Ford Maverick Hybrid with AWD might finally be happening

Here are your surprising spy shots of the day. Ford appears to have just driven a mostly undisguised Maverick Hybrid with all-wheel drive out onto the streets for all the world to see. That combination – the hybrid powertrain paired with AWD – is the one Ford’s neglected to sell us thus far, but if we’re to believe the badging on this test truck, then it might be time.

Now, these are spy shots of a prototype vehicle, so take everything with a grain of salt. Just because Ford slaps a “Hybrid” badge on the rear of an AWD Maverick test truck does not guarantee that it is exactly that. What we do know is that this Maverick is fitted with AWD thanks to the somewhat distant shot of its independent rear suspension – FWD Mavericks feature a torsion beam design in the rear. We can also spy the axle stubs in the rear wheels as yet another indicator that this Maverick test truck is sending power to both the front and rear.

So, either Ford is trolling us all by slapping a Hybrid badge on an AWD test truck, or this is the real deal, and we’re actually getting a Hybrid AWD version of the Maverick with its mid-cycle refresh. The former would be a particularly mean prank.

And speaking of that refresh, this truck offers our best look yet of what Ford is tweaking. You can get a good look at the new headlights and one of the new grille designs – we expect Ford to offer multiple looks depending on trim. Then, inside the truck we can clearly see a much larger widescreen infotainment system that looks similar to the screen in the Escape.

Expect a full reveal coming soon at this point, and with it, a whole new wave of demand if Ford reveals an AWD hybrid model alongside all the other updates for its compact pickup.

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