Ford Maverick Owners Call the $24,950 Slate Truck 'Goofy' — Its 60-Inch Bed Says Otherwise

The compact pickup conversation has a new center of gravity, and it’s an austere little EV that has barely reached customers. Slate’s truck starts at $24,950 (destination not included), and the mere existence of that number has turned r/FordMaverickTruck and r/slateauto into a running argument.

A Maverick owner fired first: “They aren’t close to equivalent. The Maverick is a well-equipped 5-seater family vehicle, whereas a bare-bones Slate doesn’t even come with a radio or power windows. Once you add basic options to the Slate, they’re basically the same price. It’s goofy to compare them.”

Fair point on paper. But head over to the Slate camp and you get the other half of the story: “Slate is designed as a truck first; the Maverick is designed as a family car first.” That line is doing a lot of work, because it’s basically true.

Where the Bed Math Actually Lands

Ford built the Maverick around rear passengers first and cargo second. Slate went the other direction. The result is a 60.5-inch bed floor on the Slate versus the Maverick’s 54.4-inch FLEXBED — roughly half a foot that matters when you’re sliding in lumber or a stack of tool cases. Slate’s bed measures 35.1 cubic feet against the Maverick’s 33.3, and with the tailgate dropped the usable floor stretches to 80.7 inches, or 6.7 feet.

Payload is the other talking point. Slate projects 1,550 pounds; a standard Maverick sits around 1,500. Close, but the Slate doesn’t concede anything here — and at 174.6 inches overall, it stays genuinely garage-friendly.

Rear-Wheel Drive Is the Quiet Argument

The base Maverick Hybrid and EcoBoost send power forward; all-wheel drive is optional on select trims. Slate sticks a single motor out back. For truck work, that rear placement puts the driven wheels directly under the load, so weight pushes down on the axle instead of lifting off it. Linear electric torque, no downshifts, no engine noise climbing. It’s a different sensation entirely from a gas or hybrid drivetrain working under load.

The Cabin Is a Philosophy Test

Climb into a Maverick and you’d swear you were in a crossover — five seats, sound insulation, standard infotainment, quiet highway manners. The Slate prototype goes the other way on purpose: crank windows, knob climate controls, and a bring-your-own phone or tablet mount where a touchscreen would normally live. Whether that reads as refreshing or punishing depends entirely on who’s sitting in the seat.

Then there’s the option trap. Slate’s $24,950 entry is deliberately stripped, and accessories, wraps, speaker kits or the SUV cap conversion can push the sticker into the $29,000–$32,000 window. That’s Maverick XLT territory, where you already get a crew cab, Bluetooth, and a dealer network down the street.

So no, they aren’t the same truck. One is a family commuter that hauls on weekends, available with a 4,000-pound tow package. The other is a local workhorse with a longer bed, rear drive, and no gas stops. The “goofy” comparison only holds if you assume every buyer wants the same thing.