In reviving one of its classic nameplates last used on some of its 1970s cars, Ford is adopting a new entry-level model of a different shape: the pickup.
The Mustang is the only remaining car in Ford showrooms, making the 2022 Maverick the new entry point into the Ford brand.
The compact truck has a starting price of $21,490, including a $1,495 shipping charge, making it $150 less expensive than the base EcoSport subcompact crossover.
The Maverick is the first Ford to come standard with a hybrid engine: a 191-hp, 2.5-liter hybrid four-cylinder with a continuously variable transmission and front-wheel drive. A 250-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with an eight-speed automatic transmission, with front- or all-wheel drive, is also available.
The pickup can haul up to 1,500 pounds and can tow up to 4,000 pounds with an optional EcoBoost gasoline engine.
It is 11 inches shorter — and about $5,000 less expensive — than the midsize Ranger, but still went through many of the same durability tests as Ford’s larger F-150 and Super Duty pickups.
About 60 percent of the Maverick’s components are shared with the Bronco Sport crossover.
We’ve collected some early reviews.
“”n base XL, front-drive configuration, the Maverick is oddly handsome. The standard 17-inch steel wheels are so anti-style that they circle back to be stylish. The interior is almost stark and it’s unadorned, unashamed swatches of plastic are so unpretentious that they come across as confident and authentic. In an age of Platinum-this and Limited-that, the nothing-fancy vibe truly works.
“And it’s a comfortable interior even if no cows died to upholster it. The seats are flat, the fabric covering them is rugged, and the controls are all intuitively laid out. The instrumentation is mostly digital because, well, it is almost 2022. The front door panels feature split armrests that allow for the placement of things like oversize bottles in the door pockets and some of the plastic textures are intriguing. For instance, there’s carbon fiber granules/shavings/bits/whatever blended into the plastic trim of the dash.
“With its long wheelbase, the two-wheel front-drive Maverick Hybrid’s ride is settled and comfortable. The front suspension is, naturally, MacPherson struts while the tail is held up by a torsion bar ‘twistbeam’ solid axle. It drives like the modern small crossover because so much of it is a modern small crossover.”
— John Pearley Huffman, Road & Track
brk””he ride quality across all trim levels is what you would expect from a pickup built on Ford’s modular front-drive architecture (which also underpins the Bronco Sport, Escape, and Euro-market Focus): comfortable and almost car-like, without any of the steering dullness or body roll of a traditional body-on-frame truck. The seating position and visibility is similar to a ’90s Ranger or Hilux, but unlike the small trucks of yore, it would be a comfortable place to eat miles in.
“Thanks to the well-designed interior, parking and maneuvering the Maverick is a breeze through tight spaces, which owners will appreciate on tight worksites or, more likely, compact urban parking garages. The small design does the Mav favors for ingress and egress as well; getting objects left in the bed without popping the tailgate is a breeze and the ride height is comfortable for people vastly shorter than I am.
“The most important part of any pickup is the bed, and the back half of the Maverick is plenty functional. It measures only about four and a half feet long, but Ford crammed in as much functionality as possible. In addition to the aforementioned 1,500-pound payload capacity, the tailgate is multi-positional to allow for easier hauling of large objects that won’t quite fit. Ford stamped the bed with a variety of mounting points, tie downs, recesses, and bolt holes specifically designed to encourage DIY hauling solutions and to further enhance the usefulness of the Maverick to customers.”
— Victoria Scott, motor1.com
“”he Maverick is surprisingly satisfying to drive. The FWD turbo I started out in had very little torque steer — there’s none in the AWD, of course — and firm direct steering. It accelerated well and felt planted and secure on long sweeping curves of the scenic Natchez Trace outside Nashville.
“The hybrid’s lower power is noticeable, but was not an impediment as I drove on hilly back roads and into downtown Nashville. I averaged more than 38 mpg in a half-hour drive that convinced me Ford’s not sandbagging when it projects a 40-mpg EPA rating in city driving, where hybrids are most efficient.
“The Maverick has modest off-road ability, but everything its owners are likely to want: It’ll get you to a biking trail head or the vegetable patch at the back of a field.
“Its towing capability is similarly unassuming but useful. The optional 4,000-pound max is plenty to tow a couple of personal watercraft, or the 2,600-pound Airstream Base Camp I selected.
“I had no problem blending into traffic, even on a short highway ramp. The trailer was steady behind me and I had no problem braking on exit ramp and at traffic lights.”
— Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press
“”n traditional fashion, the fuel-conscious hybrid is slower off the line than its turbo counterpart but it feels equally up to the task of highway driving when at speed. Sure, put the pedal down and the turbo will take off, but in the usual daily driving scenarios encountered during two days testing in Nashville, they both outperformed expectations.
“The hybrid does have major appeal for fuel-conscious drivers. Ford estimates that the powertrain delivers 40 mpg in the city and has an EPA-estimated range of 500 miles on a single tank of gas.
“Spongy brakes, even when in Tow/Haul mode (one of five standard drive modes) were an issue with the Maverick hybrid with their ineffectiveness exacerbated by winding rural roads while towing.
“Hybrid-powered Mavericks can tow up to 2,000 pounds while those with the EcoBoost engine have a 4,000-pound capacity, when properly equipped.
“Ford hasn’t made Maverick to be an off-roader. Still, it’s just as capable as a modern crossover on dirt trails and rocky paths, especially when equipped with the proper packages.”
— Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, Newsweek
“”n contrast to Hyundai’s approach with the Santa Cruz, Maverick’s only real rival, Ford is steadfastly marketing this Maverick as a truck, not some sort of lifestyle crossover with a small bed, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the Blue Oval also set up a towing demo for us. I grabbed a full-house Lariat 2.0T AWD with the 4,000-pound tow package and proceeded to haul a couple of Polaris ATVs on a double-axle trailer (total weight: 3,650 pounds) around Tennessee’s rolling hill country. It’s up to the job. The EcoBoost in-line four generates 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, so there’s an unusually large power gulf between the Maverick’s powertrains. There isn’t so much oomph with the 2.0T that you’re at risk of forgetting you’re toting something, but acceleration under load is more than adequate and the model’s conventional eight-speed automatic and integrated trailer-brake controller reinforce driver confidence.”
— Chris Paukert, Roadshow by CNET
“”nside, Ford’s Maverick interior team didn’t try to hide the fact that the Maverick is an entry-level vehicle. Instead, it leaned into the lower price point, looking for ways to squeeze more utility out of the truck. Textured plastic doesn’t try to emulate leather and feels fine. More frequently touched points like the door pulls sport some soft fabric-covered sections for your elbows. Those same door panels are made specifically to store oversized water bottles. Base trucks get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-ready 8.0-inch touch screens in the center stack to handle your infotainment needs.
“Cost savings show up more obviously in other places. Base model trucks sit on a set of silver-painted 17-inch steel wheels, an honest throwback to budget-friendly trucks of yore. The base Ford Maverick XL also lacks any cruise control, a feature you’ve likely come to expect from even most base-level vehicles. There are expected content cuts, like voice commands, infotainment upgrades, and interior accents.
“The sticking point for many, however, could be the Maverick’s bed size. Stuck with a single configuration, all Ford Maverick pickups will get a 54.4-inch, or roughly 4.5-foot, bed. That’s down from Ford’s beloved, vintage Ranger, and will cause some to question of Maverick’s usefulness. If you haul motorcycles, for example, this just won’t cut it. If you’re more into bicycles, gardening, or camping, the bed should give you more than enough space.”
— Wesley Wren, Autoweek
“”ur first stint bopping around Nashville and environs, where trucks are as thick as molasses, was in a base 2022 Maverick XL. It had front-wheel drive and the Maverick’s optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo inline-four with 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Mash the accelerator pedal to the floor, and it takes a beat or two to get to the powerband, but when it does, the front 17-inch painted steel rims shod with 225/65 tires start chirping, the traction control light flickers, and the engine’s muted chainsaw crescendo reaches toward its coda. Yep, the 2.0-liter makes more than enough power to motivate the roughly 3,600-pound Maverick.
“When it gets up to normal cruising speeds, the Maverick, which is based on Ford’s C2 platform that also underpins the Escape and Bronco Sport compact crossovers, is as easy to drive as those models. It tracks straight, and although there’s a slight dead spot in the wheel when you turn in aggressively, this small truck’s electric power-assisted steering feel is otherwise as firm at speed as it is light in tight, low-speed maneuvers. Over pavement bumps and bruises, the base Maverick’s suspension—which incorporates struts up front and a twist-beam rear axle with integrated stabilizer bar, as well as Ford’s own force vectoring springs—soaks up the easier imperfections without much fuss, though things got noticeably harsher over some of the rougher stuff.”
— Mike Floyd, Motor Trend