Ford Maverick Spied: Ranger's Baby Brother Narrower and Lower
More spy shots of the upcoming Ford Maverick small pickup truck have surfaced over on MaverickChat.com.
These shots show the Maverick (in FX4 trim) parked alongside a current Ranger, and show that the Maverick is narrower, lower, and smaller.
They also show a good look at the rear suspension. The front-wheel drive Maverick appears to have a coil-spring, twist-beam rear suspension that bears similarity to what’s on offer in Ford’s Transit Connect van.
AB notes that the location of the springs would nix the idea of all-wheel drive, but also remarks that since the Maverick, like the Bronco Sport, will be based on the Escape, it shouldn’t be hard for Ford to whip up a solution.
The idea of a front-wheel drive truck may sound strange, but the well-received Honda Ridgeline is, of course, front-wheel drive, unless you opt for all-wheel drive. So it’s not unheard of. The Ridgeline even proves that a front-wheel drive, or AWD truck based on front-drive, can handle the same tough tasks asked of trucks with aplomb.
Head over to MaverickChat to check out the pics.
[Image: Ford]
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Still looks bigger than I was hoping for but that might just be the camouflage making it look bigger. I definitely don't want a full-time second row, though. Extended cab is still my thing.
Ford Ranger XL Supercab equipped with FX2 or STX package may be obtained for $25K. How much less will the Maverick cost? I expect Maverick will be a tough sell on value.
The base Maverick will be just below 20k which is likely to be FWD crew cab with a turbo 1.5 I-3 with air, power steering, power brakes, power windows, vinyl seats, and plastic floor covering. I would like an extended cab but according to the May 7 article on Ford Authority the Maverick will be available only in crew cab with an automatic. I doubt there will be very many basic models available at the Maverick's introduction. Either AWD or 4 wheel drive will be an option.
I want off-road and/or deep snow capabilities and prefer a 6 foot box when I buy my next truck. That automatically removes this truck from the list. I'd put up with a 5 ft. box in something like the ZR2 Colorado or if Ford were to offer a Ranger Raptor. The Gladiator is just too expensive.