Is the New Ford Maverick Tremor Legit Or an Off-Road Poser? I Test It vs a Tacoma TRD To Find Out! 

This wasn't a test of which is better off-road, this was a test to see if a car-based small truck could keep up with a traditional off-roader.

I think anyone with a set of eyes can tell the Taco has more ground clearance.

Ground clearance aside, Mav Tremor seems fairly decent. Likely just perfect for most people who like to do things recreationally.

The test would have been more interesting with a Honda Ridgeline vs. Maverick.

Considering this Maverick is basically a modern day Ranchero, it did rather well. This isn't designed to compete with the Tacoma.

I think people drastically underestimate how capable AWD is becoming these days for sure.

The Ford Maverick is the truck that most people will ever NEED. I had one on order, but canceled due to the supply chain shortage at the time. I do regret not being more patient, as it’s plenty of truck for those of us that spend 99% of our time on pavement & venture onto fire trails or Pismo Beach on rare occasions.

I’d love to see a compare on the maverick, bronco sport and the scape. Really show the difference on and off road of all three versions of the same platform. Great video Andre

Just received my mav tremor and it's definitely all the truck I need. The price difference is astounding, I couldn't justify spending almost double on a Tacoma TRD Pro.

For a daily driver and hauling my mountain bikes or camping gear around, I think I would rather have the Maverick.

It seems the Maverick did very well. It’ll certainly take you down forest service roads to your hidden fishing hole for a reasonable price. Little less room in the bed for a bunch of gear, but probably works for most purposes. On the other hand, there are plenty of low mileage Tacos or Frontiers available. Still, it seems a decent vehicle.

Love TFL reviews. Andre is awesome!

Them having the same ground clearance makes sense to me. Your GC is just from the lowest point of the vehicle to the ground. The Maverick might have almost all of the chassis at 9.whatever inches from the ground where only the lowest dangly bit of the Tacoma is at that same measurement. Impressed by the plucky little thing honestly.

Excellent video, It's always good to include a benchmark so viewers know where the line is drawn between the two classes. I was impressed that the Maverick figured out most of that course without needing the locker. The only thing missing from this video was for Andrey to hold up a tape measure to each vehicle to see who's lying when it comes to ground clearance. I suspect the Toyota value is conservative or based on a different wheel/tire package, but I don't know, perhaps Ford's number is way off.

Another thing to note the Tremor package can not get the 4k Tow option, which will be a deal breaker for some.

Would love to see you actually measure the ground clearances on these vehicles. The manufacturers do not specify where that measurement is from, would be informative for you guys to figure out and show those results.

Thanks for sharing. Now that you've taken the FX4 and Tremor version of the Maverick off road. I suggest taking the basic AWD Maverick on the same trail as a good comparison to the FX4 and Tremor. packages.

This is a great lesson on specs. The Tacoma's clearance is the low point of the diff. The fords ground clearance is the low point of the suspension arm which is probably almost level with the whole underside. The breakover angle speaks to MIDDLE vehicle ground clearance and the wheelbase length. Angle specs matter WAY more than clearance specs.

Great review Andre! Hopefully someone with a leveled/lifted FX4 Maverick will let you test it in your pit to see how it does compared to the Tremor.

Fun Fact: The sounds at the Taco makes with Crawl Control keeps the cylindrical probe from Star Trek 4 away.

That 360° camera in the Taco looks straight out of 2006

I appreciate that there are people like this doing these videos for people like us. 😊

You make the best videos of anyone at TFL

Great objective review! Just what I was looking for on the Maverick Tremor. It was not a ‘which is better’ comparison, but rather a comparison to a benchmark. Well done!

The flexible frame on the Taco allows for better wheel articulation than the stiff unibody on the Ford. I think TFL should actually measure the ground clearance, approach, departure and break over angles rather than depend on manufacture's specs which may be "creative". The Taco seems to have more static ground clearance as well as better articulation.

If you want enthusiast level off roading, get a vehicle purpose built for it like a Wrangler or Bronco. Otherwise the FX4/Tremor package is more than enough to handle getting to the campsite.

I really wish that you can import a Toyota Hilux so that you can compare them both but since you have a 2019 ranger I suggest you guys do a comparison on the ranger and the tacoma to see if a base model can keep up with a TRD PRO

A 1-1.5” lift on a Tremor would send it to another level

for an AWD, unibody vehicle with no transfer case. I say the Maverick did pretty good.

Pretty awesome that it can keep up. We are excited about our HPR XLTremor when it arrives. We also plan on putting air bags in the rear to keep the tail up a lil more aswell as going to 31" tires eventually. Should help the angles significantly.

Nice video! May I suggest moving the end card to the right side so that viewers can see the bumper clearance in the final shot?

Awesome video!

Andre: the way you can simulate "Low" or "transfer case" level is paddle shifting down to 1st gear... lock in 1st gear. Same with Honda. 1st gear on 9 and 10 speed autos are very low and can ALMOST simulate a transfer case mode. Honda Truck platform (I VTM4) comes out to a nearly 22:1 gear. Ford is around 20:1. Try it! They are pretty good! The Toyota Tacoma is great off road. One of the best Love the color! The AWD based unibody vehicles do well for what they are. They use technology to gain ability off-road. They come close to transfer case 4wd, but that's not their purpose in life.

Great video. The Maverick's AWD system is surprisingly good. Hopefully Tommy will do the slip test on it. With the tremor package I would think it would be lifted more with better tires. I really don't think the maverick should have the tremor name on it. It really isn't in the same class as the Tacoma and with no transfer case I don't think if ever could be. Thanks guys

Given the choice between these two, I'd get the Tacoma.

Cool video! Tacoma’s lowest point is under the engine skid plate. It is 9.4 inches there but under the rest of the truck there is much more clearance.

Great video, as you just proved the little Maverick is a real truck. I think it's more of a truck than the Hyundai.

Keeping up with a TRD Pro Taco is no easy feat for any stock truck. The Mav has its place and the Tremor is damn good for what it is.

Starting to really like this little truck the more I see and read about it!

Can't wait to see you test the maverick tremor vs your ranger fx4

That Crawl Control in the Taco is absolutely horrible sounding. You'd think Toyota would refine the system a little.

Excited to see how the Ranger Raptor compares to the Pro

Who heard him say “Andre spit” instead of “Andre’s pit”. Love this channel!

Andre, can we see you compare all the “off road compact suv’s? Outback, cherokee trailhawk, bronco sport, Pilot, etc.

Nice comparo, but really, they aren’t in the same class. I think the Ranger vs the Taco would be more realistic.

I love this off-road system on the Ford !!! I can’t stand all the noise from the Toyota

Thank you Andre for listening to me!!

Hi 😀 Nice comparison 👍 Greetings from Poland 😀

The Taco TRD Pro is GREAT for almost all 4x4 off-road duties and if you want simplicity then this truck is just fine for most people. My ONLY beef is price versus included technology and interior comfort. The NEW Chevy Colorado ZR2 and GMC Canyon AT4 trucks are now SURPASSING the Taco interior-wise and built-in tech-wise due to the SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE in interior quality and overall features inlcuded in the final purchase price! I am now reluctant to just base a purchase decision on "Legendary Toyota Reliability" when so many personal comfort and off-roading helper functions are now included in the latest mid-size and full-size trucks from OTHER manufacturers. Even the latest Nissan Frontier Pro-4x give the Taco a good run for the money and is CHEAPER monthly-payment-wise when you get the dealer in-house financing options, even if it has a longer financing term for the Nissan! That extra $100 to $200 you save per month buys a heck of a lot of gas and camp food/camp gear for your weekend off-road jaunts to the backcountry! It will be interesting to see the updates to the Taco when the full refresh comes out next year! The Ford Maverick is a City/Suburban tradesperson truck that just happens to have some ability off-road. It sure does have good fuel consumption numbers which REALLY SAVES you cash and is hard to beat price-wise. I would say that for 50% of all truck buyers, the Maverick is pretty much all that you really need for hauling you camp/work gear and even towing small trailers and weekend toys! I don't see any real competitor to the Maverick since the Santa Cruz is $10,000 USD more in price! The Subaru Outback is the closest vehicle I could find that has SOME reasonable cargo room and off-road ability at that price point! The Maverick is the vehicle Mom's and Dad's of high schoolers buy for their own family use for 2 to 4 years before handing off the Maverick to their now-off-to-college kids and then getting a loaded-up F150 Lariat or Platinum! V

It's crazy that the smallest truck has more space in the back seats, than the larger truck.

having just watched an fx4 maverick attack terrain like this, i'm intrigued at the tremor. will update this comment with my reaction. yup, as i expected. a much better result where the maverick really did show it was capble of a surprising amount for being a modern compact truck.

Thank you!

That Maverick does look nice I won't lie! my wife has one XL hybrid gets really good mileage easy to change the 🛢️ it's a pretty decent truck but that 🌮 is on another level when it comes to off-roading and reliability maybe compare the next generation Tacoma to a Maverick because they'll both be turboed but this V6 will kick the shit out of that EcoBoost I bet

I’d love to see an second gen tundra do this course

Andre, you guys need to start measuring ground clearance on the trucks! The number they give you is probably under the diff for the Toyota, which doesn't really matter when off-roading since you can place your rear tires to clear rocks and obstacles with the diff. It's obvious looking at these two trucks that the Tacoma has way more clearance under the frame than the Maverick. It would be very useful for your viewers if you measured the frame clearance yourselves, even the lowest point between the axles if a fuel tank or transfer case hangs down below the frame rails.

Nice that the mav has all weather tires so it might do better on snow or ice than the taco all season tires

All the snow in this country and none in Colorado? 🤷‍♂️

The Tremor just needs a lift and a different rear bumper, just an aftermarket one

I love the maverick. I was behind one yesterday and couldn’t help but notice how low the exhaust is under that rear diff…. Offroad would absolutely crush it on a rock

get the mav raised with bigger tires.

MSRP on each would be helpful also. These two are obviously apples and oranges, if you are going to do difficult trails the Taco is the easy choice. But if you are the occasional light off roader like most people the price difference may be the deciding factor for non-fan boys.

i like how ford moved the license plate to the side and tucked the hitch up in the bumper. having the taco hitch hang down like that is a huge potential hangup. my 97 f150 had a hangdown hitch like that and the safety chain mounts were both bent way up from all the rock contact on poorly maintained logging and fire roads

I’ve done very similar things my FX4 on the stock scorpions, limited ability but great tire.

You should do a 10k tow test between the Ram 2500 and Maverik. Cuz ya know kinda the same test.

This is way tougher than anything id take the mav tremor on. Just trying to get to camping/hiking spots

You guys should do a video on spec sheet ground clearance vs. actual. I know my tacoma has less ground clearance (from the rear diff) than Toyota states and I have larger tires.

You are the best!

I’ve taken my FX4 on the Mohave Rd, scrapped a ton and found damage weeks later to some linkages. But would have never know if I wasn’t told of it. Trip ended after a flat but it hung with a Bronco Sasquatch, stock Bronco Big Bend with 33s, and built out Wrangler on 35s and a built out Tacoma along with a stock Ranger 4x4. I can’t wait for my Tremor tho!

the ground clearance thing is weird to say the least

I’m a Maverick owner, and this comparison is a bit of a stretch. My truck does everything I need it to do, but the Tacoma is definitely way more purpose built than the Maverick as far as off road is concerned.

In TFL’s next comparison they put a Unimog U 5000 up against a Lil’ Tykes Cozy Coupe in an off-road course.

It looks like your Maverick could use the 2.5” life from Superlift, and a set of 245/70-17s.

Man, as much as I would love to daily a traditional 4x4, the Tremor ticks all the boxes for me. The want is very very strong.

I'm glad I watched this, I wouldn't hesitate to approach that pit in my 07 ranger, but watching the maverick makes me nervous.

I am not a midsize truck person by any means and will take super duty's all day long, but between these 2 I would take the Tacoma every single time, it is way more capable and way better looking.

The Tacoma's ground clearance is probably measured at the rear diff. Without a pumpkin, the maverick may be measured at the lowest point on it's body.

I'm looking forward to these guys reviewing the Ranger Raptor when it eventually gets here...

Amazing that a much lower unibody maverick can nearly be as good as a much higher body on frame taco.

So a dressed up car is not far behind a taco, Interesting

I'm no Toyota guy but at 0:57 the Toyota beats the Maverick in looks already.

Y'all can make a rock feel like a mountain I swear 😂. TFL is my favorite team though 💯

You've got to be realistic with its application and I think you'll be satisfied. Even most off-road vehicles like SxS's need aftermarket work for true offloading.

Pretty embarrassing that the mavericks have higher payload than a taco 😂 my taco I can tell isn’t made to work to hard or tow/haul all that much but a good little overlander. I’d take a maverick for fuel mileage but I’d pick a ranger or taco for my camping trips and off-roading.

Looks like the Maverick needs to work on approach / departure angles, but not bad overall. But why didn't you show the window stickers or mention price? There's about a $15k difference in price which is massive.

The Maverick is more truck than most people need. Heck, even those who think it is not enough are likely wrong unless they're towing or doing difficult terrain and lets face it, not many are going to spend that kind of money and actually take a new Tacoma or another new truck into hardcore off roading. Come to think of it, I have need even seen a newer muddy Jeep in some time.

The Tacoma's ground clearance seems low because it's measured from the lowest point of the vehicle, which is the bottom of the center of the rear axel. You can raise the body all you want but unless you run taller tires the ground clearance for that truck will not change.

This is a very weird comparison, since it's not apples-to-apples. Not at all paying attention to how it compares to the Tacoma. But it's nice seeing more Maverick Tremor videos. Can't wait for mine.

For what it is, the maverick is great. I wish ford would have went a little more aggressive with the tremor package tho. Maybe there will be a maverick raptor some day?! Put the 2.3 eco in it. 32-33" tires and proper skidplates and such!

Not the biggest fan of Maverick, but its growing on me a bit... especially parking my f-150 living in New Jersey !

Nice like this you can pick out the two truck. Do a lot things. Safe some money too.

I will take the Toyota all day

There is really no comparison. The Maverik's articulation is nil while the Taco is decent. The Maverik's 'Tremor' upgrades are more appearance-oriented and the basic truck itself is not up to the Taco's . . . the ground clearance for Dirty Deeds obviously was not going to be there after watching the Taco go through with little issue.

We need a TFL slip test on this mav!

If Andre is testing the trucks then we’ll know for sure the FORD will surpass the Toyota . Can’t wait to watch!

Tomorrow we are going to test a Corolla vs. a ZO6 Corvette to see which one is faster on a racetrack.

I wouldn’t say Toyota holds the standard for off-road trucks. That would have to be a Jeep Gladiator or a Chevy ZR2. (No I don’t own those)

Is this the same AWD as the bronco sport then? Cause that was pretty good

A few years ago I got a call to head down a pipeline ROW in my F150 to look at something. I start coming down and run into a line of traffic coming the other way. No where to turn around and my departure angle didn't let me go in reverse, had the 6 trucks back down the mountain. Departure angles matter lol

The tacoma was disappointing, I thought it would crush the maverick but I would say the maverick could have done it all if it had slightly more clearance all around. The maverick seemed to struggle less for traction.

The Maverick sounds like it has a lawn mower engine.