Used 2022 Ford Maverick

The pickup truck segment has come a long way in 10 years. Just look at the 2022 Ford Maverick. This compact truck rides on a unibody (SUV-like) platform. It comes standard with a hybrid powertrain. It also has a starting price of less than $20,000. And it has real truck capability and can go off-road.

That’s right – compact trucks are back and have evolved to meet the changing needs of American drivers. As models like the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and yes, the Ford Ranger, grew in size, they became more expensive midsize trucks. That left a spot in the marketplace for smaller compact pickups. The Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are the first models to fill that vacant space.

When it goes on sale this fall, the Ford Maverick will be the only unibody pickup truck in Ford’s U.S. lineup, but that is not a bad thing. This is a Ford truck, after all, and it has to meet the company’s standards for what a pickup should be able to do. The Maverick can tow up to 4,000 pounds and carry as much as 1,500 pounds of payload, and an FX4 model is available. It offers an off-road friendly maximum ground clearance of 8.6 inches.

But it also offers features that take full advantage of the platform. Load-in height for the truck bed is impressively low. Ride quality is as comfortable as a crossover SUV.

With the Maverick, Ford’s goal is to combine the best elements of an SUV with the expected capabilities of a small truck. And as a thick layer of icing on this cake, the base model nets 42 mpg in the city (estimated) at a starting price of $19,995. That price and fuel efficiency will appeal to people in compact cars and small SUVs that need more capability. It should also grab the attention of young drivers who have grown up wanting a new truck but didn’t think they could afford it.

The Maverick rides on Ford’s C2 platform, which also underpins the Bronco Sport and Escape. As a result, the Maverick drives a lot like them, especially the Escape. The chassis and suspension are both tuned for comfort. In a normal truck, you might feel a jarring bump in the road, but the Maverick absorbs much of that. As a result, this compact truck is a smooth operator and will make for a good road trip vehicle.

The steering on the Maverick takes cues from its crossover-SUV brethren, too. It doesn’t feel overly electronically assisted, and there isn’t that traditional huge on-center dead spot that you get with most trucks. In fact, it leans to the heavy and weighty side, especially when in Sport mode. If you’re not used to it, that might take some adjustment, but for someone who likes to feel like it’s them driving the car and putting in a little effort, they’ll appreciate it.

Around turns, there is minimal body roll. The Maverick feels even more planted than the Bronco Sport in this respect. Thank that longer wheelbase for the increased stability.

The Ford Maverick is the only truck to be offered with a standard hybrid powertrain. A 2.5-liter Atkinson-Cycle 4-cylinder engine pairs with an electric motor giving the base model 191 horsepower for a driver to exploit. Thanks to the electric motor’s instant use of 100-percent torque, that number actually feels greater. Acceleration feels substantial, and the e-CVT doesn’t get in the way of it. All of this is a bonus to its incredible fuel economy.

The Maverick Hybrid doesn’t have an exclusive EV mode. In city driving situations at lower speeds, it will drive exclusively under electric power, but the engine kicks in when you accelerate. Both operate in tandem seamlessly and help achieve that estimated 40 mpg rating in the city. At one point, we got it up to 38 mpg without even trying, so this number seems doable.

Buyers can upgrade to Ford’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine if they’d prefer more power and the option for all-wheel drive (AWD). Unfortunately, the hybrid engine won’t come with that optional traction at all four tires. At least not initially. With 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, the 2.0-liter Maverick moves well. It’s enough power to get you up to speed quickly in an emergency situation, and the 8-speed automatic transmission doesn’t struggle to find gears. You use the Tow/Haul or Sport mode, depending on your driving activity, to effectively extend gears and have a little extra power at your disposal.

Overall, driving the Maverick feels very akin to driving a crossover SUV, which for the customer Ford is aiming for with this compact truck, that’s a very good thing.

Inside, the Ford Maverick is both functional and eye-catching. The cloth seats are 2-tone rugged material with contrast stitching. The vehicle we saw used orange stitching in the seats, which matched the accents on the door and air vents.

Leather will be available, one color combination of which is dark gray with caramel inserts. There’s a stonelike finish on the dash, meant to resemble a durable countertop. Both front and rear rows offer plenty of head- and legroom, even for tall people.

There are plenty of thoughtful storage spaces in the front and rear rows of the crew cab Maverick, which seats five. The door armrests are designed to allow enough space for a one-liter water bottle to fit upright. The large door pockets can fit a tablet or notebook.

If you fold up the rear seats, you have access to two large storage bins. They’re big enough for some athletic gear and can also serve as a spot to keep small items out of view. In hybrid models, one of the storage bins is taken up by the battery pack.

If you want additional custom storage solutions, there’s the FITS (Ford Integrated Tether System). There is a slot in the back of the center console. This works with an optional accessory package with cupholders, a double hook for groceries, and a cord organizer. In the future, you could use this to accommodate your own 3D-printed DIY items.

The 2022 Ford Maverick comes with an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Also standard are FordPass Connect with an embedded modem and Wi-Fi for up to 10 devices.

The Maverick’s styling fits right in with the rest of the Ford truck lineup. The black mesh grille is a scaled-down take on the current F-Series front end, and there are LED headlights. This Ford has an upright, boxy appearance, but its unibody construction means there’s no gap between the cab and the bed. The truck’s proportions look just right. While the ride height looks lower than on some body-on-frame trucks, there’s still up to 8.6 inches of ground clearance.

You have a choice of 17- or 18-inch wheels. The XL comes with steel wheels, and other finishes include painted aluminum, bright aluminum, and black painted aluminum. The FX4 gets a unique 17-inch aluminum wheel. In back, there are halogen taillights (LED taillights aren’t available). The tailgate design also fits in with the Ford family and has “Maverick” embossed in the lower portion.

The First Edition package, available only in the first year of production, has a black painted roof, body-color door handles, black accents, and a soft tonneau cover.

FLEXBED
This is Ford’s name for the truck box. It’s 4.5 feet long and wide enough to carry 4×8 sheets of wood and has an adjustable tailgate. Its low 30-inch lift-in height makes it very easy to load and unload cargo. There are plenty of built-in storage spots and indentations, allowing you to use tie-downs.

The Maverick’s bed has two spots prewired for 12-volt power, and two 110-volt outlets are optional. In addition, Ford is offering box accessories like a tonneau cover and bed extender. But DIYers can also scan a QR code in the bed so you can build a bike rack, add bed lighting, and more.

FX4 PACKAGE
For those whose weekend excursions include dirt, the 2022 Ford Maverick is available with an FX4 package. Available with the all-wheel-drive XLT and Lariat, the $800 FX4 includes rugged all-terrain tires, an off-road-biased mono-shock suspension setup, and extra underbody protection. In addition, the FX4 gets drive modes optimized for mud and ruts or sand. The FX4 also comes with Hill Descent Control.

The XL base model has a hybrid powertrain with 191 total system horsepower and 4-wheel disc brakes. It has a black mesh grille with a black surround, LED headlights, and rides on 17-inch steel wheels.

The XL comes with an 8-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, power windows, and a 6-speaker audio system. There are 12-volt power outlets in the front and rear, as well as FordPass Connect. The Maverick XL comes with pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking. There are cloth seats. Storage bins under the rear seat are standard, as are audio controls on the tilt/telescoping steering wheel.

The hybrid model is only offered with front-wheel drive and comes with a full-size spare tire. There are five standard drive modes – Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery, and Tow/Haul.

All-wheel drive is optional with the 2.0-liter, 250-horsepower gasoline-powered EcoBoost engine. Eighteen-inch wheels are also available, as are a soft tonneau cover and a power-sliding rear window. Leather seats are an option, as is cruise control, Sync3, and an 8-speaker B&O sound system.

If you want to do some off-roading, you can get the FX4 package and unique 17-inch wheels. To tow 4,000 pounds, opt for the 4K Tow package, which adds upgraded cooling, an integrated trailer brake controller, a 7-pin wiring harness, and a reinforced hitch.

The Ford Co-Pilot360 suite of safety features is part of a separate package for every trim level, but to get adaptive cruise control, evasive steering assist, lane centering, and rear parking sensors, you have to get the top-of-the-line Lariat. Gas engine models come standard with a compact spare, but a full-size spare is optional.

The Ford Maverick comes standard with a hybrid powertrain and front-wheel drive on every trim level. It uses an electronic continuously variable transmission. According to EPA estimates, the new Ford Maverick hybrid is rated at 42 mpg city/33 mpg highway/37 mpg combined, which is better than the fuel economy of many compact cars.

The optional 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine also comes standard with front-wheel drive, and if you want optional all-wheel drive, this is the engine to get. The EcoBoost is backed by an 8-speed automatic. Fuel numbers look very un-truck-like here. With FWD, expect to get 23 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. With all-wheel drive, those numbers come down a bit (22 mpg city/29 mpg highway).

2.5-liter Atkinson inline-4 + 94-kW battery pack
191 total system horsepower (Engine: 162 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm)
155 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm + 173 lb-ft battery pack
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 42 mpg/33 mpg (FWD only)

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4
250 horsepower @ 5,500 rpm
277 lb-ft of torque @ 3,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 23 mpg/30 mpg (FWD), 22 mpg/29 mpg (AWD)