Small pickup trucks compared: Ford Maverick and Toyota Tacoma

The Maverick is the low-cost, low-fuel-use choice. Kelley Blue Book (opens in a new tab) says its sub-$30,000 starting price means buyers who never thought they could afford a new pickup might have a chance, and that it nabbed the Compact Truck Best Buy Award for the fifth year in a row. On the same site's most fuel-efficient trucks list, the 2026 Maverick is described as a capable compact truck that is available with a hybrid drivetrain and makes city driving and parking a snap. The Tacoma is the more capable and more expensive truck, with rear-drive and 4WD versions of a 2.4-liter engine at 20 to 23 mpg on the EPA's ratings.

A test of the Maverick Hybrid AWD by Testmiles (opens in a new tab) averaged 38.6 mpg in mixed driving, very close to the official EPA rating of 37 mpg combined (40 city, 35 highway), which shows the fuel-economy number holds up on the road.

On the EPA's assumptions the Maverick costs about $1,700 a year in fuel and the Tacoma about $2,800, a gap of roughly $1,100 a year, which on a five-year loan pays for a good part of the Tacoma's $4,050 higher base price. Each model's page carries its own year-by-year recall and complaint record.

Decide on three things: what you tow, how big a bed you need, and whether you drive off-road. The Maverick is a city-friendly compact with a small bed; the Tacoma has more capability, and the model pages give trim-by-trim towing and payload where a maker has published them. Because tow ratings vary by engine, cab and axle ratio, use the trim tables on each model page instead of a class figure.