2022 Ford Maverick: The New Ford Maverick Rendering Preview
2022 Ford Maverick here it is. The Ford F-150 is America’s best-selling vehicle, with nearly 900,000 examples of trucks making their way into customer’s hands last year. The Ranger, meanwhile, managed nearly 90,000 units in 2019 (even though it’s not a top seller in its class). That’s it: Ford knows how to sell trucks.
So to get more cash on pickup-crazy American shoppers, the Blue Oval has another truck planned. Dubbed the Ford Maverick, this upcoming light pickup will be the smallest in the range – yes, even smaller than the Ranger – and could share the base with one of Ford’s unibody crossovers. We won’t have all the details about the Ford light truck until it debuts, maybe next year, but here’s everything we know so far.
As already mentioned – the Ford Maverick will be the smallest truck of the brand, which will be placed under the Ranger. Unlike the Ranger and the larger F-150, the Maverick will have unibody construction, similar to the one you get on the current Honda Ridgeline. It’s still unclear which platform the new Maverick will use, but mechanically it could share a lot with the company’s smaller crossovers, like the new Bronco Sport and the Escape.
Without full confirmation from Ford, we knew that the new light pickup would be called the Maverick. A leaked CAD drawing in May showing the tailgate of the truck with the “MAVERICK” stamp, and a more detailed image of the actual tailgate from July showing the same wordmark. At first, we thought it might be called Courier, based on the patent filing, or even Ranchero after the truck that was stopped by the same name. But now we know with almost certainty that the new truck will be called the Ford Maverick.
Rumor has it that Ford will build the Maverick in Mexico, either at the Monterrey brand-brand facility (once responsible for the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ) or the company’s Cuautitlan plant, home of the upcoming European Fiesta and Mach-E. Building the Maverick in Mexico means Ford can avoid the dreaded “Chicken Tax” on light trucks and sell compact trucks in key markets such as Brazil and Mexico and the US with no penalties.
2022 Ford Maverick Redesign
There are few official details available about the Ford Maverick, so any information that comes out is enlightening. For example, the small truck reportedly has a sliding rear window, according to info from the Ford Authority.
It is unclear whether the panels will have manual or power operation. However, the latter seems more likely due to the four-door layout of the truck in spy shooting. It would be very difficult for drivers to reach back and slide the rear window with their hands.
Having a sliding rear window isn’t too surprising a feature for the Maverick. The same functionality is available on the Ranger and F-150, not to mention the many other pickups that have gone back decades.
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However, the Brazilian edition of Motor1.com notes that the small Fiat Toro truck available in the market only has a fixed rear window. Being able to open the panels is a potential selling point for Ford.
Ford Authority claims Maverick drives the carmaker’s C2 platform the Bronco Sport and Escape uses. There are also competing rumors about small trucks sharing the ground with the Transit Connect van.
Ford intends to build Maverick in Mexico. Recent info indicates that the truck will go on sale in Brazil first and then become available in the United States.
The Maverick version for South America may come standard with front-wheel drive but with an all-wheel-drive option. The hope is that the all-paw setup will be the only layout available in the US.
2022 Ford Maverick News
Up for sale in the United States as the Ranger’s smaller and less capable sibling, the Maverick is also said to have a “small sliding rear window” according to Ford Authority. If you’re thinking about the bigger pickup trucks that Blue Oval sells, this feature sure makes a lot of sense.
However, it must be underlined that FoMoCo is not officially confirming anything in this regard, not even what the automaker would do under the Maverick trademark. Fortunately, the CAD rendering of the tailgate pretty much confirms that a workhorse unibody is in development.
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The C2 is the platform designation, and it supports many models from around the world. European versions of the Focus, the Kuga, the Escape, as well as the Lincoln Corsair come to mind, along with the new Bronco Sport. In other words, an eight-speed automatic box is sufficient.
Beyond the transmission, it can be assumed that the 2.0-liter EcoBoost from the Escape and Bronco Sport will do the trick too. It’s an adequate engine for this application, but Ford might surprise us again by offering a hybrid option too. Or a plug-in hybrid considering Escape is available with both powertrains. As a brief refresher, HEV and PHEV rely on Atkinson-cycle, free-breathing engines that replace the 2.5 liters.
2022 Ford Maverick Engine
Discussing the engines present at the new Ford Maverick using the same modular front-wheel-drive architecture as the Bronco Sport, Escape, and European Focus – which appear to be the most likely candidates – the small truck will have at least two turbocharged engine options to choose from. : 1.5-liter three-cylinder and 2.0 larger liter inline-four. It’s unclear if it will also include something like the Focus ST’s 2.3-liter turbocharged engine, good for 280 horsepower (209 kilowatts), but hopefully.
If Ford instead decides to use the previous-generation front-drive platform from Transit Connect – which is unlikely – Maverick will probably go for a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine producing around 162 hp (121 kW) or a more powerful turbocharged 1.5. -liter three-cylinder, producing about 180 hp (132 kW). For all of these engine options, an eight-speed automatic gearbox is the most likely transmission choice, although a six-speed manual is possible.
Front-wheel drive will probably come standard on the base model, most likely for markets outside the US, such as Mexico and Brazil. But like the Bronco Sport, we expect an all-wheel-drive version of the Maverick to be available in the US. Don’t expect a big bed either. The report from Autoblog says that the Maverick bed will be 24 to 30 inches shorter than the Ranger bed, depending on the configuration.
2022 Ford Maverick Price and Release Date
When discussing the release schedule, Ford hasn’t confirmed when the new Maverick will debut, but we know the light trucks will go on sale in late 2021 or early 2022. So hopefully the Ford Maverick will officially appear sometime next year.
Positioned below the Ranger, for prices starting at $ 24,110 in the US for 2020, the Ford Maverick should start at around (or even under) $ 20,000. That would make the Maverick not only the most affordable truck Ford sells but also the cheapest pickup in the US.
