It's official. Toyota is swooping in for the kill.

[wax87]

It's still a bit speculative but Toyota's North American head of planning and strategy confirmed that they are going to make a compact pickup to finally compete with the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2028-toyota-small-pickup-what-we-know-future-cars

it will be $5K higher to start with

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[Bdesign]

It will be hybrid only with 3+ trim levels. I would guess the list price to be $32K for the base trim going to $48K. It will have to be assembled here due to tariffs. It will be price competitive to the Maverick. The Maverick will also shift to USA assembly to stay price competitive. Tariffs + higher gas prices are doing wonders for the auto sector.

 

[OleFordGuy]

I generally agree it won't be affordable - that's why I went up to $50k for the TRD Pro trim.

2026 Ridgeline will have a hybrid drivetrain variant finally. Honda's hybrid tech differs greatly from Ford and Toyota (series not parallel) and did not fare well in larger vehicles.

I live about 15 miles from the Honda MAP facility. The town I live in is probably 20% Honda employees and my friend from college is the project lead for the next generation light duty truck platform (Pilot, Passport, Odyssey, Ridgeline) interior, and an assistant coach for our club soccer team is principal for the exterior design - both have confirmed the 2026 will have a hybrid variant.

EDIT: I am a big fan of Honda. My wife's Odyssey has had a Maverick like run of recalls since 2018 but still rocking strong at 100K. My 2024 Civic did nothing wrong I just wanted my Maverick back.

A Ridgeline Hybrid would be a step up in size (albeit small - width is real) as well as overall build quality.

Yep, I like the looks of the 2026 Ridgeline pics so far. I will be on there lots checking it out one on one and a highly possible purchaser for the ICE version. Granted it will be priced higher than a new maverick as one would expect but its still reasonable and the interior is light years ahead of the maverick and the new exterior styling is pleasing to my eyes

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

I parked next to newer Ridgeline today.

I'd say it's a direct competitor to the EcoBoost Maverick.

V6 with 24 MPG.
280 HP
262 Torque
9 speed
Final Drive 4.33:1
5,000 lb towing

Just 1" taller
Just 5" wider
10" longer; all in the bed
Cabs are almost identical.
Curb Wt. 4420

Tons of modern features.
About 43k.

 

[yank283]

Someone needs to tell Motor Trend that the 2025 Hybrid Maverick can tow up to 4k pounds if properly equipped.

"The Maverick can tow up to 4,000 pounds when equipped properly, though the hybrid version can only pull 2,000. We expect Toyota’s truck to have similar capabilities, with plenty of hooks in its bed and lots of amenities to entice buyers...."

 

[LSchicago]

Toyota couldn't kill a fly, much less the Maverick. But competition is good. It keeps the others on their toes.

 

[First Sergeant]

I will be checking out a Toyota HYBRID small truck when it arrives. I've owned Camry's, 4Runner, Tundra's, Venza, even the older pickup from 1980 and all were exceptional fine vehicles. The moment of decision for me will be if this hybrid is flat towable and has a decent (4,000 or better) towing capacity. I have noticed there are quite a few of us on our forum who flat tow, but not sure if Toyota will address that issue.

 

[24hrsun]

Swooping in and 2028 seem to be an odd coupling here. More of Toyota talking. They have a very bad track record on things like this.

 

[710-oil-614]

Yep, I like the looks of the 2026 Ridgeline pics so far. I will be on there lots checking it out one on one and a highly possible purchaser for the ICE version. Granted it will be priced higher than a new maverick as one would expect but its still reasonable and the interior is light years ahead of the maverick and the new exterior styling is pleasing to my eyes

Honestly if you're not going to consider a hybrid variant go grab a 2025 at a steep discount!

 

[Escapologist]

Looks like a respin of 6 month old info.

"Rendering" looks like a reskinned Colorado

 

[OleFordGuy]

Honestly if you're not going to consider a hybrid variant go grab a 2025 at a steep discount!

Thats a thought that makes total sense but that new exterior styling is so appealing, more truck like to my eyes.

 

[Connect]

looking forward to it

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Swooping in and 2028 seem to be an odd coupling here. More of Toyota talking. They have a very bad track record on things like this.

Like the Prius.

 

[surfstar]

one thing toyota could possibly do, and I'm surprised that hyundai hasn't tried it - is out-tech the maverick xlt and perhaps the xl as well.

as most of us know all too well, the maverick can't have adaptive cruise unless you're in a lariat, lobo 702 or 25+ tremor. yet you can buy it without a bunch of required options in the *base* ford escape, and you can also get ACC as part of the technology pack in a ranger xlt.

maverick xlt options are very expensive; check a few of those boxes and you're within spitting distance of a lariat.

my thought is that, yes, a toyota top end trim likely will be 45-50k. but if they sell a trim under 40k that has a lot of tech including ACC (or whatever toyota calls their radar/lidar cruise control), that's going to compete very well against the maverick lariat.

Agree 100%

Offering ACC across all trims is a huge selling point.
I don't want fake leather seats and if I really need heated seats, I can add them. I had to spend a full weekend of work to add ACC to my Mav XL and would have paid up to $2k for it as an option. $8-10k increase for a Lariat w/ ACC - no thanks.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

So a more expensive, less reliable, more compromised take on a maverick, pass.

The newer tundras and Tacomas have a way worse reliability rating than the maverick does, at least last time I checked both of those Toyota trucks had below average reliability ratings. The turbocharged engines in the tundra are blowing left and right, and tons of Tacomas are having transmission and electrical issues.

I just don't like how Toyota gets praised because "Oh they made good cars in 1997". It's just a very overhyped brand imo. With the exception of Mazda, I believe all the Japanese brands are overrated having owned most of them.

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