Nissan Navara vs Ford Maverick

What's the difference?

Developing a new motor vehicle from scratch costs billions which is why manufacturers are increasingly sharing vehicle platforms and technology to spread these ever-increasing costs across two (or more) strategically aligned automotive brands.

This ‘badge engineering’ strategy is becoming popular in the light-commercial vehicle (LCV) segment as evidenced by partnerships between Ford and Volkswagen with their Ranger/Amarok and Transit Custom/Transporter pairings, Isuzu and Mazda with their D-Max/BT-50 duo and Chinese contenders MG and LDV with their U9/Terron 9 tie-up.

Mitsubishi and Nissan have recently established a similar relationship, with Mitsubishi’s Triton donating its underpinnings for the latest Nissan Navara. We recently spent a week with Nissan’s new entry-level model grade to assess its credentials from a tradie’s perspective.

Is this the car Ford Australia is crying out for? 

It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves from afar ever since the Maverick first appeared in the USA in 2021. In simple terms this is an SUV disguised as a ute, or if you prefer to look at it another way, a ute designed for the urban environment. 

Why does Ford Australia need it? Because utes are what it does best and SUVs are what it struggles with. The Ranger is, by some margin, its best-selling model and the F-150 is coming to a showroom near you soon, while the Escape SUV has been dropped due to consistently low sales. 

The Maverick isn’t quite a true replacement for the Falcon ute, but it’s arguably closer in concept than the more rugged Ranger.

It’s the kind of vehicle that should pacify people calling for Subaru to bring back the Brumby. In other words, this is a vehicle that has the potential (key word) to appeal to a broad audience; even more so than the niche Bronco off-roader.

There's a significant catch, though. Ford doesn’t make it in right-hand drive.

Fortunately for CarsGuide we were recently given the opportunity to sample the Maverick in the USA getting behind the wheel of the XLT Tremor variant in Los Angeles, California.