Ford Maverick Lobo Track Test: One Weak Link Holds This Sport Truck Back
Our long-term Maverick Lobo has hot hatch hardware and a track mode, but one big weak link.
Driving a sporty vehicle on a racetrack is supposed to be fun. Our yearlong review 2026 Ford Maverick Lobo is supposed to be fun. It has 250 horsepower and a turbocharged four-cylinder like many hot hatches. It has all-wheel drive and a torque-vectoring limited-slip rear differential. It has a sporty suspension tune and upgraded steering and brakes from Ford of Europe’s hottest compacts. And yet at some point during hot laps at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway during our State of American Performance test, we realized that despite the snarly exhaust note coming out the back, and the “Track Use Only” Lobo drive mode, we just weren’t having fun.
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What gives?
Why This Should Be Fun
It was entirely possible this was a us problem, although we received similar feedback from other editors who drove our Lobo that day. Based on the Maverick EcoBoost, it features a sportier steering rack and brakes from European Fords, a torque-vectoring rear differential from the Maverick Tremor, and a suspension drop. Its 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4, while not as hot as the 300-hp unit in the Maverick SV300T, has 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque and is paired with a “seven-speed” automatic (it’s actually the same eight-speed as other turbo’d Mavericks, with a vestigial second gear that’s inaccessible), propelling our long-termer from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds and through the quarter mile in 15.2 seconds at 89.3 mph, figures competitive with sport coupes like the Subaru BRZ or Toyota GR86. Its figure-eight performance of 27.2 seconds at a 0.64 g average—about a second behind and half a g less than the aforementioned Civic—probably should’ve given us a hint as to what to expect on the track.
The Maverick Lobo on Track
The worst thing you can think about a performance vehicle after driving around a track is, “I don’t feel the need to do that again.” In some vehicles, that reaction comes from their sheer brutality. In others, it comes from boredom. Unfortunately, the Lobo falls into the latter category.
It was apparent from just about the moment I accelerated down Chuckwalla’s straight and into Turns 1 and 2, which are a quick left-right hook that can coax enjoyable lift-off oversteer in some vehicles, that the Maverick Lobo’s standard Goodyear Wrangler Territory HT all-season tires were going to be a problem. They lack the grip and tread to make the most of the Maverick’s Lobo drive mode, and by the back half of the lap, what little bite the tires had was gone as they got hot and greasy, resulting in more understeer and dropping the truck’s speed and fun level. They were clearly picked to prioritize less niche requirements than track performance.
That’s not to say there was much speed to begin with. The Lobo is quick in the real world but not exactly fast on the racetrack. The truck’s transmission doesn’t make the most of the power, either, upshifting early on Chuckwalla’s straights and downshifting late, long after braking had already begun for a bend. The Lobo’s paddle shifters, thankfully, help mitigate this flaw.
The two above flaws combine to make hot-lapping the Maverick Lobo one-note; you hit the truck’s artificially low limits, and there’s no real payoff for getting there.
The Lobo has potential, though. The greasy tires let us take advantage of the Maverick’s torque-vectoring rear end for some tail-out antics. The Maverick’s brakes held up to the abuse well, too, with the pedal still exhibiting good feel and consistent bite at the end of the lapping session. And lastly, the Mavericks’ fundamental chassis tuning still shines despite the choice of tires, with good balance and a forgiving demeanor.
