The 2022 Ford Maverick offers a world of comfort and convenience relative to its ancestors, but doesn’t skimp on utility, either. Those old trucks were meant for working and doubling as a low-cost commuter vehicle, not coddling their occupants.

The new breed of compact pickups is philosophically closer to the latter, but 1980s-era mini-truckers would not recognize them on the inside. 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.

Auto enthusiast boomers will recall, perhaps at length, that tiny trucks were wildly popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Ford Maverick: A Far Cry from Classic Compact PickupsĬompact pickups aren’t a new idea, but automakers grew out of them around the millennium. The Maverick’s interior doesn’t look like a truck, but it’s also meant to have broader appeal than conventional pickups. That’s about where the larger base-model Honda Ridgeline starts. An almost fully optioned Ford Maverick runs $37,055 to buy or a 39-month lease of about $400 with 10% down.

That’s almost $1,500 less than a base-model 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. 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 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. That might be anathema to some traditional truck fans, but consumers have expressed an undeniable preference for this type of vehicle. In the same vein as the Honda Ridgeline, they’re unibody machines that drive like crossovers. In both cases, the Maverick, 199.7 inches long, and the Santa Cruz, 195.7 inches long, are closer to crossovers than traditional pickups. 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. Late 2021 also marked the arrival of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, a machine of similar dimensions with similar aims. 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. Best of all, its low price makes it a viable alternative to vehicles in many other segments. The 2022 Ford Maverick earns Forbes Wheels’ Car of the Year by blending crossover-like dynamics and economy with pickup style and utility. Trucks have steadily grown in size and price for decades, but this year sees the revival of a long dormant segment: compact pickups. 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. SUVs and trucks will make up more than three-quarters of new vehicles sold in the U.S. The Ford Maverick is Forbes Wheels’ 2022 Car of the Year.

2022 ford maverick pickup truck