Ford aims to create new pickup fans with the new roomy hybrid 2022 Maverick
Ford on Tuesday bet big on its ability to change the driving habits of Americans with the 2022 Maverick compact pickup. With an attractively priced, 40-mpg hybrid starting at $19,995 and on sale this fall, Maverick aims to bring a whole new class of customers to the pickup, marketing boss Trevor Scott told me in an interview.
"We fully expect to put Maverick on the map with customers who haven't previously considered a pickup," Scott said. "We expect a large number of first-time pickup buyers" who have previously driven small sedans and SUVs, Scott said. "Our target customers have had to compromise on fuel efficiency versus cargo or passenger space."
The Maverick's 100.3 cubic feet of passenger space is significantly more than Ford's discontinued Fiesta and Focus small cars, and almost as much as the defunct midsize Fusion sedan, which costs thousands of dollars more than the Maverick's base price. Its 54.4-inch-long bed reduces the cargo capacity of those cars, while a fold-up rear seat provides big-box space protected from the elements and theft.
2022 Maverick Highlights
Four-door, five-passenger cabin with plenty of storage
191-horsepower hybrid base model rated 40-mpg in EPA city driving test
Optional 250-HP Model
front- or all-wheel drive
54.4 inch tall bed
standard automatic high beam
Standard Automatic Emergency Front Braking
2,000- or 4,000-pound towing capacity, depending on FWD or AWD drivetrain
1,500-pound payload
What could go wrong? Ask Subaru
Despite the Maverick's attractive price and features, it's skeptical, if not mandatory. Without going too deep into the engineering weeds, previous small pickups built on car-type chassis such as the Maverick use have consistently flopped in the US pickups are fabulously popular and profitable here, but buyers turned down smaller trucks that were body-typed. The creation of Ford's Ranger midsize and F-series full-size pickups strayed from the per-frame.
The history of failure includes Subaru's second bite of apple with the Subaru Brat in the 1970s, the VW Rabbit pickup in the '80s, and the Baja in the 2000s. Even the Honda Ridgeline, bigger and better equipped than that trio and backed by Honda's enviable reputation, has sold out slowly here, with sales of just 32,168 in 2020 and 33,334 in pre-pandemic 2019.
Ford expects to sell far more Mavericks than that. The compact pickup is one of the "white space" vehicles that automakers counted on to offset sales made when the Fiesta, Focus and Fusion were dropped.
“Who better than Ford, with our reliability and legacy construction pickups” to convince new customers to try the truck, Scott asked.
Standard security and support features include:
- auto high beam
- automatic headlights
- Pedestrian detection and braking
- Front collision warning and braking
Optional security and support features include:
- adaptive cruise control
- Evasive Steering Assist
- lane centered
- reverse sensing
- Blind spot and cross-traffic alert
- Lane Departure Warning and Assistance
- hill descent control
Rapidly developed keeping in mind the budget of the buyers
Ford engineers took about two years out of the company's normal timeline developing the Maverick, keeping an eye on the cost of the entire time.
The interior is frugal, with what Ford calls "speckled" plastic surfaces instead of cushioned material on the dash and doors.
The seats are fabric or vinyl—there's no substitute for leather—and the 8-inch touch screen is small by the standards of newer vehicles. Ford created new smaller interior door handles to make more room for bottles, laptops, and storage pockets. It remains to be seen whether those decisions lead to a less comfortable grip or surfaces for your hand to rest on when closing the door.
Even Ford's older Sync3 infotainment system is an option, though Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
Ford is betting that Maverick owners won't notice or care. The Maverick doesn't intend to compete with nuances like the 10-inch touch screen and padded surfaces in the larger pickups. It is Ford's entry-level model, designed to take on vehicles like the Hyundai Venue, Nissan Kicks – there's no all-wheel drive – and smaller cars like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic with less space and poor visibility is.
The Maverick shares its basic engineering with the Ford Escape, Bronco Sport and Lincoln Corsair compact SUVs. It will be built in conjunction with Bronco Sport in Hermosillo, Mexico.
The major benefits of the Maverick include the easy to park 199.7-inch length—you can fit in a standard street side spot and have room to open the tailgate! — and a low height that makes it easy to step into the cabin and even reach the sidewalls and bed. Try that in your ChevFoRamToyoNiss full-size pickup, or even a midsize Honda Ridgeline.
The Maverick is slightly larger than the sleek Santa Cruz compact Hyundai will introduce this fall. Its styling is more purposeful, with a common issue Ford grille, C-clamp head and taillights and tailgate.
Ford will make the Maverick in three trim levels: XL, XLT and Lariat.
Prices and fuel economy estimates for the full model line will be available closer to the start of sales.
2022 Ford Maverick at a Glance
Five-passenger front- or all-wheel drive compact pickup
this drop on sales
Base Price: $19,995 (excluding destination fee)
Base drivetrain: Front-wheel drive hybrid 191 hp total system power and continuously variable automatic transmission
Optional Drivetrain: Front- or all-wheel drive 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder that produces 250 hp at 5,500 rpm and 277 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm. Eight-speed automatic transmission.
Wheelbase: 121.1 inches
Length: 199.7 inches
Width: 77.9 inches (mirror folded)
Height: 68.7 inches
Bed Length: 54.4 inches
Bed width in wheelhouse: 42.6 inches
Passenger Volume: 100.3 Cubic Feet
Cargo Volume: 33.3 Cubic Feet
Towing: Base model, 2,000 pounds; 2.0 liters, 4,000
Payload: 1,500 pounds
Assembly Location: Hermosillo, Mexico