Ford pulled off something no automaker has managed in Consumer Reports’ recent memory: landing two trucks on the same Top Picks list. The 2026 Maverick earned the best small pickup slot, and the F-150 became the first full-size truck selected since 2019, when the F-150 itself last held the spot. Together, the picks signal that Ford’s truck lineup has closed gaps in reliability and safety that kept it off the list for years.
But the celebration comes with a footnote. The same Maverick now wearing a Consumer Reports badge is also covered by a federal recall affecting more than 270,000 Ford hybrids and EVs over a roll-away risk. That tension between editorial praise and active safety campaigns is worth understanding before anyone signs paperwork.
Why the Maverick won
Consumer Reports bases its annual Top Picks on four pillars: road-test performance, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety. The Maverick cleared all four, beating out the Hyundai Santa Cruz, its closest competitor in the small-truck segment.
Much of the Maverick’s appeal starts with its standard 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, which delivers an EPA-estimated 42 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. For a pickup truck, those numbers are exceptional. The 2026 model starts at roughly $25,500, making it one of the most affordable new trucks on sale. A turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with all-wheel drive is available for buyers who want more towing capability, though fuel economy drops accordingly.
Consumer Reports’ road-test scores, while proprietary in their exact weighting, reflect measured evaluations of acceleration, braking, handling, noise levels, and cabin comfort. The Maverick’s compact footprint, car-like unibody construction, and composed ride have drawn consistent praise from the organization across multiple model years.
The F-150’s long road back
The F-150 has been America’s best-selling truck for decades, but sales volume and Consumer Reports recognition are different currencies. After its 2019 Top Pick, the F-150 fell off the list primarily because of reliability concerns. Successive model years drew enough owner-reported problems to drag its predicted-reliability score below the threshold.
The 2026 selection suggests those issues have eased. Ford credited the turnaround to improved predicted reliability, the 3.5-liter PowerBoost hybrid powertrain (which pairs a twin-turbo V6 with an electric motor for an EPA-estimated 25 mpg combined), and the availability of BlueCruise, Ford’s hands-free highway driving system.
On the safety side, the F-150 SuperCrew earned strong crashworthiness and crash-avoidance ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with evaluations covering the 2024 through 2026 model years. IIHS extends ratings across model years when it confirms no significant structural changes have been made, so the F-150 did not need a fresh crash test specifically for 2026. Consumer Reports folds IIHS and federal crash data into its own safety scoring, and the F-150’s results helped it clear a bar that competitors like the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 did not.
The Maverick’s recall problem
Federal records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show active recall campaigns tied to the 2026 Maverick. The most significant is a broader Ford action, reported by the Associated Press, covering more than 270,000 hybrid and electric vehicles across several models, including the 2025 and 2026 Maverick, the Lightning electric pickup, and the Mustang Mach-E. The defect involves a potential roll-away condition when the vehicle is parked, a serious risk to occupants, bystanders, and property.
The recall’s spread across three distinct product lines points to a shared component or software issue rather than something unique to the Maverick. Still, the scope matters. NHTSA tracks remedy-completion rates for every recall campaign, and as of early 2026, final figures for this action have not been published. That means there is no public data yet showing how many affected Mavericks have actually received the fix.
How can a truck carry an open recall and still earn a Top Pick? Consumer Reports’ predicted-reliability metric is forward-looking, built on owner survey data and historical failure patterns rather than a direct count of recall notices. Recalls address known defects through free dealer repairs; predicted reliability tries to forecast how trouble-free a vehicle will be over time. The two measures answer different questions. A recall does not automatically disqualify a vehicle from consideration, especially if the defect is identified early and a remedy is available.
What the ratings do not tell you
Consumer Reports does not publish the weighted numerical scores behind each Top Pick or disclose exactly how close any vehicle came to the cutoff. That makes it impossible for outside analysts to judge whether a single additional recall could knock the Maverick or F-150 off the 2027 list.
The IIHS ratings backing the F-150’s safety score reflect controlled lab tests, not real-world crash outcomes specific to the 2026 model. IIHS does not publish model-specific injury data in a way that maps directly onto Consumer Reports’ safety evaluation. The connection between strong lab performance and on-road protection is well established in aggregate, but it is inferred at the individual-model level rather than documented in public sources.
There is also a built-in time lag. The reliability predictions lean on owner surveys from prior model years. The IIHS crash tests were conducted before the 2026 trucks reached dealerships. And the Maverick recall only surfaced after vehicles were already in customer hands. Every rating, positive or negative, is a snapshot. A truck that looks exemplary in early 2026 could see its standing shift if new defects emerge, just as a model weighed down by recalls today could rebound after effective fixes.
What truck shoppers should actually do
For anyone considering a 2025 or 2026 Maverick, the first step is practical: check the vehicle identification number against NHTSA’s recall lookup tool to confirm whether the roll-away fix has been completed. Dealers are required to perform recall repairs at no charge, and once the remedy is applied, the specific risk drops sharply. For used-truck buyers, written proof of completed recall work should sit alongside maintenance records and title history as essential paperwork.
For the F-150, the seven-year gap since its last Top Pick is context worth weighing. The selection means Consumer Reports believes the truck currently offers the best balance of performance, reliability outlook, satisfaction, and safety among full-size pickups. It does not guarantee a trouble-free ownership experience. Buyers should pay attention to which trim and powertrain earned the nod. The PowerBoost hybrid is the configuration Ford highlighted, and reliability data can vary meaningfully across engine options within the same truck.
Treat institutional ratings and recall notices as complementary tools, not competing ones. Consumer Reports offers a curated, comparative view useful for narrowing a shopping list. NHTSA and IIHS provide defect and crash-test data that flag specific risks. Neither source captures the full ownership picture alone, but together they give truck buyers a far more grounded starting point than marketing materials or forum anecdotes.
Two trophies, one asterisk
Ford’s double selection is a genuine achievement. No other automaker placed two trucks on the 2026 Top Picks list, and the F-150’s return after a seven-year absence reflects measurable improvement in the areas where it previously fell short. The Maverick, meanwhile, continues to carve out a segment that barely existed before it arrived, offering hybrid efficiency and a sub-$26,000 entry price that no other pickup matches.
The roll-away recall does not erase those strengths, but it does demand attention. A Consumer Reports badge and an open NHTSA campaign can coexist on the same vehicle because they measure different things. Buyers who understand that distinction, and who take the time to verify repair status before purchasing, will be in the strongest position to decide whether Ford’s newly decorated trucks deserve a spot in their driveway.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
