Ed Snitkoff is now working at the Ford Authority, where they have some spy shots of the upcoming Bronco Sport-based unibody pickup, the Maverick, wearing a bit of disguise. But looking at this shot next to a Ranger, I’m a bit stumped. It’s almost exactly the same size, except lower. I assumed it would be a whole notch smaller. So what’s the point?
They previously overlaid a Bronco Sport over the Maverick to confirm that it’s essentially the same vehicle up front. And don’t let the fake rear side door cover mislead you; it’s not really any longer than the Bronco’s on the inside. But I’ve measured the first shot of both vehicles very carefully, and it’s quite clear that the Ranger is only longer by maybe a couple of inches. The wheelbases are also almost identical. The bed is the same length, and the interior will probably be every bit as roomy, if not more so, thanks the to Maverick’s unibody construction. The Maverick will be FWD or AWD, with the same drivetrain as the Bronco Sport.
Is there a market for a lower but still quite long pickup these days? I would have said no. But what do I know? I’m not a Ford “Whiz Kid”.
Maybe it’s a massI’ve head-fake and that’s the new Flex.
Ha! I had the same thought. 🙂
But one can see quite clearly where the cab ends and pickup bed cover begins.
As a Flex owner, that was my immediate thought, as well.
Maybe they’ll end up putting a whole back end on it and reprise the WagonMaster moniker. No more sedans/cars, but all unibody wagons!
This IS odd, while I haven’t really paid a whole lot of attention to this new Ford mini-truck thing, I kind of assumed it would be analogous to the little RAM 700 rather than more or less the same size as the Ranger. The Ranger already looks a little narrow as compared to its length and any narrower will perhaps look really odd…like a Ferret! (which would be a good name too.)
I think it’s supposed to be built in Mexico which might make it a bit (just a bit) cheaper than the Ranger but same size? Won’t they just cannibalize each other?
It’s the 2021 Country Squire! With woody panels and dual side-facing seats. Folks are having so many more kids these days…
Black Vinyl Leatherette is the new Di-Noc Wood Paneling! Once good for the inside, now it’ll be outside as well! Available in smooth as well as slightly baggy ruched finish for the more discerning buyer…
Don’t forget to add the Magic Doorgate.
I heard few things about it, but surprisingly even for employees with internal network access, it’s still common to use Google for program code look up… Maybe it is time for another look up!
If they price it right I’m sure there will be a decent market. Midsize truck market seems to be mostly held back by the price, I can get a new F150 in my area cheaper than most Rangers on the dealers lot. Never understood that. 90 percent of the people driving trucks nowadays are only hauling sunshine anyways.
What’s the actual difference in manufacturing cost between F150 and Ranger? Some Ranger parts are smaller but it has nearly the same number. And Ranger fixed costs are covered by a much smaller sales number.
Ford would LOVE to transact F150s at 1000s more than Rangers. But the full-size truck market doesn’t allow that.
From what little I have heard the Maverick was supposed to be slightly smaller than the Ranger. Now I’m having my doubts.
It doesn’t make sense to have another PU sized close to the Ranger. There should be a market for a compact pickup, like the Courier way back when.
This is a compact. It’s just that, like everything else, the size of what we might call a “compact” vehicle has increased over time. A regular cab/6′ bed Courier that’s only about 63″ wide, for example, would not be as practical today.
Maybe Ford use the Maverick as a package model like how the Ranger and Explorer nameplates beginned as trim levels of the F-100/F-150.
I think it may be part of the disguising it. It may also be due to the fact that these test mules were cobbled together with some Transit Connect pieces. The spy shots previously posted at Ford Authority of the rear suspension show a twist beam, not an IRS as used in the Escape and Bronco Sport.
The problem is if you do 4drs you can only make the overall length so short and still have a decent bed length and interior room. You can shave a little off the front with the transverse power train. For the bed the Ranger Crew is 5′ and I can’t see going less than 4′.
The other thing is there are some people who complain about the height of the current mid sizers so maybe there is a market for a lower, oh so slightly shorter truck.
Since this will share so may parts with the Escape and Bronco Sport the additional development and tooling costs were probably pretty low and since it can be built on the same assembly line as the other two it means it won’t need a lot of volume to be profitable.
I dunno about the length, but the “D pillar’ on the disguise wrap pays homage to one of the IH Scout 2 roofline variants.
Ford is putting these truck test mules out there to totally disguise the fact that the new. Crown Vic/Grand Marquis rwd/v8 test mules are elsewhere being tested for development.
Source on that? Or are you just making a joke?
There is always a market for a smaller pickup. The manufacturers all kept making them bigger forcing people to either buy old, import one, or build a custom rig from a car (usually wagons) or SUV.
I’m a truck guy and yes I need a truck for towing but I also need the little truck that gets 30mpg if all I need is a tool box in the back. And I have just a tool box in the back a lot more than I tow.
I hadn’t thought about it before…. Maverick is an appropriate name for a pickup. It was never an appropiate name for a strictly ordinary compact with LESS room and comfort than other compacts. Maverick drivers felt more “fenced in” than Nova or Valiant drivers.
$20,000, a back seat I can put car seats in with a 4 foot bed I can transport parts, move some dirt or gravel, tow a ton or so, and get 30 MPG? Sounds like a salespersons or contractor’s dream.
I know, right? And yet so many comments pop up about a 4′ bed being “useless” or “not a real pickup.” It’s the same 4′ bed as the old Sport Trac.
Somewhere there is a pic looking head on and it looked a fair bit narrower and shorter then the Ranger. But as mentioned length is tricky with crew cabs. Think about how long even the old Subaru Baja was.
Right–the Baja was a good 6″ longer in the rear than the Legacy/Outback wagon on which it was based. Compact vehicles aren’t as narrow as they once were (IIRC the new Bronco Sport and Escape are 74″ wide), but it’s still narrower and lower than the mid-size Ranger.