2022 Ford Maverick Review: Honey I Shrunk The Work Truck

With the Maverick, Ford’s decision to stop building cars makes a lot more sense.

Oh, how many of us questioned the move years ago? I’ll admit it, I was one of them. Sure, crossovers were already well on their way to sales dominance. But how would Ford lure people into dealerships without any affordable compacts? The EcoSport? Ew.

The answer should’ve been obvious. This is Ford, the company that has produced the best-selling vehicle in North America for decades. And it’s a truck. The Maverick shrinks the formula down, a back-to-basics small truck that offers a very tantalizing package for significantly less than the average new car transaction price.

Ford has spun the Maverick off its C2 platform, a versatile unibody setup found under the Escape and Bronco Sport. The wheelbase is longer—some 14 inches longer, because truck—and there’s a 4.5-foot bed slung out back. Front-wheel drive is standard, with a hybrid powertrain no less. That’s not what we have here, though.

If you want AWD with your baby Blue Oval pickup, the only choice is to pair it with Ford’s familiar 2.0-liter EcoBoost motor. The turbocharged four-cylinder makes 250 horsepower and 277 pound-feet, funnelled through an eight-speed automatic transmission. By comparison, the hybrid uses an electronic continuously variable transmission, with a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder and battery combining for 191 hp.

The styling is refreshingly basic, too. Ford didn’t just graft a Bronco Sport front half to a bed and call it a day. (Although wouldn’t that look pretty awesome?) Instead, the Maverick has big rectangular headlights, a thin chrome bar between them giving it a bespectacled look. Subtly swollen, circular fenders give the Mav a low-key presence, too. Some folks might find it a little boring, but it garnered a lot of positive responses around the GTA while I drove it. It’s a welcome change from the angry-toaster looks of full-sizers these days, and while I very much like the Santa Cruz—the other unibody-based truck to arrive this year—I think this market is big enough to support both approaches.

One of the most satisfying parts of the Maverick experience is also the simplest: ingress and egress. For most drivers, it will be nothing more than a lateral slide into the driver’s seat. No hunting for a grab handle and vaulting up to the throne here.

The interior makes no bones about its basic nature, even on this top-shelf Lariat trim. Ford has done a good job of differentiating the Mav from its platform-mates. The blue-and-brown color scheme is fun. I’m a fan of the speckled gray plastic used for the door inserts and dashboard, even if fellow writer Elliot Adler compared it to an outhouse, and now I can’t unsee it. More than the materials, the interior’s smart storage solutions are welcome. The “floating” door handles open up room for massive water bottle in the door pockets, for example. There’s a clever FITS (Ford Integrated Tether System) slots for official accessories, or for owners to 3D print their own.

About the only miss is the odd cubby beside the touchscreen. It seems like it’s only there to clear space for the inevitable screen upgrade during the mid-cycle refresh.

Those easy-clean seats are reasonably comfortable: flat and narrow, but with good thigh and upper back support. The view ahead feels very BroSpo thanks to the creased hood, and there’s lots of headroom too, at 40.3 inches (1,024 millimeters). Second-row headroom is only about an inch less, and the rear seats afford passengers 36.9 (937 mm) of legroom. That’s half an inch less than the Honda Civic.

Standing atop the dashboard is an 8.0-inch touchscreen running Ford’s old Sync 3 user interface. It’s not pretty, nor is it particularly quick. Bleeding-edge tech wouldn’t really jive with the Maverick’s mission statement, though. It’ll pair up to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay with a cord, and that should cover most owners’ needs. The screen between the analog dials is a more modern one, providing important info in hi-def.

Dual-zone climate control is standard on the Lariat. The controls are super-simple, with a clear diagram for zones, and dials for temperature. Like most everything else within the Maverick, the climate controls have a learning curve that resembles the prairies.

The 4.5-foot bed might lack the additional storage spaces of the Santa Cruz or Honda Ridgeline, but it’s got some clever tricks of its own. There are cutouts along the bed walls to allow for compartmentalization. There are the requisite 120V/400W outlets, too. And, since this isn’t a hulking great rig, you can easily reach over the side to grab things out of the truck.

Ford includes a basic level of driver assists in the Maverick Lariat, including auto high beams and automated emergency braking. Blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, hill descent control, rear parking sensors, and more are all locked behind an options package. More surprising is that you can’t even entertain the option of adaptive cruise control until the Lariat.

The least interesting part of the Maverick is the turbo engine. It’s fine for what it is, capable of scooting the pickup to highway speed without issue. Once it’s there, though, the EcoBoost gets winded, needing judicious jabs of the throttle for passing. It’s noisy and rough, too. The transmission does what’s required of it, but no more.

From the driver’s seat, the Maverick drives very much like a Bronco Sport. The view out helps, but so does slightly agricultural ride. It’s impressive how truck-like Ford can make the Escape platform. Almost too truck-like at times: over rougher surfaces the back-end can pogo, robbing the driver of confidence. Still, the relatively light weight, direct steering, and compact dimensions make the Maverick a comparative cinch to drive around town.

Without the BroSpo’s fancy 4WD system, the Maverick feels distinctly front-driven. That’s not a criticism, but it makes me even more curious to try the hybrid. My suspicion is that, unless someone is regularly tackling tough conditions or needs the additional towing capacity, the 2.0-liter is overkill.

EcoBoost models can come equipped with a 4K towing package, doubling towing capacity to 4,000 lb. Even the hybrid is rated to 2,000 lb, and both drivetrains can manage a 1,500-pound payload.

Ford would’ve sold you a base XL hybrid Maverick for $21,490 ($27,995 CAD) a few months ago, including destination. That was before the company announced the entire allocation of 2022 hybrids had been spoken for—good luck hunting. The EcoBoost adds another grand to the bottom line, or $3,305 ($2,800 CAD) when paired with the AWD. That’s the price of a mid-range Honda Civic.

Move past the mid-level XLT trim and you can find the fancy Lariat, ringing in at $30,660 ($36,845 CAD). Even here, there are options boxes to check to start picking up the features I’d expect in vehicles costing this much. Locking heated seats behind the Luxury Package, for example, feels punitive. For this reason, I’d argue the cheaper the Maverick, the better, since the whole point of this practice is an affordable truck.

The 2022 Ford Maverick is an impressive pivot from Ford. Instead of chasing compact car dominance, the brand stuck to what it knew—trucks—and applied all that knowledge in a relatively untapped market.

There’s a lot of talk about want versus need in the car buying space. The Maverick is all the truck most people probably need, for the two or three times a year they’d use the bed or towing capability. Crucially, it still satisfies the want side of the brain with pleasantly honest and practical design, inside and out. Not only should it appeal to those who’ve missed small trucks, but it should peel sales away from compact cars too, especially with a hybrid model that beats them in fuel economy. “Cheap and cheerful” doesn’t typically apply to a truck, but it sure does here.

FAQs

How much is a 2022 Ford Maverick?

The Maverick started at a low $21,490 ($27,995 CAD) for a base XL hybrid. We say “started” because Ford has announced hybrid allocations for the first year are already full.

When can you buy the 2022 Ford Maverick?

You can buy an EcoBoost model like this one right now. Need a hybrid? You might be in for a wait.

Does the 2022 Ford Maverick come with a smaller cab or longer bed?

No. Ford is taking a one-size-fits-all approach with its little pickup for now.