Everything You Need to Know About the New 2022 Ford Maverick Pickup

The last time Ford sold a compact pickup in the USA, it was way back in 2011, when the previous-generation Ranger was discontinued. And yes, I know there’s a new Ranger on sale, but that’s bigger, and more expensive. So here comes the Maverick, a truck that would be in a space of its own, at least in the United States, where small pickups have basically disappeared. Further South, though, it’s a completely different story, but we’ll get there, too.

Ok, so we already know how the Maverick will look like because someone leaked a full frontal photo of a pre production unit at Ford’s factory in Mexico. We also know it will be called Maverick because there are leaked images out there of the truck’s tailgate, which clearly has the word Maverick written on it. Another hint is the oval shape above the model’s name. This is where the Ford logo will sit, as opposed to the Bronco Sport, which has a tiny Ford logo on the side of the tailgate, and a big Bronco logo front and center.

In other words, this won’t be a Bronco Sport Pickup, as some early reports suggested. After all, the Bronco brand has premium aspirations, and this pickup is a budget model that wouldn’t fit in the premium slash luxury segment. Ford’s own CEO, Jim Farley, discreetly spilled the beans in regards to where the Maverick will slot in the Blue Oval’s lineup, saying that the company was “investing in more affordable versions” of trucks, and that we should “expect new nameplates below where we compete today”.

Next up, how big will this thing be? Short answer: not really big. Long answer: it’s a little more complicated. But let me explain. According to CNBC, the Maverick is referred to by Ford as the “C-Pick up”, and pre production has already begun at the same factory in Mexico where the Bronco Sport is made. This tells me a couple of things. The new small pickup is probably based on the same platform as the Bronco Sport, which is known as C2, on which a bunch of other models are based, as well. This would make sense, since it’s easier from a manufacturing standpoint to make different cars that are based on the same platform in the same factory.

But there’s also the possibility that the Maverick will be based on Ford’s older C1 architecture, on which the Transit Connect is also based. And according to an insider at MaverickChat.com, this might well be the case. He said that the pickup shares a lot of parts with the Transit Connect, including the 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 162 horsepower. This would make sense because using an older architecture usually means lower costs of manufacturing, and a lot of components are already available to use, without too much investment.

Whatever the case, the Ford Maverick will be a unibody truck - this means it’s basically like a car, with the body and chassis as a single unit, unlike the Ranger and F-150, which are body on frame. Suspension-wise, it’s also like a passenger car and less like a traditional truck, with a rear setup that features coil springs and a twist beam, as opposed to the more traditional leaf springs. This means that you probably won’t be able to carry a lot of stuff in the bed.

And about that bed, it will presumably be between 24 and 30 inches shorter than the bed on the Ranger, depending on configuration. This means the Maverick’s truck bed will measure between 31 and 48.8 inches. By comparison, an F-150 SuperCrew has a 72.8-inch bed, so you can get an idea of how small the Maverick will be. Moreover, there will only be a four-door variant, at least in the first year of production, which is an odd option for Ford, considering small businesses usually require a small cabin but a long bed.

When it comes to the powertrain department, I already mentioned the 2.0-liter four cylinder unit that makes 162 horsepower. This will probably be mated to either an eight-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox. Some reports mention that the Bronco Sport’s 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter engines will also be available, but this is where the architecture issue comes into play. If Ford uses the newer platform, the Maverick will get newer engines. If it goes with the older C1 platform, it’s older powertrains that will be offered.

But whatever the case, the Maverick will be a front-wheel drive-based truck, with all-wheel drive as an optional extra, depending on trim level. Couple this with the fact that it’s a unibody construction, and overall dimensions will be smaller than the current generation Ranger, and we have a Ram 1000 competitor on our hands. If you don’t know what that is - it’s a small pickup sold in South America that checks the same boxes as the Maverick.

And it makes sense, since the Maverick will most probably be sold in Latin America as well.

There are still a lot of unknown variables on the table, but we’re sure to get new info as we come closer to the reveal of the truck. And if my math is correct, we can expect the all-new Ford Maverick to be unveiled in the second half of 2021 as a 2022 model. I say this because Ford needed eight months to go from 28 pre-production Bronco Sports to 8,000 series production vehicles. And the Maverick is already being assembled, according to CNBC.

Price-wise, it’s feasible to assume the Maverick will cost between 20,000 and 25,000 dollars, seeing how the Ranger starts at 25 grand. This would make it the cheapest truck in America, but we’ll just have to wait and see what the price will really be when the car goes on sale.

And that’s it. Let me know what you think of the new Ford Maverick pickup in the comments below - is it something that you would consider as a daily driver or a company truck?
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