Back in late April, we caught wind of Ford’s intent to put their small Maverick pickup into production by way of a CAD image showing the model name stamped across the tailgate. Now, a new photo from an anonymous source more or less confirms that drawing. Here we can see an actual tailgate in the sheet medal, mostly complete.
This version still, like the drawing looks fairly small. On that basis, this is most likely the real deal for a true mini-truck, rather than an off-shoot of something like the Ranger.
In fact, this example looks nearly identical, considering the translation between software and the actual sheet metal. In the tradition set by the rest of Ford’s trucks from the Super Duty down through the F-150 and the Ranger, “Maverick” is stamped across the tailgate, just below the Ford badge. As in the earlier image, there’s a square cutout within the oval for the rear-view camera, but what we can’t see this time is what’s going on at the top of the tailgate.
For practicality’s sake, the Ford Maverick may not get such an elaborate tailgate as, say, the Super Duty or the F-150, with the integrated step or the workbench capability we’ve seen in recent trucks. Since this mini-truck will most likely ride on the same platform as the Bronco Sport, it shouldn’t sit too high off the ground, and Ford’s focus may be to provide as much cargo space as possible, rather than focusing on offering more features in the tailgate. Then again, small things like a 120V power outlet or a small light in the bed wouldn’t go amiss.
At this point, there’s still plenty we don’t know about the new truck. Odds are, the 2022 Ford Maverick will ship with small displacement EcoBoost engines. That decision will ultimately impact its capability in terms of how much it can haul in the bed and tow behind it, though we suspect Ford will bring out more information after launching the F-150 and the hotly anticipated Bronco. Stay tuned for more updates!