Like the rival 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pickup, the Maverick is a unibody truck built on a crossover platform. This makes it less capable than a traditional body-on-frame pickup, but it's also cheaper to build and buy, and more efficient, too. In the Maverick's case, it rides on Ford's C2 platform and shares much under the skin with the Bronco Sport and Escape with which it will share a production line in the Blue Oval's Hermosillo, Mexico, plant.
The Maverick's powertrains come courtesy of both the Escape and Bronco Sport lines. The base powertrain is a 2.5-liter I-4/electric-motor combo that drives the front wheels through a CVT. Related to the Escape Hybrid's powertrain (but with a new in-house developed motor), this powerplant produces 191 total horsepower in the Maverick. Ford says the front-wheel-drive-only Maverick Hybrid will have EPA-estimated fuel economy of 40/33/37 mpg city/highway/combined and can travel up to 500 miles on a single tank.
For those who'd like a little more power or all-wheel drive, the Bronco Sport Badlands' EcoBoost 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 is optional on the Maverick. As it does in the Bronco Sport, this engine produces 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, and it's paired with an eight-speed auto. Fuel economy estimates will be revealed at a later date, but our best guess is somewhere in the mid 20s. An off-road-oriented FX4 package is optional on EcoBoost all-wheel-drive Mavericks. The Maverick FX4 has all-terrain tires, a revised rear suspension, a higher-capacity radiator and upgraded cooling fan, skidplates, exposed front tow hooks, a hitch with a four-pin connector, off-road drive modes, and hill-descent control.
No matter which powertrain you opt for, the new 2022 Ford Maverick can haul 1,500 pounds in its bed. The rival Santa Cruz on paper has a payload capacity of over 1,700 pounds, but according to a Hyundai spokesperson, it's only capable of carrying "just over 600 pounds in the bed."
The Maverick's towing capacity varies depending on which powertrain you choose. Maverick hybrids and EcoBoosts can tow 2,000 pounds, which, as Ford helpfully points out, is about the weight of a pair of jet skis. Maverick EcoBoosts with the optional 4K Tow package (which includes a hitch with a seven-pin connector, a transmission oil cooler, an upgraded radiator and cooling fan, a shorter final drive ratio, and a trailer brake controller) can tow—you guessed it—up to 4,000 pounds, or the weight of an average 21-foot boat. The Santa Cruz, the only other compact pickup on the market, is rated to tow between 3,500 and 5,000 pounds.
The Maverick is styled to look like a Bronco Sport and F-150 mashup, with slab sides and a boxy four-door profile that mirrors the baby Bronco's and a honey-I-shrunk-the-F-150 nose, but the back is unmistakably Maverick.
Behind the Maverick's crew cab (the only available configuration) sits a 4.5-foot steel bed; it's 6 inches longer than the Santa Cruz's composite bed. The tailgate has two open positions. Access its half-open position by unclipping the tailgate's support cables and hooking them onto its latch pins; in this mode, it can hold up to 18 sheets of 4x8 three-quarter-inch plywood laid flat, provided the overhanging portion of the load is properly strapped down and flagged. Unlike some other trucks with a halfway position—the Gladiator, for instance—there isn't a retainer lip designed into the tailgate for longer loads. When the bed is flipped completely open, the Maverick offers up a 6-foot floor, enough for most ATVs and motorcycles.
Prices for the Ford Maverick start at $21,490 for the entry-level Maverick XL. Ford hasn't yet announced pricing for Maverick XLT, Maverick Lariat, or 2022-only Maverick First Edition pickups, but you can expect a fully loaded Lariat or First Edition to top out at around $35,000 or so. The Maverick is expected to hit Ford dealers this fall, and reservations and orders can be placed today.