With an overwhelming response for your bite-sized unibody pickup truck comes great franchise responsibility. At least according to Ford’s CEO Jim Farley, who recently hinted the 2022 Maverick might become a new sub-brand with more (affordable) models.
48 photosThe interesting franchise idea came up during a recent interview with the head honcho of Detroit’s Blue Oval. And it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if it actually pans out. Not since Ford can’t keep up with demand for its affordable unibody compact pickup truck and the reinvented sixth-generation Bronco has already been derived, officially, into a proper sub-brand. Still, we feel the good folks over at Kolesa probably haven’t intercepted this idea midflight and decided to present the most logical expansion solution – a Maverick SUV. Instead, this plays the traditional virtual artist trope where something that is being derived from a popular model gets back to its roots and tries to come up with a better interpretation of the original recipe. Also, in Russia, the Maverick nameplate was used on a well-known crossover not so long ago… This could be the same case here with the new Maverick SUV. Especially when considering the real-world pickup truck is already based on the unibody architecture of Ford’s Escape (Kuga in Europe) and Bronco Sport. Only that everyone probably feels there’s ample room for true SUV improvement since the latter two are traditional crossover vehicles. Meanwhile, a Maverick SUV would be even more affordable, given the under $20k hybrid truck.
As well as a tad more practical, judging by the ample trunk space imagined by the resident pixel master Nikita Chuiko (who also has a cool kelsonik alias on social media). Interesting depiction on behalf of the CGI expert, as we feel he also used some Explorer DNA in the process. Meanwhile, if a small Maverick SUV does pan out, we feel the best location in the lineup for it would be to replace the odd-looking and thoroughly aging EcoSport.
Keyword: Ford Maverick Digitally Returns to SUV Roots, Looks Practical and Off-Road Ready