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Ford readying Maverick small ute for its full debut

Friday, 4 June 2021

Ford’s new small ute, the Maverick, is nearly here. The Blue Oval has released a pair of teasers for the little truck, confirming a June 8 reveal (June 9 for us in New Zealand).

The teaser describes a truck that is small enough for city streets but also capable enough to escape the concrete jungle.

According to rumours and previous leaks, the entry-level Maverick will be fairly basic, with halogen headlights, unpainted plastic bumpers, steel wheels with a torsion-beam rear suspension. It’ll be cheap though, allegedly coming in below $US20,000 (NZ$28k).

The Maverick small truck is nearly here.
The Maverick small truck is nearly here.

More expensive versions will get all-wheel drive and independent rear suspension as well as extra bits like a sliding rear window and a nicer interior.

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It looks like at one Maverick trim level will be called XLT. It remains to be seen what this brings to the table, however.
It looks like at one Maverick trim level will be called XLT. It remains to be seen what this brings to the table, however.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said of the Maverick back in March: 'We're expecting it to be priced below the Ranger, (having) smaller engines and (being) lighter duty. It's more of a lifestyle vehicle. We're not expecting it to show up on construction sites.'

The platform itself is shared with the Bronco Sport and Escape, the latter available here. If the Maverick uses the same powertrains, buyers could choose from a turbocharged 1.5-litre triple making 134kW and 240Nm of torque, or a 186kW/373Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder.

There’s also a hybrid version reportedly in the works. Assuming it uses the same system as the Escape Hybrid, expect a 2.5-litre petrol inline-four combustion engine paired with two electric motors for a combined output of 149kW.

Alternatively, if Ford pulls the powertrain out of the Escape PHEV, it could use a 2.5-litre petrol engine and 14.4kWh lithium-ion battery to provide combined power output of 167kW and an EV driving range of more than 50km.

There’s no word on a local release, and chances are pretty slim, even though it would be perfect for the New Zealand market. Ford NZ isn’t bringing in the Ranger-based Bronco or the Escape-based Bronco Sport because, apparently, there aren’t any plans to convert the Bronco twins to right-hand drive.