By now you’ve heard about Ford’s compact Maverick pickup truck coming in 2022. It will be slotted below the Ranger; kind of like 1970s minitrucks. Except it won’t be proportioned the same. Or, from what we can tell, it also won’t be as practical either. In fact, the bed is supposed to be shorter than on the old Ford Sport Trac. Remember that Explorer deviation? So we pose the question; does Ford think you need a tiny truck bed for its upcoming Maverick?

This new Maverick truck will be a variation of the Bronco Sport. That’s the smaller crossover Bronco. We know it will share a lot of Bronco Sport bits including the front sheetmetal. According to Autoblog, whoever nabbed and then posted the Maverick tailgate floating around the interweb has revealed more. He claims it will be released as a four-door crew-cab. 

We’re talking about a tiny truck bed from 31- to 48-inches long

So far so good. What all of this means is that the bed of the Maverick will be at least two-feet but up to almost three-feet shorter than the Ranger bed. The bed length is dependent on the truck’s “configuration.” Depending on whether the chatty revealer of everything Maverick is talking about the SuperCab bed or the SuperCrew bed of the Ranger, we’re talking about a bed length from 31- to 48-inches long. 

Get out a tape measure or just put your hands up to simulate as best as you can that amount of length. We’ll wait. Why would Ford think anyone would need this toiny truck bed? We’ll wait while you ponder that question. Yeah, that’s kind of nuts. 

So back to the Sport Trac. The bed of that four-door was 49.2-inches. It is almost exactly the same length as the Ranger. So, with the new Maverick being smaller can we say the bed might be about 40-inches long? Give or take?

Ford says the upcoming Maverick will be more of a “lifestyle” truck

The revealer goes on to claim it will also share bits with the Ford Transit van. Specifically, the Transit’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder at 162 hp and 144 lb-ft of torque. Ford says that the upcoming Maverick will be more of a “lifestyle” truck. Kind of like the Sport Trac. But, possibly with an even shorter bed. 

So from Ford’s perspective, do you think it views the more compelling argument as a four-door with a tiny bed or a small pickup truck? From what we have here it seems like the four-door part of the equation was more important than having a semi-usable bed. Like a crossover SUV but with an open cargo area as opposed to being part of the interior. 

Obviously, using the Transit van platform for a four-door pickup would make for a truck with the proportions of a cigar. Not good. But what we think is being revealed here is a stubby four-door with an even stubbier bed. We think the revealer might have his info crossed up. It doesn’t seem like a very practical or good-looking crossover as it is being crunched in this scribe.