A refreshed Ford Maverick was caught testing by spy photographers in Dearborn this week, giving us our first glimpse at what Ford has in retailer for the primary spherical of updates to its Escape-based trucklet. Contemplating how standard the Maverick is, it is fairly apparent that Ford would not must fiddle an excessive amount of with its current components, however even good automobiles want tech enhancements, and that seems to be the main target (small F) of Ford’s efforts for its child pickup.
We’re taking a look at three totally different vehicles right here, to stem any potential confusion. The outside bits we might anticipate to be revised with a mid-cycle refresh are appropriately disguised on all three of them. Not all the coated elements are equally prone to be altered — typically the usage of camo itself is a misdirect — however new entrance/rear bumpers and lighting components are probably.
The silver truck seems to be a well-optioned avenue mannequin (a Lariat, almost certainly) with a correspondingly strong inside package deal. You’ll be able to see it right here (under left) subsequent to a 2024 Maverick Tremor (proper), which can also be primarily based on the Lariat. Fairly a little bit of the prototype inside is hidden by camo, however we are able to clearly see that the brand new display fills the house the place the cubby as soon as was atop the middle stack. The wheel and controls seem unchanged.
The opposite two prototypes look like an off-road trim (maybe the refreshed Tremor; under left) and a take a look at mule for superior security and/or autonomous driving tech (under proper). The previous is rocking a brand new set of Goodyear Territory RT tires (the 2024 Tremor wears Falken Wildpeaks), suggesting both a change in tire provider or maybe a brand new (and/or upgraded) off-road trim within the works. We might sooner suspect the previous than the latter.
The teched-up mule is equally mysterious. Understand that Ford might be utilizing this prototype as a testbed for absolutely anything (together with initiatives utterly unrelated to the Maverick itself), however contemplating how robustly this prototype has been up-fitted with numerous digital gizmos, two issues appear believable. One is that this can be a mule for Blue Cruise. Ford already packages Blue Cruise in CUVs constructed on this platform, so its inclusion on Maverick will not be out of the query, nonetheless, even with a price ticket approaching $40,000 loaded up, the little pickup appears an unlikely candidate for premium semi-self-driving tech.
The opposite probably clarification is that we’re trying on the early construct of a brand new digicam/blind spot system designed for towing. These beefy sensors on the corners look like for radar or lidar, and the door-mounted cameras are pointed in the identical course, suggesting they’re for monitoring or redundancy. This appears to be like an terrible lot just like the setup Ford simply carried out on the up to date Tremendous Responsibility. Because it’s designed to assist make towing much less intimidating, it will be a stable candidate for inclusion on a “beginner” truck just like the Maverick, however given its restricted towing capability, the practicality would probably be restricted.
We’re calling this a probable 2025 mannequin given the extent of polish we see right here, however that timing is way from assured. We hope to be taught extra quickly. Keep tuned.
