The Blue Oval’s compact pickup looks surprisingly rugged and square-jawed.

A single image of a 2022 Ford Maverick pickup has allegedly leaked from inside the company’s assembly plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. First appearing on the forum Maverick Truck Club, the image betrays a lone compact truck without doors, rolling down an assembly line wrapped in vinyl camouflage. It’s all but certain this is the rumored Maverick pickup, which is reportedly based on the Bronco Sport small SUV.

Whenever we hear the words “unibody pickup,” our minds usually go to the slightly frumpy Honda Ridgeline or the weird and wacky Subaru BRAT, but the Maverick (if that is indeed what we’re looking at here) looks much more conventional. A tall, wide front grille features a center bar that bears the Ford logo, dovetailing nicely into turn signals that nestle inside C-shaped headlights. As such, the Maverick should fit in nicely with other members of the Ford truck family, including the tech-centric 2021 F-150.

Gallery: Ford Maverick Spy Photos

Unlike either the Ranger or the F-Series, the Maverick wears a plastic front bumper cover, which does it some disservice in the “rugged styling” department. It also appears to be a true unibody, with the passenger cabin and cargo bed tied together with a single sheet metal stamping. Wide wheel arches, smallish wheels, and fat tire sidewalls promise some ruggedness, and our experiences with the trail-ready Bronco Sport suggest the Maverick can keep those promises.

Of course, this lone, grainy image is far from official, but it does suggest that Ford is inching closer to confirming the Maverick rumor via an actual reveal. If (when) that happens, the Maverick should come standard with the same turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-three as the Bronco Sport, offering a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo as an option. The former should be adequate for outdoorsy folks who need to lug a mountain bike or some camping gear on the weekends, while the latter would be better for those who intend to do some light off-roading or fill the bed up with dense gardening equipment.

We think we should see the 2022 Ford Maverick in full sometime this spring, with consumer deliveries beginning by the end of the year.

Source:

Maverick Truck Club

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