Rendering: Pick Your 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid Rival: Toyota Stout or Corolla Cross?

A couple of automotive outlets recently asked their pixel masters to imagine Toyota’s unofficial and hypothetical entry into the U.S. small truck industry that could pose a threat to the revamped 2025 Ford Maverick. The responses were mixed, and now we have to pick our favorite.

In 2021, Ford revived the Maverick nameplate that was available in North America as a compact car sold in the 1970s, but turned the relaunched model into its entry intended to resuscitate the dormant U.S. compact pickup sector alongside the more opulent Hyundai Santa Cruz. The latter, recently refreshed for the 2025 model year, didn’t make much of an impact because people didn’t necessarily appreciate its Tucson-like design and sleeker styling.

Instead, people were quite happy with the Mexican-built unibody Ford Maverick compact pickup, which not only looked rugged and handsome in a style worthy of its bigger Ranger and F-Series siblings, but also offered a turbocharged gasoline engine and a hybrid powertrain at a lower price. Since its arrival on the market, the Maverick has largely dominated the sector, and its sales have now soared to levels that even some of its midsize rivals can only dream of.

The 2025 model year brought a complete redesign with new styling and improved tech inside and out, a new version of the Lobo street-legal pickup truck, and slightly higher MSRPs. However, the 2025 Maverick remains less expensive than the 2025 Santa Cruz, making it unrivaled. Not if the word had a word, though, as there have been numerous reports claiming that Toyota may soon join the two-way unibody compact pickup race in the United States.

None of these have borne fruit so far, but that hasn't stopped the parallel universes of vehicular CGI from asking the fictional realm of car digital content creators to continue with related unofficial and hypothetical design projects. For example, recently, both the Car Q AND PoloTo YouTube channels had their own take on the subject, though they differed greatly in execution. More specifically, the former decided that Toyota would only have a shot at the Maverick crown if it brought back the beloved Toyota Stout nameplate for a rugged, handsome revival that combines classic tough-truck styling with modern LED accents and, of course, a hybrid powertrain.

Meanwhile, the good folks at the second automotive-focused outlet have taken the easy way out, turning the Toyota Corolla Cross into a compact pickup. Luckily, the styling is much more exciting than the donor compact crossover. Off-roadespecially in the rear. So, which of these two unofficial and highly unlikely design projects is your favorite enemy of the 2025 Ford Maverick?