When Ford entered the compact truck market with the Maverick, it felt like a gimmick, but could be the signal for the return of the compact truck class.

Why would smaller trucks make sense? Most drivers don’t need thousands of pounds of towing or incredible payload figures every day. Some drivers want the capabilities of a truck, but in a smaller vehicle that has good fuel mileage and enough power to carry a personal-sized load of materials. This means unibody compact trucks could make a serious comeback.

Here’s what you’ll find with the early return of the compact truck class.

Hyundai Santa Cruz

You might not expect a truck from a brand that doesn’t make trucks to be any good, but the Hyundai Santa Cruz is a good compact truck. It’s built on the same platform as the Tucson, making it a small crossover truck with a small bed. The Santa Cruz has slick lines and looks like a crossover with an open bed in the rear. For 2025, this pickup has a new XRT trim that is ready to take you on the trails for some fun.

The Santa Cruz is able to tow and haul more than the Maverick, but the small four-foot bed makes it less practical than its competitor. The carlike chassis means the Santa Cruz drivers well, but its not quite up to the same utilitarian levels as the Ford, making this Hyundai truck a good choice but one that falls short of the popular Ford Maverick.

Ford Maverick

The return of the compact truck class goes through Ford, which shouldn’t surprise you at all. Ford has found a way to corner the truck market in nearly every class, making it easy to see why the Maverick is the leader and the favorite in the small truck class. This little Ford strikes the perfect balance of towing, payload, and driving qualities, including being relatively efficient thanks to the hybrid powertrain. The hybrid model doubles the fuel economy of other trucks, making it an easy choice for most drivers.

There’s a Tremor off-road trim that gives you some trail-riding capabilities and a new Lobo model that adds a sportier version of this compact truck. The Lobo model is reminiscent of the small sport trucks from the past. Every Maverick has a comfortable and unconventional interior with the look and feel that makes it useful for most drivers.

Chevrolet Montana

The Chevrolet Montana isn’t part of the North American market yet, but its sold in South America and should make its way to the United States soon. Thanks to the development of a resurrected compact truck class, this little Chevy will be the next small truck to compete with the Maverick and Santa Cruz. Of course, if this truck wants to compete, there are some things that will need to change to make that happen for the bowtie brand.

The new Montana should have a larger engine than what’s offered in South America. There’s no guarantee of that, considering the current Chevy Montana uses a similar powertrain to the Trax. Still, this truck could use the same powertrain as the Buick LaCrosse in China, which produces 233 horsepower and 258 lb-ft, making it a fitting rival to the Maverick and Santa Cruz.

Ram Rampage

No discussion about trucks can be complete without a Ram entry. The Ram brand is the third of the Detroit Big Three brands that produce trucks. The new Ram Rampage should arrive in the next couple of years and be a shrunken version of the Ram 1500. The Rampage is the next logical step in the return of the compact truck class, adding another great truck with amazing daily driving qualities. Currently, this truck is on sale in Brazil, and the AWD version should arrive in the United States in the next few years.

This Ram truck doesn’t skimp on luxurious features, ensuring you get items that come down the line from the full-size truck. It’s likely that the new Rampage will use a unibody construction and might share the same platform as the Dodge Hornet. We don’t have a full slate of details, but we will have more information as the market comes closer to this truck becoming a reality.

The return of the compact truck class is taking place, and automakers are looking for ways to add a small, useful, daily driving truck to their lineups. Will you choose one of the two models currently on the market or wait for the new trucks heading to the market soon?