Ford's baby ute to get Transit powertrain and manual gearbox?

Thursday, 30 July 2020

Some fresh details regarding Ford’s rumoured small ute have emerged online and it’s looking good.

On the Maverick Chat forum, a person claiming to work for a supplier has released a bevy of alleged details about the little truck, including what engines and transmissions it might have as well as how big the tray will be.

According to the user, the Maverick will come with a tray around 60cm shorter than a Ranger, 'depending on configuration.' That puts it at roughly 1200mm, give or take. It’ll only come in the double cab shape too.

This is a Ranger – obviously – but note the tray size. Apparently the Maverick will get one around 60cm shorter.

Interestingly, while previous rumours suggested the small ute would be based on the Bronco Sport and therefore fit into the Bronco family, this new source reckons the Maverick will actually be a standalone model and be a bit of a parts-bin special.

**READ MORE:

We don’t get the Transit Connect here, but we do get this – the Transit Custom Sport. It has stripes, which means it’s very sporty.

* Five Things: cars we don't get here, but wish we did

* Ford unleashes reborn Bronco

* Five Things: five reasons the original Ford Transit is a legend

* Upcoming small Ford ute to be called 'Maverick'?

It’s all but confirmed that the ute will run on the Focus platform, but instead of directly lifting the Focus drivetrain Ford might instead use mechanical components from the Transit Connect, another Focus-based light commercial vehicle.

The Maverick could then come with a 121kW 2.0-litre petrol engine paired with an eight-speed automatic or, with any luck, either a six-speed or a five-speed manual. Those looking for more power might do well to hold out for the inclusion of Ford’s 134kW 1.5-litre turbo triple, said to happen later in the Maverick’s life.

The Focus’ C2 platform also supports electrification, as seen in plug-in hybrid variants of the Escape, which means a ute on this platform could also come with a hybrid powertrain. Based on that logic, Ford could give the sub-Ranger truck all-wheel drive as well.

According to the mystery forum poster, Ford wants to build 100,000 Mavericks in its first year, and we should see the small ute next year sometime before sales start in 2022.