Four doors only: Ford Maverick tipped not to have single cab bodystyle

Spied earlier this week in its barest possible form, a follow-up report from the United States has alleged that the Ford Maverick could be bucking the small bakkie trend in being offered only as a double cab when it debuts next year.

Rendered and spotted in disguised pre-production form with four doors only, the Ford Authority online forum claims that the Blue Oval won’t be offering the Maverick as a conventional single cab with two doors due to alleged buyer demand favouring double cabs. Currently, single cab pick-ups in the States are restricted to the F-150 and F-series Super Duty ranges as the entry-level bodystyle on the Ranger is the Super Cab.

Poised to be more in-line with the South Africa-bound double cab only Renault Duster Oroch rather than the Fiat Strada/Ram 700 and the aged first generation Dacia/Renault Logan derived Nissan NP200, the Maverick, which if approved for the local market will serve as the spiritual successor to the Bantam, will ride on the same C2 platform as the Focus and Bronco Sport and derive power from the normally aspirated 2.0-litre engine that does duty in the North American-spec Transit Connect.

Also mentioned are the EcoBoost units with the latest report suggesting not only the 2.0-litre unit from the Bronco Sport, but also the 1.5-litre three-cylinder unit from the European-spec Focus. Although rumoured to get a manual gearbox, current predictions point to an eight-speed automatic only with drive going to the front wheels in spite of an all-wheel-drive configuration being mentioned as well.

As evident by the mentioned bare metal images, the Maverick’s rear facia will draw heavily from the Ranger, but with overall styling set to be taken from the Bronco Sport. In addition to the same platform, the Maverick will also be built at the Hermosillo Plant in Mexico with motor1.com predicting a starting price of around $20 000 (R299 686).

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