A photograph purportedly showing the new Ford Maverick on the production line has hit the internet, giving us our best look yet at the sub-Ranger bakkie.
Posted on the Maverick Truck Club forum, the image seemingly shows the Maverick on the production line at the Blue Oval brand’s Hermosillo factory in Mexico.
The lightly camouflaged double-cab bakkie is shown sans doors, but we do get a good look at its headlamps and grille. Interestingly, the front-end design is similar to that earmarked for the next-generation Ranger (according to a leak that dates back to February 2019), complete with C-shaped headlamps.
The new Maverick is likely to be fully revealed towards the middle of 2021, with no plans for a single-cab (Bantam-style) body style. It is expected to share its underpinnings with the Bronco Sport, which means the new bakkie will be unibody rather than ladder-frame in construction.
Furthermore, the Maverick is likely to be offered in North America with the same engines as the aforementioned Bronco Sport: a turbocharged 2,0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine (with 183 kW and 373 N.m) and a turbocharged 1,5-litre EcoBoost petrol unit (offering 135 kW and 258 N.m).
So, do we expect the new Maverick to be available here in South Africa? Well, that’s not yet clear, although the fact there are no immediate plans to build the new Bronco and Bronco Sport (the bakkie is set to be built alongside the latter) in right-hand-drive form doesn’t bode particularly well…
