What does your daily commute look like? Do you navigate rush-hour traffic while listening to the radio or your favorite podcast, do you stop by the local coffee shop for a quick breakfast and a cup of your favorite brew, or do you make the drive without interruption? Now that you’re thinking about your commute, imagine making that same drive in the all-new Ford Maverick, the first standard hybrid truck in America that you’ll soon see at your local Ford Maverick dealer.
What does the 2022 Maverick have to do with your commute? According to Ford, everything. As the most fuel-efficient truck on the road, the Maverick is the ultimate commuter truck. Its performance, efficiency, and capability are top-notch, while its interior comforts, conveniences, and technology are designed to make your commute more comfortable mile after mile by shifting the focus from what’s under the hood to your position in the driver’s seat. Here’s how the Maverick can make your commute more comfortable and more efficient than you ever could imagine.
Power Options: Hybrid and Gas
The 2022 Maverick is marketed as the first standard full-hybrid truck in America and, while that’s true, you also have the option to exchange the hybrid powertrain for a traditional, gas-powered engine. This option makes the Maverick more appealing to a wider demographic of drivers and means that you can customize the truck to fit your needs. How do the powertrains compare?
The Maverick’s 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder hybrid powertrain is designed for commuting because of its focus on efficiency and responsiveness. Paired with an electric motor, the hybrid engine delivers 191 horsepower and 155 lb-ft of instant torque. This is plenty of power for your commute and gives the truck a towing capability of up to 2,000 pounds, which makes the Maverick a dual-purpose truck that can easily handle rush-hour traffic and tow a small trailer when needed. Think of the Maverick with a hybrid powertrain like an SUV with a fully functional truck bed.
The Maverick’s hybrid powertrain and capability aren’t mutually exclusive with efficiency, which is where the Maverick truly shines. The hybrid engine averages an estimated 40 MPG in the city and offers a 500-mile range on a single tank of fuel, which means you’ll save even more at the gas station with fewer stops to refuel. This makes the Maverick an outstanding commuter vehicle, whether your commute is five miles or 50 miles.
For purists who believe a “Built Ford Tough” truck should run solely on gasoline and offer more capability, the Maverick can easily fit that bill thanks to the available 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine that’s paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Ford’s tried and true EcoBoost continues to impress and boosts the Maverick’s power and capability to 250 horsepower, 277 lb-ft of torque, and a 4,000-pound towing capability. The EcoBoost packs an even bigger punch and gives you more power whether you’re commuting to work or towing the family’s boat to the lake for the weekend.
Design: Form Follows Function
How will the Maverick make your commute more comfortable and efficient? The truck’s entire focus is on form, function, and practicality. The truck is designed to work with you to make your commute, life, and work easier. Ford realizes that drivers accumulate a lot of stuff as they commute to and from work, and that stuff can quickly pile up. To remedy this, the Maverick’s versatile interior offers convenient storage solutions and an integrated tether system in the rear that allows you to customize the truck to your needs, whether you need an extra cup holder for another cup of coffee, a trash bin, cord organization, or a hook to hold your laptop bag. The Maverick has a solution for all your gear that keeps everything neatly stored and always within reach.
What if your commute is outside of the norm and your job requires you to haul heavy equipment from one job site to another? The Maverick is a great option because of its unique FLEXBED that optimizes the functionality of the bed. The FLEXBED gives you the freedom to configure the bed to your needs, whether that means using the slots in the side of the bed to add storage and rack systems or utilizing the tie-downs and D-rings to secure bulkier items and equipment. The bed even features a 110-volt outlet that can power small tools, laptops, and phones, which adds another layer of functionality to the Maverick.
Technology
With the Maverick offering two very distinct types of power and a versatile design that extends from its interior to its multifunction truck bed, there’s one other category that makes the Maverick the ultimate commuter truck: technology. Regardless of your routine when you drive to work, technology is always at play, from the safety features working behind the scenes to minimize the potential for a collision, to the instrument cluster and center display that shows your speed and the time. The Maverick improves upon this technology to keep you connected and focused on the road.
Whether you listen to talk radio or hair bands from the ‘80s on your commute, you can do either with ease, thanks to the standard 8.0-inch touchscreen display that’s home to Ford’s SYNC infotainment system and offers smartphone integration via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Through FordPass Connect, you can make use of the 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot that allows you to connect ten devices, which means the Maverick turns into a mobile office wherever you are. You can also use the same FordPass Connect app to start or stop the engine, lock and unlock the doors, check your fuel level, and locate the truck. The idea of getting your truck started without leaving the house in the winter months is truly spectacular and is a great way to start your commute.
The Maverick’s technology extends even further to active safety features that serve as an extra pair of eyes when you’re on the road. The Maverick’s Ford Co-Pilot360 suite is constantly looking out for your safety and minimizing the potential for collision. The suite includes Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking that can bring the truck to an emergency stop if a collision is imminent, which can be crucial in rush-hour traffic when pile-ups can happen in an instant.
The Maverick Breaks the Mold
Until recently, commuter vehicles were linked to fuel-efficient sedans with minimal luxuries and limited technology. They were simply the most practical and base-level vehicles to reliably get you from Point A to Point B during the workweek. However, the 2022 Ford Maverick is changing that entirely by proving a “Built Ford Tough” truck can give you the best of both worlds: the practicality of a daily driver and the capability of a Ford workhorse.
The Maverick is breaking the mold of what it means to be a commuter vehicle, which is fitting considering that its name describes someone who doesn’t play by the rules and is considered unorthodox by modern standards. It’s the Maverick’s unorthodoxy that makes it the ultimate commuter truck because it’s efficient yet capable, stylish yet functional. It’s everything you never knew you wanted or needed in a commuter vehicle until now.
