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

[MightyMaverick]

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

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[Bigcanoe]

45K after dealer markup, options, with a 1 year wait sound about right?

 

[Scupking]

Looks like not until the end of 2027. The Maverick redesign will be coming out around the same time. I still don't think Ford has much to worry about.

 

[Arkhira]

45K after dealer markup, options, with a 1 year wait sound about right?

I could see the base level starting at 40k then going up for options such as awd, hybrid, trim levels and etc.

 

[Waterick]

Although I personally have never cared for the styling, it appears that Hyundai won't really be competitive in this segment without a hybrid. Why they have not done that is beyond me. I might have considered it if they had. Toyota needs to be careful of its stying also as this may play a big role in the Hyundai's poor sales. The Rav-4 and the Tacoma also don't have the greatest appearance IMO. Currently, Toyota seems to enjoy being able to sell whatever they offer no matter how it looks.

 

[Blue_Max]

"The kill," huh? Like how the Tundra killed F Series sales?

 

[bgn]

2027?

That's a full 7 years after the Maverick became public knowledge.

I guess they don't want to compete.

 

[710-oil-614]

For me to even consider it I would want it to have Toyotas off-road goodies or a TRD Pro trim level for under $50k with hybrid drivetrain.

Im more interested in a 2026 Ridgeline hybrid

 

[TheShark]

The thing that keeps me from buying Toyota are the dealers. Around here anyway the stealers are just awful for their markup.

 

[colinl]

For me to even consider it I would want it to have Toyotas off-road goodies or a TRD Pro trim level for under $50k with hybrid drivetrain.

Im more interested in a 2026 Ridgeline hybrid

typical slap-dash 'article'... didn't mention the ridgeline at all, as it's really the Maverick's top competitor in my opinion, and when it has a hybrid certainly that will only increase.

the pricing on the tacoma is absolutely insane yet people are buying them. I'm expecting Toyota to come in at the top of the market with this compact truck also, and wouldn't expect to see anything cheaper than an equivalently-equipped rav4 prime.

 

[r0tax]

I remain hopeful for Toyota's option.
But likely not for the reasons most Maverick owners/buyers may care about. This forum makes it seem like everyone is crazy for the Hybrids.
Mostly I'm looking for a 6 speed manual version.
Toyota is one of the few still offering Fun, sporty, small cars WITH manual trans.

Ford has all but given up on the small, fun and sporty market..In the USA and now in Europe too.

The Mav is not what I'd consider "Small", its larger than any of the old 'compact' pickups from the 80s/90s/naughties/10s (S10/S15/<old> Ranger). I'd even guess that the Mav is likely larger than some of the older "full size" pickups from ~25 yrs ago (regular cabs).

I'm sick of the Bloat in the American auto market...and every other company selling in America having to follow suite, because its apparently what the masses want..

 

[710-oil-614]

typical slap-dash 'article'... didn't mention the ridgeline at all, as it's really the Maverick's top competitor in my opinion, and when it has a hybrid certainly that will only increase.

the pricing on the tacoma is absolutely insane yet people are buying them. I'm expecting Toyota to come in at the top of the market with this compact truck also, and wouldn't expect to see anything cheaper than an equivalently-equipped rav4 prime.

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.

 

[colinl]

I remain hopeful for Toyota's option.
But likely not for the reasons most Maverick owners/buyers may care about. This forum makes it seem like everyone is crazy for the Hybrids.
Mostly I'm looking for a 6 speed manual version.
Toyota is one of the few still offering Fun, sporty, small cars WITH manual trans.

prepare for disappointment, LOL.

I would bet a lot of money it uses the same transmissions as the Maverick, hopefully with a larger torque capacity traditional automatic for the gas-only version, and better cv axles on all of them.

 

[cyberdog]

Except many Toyota vehicles, including the Tacoma until the most recent generation have been designed for those under 6 feet in height. My wife and I looked at a RAV4, and my head was in the sunroof with the seat all the way down, and she hated the rear seats. The Scion models when they arrived had no leg room to speak of, with limited head room. - I'm not holding by breath for their small truck entry, and will continue to drive my Maverick, for which I fit with room to spare. At the risk of jinxing myself, my Maverick hasn't been back to the dealer since taking delivery in April of 2023, now I need to go knock on wood.

 

[colinl]

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

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.

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