The 2022 Ford Maverick Compares To Other Small And Midsize Pickups

 

The humble,  unibody pickup is often overlooked in favor of its brawnier, pricier siblings. But thanks to this week’s reveal of the Ford Maverick, the segment is finally receiving some much deserved attention.

Today, we’re taking stock of how Ford’s latest truck compares to its two closest rivals — the Honda Ridgeline and Hyundai Santa Cruz — as well as a few slightly larger midsize pickups that one might cross-shop against it. Like the Maverick itself, the category of “compact” pickup is pretty small these days, though if this truck’s sales are as hot as the interest is for it right now, don’t be surprised to see other brands get in the game.

First, let’s begin with a recap of the Maverick’s most pertinent specs.

The Honda Ridgeline is a unibody truck with a crew cab, and, well, that’s about all it shares in common with the Maverick. The Ridgeline has a bed that’s 10 inches longer, comes with all-wheel drive standard and its only engine, a V6, offers 30 more horsepower than the Maverick’s most powerful motor (though, interestingly, a little less torque). It can also tow more than double what the Maverick can from the outset.

The tradeoff to all this, of course, is a much higher base price than Ford’s offering, with the Ridgeline starting at over $16,000 more than the Maverick before you add any options. Though, if you’re interested in the Maverick in large part for its hybrid powertrain and excellent projected fuel economy, you’re never going to get that from the bigger, V6-powered Ridgeline, no matter what you spend.

Though it may look very different visually, the Santa Cruz is all but certain to be the Maverick’s closest competitor based on size and pricing expectations. It’ll be four inches shorter overall — with a bed two inches shorter than that of Ford’s pickup — though Hyundai’s towing capacity is more impressive across the board. The Santa Cruz’s base engine figures to match the Maverick’s in terms of horsepower, while at the top end, the Santa Cruz will best even the Ridgeline with similar power and roughly 50 more lb-ft of torque, an impressive advantage.

Hyundai’s biggest deficit here, as far as we can tell, will be fuel economy. Without a hybrid option, the Santa Cruz and its most efficient, base powertrain is only projected to muster a combined 23 MPG — 14 MPG fewer than the Maverick.

Obviously the Colorado is quite a different truck than the Maverick. But there aren’t many compact pickups out there, so it stands to reason someone might entertain a midsize, body-on-frame workhorse like this, as an alternative to what Ford’s just introduced. The base WT trim (that stands for Work Truck) isn’t really geared toward regular consumers, so the LT crew cab, starting at a shade under $31,000 if you forgo the larger engine and 4WD, is the closest counterpart to the Maverick.

For that money, you’re getting a truck with a longer bed and more interior space, that can tow a little more, too. On the flip side, you’re once again missing out on the Maverick’s fuel economy. The Colorado also doesn’t include a safety suite on par with the previous trucks in this list as standard; that’ll set you back another $700 if you want it.

Finally, we have the new Nissan Frontier, set to arrive later this summer. Another bigger, body-on-frame truck in comparison to the Maverick, the 2022 Frontier’s real appeal lies is in its power and, to a lesser extent, its techy amenities. 

The 310 HP, 3.6-liter V6 here is actually the same as the one you’ll find in the existing Frontier, and it also contributes to a healthy maximum towing capacity and payload — more than tripling what the Maverick can pull sans towing package, and beating the Maverick with the towing package by half and then some. Don’t expect phenomenal fuel efficiency, of course, though it shouldn’t be very far off the Ridgeline or turbocharged Santa Cruz, if the existing Frontier’s numbers are any indication.

If this comparison highlights anything, it’s that you really can’t compare the Maverick to much. It’s so cheap, and supposedly so efficient in hybrid form, that there’s really nothing like it on the market that serves as a direct alternative on paper. The Ridgeline is unquestionably better equipped, with a more robust powertrain and all-wheel drive as standard, but it’s also a hell of a lot more expensive and considerably larger. The Santa Cruz looks to be closer in price, but a combined 23 MPG is a tough pill to swallow for a truck with the shortest bed of any here and one of the weakest base engines.

That puts the Maverick in the sweetest of spots, potentially with a little corner of truck world all to itself. If you’ve been patiently waiting for the triumphant return of the small truck, the future is looking very bright.

2022 Ford Maverick vs. New and Old Ford Ranger: Spec and Size Check!

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The 2022 Ford Maverick has everybody with a lick of interest in the pickup truck market sizing it up—literally. Its relatively diminutive size is as noteworthy as its low price and standard 40-mpg-city hybrid powertrain. But how much different in size it is to offerings from other brands is a key to understanding what, exactly the Maverick is. Too close to the current Ranger in major dimensions and it'd have some trouble standing apart. Luckily, there's enough white space in between the two that the Maverick has its own unique niche to fill, as you'll see in a second.

But what about the old Ranger? The last holdout among truly small body-on-frame pickups—Tacoma went midsize for 2005, the S-10 bowed out in favor of the larger Colorado for 2004, and the second-generation Frontier also grew for 2004—the compact Ranger held on until 2011.

Unlike, say, Nissan, Ford declined to tap its global, midsize Ranger as a replacement, instead gently pushing buyers into low-priced versions of its full-size (and more profitable) F-150 range. Now, ten years later and in a regulatory and consumer environment that is putting pressure on fleet emissions and economy, the compact truck is back. While it's much, much different than the Ranger, it's close enough in size to draw some interesting comparisons.

At a hair under 200 inches long overall, the Maverick is slightly smaller than the longest old Ranger and a lot shorter than the newer one. But in other major dimensions, it floats in between the two. The old Ranger came in two wheelbases (single-cab versus extended SuperCab); the crew-cab-only Maverick slots neatly in between. And with the wheels pushed out further and the short bed, you can see that compared to the new Ranger, it has more wheelbase relative to its length. It also has a wider track than even the new Ranger, giving it a hunkered-down, car-like stance.

The Maverick is taller than the old Ranger, too, a hint at the much greater spaciousness in the cabin. That's to be expected; the old Ranger was only available in single-cab or extended-cab SuperCab formats. A crew cab configuration—the sole way you can get a Maverick—wasn't an option. But in terms of roominess, it's comparable to the new Ranger, only lacking a bit in terms of front headroom.

Otherwise, it's solidly on par—comparing SuperCrew Ranger to Maverick like-to-like, the Maverick has a rear legroom and rear headroom advantage. In total, the Maverick has 100.3 cubic feet of passenger volume to the 97.6 cubes of the Ranger SuperCrew. Remember, today's Ranger also comes as an extended-cab SuperCab, with a stubbier rear seat area that isn't terribly passenger-friendly.

The Maverick's major trade-off to achieve a livable cabin with a relatively compact overall footprint is evident around back. The bed is small—just 54 inches in length, over 18 inches shorter than the 6-foot bed in the Ranger old and new. But volume is relatively healthy, closer to on par with the the old Ranger thanks to a taller bed (20.3 inches compared to just 16.5 inches). And the optional tubular bed extender, to some degree, negates the length advantage by lengthening the enclosed bed space to an effective 6 feet. Plus, the Flexbed's tailgate has a half-down position, which also helps to haul larger items.

In terms of sheer volume, the 2022 Maverick is on par with the compact Ranger, and its 1,500-pound payload rating is notably greater than the base 2011 Ranger—much closer to the highest-payload versions of the old Ranger (and, for that matter, many versions of the midsize pickups on the market today). Users that need to haul heavier but less bulky items—think bags of concrete rather than dirt bikes—might find this combination of characteristics desirable.

Where the Maverick falls a little short, and shows one limitation of its unibody construction, is in absolute towing numbers. When properly equipped, it'll tow 4,000 pounds, but the old Ranger could tow 1,860 pounds more. And the larger, stouter Ranger can handle 7,500 pounds. That said, the Maverick's base tow rating is greater than the old Ranger's.

While the new Ranger, somewhat infamously, only offers a single powertrain—a turbo 2.3-liter that produces a stout 270 hp and 310 lb-ft—both the penultimate Ranger and the new Maverick offer some choices. The Maverick's base powertrain, a hybrid-CVT combo, has no parallel, and is far and away the MPG champion, offering up to 40 mpg. But without estimated fuel economy for the more powerful turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBoost Mavericks, it's tough to draw further conclusions about how it stacks up against its forbear and larger stablemate.

One thing seems clear: the turbocharged Maverick has a favorable power-to-weight ratio. In front-drive form, each horsepower has 14.3 pounds to haul; the 168-pound penalty for AWD reduces this to 14.9. But that compares well to the lightest new Ranger, the 2WD SuperCab, which nets out at 15.6 pounds per horsepower. Meanwhile, the base 2011 Ranger single cab 2WD, for reference, nets out at 21.2 lbs/HP, while the Maverick hybrid edges slightly ahead at 19.2 lbs/HP.

Especially in AWD form, the turbocharged Maverick should be sprightly. But it remains to be seen if torque steer rears its twisty head in the EcoBoost FWD.

Spec Check: 2022 Ford Maverick vs. 2021 Honda Ridgeline

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Considering the compact 2022 Ford Maverick and midsize 2021 Honda Ridgeline pickup trucks are in two different classes, this breakdown of the specifications is not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. What these Ford and Honda trucks share in common, however, are construction methods. Rather than traditional body-on-frame construction, the Maverick and Ridgeline both rest on car-like unibody bones. We already compared the Maverick to Hyundai's Santa Cruz, and now it's the Ridgeline's turn to step into the ring.

Let's start with some basic figures. The Ford Maverick is 199.7 inches long and has a 121.1-inch wheelbase; its estimated curb weight is between 3,550 to 3,750 pounds. The Maverick's versatile FlexBed is 4.5 feet long, although it expands to 6.0 feet with the tailgate down. In contrast, the Honda Ridgeline has an overall length of 210.2 inches and rests on a 125.2-inch wheelbase. We weighed a Ridgeline Sport with the available HPD kit at 4,444 pounds. Moreover, the Ridgeline's bed measures around 5.0 feet in length, which expands to almost 7.0 feet with the tailgate down.

The Ridgeline offers 33.9 cubic feet of cargo space (not counting the 7.3 cubic feet in its lockable, under-bed storage box), whereas the Maverick sports 33.3 cubic feet. Passenger volume for the Maverick checks in at 100.3 cubic feet, while the Ridgeline offers a maximum of 109.7 cubic feet.

The Ridgeline relies on a 3.5-liter V-6 that produces 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque for motivation. All-wheel-drive is standard, as is a nine-speed automatic transmission.

The Maverick, meanwhile, is available with two powertrains. The base gasoline-electric hybrid unit relies on a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine and a pair of electric motors to push 191-hp to the front wheels. A 250-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 is available, too. The more powerful option comes standard with front-wheel drive, however, all-wheel-drive is available.

Efficiency-wise, the Ridgeline sips fuel at a rate of 18 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined, per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA's yet to release fuel economy figures for the Maverick, however, Ford estimates the compact pickup will return figures 40/33/37 mpg city/highway/combined when equipped with its hybrid powertrain. The automaker remains mum on fuel economy estimates for the turbocharged truck.

When equipped with the optional 4K Tow package, the Maverick can tow up to a maximum of 4,000 pounds. Payload capacity, meanwhile, stands at a maximum of 1,500 pounds. Avoid the tow package, and the little Ford tows a maximum of 2,000 pounds. The Ridgeline, meanwhile, offers maximum payload and towing capacities of 1,583 pounds and 5,000 pounds, respectively.

While front-drive Mavericks sport 8.3 inches of ground clearance, AWD models welcome an additional 0.3 inch of ground clearance for a total of 8.6 inches. Approach, breakover, and departure angles for the FWD Maverick are 20.6, 16.6, and 21.9 degrees for the front-drive Maverick, respectively. Adding AWD raises those figures to 21.6, 18.1, and 21.2 degrees. Honda's Ridgeline offers 7.6 inches of ground clearance, while its approach, breakover, and departure angles come in at 20.4, 19.6, and 19.6 degrees. If off-roading is key to your unibody truck purchase, the Ford seems to be the better bet—at least on paper.

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline starts at $37,665. Opt for the optional HPD appearance package and the entry-level Ridgeline Sport's price rises by $2,800. Honda's midsize pickup truck is available in three additional trim levels, too: RTL, RTL-E, and top-of-the-line Black Edition.

In Ford's corner, the 2022 Ford Maverick XL will start at just $21,490 and is available in two higher variants: XLT and Lariat, both of which are available with an optional FX4 off-road package when equipped with AWD and the turbocharged engine. The trail-ready kit includes the likes of 17-inch wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires, additional underbody protection, and more.