The pickup truck segment is highly contested and congested. Nearly every manufacturer, short of the little Italian racers, are clambering to make the next big thing in the truck world. Jeep has resurrected the Jeep Gladiator by slamming a truck bed on the back of a Wrangler. Ram is making trucks that go a million miles per hour – give or take. Now, Ford has taken a Honda Ridgeline-looking thing and called it the 2022 Ford Maverick. 

The 2022 Ford Maverick and 2021 Honda Ridgeline look similar

Motor1 got some photos of the new Ford pickup recently, and we were amazed to see how familiar it looked. No, not familiar because of the old Ford Maverick car, but familiar in the sense that it looks a lot like the Honda Ridgeline, which recently came out with a redesign. 

The photos obtained by Motor1 are few and only really show the back and some profile of the truck. The sloping roofline, short and narrow bed, along with the decidedly road-going look screams Honda Ridgeline. This would almost make sense if it were another company other than Ford. Ford doesn’t really need another truck. 

Of all the trucks, why copy the Honda Ridgeline? 

The Honda pickup is kind of cool in that it is actually the truck that is likely the most appropriate for most users. The Honda has a smaller 3.5-liter V6 engine. It has good fuel-economy at 20 mpg. The bed is smaller and more shallow than most but is likely as practical for most people’s daily needs. Honda’s whole point is to double down on what most truck drivers need and less of what they think they need. While that is not a bad idea, in theory, it hasn’t proven to be the most popular approach to selling pickups. 

What we know about the 2022 Ford Maverick so far

The 2022 Ford Maverick will be the smallest truck in the Ford lineup. It seems Ford believes the trend is heading toward light pickups. The Ford Maverick will have a teeny bed as a result of the compact designation. According to Auto Blog, the little Ford is said to have a bed that is 24-30 inches shorter than the Ranger’s bed. 

The Maverick will likely have at least two different engine options; a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The 2.0-liter option might be coming from the Ford Transit, which means we know it makes 162 horsepower and 144 pound-feet of torque. The 1.5-liter turbo will be the same 181-hp engine as serves the Bronco and the Escape. Many believe the Ford trucklet will send its power to the front wheels mainly. The going theory states it will either work like the Bronco Sport’s driveline or maybe the lesser preferred, Ford Transit’s driveline. 

Why are pickup trucks so popular? 

Great question, me. It’s kind of a tough one to answer. On the one hand, there are a lot of people who legitimately use a pickup truck for work. Whether you are a farmer or own a bakery, most jobs benefit from having a truck around, if not multiple. Of course, not everyone who has a truck uses them for work. This is the more mysterious part. 

One thing is for sure, whether you use your truck for work or coal rolling in the Shoney’s parking lot on a Friday night, the Honda Ridgeline is the truck that was designed to be the most comfortable and useable for everyday use, and Ford clearly wants a piece of that pie. 

We still have a lot to learn about what Ford plans to do with the 2022 Maverick. All I know is that it looks a hell of a lot like a Honda Ridgeline.