It’s the conversation that won’t end around parking lots and trailheads and bars across the country: Why won’t car makers offer compact trucks anymore? There are lots of reasons, none of which really have to do with demand for why that is, but they largely boil down to vastly more profits on full-size trucks for the manufacturer. But what about us, the consumers who want small, practical trucks, the kind every car maker sold in the 80s and 90s? The original Toyota Pickup, the Nissan Hardbody, the first-gen Ford Ranger, the Mitsubishi Mighty Max—trucks that provided a bed and capability, but that sipped fuel, easily fit in around-town life, and weren’t massive overkill for 99% of drivers out there? Even the modern Tacoma is the size of a half-ton truck from 20-30 years ago. Just a lot of truck.
Ford has been listening. Today, they announced, officially, the Maverick. A bit of a silly, earnest name, and one they already used for a sedan in the 1970s, but a truck that will scratch the itch for many, many people out there who miss their small trucks.
So, what is it? It’s the smallest truck on offer from the domestic car makers. The Hyundai Santa Cruz will compete, as will the much larger Honda Ridgeline, but the Maverick appears closest to the compact truck we all remember. The Maverick is 200 inches long, the Ridgeline is 210 inches, and the Santa Cruz, which looks closer to the Subaru Brat than a proper truck, is 195 inches.
Like the Ridgeline and the Santa Cruz, the Maverick is a unibody truck, not the more rugged body-on-frame construction found in rigs like the Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, or 4-Runner. This means less off-road capability, but much better road manners. It’s also much cheaper to make. Crucially for the Maverick, it shares the unibody platform with the Bronco Sport and the Ford Escape, which allows Ford to pump these out at a much lower price than competitors—we’ll get to that number in a second.
The Maverick comes standard as a hybrid that gets 40 mpgs. I’ll say that again: Standard powertrain here is a 4-cylinder gas motor paired with an electric motor that returns 40 mpgs. That standard package comes only in front-wheel drive, but can tow 2,000 pounds, with a payload of 1,500 pounds (that payload is about the same as the much, much bigger and fuel gobbler, the Tacoma). A full tank of gas will merrily transport this sucker 500 miles.
Oh, and base price for that one is $19,995.
If you must have AWD, or, since the terms are becoming somewhat interchangeable these days, four-wheel-drive, you must, unfortunately give up that hybrid engine for a pure gas burner. Still a 4-cylinder, so fuel economy will be decent, but it seems like a misstep to not offer a hybrid AWD option in 2021, especially since Ford just announced the all-electric Lightning F-150.
Ford hasn’t yet announced pricing or fuel economy for the non-hybrid, AWD option, which starts at the Lariat trim level and goes up to the 2022-only First Edition Maverick model.
That AWD system is the same you’ll find on the lower-specced Bronco Sports, which, by all indications from Bronco Sport reviews, is a solid and plucky traction system.
The Maverick also has what could be a very functional and fun trick bed system. It’s only 4.5 feet long (sidenote: come on! I could sleep fully laid out in the bed of my 1993 Toyota pickup. Sure, I gave up the backseat, but there are, uh, thousands of us who don’t care about a backseat in a truck, but who do care about being able to sleep in the bed. Someone, anyone, make a compact longbed, or, what used to be called, a standard bed. And yes, if you lower the tailgate on the Maverick the bed technically becomes 6-feet, but what if you want to put a shell on it, then sleep without the tailgate open? What then, Ford?).
There are slats that accept 2x4s in the Maverick’s bed so users can make their own cubbyholes and gear section areas. A DIY-heaven, even though a lot of the D has been done for you by the design. There are tons of tie down options, and Ford makes it clear they established a base for the industrious to really go nuts back there with outfitting the bed to their own needs, whether complex, or the barest bones and simple.
That’s fun.
What’s really fun is that 500-mile range for the hybrid, the 40 mpgs, and that 20 grand price tag for the entry-level model. Sure, that’s a lot of money, but it’s not terribly far from what compact trucks sold for in the 1990s. A 1990 Toyota Pickup started at $8,000. When adjusted for inflation, that $20,000 price for the Maverick equals about $10,000 in 1990. Not that different, really, compared to the golden age of small trucks.
For $20k you get a high clearance truck that can go 500 miles on a tank of gas, with storage options in the back for whatever gear you wanna bring, and safety and comfort features we couldn’t dream of in 1990. It’s beyond time for a truck like this, not only in the age of rising gas prices and deep concern over carbon emissions, but also because we’ve been clamoring for one for so long. It’s relatively affordable, could make for a great base for frontcountry exploration, and will happily transport you and your kayaks and coolers down most forest service roads without a hiccup.
AWD is of course wonderful to have, but not totally necessary. A good set of tire chains, some good tires, and plenty of know-how will get you to most places you want to go, as it did when four-wheel-drive wasn’t expected as the standard.
Anyway, more of this, please.
The Maverick should go on sale in the fall for the 2022 model year.
Photos: Ford
I want one!
They should make an electric model of this truck too.
My only experience with Ford (a bare-bones 1996 F-150) is not something I’d care to repeat.
Said one befuddled wrench: “Sir, you don’t need a mechanic, you need an exorcist.”
Now, if Toyota offered us something along the lines of my 1983 longbeds, I’d buy one for each of the voices in my head. I had two ’83s — one was 2WD and the other 4WD, and they both had camper shells so I could kip in the beds and hide my sporting goods from highwaymen.
The solid front axle and bench seat in the 4WD made for a rough ride on the highway, but that rig was great for general haulage and off-roading to cut firewood. The 2WD with its bucket seats was like a car with no back seat but a really big trunk. I drove that thing from Maine to Spokane, Carrizozo to Casper.
I later bought a 1998 Tacoma TRD, but I never really warmed up to it. I finally traded it for an ’05 Subaru Forester. But if Toyota did a little time-traveling back to the mid-Eighties or early Nineties, I’d be down at the local dealership with the checkbook before you could say, “Better get out and lock the hubs, looks pretty iffy from here on and I left the come-along in the other truck.”
You and me both, friend.
Without AWD/hybrid engine and a 6’ bed, it seems that I will have to wait. I can easily give up the rear doors for an access cab and a six foot bed. For now, I will look for a beater AWD 2nd Gen Sienna for my ski/camping trips.
When will these folks realize, a 6 foot bed is not an afterthought, it’s essential gear.
So tired of brands going “meh, just toss a bed extender cage on it, it’ll be fine.”
No, it won’t be. I can’t sleep in a 5 foot bed without the tailgate down. I can’t put a bike in without the tail gate down. A 5 foot bed is about as useful as a crampons at the beach.
Tossing a cap on it is equally pointless since any time you’d actually have use for it, the whole back end would need to be open. Can’t even haul drywall or sheet wood in the rain…
Perhaps they’ll split off from the silly 4 door option, add an extended cab variant, and plug a real, functional bed into that version?
I won’t hold my breath…..
This is the eternal question. An extended cab, 6-foot bed is the ideal compact truck size. If I wanted 4-doors, I’d buy a full-size truck.
Just here to read all the “well, I don’t need X, or they really missed the boat by doing Y, or this is cute but not really a throwback small truck like my old Z”…etc etc etc. Comments reading just like car blogs and websites. Dudes saying how they won’t buy a certain vehicle because (fill in the blank with some over analyzing of some minutia that is irrelevant) just to sound all knowing when in fact they probably drive a POS and are really never in the market. Fact is we’ve bitched and moaned for a cheap, small pickup and here it is. Guess what, it’s cheap and probably pretty dependable. Put your money where your mouth is.
You’re exactly right.
Oh I WOULD buy six of them, but Ford screwed up the power window switches by mounting them 3/10ths of an inch too far back, so no deal, I’m off to the Toyota dealer in my ’96 Cavalier.
Toyota would already HAVE my money if they offered the Hilux diesel in the US (but no, it’s just the rest of the world that gets them).
Instead we get the Taco, stupidly oversized, way too many cup holders for all those 32 oz diet Cokes the overweight “Murican consumer *needs*, gas tank straps in mild steel so they rust and rot, frames that are externally coated rather than dipped (like the Japanese built ones were) for serious, actual, corrosion resistance, and an engine that struggles to get 16MPG still (heck, my 1996 Gen 3 4Runner gets that, come on Toyota), bumpers made out of mild steel foil thick material that rots out after less than 10 years.
I could go, but Ford making a plastic clad yawn inducer with a 5 foot bed that’s functionally useless, really isn’t revolutionary, it’s barely noteworthy. Make it *Adventure Ready*, with a camp-able bed, and I’d be very excited.
You’re misinformed, the 2.0L EcoBoost is optional on *all* models, and can be paired with AWD on all models.
I used the Build and Price tool and got a Maverick XL with the EcoBoost, AWD, 4K lbs towing capacity and a couple of additional features for under $26k.
In other words, you can have a Maverick with the maximum capability drivetrain, but virtually zero other (expensive) options, like Co-pilot 360 or alloy wheels (neither of which I need nor desire).
That’s a far cry from being forced into the top of the line Lariat just to get the more capable powertrain and/or AWD.
Also, Ford designed a new electric motor for this vehicle, and it isn’t able to be paired with AWD, yet, so just watch for it in a year or so. Expect a PHEV as well, since the rear floor of the Hybrid is designed to accommodate future updates.
If you’re addressing the article, I was pointing out that AWD is not available with the hybrid powertrain.
I haven’t found a perfect, do-it-all-really-well vehicle that is super reliable and economical yet … but this looks in the ballpark for something that would be pretty useful most of the time and only occasionally disappointing. Maybe that’s as good as it gets.