2022 Ford Maverick Reviews, Pricing & Specs

In contrast to the Hyundai Santa Cruz, the Maverick looks like a conventional pickup. Most of the styling follows the lead of larger Ford trucks, with larger wheel arches and taillights that recall the F-150 and Ranger. However, the front end breaks that pattern. The large headlights and grille crossbar are a departure from other Ford trucks, but they also don’t make a particularly strong styling statement.

The Maverick is smaller than the current Ford Ranger midsize truck, which is still a fairly substantial vehicle. At 5,073 millimetres long, it’s almost 30 centimetres shorter than the Ranger, mostly due to a shorter bed. The Maverick stands 1,879 mm tall, or roughly 11.5 cm lower than the Ranger. Unlike Ford’s larger trucks, which use traditional body-on-frame construction, the Maverick shares the C2 unibody platform with the Ford Escape and Bronco Sport crossover SUVs.

The base Maverick XL gets 17-inch steel wheels, while higher trim levels get 17-inch or 18-inch alloy wheels. Available for the 2022 model year only, a Maverick First Edition package based on the Maverick Lariat trim adds black graphics, a soft tonneau cover, and model-specific wheels and paint colours. Luxury packages available on XLT and Lariat trims add features like a leather-wrapped heated steering wheel and heated seats.

Even for the base Maverick, the interior design makes cheap cool. As with most vehicles in its price range, the Maverick’s interior is heavy on plastic, but here it’s multicoloured, incorporating a speckled plastic that looks like it came from children’s playground equipment. Money-saving touches like exposed fasteners and door cards constructed with a minimum of trim pieces give the interior character. Even the base XL gets seats with a neat-looking weave pattern (leather upholstery is also available on higher trim levels).

Focusing on affordability or utility usually means leaving things out and telling customers to accept that. Ford’s design team deserves credit for trying to do something interesting with what was left. The Maverick’s interior might be its best feature, because it shows that entry-level vehicles don’t need to sacrifice style. It’s plastic fantastic.

The Maverick gets a standard hybrid powertrain based around a 2.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine, which works with a single electric motor and continuously variable transmission (CVT). Total system output is 191 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque. An optional 2.0L EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine produces power specs of 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque and gets an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The Maverick hybrid is available only with front-wheel drive (FWD), while the EcoBoost gets all-wheel drive (AWD). An optional FX4 off-road package for the AWD XLT and Lariat adds different suspension tuning, additional underbody protection, hill-descent control, and Mud/Rut and Sand drive modes. All-terrain tires can be added to FX4 models at extra cost as well.

We put those features to the test on a short off-road course set up by Ford. The Maverick FX4 easily scampered up a rock-strewn hill and motored down a muddy track, but hardcore off-roaders will likely be better served by a more traditional pickup. Still, the Maverick FX4 offers more off-road capability than most crossover SUVs in this price range (we wouldn’t have tried this course in an Escape), so at least it has the mud-slinging chops to match its rugged looks.

Thanks to its unibody platform, the Maverick drives more like a small car or crossover on pavement. The ride quality in particular was a step above most other pickups, lacking the shudder often experienced in body-on-frame vehicles when driving over bumps.

The tall hood impacted forward visibility a bit, but large exterior mirrors and low door sills helped when maneuvering in tight spaces. The Maverick is still a fairly substantial vehicle, but as a small pickup, it’s much easier to park than a full-size truck.

On our first drive, we found that the hybrid is the nicer of the two powertrains to drive. In our experience, power delivery was more linear, and the hybrid powertrain felt smoother and more refined than the turbo-four. However, the EcoBoost powertrain brings all-wheel drive, more towing capability, and rambunctious acceleration.

The Maverick is available exclusively in a four-door crew-cab configuration. It offers more legroom than the larger Toyota Tacoma does, and also slightly more legroom for the front seats than the similarly constructed Hyundai Santa Cruz does, as well as more rear legroom in 2.0-litre EcoBoost form. However, the Hyundai offers more headroom and shoulder room in both rows.

When it comes to interior storage, the Maverick puts other vehicles to shame. You get lots of places for small items, including cubbies behind the touchscreen, next to the touchscreen, and on the centre console. Ford also included storage space under the rear seats, a large storage bin and cupholders, and an open door-card design which includes clips for large water bottles. Finally, engineers designed what they called FITS (Ford Integrated Tether System), a series of slots that can hold different accessories, including an extra cupholder and a garbage bin. Ford plans to publish measurements for the FITS slots so customers can 3D-print their own accessories, too.

The 1,382 mm (4.5-foot) bed is roughly 15 cm shorter than the bed you get on a crew-cab Ranger, but it still offers 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of payload capacity, according to Ford. The Maverick also boasts an in-bed power outlet and tailgate tiedowns that double as bottle openers. Ford said it also tried to keep the bed sides low, so it’s easier to reach in and get stuff when needed.

Engineers also devised a group of features called FlexBed to get the most out of the smaller bed space. It includes the expected tiedown cleats, but also indents that can be used to make dividers or a false floor. Ford said customers will be able to do that with basic tools and materials, and it will provide instructions. The Maverick also has a multi-position tailgate that can be raised to match the height of the wheel wells, allowing you to secure 4x8 sheets of plywood by laying them across the top of the tailgate and wheel wells.

The Maverick’s 1,814-kilogram (4,000-pound) maximum towing capacity with the additional 4K Tow Package (907 kilograms or 2,000 pounds for the hybrid) is less than some crossover SUVs, but it should still provide a useful amount of capability. It’s also more than the Hyundai Santa Cruz, although the Hyundai has greater maximum payload capacity.

In keeping with its status as an entry-level vehicle, the Maverick gets the older Sync 3 infotainment system rather than the latest Sync 4 system. So, you get standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, but not wireless versions. An 8-inch touchscreen is standard as well, along with a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot that Ford says can support up to 10 devices.

The infotainment system’s graphics and functions are fairly basic (you don’t even get embedded navigation), but the screen is a decent size considering the Maverick’s pricing. Ford also included a large slot for phones (with available wireless charging) and a stand-up slot with space to thread a cable to the USB port above. The Maverick doesn’t break new ground in infotainment tech, but Ford nailed the basics.

Hybrids also get a brake-coaching feature that judges drivers’ use of the regenerative braking. It’s designed to help get the most out of the hybrid system by telling drivers when they’re recovering the maximum amount of energy, but we’re not sure how much we’d pay attention to this feature in everyday driving.

Crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) aren’t available yet. That’s typical of new models.

Standard safety features under the Ford Co-Pilot360 banner include forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and automatic high beams. Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane centring, and evasive steering assist are optional extras.

The 2.0-litre EcoBoost Maverick AWD gets Natural Resources Canada fuel consumption ratings of 9.6 litres per 100 kilometres combined (10.7 city, 8.1 highway). With the hybrid engine in FWD configuration, drivers can expect to burn 6.3 L/100 km combined (5.6 city, 7.1 highway).

Based on the truck’s trip computer, we had no trouble achieving that, even in mixed city and highway driving while carrying a full payload.

Like other Ford trucks, the Maverick gets a three-year, 60,000-kilometre bumper-to-bumper warranty and five-year, 100,000-kilometre powertrain warranty.

The base Maverick XL hybrid carries a $25,900 starting MSRP, not including a mandatory $1,995 destination charge. The Maverick XLT and Lariat trim levels start at $31,300 and $34,750, respectively. A fully loaded Lariat model will top $40,000.

The base hybrid’s pricing and predicted fuel efficiency could make this small truck a legitimate alternative to economy cars and crossovers. Even the base XL trim level is well equipped, and the interior offers more function and character than most other new vehicles in this price range. The Maverick with the EcoBoost engine checks more of the traditional truck boxes than the rival Hyundai Santa Cruz. Either way, the Maverick offers an impressive combination of good design and value.

Note: Images show a US model.