2022 Ford Maverick vs 2021 Toyota Tacoma

Last redesigned for the 2016 model year, the Tacoma once dominated midsize-truck sales. In recent years, though, it’s faced stronger competition from the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins, the Ford Ranger, and the Jeep Gladiator. A redesigned Nissan Frontier and heavily updated Honda Ridgeline are also on the way.

Meanwhile, the Tacoma enters the 2021 model year largely unchanged. The only updates are two new special editions—the Nightshade Edition and Trail Special Edition—and standard dual-zone automatic climate control.

Pickup truck buyers tend to want choices, and Toyota delivers. In Canada, the Tacoma is available with Access Cab and four-door Double Cab body styles, the latter available with five-foot and six-foot bed lengths, and both available with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Access Cab models with the automatic transmission can have SR5 or TRD Off Road packages added, while Double Cab models in various configurations are available with SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off Road, TRD Off Road Premium, and TRD Pro packages, or with the Nightshade Special Edition grade. In Canada, all Tacoma models are equipped with a 3.5-litre V6 engine with variable valve timing and standard four-wheel drive.

Our test vehicle was a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Double Cab, which comes equipped with the short bed. The TRD Pro is the most off-road focused of the Tacoma models.

Ford pickup trucks are Canada’s best-sellers, but that doesn’t mean the Blue Oval is satisfied. The 2022 Ford Maverick aims to further expand the market by offering a more approachable version of the pickup. The Maverick is the smallest Ford truck in over a decade, uses car-like unibody construction for greater refinement, and emphasizes fuel efficiency with a standard hybrid powertrain.

The all-new Maverick’s closest rivals are the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz and the Honda Ridgeline, other unibody pickups of similar size. But while the new Santa Cruz was conceived more as an SUV with a bed, the Maverick is more like a conventional pickup, just smaller than Ford’s other offerings.

The Maverick slots just below the Ford Ranger in size, although it’s still a bit larger than the compact pickups of old. With the demise of the EcoSport crossover, the Maverick is also now Ford’s de facto entry-level vehicle, which seems fitting for a company whose bestselling product is the F-150. Ford isn’t really a car company; it’s a truck company.

While the Ford F-150 is available in a dizzying array of configurations, the automaker kept things simple with the 2022 Maverick. The new Ford pickup is available in just three trim levels—XL, XLT, and Lariat—with a single bed length and cab configuration. At Ford’s invitation, we sampled the full lineup over two days.