I got into an argument with a buddy about my Maverick (2022 XL EcoBoost). I called it a “small truck,” and he insisted it’s not a truck at all but a “UTE.”
His argument: It’s not built on a truck frame but a car frame. Ford calling it a truck is just marketing and not an actual classification.
My argument: If it looks like a truck, does truck things, and even has a towing package capable of 4000 lbs, then it’s a truck. Ford markets it as a truck, my insurance calls it a truck, and if you asked 1000 people, most would agree.
To me, this feels like calling a tomato a fruit—it might be technically true, but in practice, it behaves more like a vegetable.
Micah said:
I just call it a pickup if people want to get technical.
Which is short for ‘pickup truck.’ If it has a bed and can haul, it’s a truck. The whole ‘it’s not body-on-frame’ argument is just gatekeeping by people who use their truck as a personality trait.
Most half-ton trucks never haul anything heavier than a Maverick does. People act like an F-150 is a ‘real truck’ but then use it as a daily driver and never put anything in the bed.
If you want an official answer, the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations classifies the Maverick as a Light Truck. It meets all the legal requirements, including max towing and gross vehicle weight rating.
Your friend is splitting hairs. Trucks have traditionally been body-on-frame, but not always. The Suburban, for example, would be a truck by that logic.
Also, in some states, all pickups—including the Maverick—have to be registered as commercial vehicles. Mine was.
For all intents and purposes, it’s a truck. If someone needs to go to the highest court of truck definitions to argue otherwise, they have too much time on their hands.
Insurance calls it a truck. The DMV calls it a truck. Car reviewers call it a truck. My cousin Chad, who only buys lifted diesels, says it’s ‘not a real truck.’
The ‘Chicken Tax’ (25% tariff on foreign light trucks) is why you don’t see more vehicles like the Maverick from non-U.S. brands. Otherwise, this segment would be booming.
So, yes, the government definitely considers it a truck.