While it wasn’t charged with the same electricity and hype as the launch of the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, Ford’s reveal of a more diminutive pickup, the 2022 Ford Maverick, still packed a punch. The four-door, five-passenger truck, which comes standard as a hybrid that gets 40 mpg in the city (500-mile range) and starts at $19,995, could also ingratiate itself with fleets in need of a solid work vehicle at a rock bottom price for what it offers when it becomes available this fall.
“With fuel creeping back up, I think there's more and more interest in having a truck that gets great fuel economy and the fact that it's a standard hybrid, I think a lot of fleets will be interested in that,” Nathan Oscarson, Ford commercial truck brand manager, told FleetOwner. “Because if you think about it, usually you have to pay more to get the hybrid and so we've sort of flipped that on its head.”
The hybrid Maverick has a 2.5L Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder powertrain that offers 191 hp and 155 lb.-ft. of torque, with a curb weight of 3,674 lb. Payload is 1,500 lb and towing is 2,000 lb. With the 2L EcoBoost gas engine, the Maverick powertrain gets 250 hp and 277 lb.-ft. of torque, doubling towing to 4,000 lb (with the Max Towing package). Available trims include XL, XLT and Lariat.
Oscarson said the Maverick was a callback to the older Ford Ranger dimensions. The Maverick has five driver modes: normal, tow/haul, slippery, eco, and sport. With the FX4 off-road package (EcoBoost only), eco, and sport are replaced by mud/ruts and sand modes. FX4 also comes with all-terrain tires and suspension tuning. The standard model is intended for on-road use only, though Oscarson said he could see the truck rolling down a university quad for landscaping or maintenance services.
A first on the Maverick is the traction motor developed in-house by Ford called the E-motor. This E-motor helps maintain Ford standards for “durability, thermal performance, trailer tow—everything that's tough, but at the same time we're getting 20% weight reduction,” said Abdul Hajiabdi, E-drive system and applications supervisor.
The E-motor employs a hairpin design and permanent magnet in the rotor to keep noise, vibration, and harshness down.
Hajiabdi said this allows the electric motor to “deliver as much as 2,300-newton meters of torque and 98 kilowatts of power. This is instant torque that you feel the moment you press your foot on that pedal.”
The standard powertrain specs may not make it the first choice for off-road work along the Permian Basin, though it is light enough to work around the base paths for municipal parks and recreation departments.
“Having to go into parks, maybe you need to drive the vehicle out onto the baseball field with your sprinkler equipment in it, with your shovels in the back of it,” Oscarson theorized.
He also said it would be a great parts delivery vehicle, particularly for “odd-sized” components, as well as for applications such as pest control, where the chemicals must be separated from the driver. The back seats flip up for additional storage.
The bed is 4.5 ft normally, extending to 6 ft with the tailgate down. Ford calls this a “whitespace” vehicle, meaning the number of uses is only limited by the user’s imagination. The FLEXBED pickup box was developed for that very reason, offering side cubbies, two tie-downs, four D-rings, and built-in threaded holes to make the bed’s cargo space customizable for several work and play uses. Customers can also spec the 12-v DIY pre-wired package for lighting and other uses. A QR code on the bed allows users to tap into a digital library of ideas on how to practically use the space.
“The whole bed is a DIY fan’s paradise,” said Ford engineering specialist Keith Daugherty. “You can buy the bolt-in Ford cargo management system and we’re happy to sell it to you, but if you’re a bit more creative, you can also just go to the hardware store and get some C-channel and bolt it to the bed to make your own solutions.”
The Maverick is also loaded with many of the same standard technology as newer Ford vehicles, such as automatic emergency braking and FordPass Connect. Optional features include blind-spot detection, adaptive cruise control, lane centering and auto high beams. An 8-in. center touchscreen acts as the interface for telematics, Apple Car Play, and Android Auto apps.
The embedded modem also allows the truck to become a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 10 devices, while vehicle locks and ignition can be controlled via Ford’s smartphone app. There is a 110-v outlet in the cab and the bed.
The question going forward will be if this downsized pickup can be a capable work truck. The F-150 Lightning offers more power (5,000 to 10,000 lb of towing, for example) and could even power a house, but is twice the cost. The 2021 Ranger is closer in price (starts at about $28,000) with plenty of power, but gets about half the fuel economy. Oscarson assured that Ford would help prospective buyers understand the tradeoffs.
“We have commercial vehicle centers with specially trained fleet sales consultants that do a really great job of qualifying our customers, so they'll be able to find out what the primary use of the vehicle is for,” he said.
