The Ford motor company is at the forefront of Detroit’s hybrid charge. If you want a Blue Oval hybrid pickup truck, you actually have two options to choose from: a compact Ford Maverick with its base hybrid engine or an F-150 with the top-trim PowerBoost drivetrain.

The Ford Maverick hybrid gets 40 mpg

The Ford Maverick pickup truck is impossible to ignore: this four-door compact gets 40 mpg and starts at under $20,000. With a maximum towing capacity of 4,000 pounds, the unibody pickup may be a non-starter for many F-150 fans. But the backlog in orders makes it clear that Ford’s new Maverick is converting thousands of crossover and SUV drivers into truck fans.

The Ford Maverick actually shares a chassis with the new Bronco Sport. That’s right, not the full-frame Bronco, but the FWD, unibody Bronco Sport. Its entry-level drivetrain is a hybrid 2.5-liter I4 and electric motor that make 191 horsepower. You can get an AWD Maverick, but not with the hybrid engine.

With the more powerful turbocharged I4, the FWD Maverick gets 23 city/30 highway mpg (26 combined). But with the entry-level hybrid I4, the Maverick achieves 42 city/33 highway mpg (37 combined).

Find out why the Ford Maverick won TFL’s truck of the year.

The Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid gets 25 mpg

In 2021, Ford rolled out the only full hybrid drivetrain available in any full-size pickup truck. The Ford PowerBoost is built around the already torquey 3.5-liter V6. It adds a powerful electric motor/generator between the gasoline engine and 10-speed transmission. The resulting truck makes 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque.

The PowerBoost is actually one of the F-150’s premium engine options. An F-150 with a PowerBoost can tow up to 12,700 pounds. It also offers in-bed 120-volt outlets backed by up to 7.2kW hours: that’s plenty of juice to operate corded power tools.

A 2WD Ford F-150 equipped with the 3.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost V6 gets 18 city/24 highway mpg (20 combined). Upgrading to the PowerBoost option costs $2,500 to $4,995–depending on your trim level. But it increases city mileage by 7 mpg. A 2WD PowerBoost F-150 gets 25 city/25 highway mpg (25 combined). The 4WD version drops to 24 across the board.

Here’s why the PowerBoost out-performs Toyota’s hybrid truck.

Which hybrid Ford is right for you?

The Ford Maverick is proving to be an incredible gateway truck. Many SUV and crossover drivers are happy with the extra flexibility and utility provided by its 4.5-foot bed. But Ford has long known it would take a much more powerful and capable hybrid to convert more traditional pickup truck buyers. That hybrid is the F-150 PowerBoost.

With the PowerBoost’s high towing capacity and powerful but cost-saving hybrid system, it makes the future of the pickup truck look bright. If you need a traditional, full-frame truck but would love to save some money at the pump, take a look at the F-150 PowerBoost.