The symptoms are proper there in entrance of you: the 2022 Ford Maverick compact pickup has some latent overall performance potential. With its obtainable turbocharged 2.-liter “EcoBoost” motor and optional all-wheel-drive, the minimal Maverick must already be a sound performer. Credit the actuality the 250 hp 4-pot only has to transfer all over 3,700 pounds of truck. But there are spicier powertrain alternatives that, in principle, can discover a household under the Maverick’s hood, and that influenced us to think about what a Maverick ST may glance like.
Let us deal with the plausible tangibles just before we get into our speculative Maverick ST. The unibody Maverick rides on the C2 platform, which it shares with the Bronco Sport, the Escape, the European-market Emphasis, and—most importantly—the Lincoln Corsair. The small Lincoln SUV delivers the Blue Oval’s little-bore efficiency engine below its hood: a turbocharged 2.3-liter I-4 that generates 280 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque.
But the Corsair is just evidence the 2.3-liter functions with the C2 platform. This engine arrives in a wide range of tunes (and various longitudinal applications), creating as much as 345 hp in the departed Ford Emphasis RS and as minor as 269 ponies in the Ranger.
Let us say, for the sake of argument, Ford goes the conservative route and offers our hypothetical Maverick ST a variant of the 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine that generates 280 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. These kinds of performance would represent a 30-hp and 33 lb-ft bump around the 2.-liter device Ford plans to present in the Maverick out of the gate. These figures would also be about on par with people of the European-sector Focus ST.
But the Emphasis ST may be able to lend some dealing with and functionality components to the Maverick ST (recall the FWD Maverick by now added benefits from the Euro-sector Fiesta ST’s nifty “Pressure Vectoring Spring” layout). Maybe the Focus ST’s electronic restricted-slip differential could aid a front-generate Maverick ST place down some electric power? The warm hatch’s enjoyable anti-lag system in Activity and Track travel modes could provide an additional bit of thrill.
Furthermore, the time has arrived for a genuinely road-focused efficiency truck. The Maverick already embodies the type of intelligent compromises that let it to be an entry-stage compact sedan alternative, especially in its gas-sipping gasoline-electric hybrid variety. Its stiff, lightweight unibody style and design means it would not go through the excess weight and rigidity compromises that ended up inherent in its spiritual ancestor, the compact Ranger of yore.
The very little Maverick also appears great decreased on dark general performance wheels, with a darkish grille and the crimson pop of Ford’s ST badge. The lip on the top rated of the tailgate, unchanged in our render, even vaguely indicates a decklid spoiler.
Other smaller vehicles have tried out to pull this components off. The GMC Syclone, a cousin to the Typhoon SUV, stunned the institution and overshadowed its contemporary whole-dimensions activity truck competition with its sheer audacity. But it was also expensive, and certainly not mainstream. The old Toyota Tacoma X-Runner was less ambitious, with its truckish 4.-liter V-6 engine but still spectacular highway-holding capability. The fact it is not around any more tells you what you need to have to know about how prospective buyers responded to the formula.
The Maverick ST appears, to us, a extra plausible presenting. The correct powertrain matches in the application, it really is presently cribbing overall performance elements from the firm’s overseas hatchbacks, and the Explorer ST and Edge ST will need some companionship in the brand’s lineup. A decrease-cost, enjoyable-to-push Maverick that pairs respectable avenue efficiency with unbeatable utility may possibly be just what Ford requirements to raise the Maverick’s profile.
