Photo: Ford / edited
Once a compact passenger car based on the Falcon’s platform, the Maverick was resurrected by Ford in the form of a compact pickup truck. Ever since the order books went live, the unibody workhorse sold very well.
The Dearborn-based automaker moved no fewer than 21,478 units in the first quarter of the year in the United States of America, making the Maverick the best-selling compact pickup out there. In second place, Hyundai couldn’t do better than 9,307 copies of the Santa Cruz.
Honda deserves a mention as well, for its Ridgeline pickup is a unibody with Pilot underpinnings. The mid-size truck recorded 12,918 registrations in the first three months of the year, which slots it between the Maverick and Santa Cruz as far as unibody trucks are concerned.
Manufactured in Mexico, the Maverick improved its Q1 2023 sales volume by 11.6 percent compared to Q1 2022 despite ongoing challenges in the supply chain. Present constraints include the trailer tow hitch, splash guards, trifold bed cover, and the load box bed liner. Santa Cruz also improved by 11 percent, whereas the Ridgeline posted a scarcely believable 40.6 percent improvement.
Originally priced at $19,995 sans destination charge, the most basic specification of the Maverick is now $22,595, as per the build & price tool. Still the most affordable new Ford and new pickup truck in the United States, the Escape-based Maverick soldiers on with hybrid and turbo powertrains. The former is an FWD-only affair, whereas the 2.0-liter turbo from the Bronco Sport Badlands can be configured with either FWD or AWD.
Going for all-wheel drive gets you independent rear suspension, and going for the Tremor specification elevates the all-wheel-drive system to the dual-clutch rear drive unit of the Bronco Sport Badlands. The main and only true in-segment competitor is the Santa Cruz, which carries a sticker price of $25,700 at press time.
More of a crossover than a truck, the Santa Cruz is manufactured in the United States at HMMA in Montgomery, Alabama. Twinned with the Tucson, the Santa Cruz is offered with either a naturally-aspirated 2.5 or a turbocharged variant of the four-cylinder mill.
The former is connected to a torque-converter automatic, as opposed to the eCVT of the Maverick hybrid. The latter is rocking a dual-clutch transmission, whereas the Maverick turbo levels up to a torque-converter tranny.
Honda’s only pickup is manufactured in Alabama as well, alongside the likes of the Pilot, Passport, and Odyssey. The most expensive truck of the three is $38,800 right off the bat, although it does come with a six-cylinder powerplant and i-VTM4 AWD as standard.
More expensive than equivalent body-on-frame trucks, the Ridgeline also sweetens the deal with a lockable in-bed trunk, a dual-action tailgate, and an integrated trailer hitch. A ground-up redesign could be in the offing for 2025, although Honda hasn’t confirmed this hearsay.
Honda deserves a mention as well, for its Ridgeline pickup is a unibody with Pilot underpinnings. The mid-size truck recorded 12,918 registrations in the first three months of the year, which slots it between the Maverick and Santa Cruz as far as unibody trucks are concerned.
Manufactured in Mexico, the Maverick improved its Q1 2023 sales volume by 11.6 percent compared to Q1 2022 despite ongoing challenges in the supply chain. Present constraints include the trailer tow hitch, splash guards, trifold bed cover, and the load box bed liner. Santa Cruz also improved by 11 percent, whereas the Ridgeline posted a scarcely believable 40.6 percent improvement.
Originally priced at $19,995 sans destination charge, the most basic specification of the Maverick is now $22,595, as per the build & price tool. Still the most affordable new Ford and new pickup truck in the United States, the Escape-based Maverick soldiers on with hybrid and turbo powertrains. The former is an FWD-only affair, whereas the 2.0-liter turbo from the Bronco Sport Badlands can be configured with either FWD or AWD.
Going for all-wheel drive gets you independent rear suspension, and going for the Tremor specification elevates the all-wheel-drive system to the dual-clutch rear drive unit of the Bronco Sport Badlands. The main and only true in-segment competitor is the Santa Cruz, which carries a sticker price of $25,700 at press time.
More of a crossover than a truck, the Santa Cruz is manufactured in the United States at HMMA in Montgomery, Alabama. Twinned with the Tucson, the Santa Cruz is offered with either a naturally-aspirated 2.5 or a turbocharged variant of the four-cylinder mill.
The former is connected to a torque-converter automatic, as opposed to the eCVT of the Maverick hybrid. The latter is rocking a dual-clutch transmission, whereas the Maverick turbo levels up to a torque-converter tranny.
Honda’s only pickup is manufactured in Alabama as well, alongside the likes of the Pilot, Passport, and Odyssey. The most expensive truck of the three is $38,800 right off the bat, although it does come with a six-cylinder powerplant and i-VTM4 AWD as standard.
More expensive than equivalent body-on-frame trucks, the Ridgeline also sweetens the deal with a lockable in-bed trunk, a dual-action tailgate, and an integrated trailer hitch. A ground-up redesign could be in the offing for 2025, although Honda hasn’t confirmed this hearsay.
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