2022 FORD MAVERICK PICKUP TRUCK IS JUST A LITTLE LONGER THAN A MUSTANG

The 2022 Ford Maverick is shaping up to be one of the worst kept secrets of the year, as we all know Ford is breaking ground with an affordable, compact pickup. It’s a segment that exists elsewhere in the world, with vehicles like the Fiat Strada/Ram 700 popular in other markets. But in the United States, body on frame pickups have grown in size and price to the point of mid size pickups now being as large and expensive as some full size pickups from the early 2000s. This leaves a unibody Ford Maverick sized gap in the market, and thanks to some photos by the Maverick Chat forum, we know that gap is about as large as a Ford Mustang muscle car.

The photos can be observed here.

The photos show a Ford Maverick prototype behind a euro spec Mustang coupe, and the two vehicles are near enough the same length. With a Mustang coming in at 188.5 inches, expect the Maverick to measure around 5-10 inches longer than the iconic pony car. For comparison, a 2021 Ford Ranger SuperCrew is 210.8 inches long. We estimate the Maverick’s length will fall somewhere between 190 and 195 inches. It will also sit much lower than the Ranger, due to is compact, unibody architecture shared in part with the Ford Bronco Sport. The new SUV is much shorter, at 172 inches, but if you add a bed to the back, the size seems pretty spot on.

While the Ford Maverick will be noticeably smaller than the Ranger, it’s worth remembering the current Mustang is not a small car. A Mustang Mach-E is two inches smaller.

While the Mustang conceals much of the Maverick pickup, we will get a glimpse of the C shaped headlights we’ve seen in other leaked models, confirming this is the final design of the truck. It’s also interesting to see the hood of the Maverick isn’t all that much higher than that of the Mustang, but the roofline is obviously much taller.

The 2022 Ford Maverick will enter the US market as the only compact pickup available, until Hyundai Santa Cruz truck enters the fray with an even smaller bed. The anticipated Ram Dakota pickup truck could also take a similar shape, as well.

Expect the Maverick to come standard with front drive, but have an optional system similar to what we see in the aforementioned Ford Bronco Sport. This could even mean we get an off-road version of the Maverick with a setup like the Bronco Sport Badlands. But really, the Maverick is intended to be the perfect truck for fleet sales in base level, or budget conscious buyers who want something smaller and cheaper than the Ranger with mid-level specs.