Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn today unveiled the all-new 2022 Maverick as a standard five-passenger, four-door pickup with a full-hybrid powertrain and a projected EPA-estimated rating of 40 mpg city fuel economy and 500 miles of range on a single tank of gas.
The Ford Maverick, which has a starting MSRP of $19,995, is a compact truck with a unibody design and the first pickup in America with a standard full-hybrid powertrain — providing better projected city fuel economy than a Honda Civic, according to Ford officials.
Its 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder hybrid powertrain delivers 191 horsepower when combined with the electric motor, and 155 lb.-ft. of torque mated to a continuously variable transmission driving the front wheels.
The truck features an in-house-designed and manufactured electric traction motor, which is light and powerful. It also offers a standard payload of 1,500 pounds and the volume to carry a standard ATV, plus it has the capability to tow 2,000 pounds — enough for a pair of personal watercraft or a good-sized pop-up camper trailer.
“The Maverick product proposition is like nothing else out there. It’s a great-looking truck featuring four doors with room for five adults, a standard full-hybrid engine with city fuel economy that beats a Honda Civic, plenty of towing and hauling for weekend trips or do-it-yourself projects, and it starts under $20,000,” says Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager.
For customers who want more capability, the Maverick offers an optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost gas engine delivering 250 horsepower and 277 lb.-ft. of torque with an 8-speed automatic transmission and standard front-wheel drive or available all-wheel drive. Equipped with the optional 4K Tow Package, conventional towing doubles to 4,000 pounds — enough for an average 21-foot boat.
“One thing that’s non-negotiable is that Maverick is Built Ford Tough,” says Chris Mazur, a third-generation Ford employee who led development of the all-new pickup as chief engineer. “Our engineers were unrelenting, putting it through a battery of vicious on-road, off-road, environmental and simulated customer use testing until we were satisfied.”
Maverick offers options for both built-in and brought-in technology. Its standard 8-inch center touch screen features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility so customers can have the experience they’re used to with their phones. Maverick has standard FordPass Connect with embedded modem and Wi-Fi for up to 10 devices, while standard FordPass makes it easy to find the truck, check fuel level, lock and unlock the doors, and start or turn off the vehicle — all from a smartphone.
The interior design is stylish and spacious, offering generous leg and headroom, shoulder and hip width, and a comfortable seating position for both rows.
“This customer wants simple, but not basic, and Maverick is all about thoughtful details executed well,” says Barb Whalen, who led the team in choosing materials and colors. “We want this to have a straightforward, durable, honest, well-built feel. The interior was designed with function, purpose, and ease of cleaning in mind to help make our customers’ lives better.
“We’re using unique textures and materials like reground carbon fiber for strength and visual interest. The dash panel has a stonelike finish, like a super-durable synthetic countertop. We strategically placed pops of color for functionality — creating an energetic space you want to be in.”
Creating clever storage and useful features fell to Daniel George, interior leader, who calls Maverick “the ultimate first vehicle for my kids.”
What’s key, he says, was understanding how people actually use the stuff they bring in, rather than just expecting them to find places to stash it. Door armrests have a split design to allow a one-liter water bottle to sit upright in a bin rather than rolling around on the seats, while large door pockets offer lots of vertical clearance to store a tablet or notebooks. There’s a spacious storage bin under the rear seats that fits a fully inflated volleyball, laptop bags, roller blades, tools, and other gear.
FITS – Ford Integrated Tether System – is a clever multitasking solution for rear seat passengers. There’s a FITS slot at the back of the front console that accommodates different accessories for endless personalization. An available accessory package includes cupholders, a storage or trash bin, cord organizer, double hook for grocery bags and purses, and under-seat storage dividers.
More FITS slot creations are in development and Ford is working to publish the slot geometry so people can 3D-print DIY solutions to further fit their lifestyle. Those accessories can be stored in multiple slots under the rear seats, which could also be used for novel applications on their own.
Ford Co-Pilot360 technology includes standard Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking and Automatic High Beam Headlamps. Available options include Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Blind Spot Information System with Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Centering, and Evasive Steering Assist. Five standard drive modes include Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery, and Tow/Haul to enhance performance and confidence over various driving conditions.
In the rear, Maverick provides its unique FLEXBED, which is packed with standard features and opportunities to transform the cargo box into a complete makerspace. FLEXBED gives customers organization and storage solutions to secure cargo, while accommodating Ford accessories and creative DIY solutions.
The design team developed its features after watching people at home improvement and furniture stores as well as college kids moving into their dorms, observing how they struggled to load things into small crossovers and cars while working around the cargo limitations they faced.
People can create segmented storage, elevated floors, bike and kayak racks, and more by sliding 2x4s or 2x6s into slots stamped into the side of the bed. There are two tie-downs, four D-rings and built-in threaded holes in the sides to bolt in new creations.
“The whole bed is a DIY fan’s paradise,” says Keith Daugherty, an engineering specialist who helped develop the truck box for Maverick. “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.”
In addition to the FLEXBED QR code, which customers can scan to develop new loading and towing ideas, Gaby Grajales, an electrical engineer, helped develop standard built-in 12-volt electrical power prewired to an easily removable cover on either side of the back of the bed to support DIY electrical projects.
“People have forever been hacking into their wiring harness to run things like lighting, air pumps, and other useful accessories,” says Grajales. “This is a better solution — we’re enabling customer needs while protecting the taillamp wiring and creating a fused circuit to avoid compromising the overall electrical system. With this, you have the option to select the factory-available box lighting or install your own home-built lighting setup, or even invent a whole new use for the 12-volt access points.”
Beyond DIY electrical, there are two available 110-volt 400-watt outlets — one in the bed and one in the cabin — that can power phones, laptops, small TVs, a cordless tool battery charger, or a small, corded tool like a jigsaw. There’s also a storage cubby built into the side of the bed on XLT and two available on Lariat trucks, perfect for keeping a ball hitch or air pump.
The 4.5-foot bed can carry 1,500 pounds of payload, the equivalent of roughly 37 bags of 40-pound mulch, and has a six-foot floor with the tailgate down. Maverick can carry long and wide materials too, thanks to its multi-position tailgate.
It opens normally, but also has a halfway-open position — just unclip the support cables and hook them onto the latch pins so the tailgate lip and wheelhouses can support up to 18 sheets of 4×8-foot three-quarter-inch plywood without needing to angle the panels.
The tailgate features tie-down clamps that double as bottle openers, and is rated to hold 500 pounds of friends hanging out and taking a seat. The bed floor and sides are low, so almost any size adult can reach over and grab items off the floor.
The Maverick’s exterior door design pays homage to the company’s signature drop-down side windows and a front end that stretches edge to edge, connecting the standard LED headlamps and grille for a more prominent, planted appearance.
Form follows function here, too. Maverick is upright and squared off for space efficiency, but it looks youthful and athletic – clean, not overdesigned. There’s no gap between cab and tailgate, and the bed rail caps extend from the bed and go vertical, ending at the top of the back window. It’s designed this way to offer greater dent and ding protection, knowing people will load and unload the bed from the sides more frequently.
Maverick is offered at three trim levels — XL, XLT, and Lariat. An FX4 package available for all-wheel-drive XLT and Lariat trucks adds more off-road capability with rugged all-terrain tires and suspension tuning, additional underbody protection, and off-road-focused drive modes like Mud/Rut and Sand, as well as the addition of Hill Descent Control.
Available for the first model year only is the Maverick First Edition package. It is built off the Lariat trim level and includes unique graphics on the hood and lower doors, a high-gloss black-painted roof, soft tonneau cover, body-color door handles, high-gloss black skull caps, and gloss black-painted and machined 18-inch wheels for hybrid or unique 17-inch aluminum wheels for the gas model.
It comes in Carbonized Gray, Area 51, and Rapid Red, unique to First Edition.
The 2022 Ford Maverick goes on sale this fall. The build and price website is live at Ford.com and reservations or orders can be placed now.
The original Maverick was introduced in April 1969 as a 1970 two-door sedan with a rear-wheel drive platform original to the 1960 Falcon. A four-door version was introduced for 1971. Total North American Maverick production between 1969 and its discontinuation in 1977 reached 2.1 million units.
