to pay up $2,220 on top. All in, this should make a great option for budget-conscious or first-time buyers that want an easy way into the brand.