A well-known nameplate is about to return to Ford showrooms later this yr – primarily based on one in every of Australia’s top-selling 4WDs.
The Ford Maverick title will return to Australia by the tip of 2024, the US automobile large has introduced at this time.
However it won’t be within the type of the compact ute bought in North America, moderately as a brand new three-row, off-road SUV to sit down above the Everest – in a reboot of an previous partnership with Nissan.
Within the late Nineteen Eighties – as a part of the Australian Authorities’s Motor Business Growth Plan, nicknamed the ‘Button Plan’ – Ford teamed up with Nissan to rebadge the GQ-series Patrol because the Ford Maverick.
It leveraged the nameplate of a compact rear-drive sedan and coupe bought in North America between 1970 and 1977 as, mockingly, a substitute for the US-market Ford Falcon – and now utilized to a compact ute within the US.
The unique Ford Maverick was supplied as a 3 and five-door SUV, in addition to a two-door ute and cab-chassis four-wheel drive.
The 2024 Ford Maverick shall be primarily based on the present ‘Y62’ Nissan Patrol, and share nearly all of the Nissan’s underpinnings and bodywork, together with the 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre petrol V8 engine and seven-speed computerized transmission.
Trim and tools shall be aligned with the $84,900 Nissan Patrol Ti, however the infotainment shall be modified to run Ford’s Sync 3 working system – although with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto deleted to make sure it’s not higher outfitted than the Nissan.
Pricing is but to be introduced, however in Ford showrooms the Maverick is predicted to value greater than the range-topping $79,490 Everest Platinum.
The vary shall be topped by a sporting ‘Brock’ variant primarily based on the locally-developed Nissan Patrol Warrior, that includes a Ranger Raptor-inspired grille and wheels, with the Warrior’s upgraded suspension.
The V8 engine shall be enhanced with a mild-hybrid polarisation system, developed by the Nimbin Institute of Different Vitality.
The Ford Maverick is about to be categorized as a light-commercial automobile below the New Car Effectivity Normal – as a consequence of its ladder-frame chassis and 3500kg tow ranking – nevertheless the Maverick Brock Version could also be eligible for extra credit as a consequence of its distinctive hybrid know-how.
Orders are as a consequence of open at 12:00pm AEDT at this time forward of first showroom arrivals within the fourth quarter of 2024.
Learn extra about Drive Group
