Free Press Truck of the Year: Ford Maverick breathes new life into small pickups
No automaker but Ford could have achieved the outsize success the little Maverick compact pickup has enjoyed from the first moment the public saw it.
Since the 1970s, automakers have tried to convince Americans to buy a truly compact pickup based on the same basic engineering as a compact car.
They failed. Miserably. The VW Rabbit pickup failed. The Chevy El Camino failed. The Dodge Rampage failed. The Subaru Brat failed. The Subaru Baja failed. Even Ford’s own Ranchero failed. Successive generations of American buyers snickered at the vehicles as too small and lacking the capability to be a “real” truck.
A pickup is nothing without authenticity. Only Ford, maker of the perennially best-selling F-150, had the credibility to bestow it, and even that seemed like a long shot before the Maverick’s persuasive design, creative features and sub-$20,000 base price wowed buyers.
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The Maverick is Ford’s entry-level vehicle, but it escaped the sense of “this was the best you could do?” that haunted small cars like the Fiesta and Focus.
The Maverick looks and feels like a well-made tool. It was designed for clever personalization and DIY features that won’t bankrupt a first-time buyer. The cabin carries five in a pinch, and is positively roomy for two people and their gear.
Maverick production is sold out for months, and Ford hasn’t even started selling the base model, a hybrid it expects to get 40 mpg in city driving.
Ford Maverick prices and trim levels
XL: $19,995
XLT: $22,280
Lariat: $25,490
Second place: Rivian R1T
Electric pickup
The Rivian R1T is the first purpose-built electric pickup to hit the market, months ahead of the Ford F-150 Lightning, and with more than a year’s head start on the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV and Tesla Cybertruck.
That alone would put R1T in the history books, but Rivian’s first vehicle is much more than a historical curiosity. It’s a legitimate luxury pickup, with electronically controlled all-wheel drive supplied by four motors — one at each wheel — an innovative cross-vehicle storage compartment between the cabin and its short bed, and more.
Unlike the Lightning, which Ford is furiously pitching to commercial customers, the R1T makes no pretense about being a work vehicle. It’s closer in size to a midsize Ford Ranger or Honda Ridgeline pickup, and the automaker talks more in terms of luxury camping — you can put a pullout kitchen in the cross car compartment — than a candidate for utility and landscaping fleets.
The R1T demonstrated power and solidity in a short test drive. There wasn’t a squeak or rattle over washboard roads and all the basic functions — steering, braking, climate control, navigation — worked fine.
The EPA rates the R1T’s range at 314 miles and charging time at 13 hours with 240 volts.
The R1T launch edition costs $73,000. Less expensive models go on sale in 2022, when a luxury SUV called the R1S should join the lineup.
Rivian R1T prices and trim levels
Launch Edition: $73,000. Available now. Sold out
Adventure: $73,000. Available January 2022
Explore: $67,500. Available January 2022
Third place: Hyundai Santa Cruz
Compact pickup
About the same size as the Ford Maverick, the sleek Santa Cruz offers an alternative profileto the increasingly anonymous SUVscrowding the roads. It’s priced just below hot-selling SUVs like the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai’s own Tucson, which is nearly identical to the Santa Cruz from the front bumper to the back of the passenger cab.
Parked next to the conventionally styled Maverick, the sporty Santa Cruz looks like an artist’s rendering of cars in the future. It’s also practical, though, with plenty of room for five passengers and 5,000-pound towing capacity.
Available safety features include adaptive cruise control with navigation-based curve control; automatic high beams; front collision and pedestrian detection and automatic braking; rear cross traffic detection and braking; blind spot alert and assist; lane keeping alert and assist; lane centering; driver attention alert and rear occupant alert.
The little pickup also may be the best-handling car the Hyundai brand sells. Sharp steering and a sporty suspension complement a chassis stiffened by the cabin’s rear wall to deliver responsive handling and impressive road holding.
The Santa Cruz’s shorter bed and higher price target buyers ready for a little pickup that costs a bit more and works a bit less than the Maverick. The striking and sporty little truck deserves to find a loyal following.
Hyundai Santa Cruz prices and trim levels
SE FWD: $23,990
SEL FWD: $27,190
SE AWD: $25,490
SEL AWD: $28,690
SEL Premium: AWD $35,680
Limited AWD: $39,720
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford Maverick’s value and innovation breathe new life into small trucks
