SUVs and trucks will make up more than three-quarters of new vehicles sold in the U.S. this year, and one in four new vehicles will be a pickup, more than 2.5 million of them if sales hold steady this month. Trucks have steadily grown in size and price for decades, but this year sees the revival of a long dormant segment: compact pickups. The 2022 Ford Maverick earns Forbes Wheels’ Car of the Year by blending crossover-like dynamics and economy with pickup style and utility. Best of all, its low price makes it a viable alternative to vehicles in many other segments.
While electrification is the most important car technology for of the 2020s and this year also sees the arrival of the first all-electric pickup, the Rivian R1T, the Maverick plays to a much wider segment of buyers. It isn’t alone, however.
Late 2021 also marked the arrival of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, a machine of similar dimensions with similar aims. Each is under 200 inches long with four doors, two rows of seats and cargo beds at least 48 inches long and 48 or more inches wide.
In both cases, the Maverick, 199.7 inches long, and the Santa Cruz, 195.7 inches long, are closer to crossovers than traditional pickups. In the same vein as the Honda Ridgeline, they’re unibody machines that drive like crossovers. That might be anathema to some traditional truck fans, but consumers have expressed an undeniable preference for this type of vehicle.
The Maverick and the Santa Cruz were the two top vote-getters in the Forbes Wheels Pickup of the Year segment, covering all sizes of pickups, combustion engine and electrified, in part because they have such broad consumer appeal.
Unlike traditional trucks, it’s easy to see a potential shopping comparison between the Maverick and more typical entry-level cars like the Honda Civic. The Maverick boasts an outstanding 42 mpg rating from the base hybrid engine and a starting price of $19,955—$21,490, including the beefy $1,495 shipping charge. That’s almost $1,500 less than a base-model Civic. An almost fully optioned Ford Maverick runs $37,055 to buy or a 39-month lease of about $400 with 10{7b5a5d0e414f5ae9befbbfe0565391237b22ed5a572478ce6579290fab1e7f91} down. That’s about where the larger base-model Honda Ridgeline starts.
Maverick: A Far Cry from Classic Compact Pickups
Compact pickups aren’t a new idea, but automakers grew out of them around the millennium. Auto enthusiast boomers will recall, perhaps at length, that tiny trucks were wildly popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Back then, there were essentially two types: scaled down versions of traditional trucks, like the Chevrolet Luv, Nissan Hardbody, Plymouth Arrow and Toyota Pickup; and more car-based trucks like the Subaru BRAT, Dodge Rampage and Volkswagen Rabbit truck.
The new breed of compact pickups is philosophically closer to the latter, but 1980s-era mini-truckers would not recognize them on the inside. Those old trucks were meant for working and doubling as a low-cost commuter vehicle, not coddling their occupants.
/https://www.forbes.com/wheels/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Maverick-960-8.png)
Instead of a bare-bones cabin with painted metal on the doors and only the barest of sound insulation, the Maverick looks and feel like a modern SUV inside. Both it and the Santa Cruz are based on familiar crossovers, sharing their platforms with the Bronco Sport and Hyundai Tucson, respectively. It’s worth noting that the old-time compact pickups eventually grew larger and plusher, evolving into today’s midsize offerings, but the Maverick feels distinctly more civilized than the dark confines of Toyota’s current Tacoma.
The target audience for these trucks isn’t just people who want a smaller Silverado or F-150, though no doubt a few people wouldn’t mind work-truck grade Mavericks. For 2022, the compact pickup demographic is about people who’ve been driving compact sedans or small crossovers but wanting something different—a pickup bed is certainly different—and also comfortable accommodations for four, maybe five passengers.
If they’re outdoors enthusiasts, they like the ease of putting mountain bikes in the bed, not atop the roof, and tossing muddy tents and climbing gear in the bed rather than in the cargo bay of an SUV. If they’re worried about the safety of the cargo, a folding and locking metal tonneau cover keeps cargo safe in rest areas or left overnight in town if everyone arrives home too tired to unload on Sunday night.
Enough Rear Legroom to Keep 4 Adults Happy
Of all the interior dimensions that make a vehicle comfortable for four average-size adults, it’s rear-seat legroom. Even some full-size pickups skimp on rear legroom to keep the length from getting too unwieldy for driver comfort. The Maverick has 35.9 inches of legroom with the hybrid, 36.9 with the non-hybrid. That’s enough for most adults not to feel cramped even if six-footers will want to sit in front.
In comparison, the best-selling non-pickup, the Toyota RAV4, No. 4 overall in sales the first three quarters of 2021, has 39.6 inches of legroom. Big selling midsize sedans like the Toyota Camry, and even some compacts like the Civic, offer 37 to 38 inches in back
The Maverick’s legroom makes it suitable for four adults. To put three, not two, across in back, the critical dimension shifts to rear hip-room and there it’s hard for any compact vehicle to be comfortable on long rides, including Maverick’s 54.1 inches. Three-across seating in coach class on an airplane is 17-18 inches of seat width per person, about what Maverick offers.
/https://www.forbes.com/wheels/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Maverick-lineup.png)
Why We Like Maverick
“The Maverick has a thoughtful design like the bed notches for DIY accessorizing and the armrest cutouts to support bigger water bottles in the doors. It’s basic but extremely solid. It’s also quite affordable and efficient with the standard hybrid powertrain,” says Forbes Wheels contributor Sam Abuelsamid. “The only real flaw is the absence of cruise control on the [entry trim] XL which is Ford’s way of saying you should just spend $2,280 more for the [middle trim] XLT.”
Forbes Wheels staffer Andrew Wendler says, “Like the … Santa Cruz, the four-door Ford Maverick compact pickup is tilted strongly in the direction of buyers in the coveted demographic automakers refer to as the ‘outdoor lifestyle’ segment. It was accordingly designed from the ground up to accommodate numerous racks and support systems, both commercially available and D-I-Y, to facilitate the transportation and use of bicycles, tents, generators and all manner of crunchy accoutrement.”
To keep the base price under $20K, Ford provided a color LCD center display, telematics, 4G connection, Bluetooth and USB jacks and standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This assumes that every owner will have a smartphone with navigation, and that’s a safe bet. As on the lower trims of the new Honda Civic, automakers are discovering that many users just like their phone interfaces and would rather use them. If they save some money in the process, so much the better.
Despite the truck’s low cost of entry, Ford still equipped it with standard forward automatic emergency braking (AEB) and makes several other driver-assist features optional. Even in 2022, not every pickup or inexpensive car makes AEB standard.
Buyers Say They Want to Tow
Virtually every pickup-truck intender expresses interest in towing boats, campers or trailers. According to a product manager at the company, when Ford introduced the current generation Ford Explorer midsize SUV in 2020, the majority of focus group participants wanted a vehicle that could tow hefty loads. Asked how many participants towed trailers currently, only a relative handful raised their hands. In other words, in the world of SUVs and smaller trucks, a lot of people want the ability to tow even if only a handful of them actually do.
With that possibility in mind, every Maverick, even front-drive models, can tow 2,000 pounds. A 4,000-pound tow weight is possible with the turbocharged (EcoBoost) engine and all-wheel-drive ($3,305) and 4K trailer towing package ($745). That’s enough to tug most 21-foot powerboats, Ford says. Total load capacity, cargo and passengers, is 1,500 pounds, and all of it except the driver’s weight can be in the bed.
We also like Maverick for its many little, thoughtful details. For example: One of the tailgate tie-down cleats is also a … bottle opener. Because not every bottle has a twist top.
Now: Pickup Trucks in 3 Sizes
With the arrival of Maverick (and Santa Cruz), there are now three sizes of pickups: compacts below 200 inches, midsize pickups of about 210 inches and full-size and heavy-duty pickups of 210 to 250 inches, depending on the size of the cab and the length of the cargo bed.
The midsize class includes Ford’s own Ranger, reintroduced to the U.S. market in the 2019 model year, the re-invigorated Nissan Frontier and best-selling Toyota Tacoma. Most midsize pickups remain body on frame, which adds weight, ruggedness, towing capacity and fuel consumption. Aside from the Honda Ridgeline, none of them offers anything resembling a crossover-like driving experience, so they’re less likely to woo car buyers.
There might be even more small pickups, such as the overseas-markets Volkswagen Tarok and Fiat-based Ram 700, but for the “chicken tax,” a 1964 relic of a long-ago Presidential order. It puts a 25{7b5a5d0e414f5ae9befbbfe0565391237b22ed5a572478ce6579290fab1e7f91} tariff on light trucks imported into the U.S. because Europe once imposed high tariffs on cheaper American chicken imports. Ten presidents later, the tax still stands.
So virtually every pickup sold in the U.S. is made in the U.S.—or Canada or Mexico—because the current rule exempts cars made in North America. The Ford Maverick is made in Hermosillo, Mexico, alongside the Bronco Sport. The Santa Cruz comes from Hyundai’s sprawling factory in Montgomery, Alabama.
We expect the Car of the Year Maverick will find ready buyers and lead other automakers, possibly GM, Toyota and Nissan, to consider entries this emerging market. More choices are better for everyone.
More Stories
Investigation launched into complaints of Tesla steering wheels coming off mid-drive | Tesla
Wheels Car of the Year 2023: Finalists revealed!
Why Were so Many Built?