2003 Ford Ranger vs 2022 Ford Maverick - Is the Maverick a True Replacement for an Old Ranger?

Hey folks and welcome to the Truck King YouTube channel. You probably already know the truck on my left. That is the brand new 2022 Ford Maverick. Well one of the most common questions we get about the Maverick is how does it compare to small trucks from the past? So we've brought one along to take a look. That is a 2003 Ford Ranger Edge and in this video we're going to compare them. Let's start by talking about the engine. So powering this Ford Ranger is a three liter V6 naturally aspirated. Now it's making 154 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque and that is definitely something that has changed dramatically. Smaller engines today make a lot more power. Oh yeah and by the way this is sent through a four-speed automatic. Now over here on the Maverick we have a smaller engine that's just a two liter turbocharged four-cylinder but it is making 250 horsepower and a little over 270 pound-feet of torque. So yes engines today are much smaller but they're packing a larger punch and this thing is sending its power through an eight-speed auto. Next up we have to talk about the overall size of these two trucks because I really do believe that's been one of the big changes from back then until now. So you can see that this Ford Ranger it still prioritizes having a larger bed and a smaller cab. When this truck was being built that was very common. Crew cabs were around but they were still kind of growing in popularity. Now today we get over here to the Maverick. Ford says we need a small truck again but now we are prioritizing backseat space. So you can see from this shot exactly how much more cab the Maverick has than the Ranger. Then that's what's frankly changed between then and now. Today people want a truck that can be a truck but also haul their family. They want one vehicle to do it all and to be able to do that Ford said here's a truck it can fit all of your family but you're going to have to live with that smaller bed and you know what let's head out back now and we'll talk about those bed sizes. Let's take a closer look at these two beds now to see how they compare and first of all I brought my handy dandy tape measure to see how big the bed is here in this Ford Ranger. So first let's do the length right up to the bed wall. You're talking about six feet. This is a six foot bed without the tailgate down and then if I measure between the wheel wells and you've already seen this is a step side truck so you're not getting the overall width but between the wheel wells this is going to be the same measurement as a non-step side. Here we're talking about yeah basically 41 inches basically 41 inches but it's really the length here that makes this so usable plus the owner of this truck our friend Claire he's got a nice cap on here and you can get a cap for the Maverick that should be mentioned but I think that cap looks really nice and it does help you to keep all your stuff nice and secure. So now let's look at the bed over here on the Ford and the first thing we'll do is the length and right here you're talking about a little bit over four and a half feet so yes the length is a big difference you're getting a lot more length out of that old Ranger than here on the Maverick but what about the width well between the wheel wells oh we're talking about just about 43 inches so actually the Maverick is a hair wider than that old Ranger is still overall I feel like that bed over there just because of that length is going to end up being a little bit more usable and once again this is a big difference now let's look at the back seats because that's another big difference between these trucks so here in the Ranger they obviously did not prioritize back seat space of course it has suicide doors these rear hinge doors this is also totally gone away in the truck world and you can see these cute little jump seats back here normally I would try to jam myself in to prove that I could fit I straight up cannot fit so I'm not gonna try but these are basically just for kids there's no chance you're getting an adult in there and actually sitting comfortably which over here on the Maverick you totally can do and this is where Ford was really paying attention because this is what people are asking for take a look again I stand at about six foot two and this is my dad seating position another big guy now I am a little bit tight in here but I fit I have just enough headroom sure my knees are touching the seat could be moved forward the most important part is this is a small truck that can haul four full-size people in comfort and I think that's yeah really the the crux of the difference between that old Ranger and this Matt well folks here we are driving the old 2003 Ford Ranger and I mean when this truck came out I didn't have a license so I've never driven anything like this dad's driven plenty of trucks like this so I mean first maybe most obvious difference dad rear-wheel drive this truck is only two-wheel drive and of course it is rear-wheel drive like most trucks are the Maverick the one we have today is all-wheel drive granted but you can get a two-wheel drive Maverick of course it is front-wheel drive so there's another big difference back in the day there was no front-wheel drive trucks right but now that is certainly not the case no and most stuff was rear-wheel drive like a lot of guys will remember that four-wheel drive was a very expensive option yeah so that's definitely something that's changed it's so much more common and in fact in Canada you get that two-liter eco boost you have to get all-wheel drive for Canada's exactly and what's kind of cool when you when you look at the images of this old Ranger it looks four-wheel drive ish because that's what that's what customers wanted they couldn't afford the four-wheel drive but they wanted a little bit lifted a little bit of a knobby tire and Ford gave them that so that they could pretend they had four-wheel drive so then the other immediate difference that I notice is again the size now width wise we're a little bit tighter in here right we're touching more so than the Maverick yeah and and you brought this up the cab here really tapers in at the top corners and I have just enough headroom but I touch this hump here in the middle so yeah I mean I'm just straight up not as comfortable the Maverick they really went out of their way to make sure that the interior maximizes that space so even big fellas can fit in there comfortably yeah despite the fact that like I said these trucks appear to be very much the same size it's this cab shape minimizes this room particularly the shoulder room here yeah definitely interesting differences um now it's a snowy day today and it's a two-wheel drive truck so I can't really lay into it because all that does is spin the back end however I will make the point that this doesn't feel underpowered I'm not driving around going oh gross only 150 horsepower that's something that's definitely changed these days we have a a taste for more horsepower I don't know I guess it was just driven by people wanted it I don't I don't find myself missing it not tooling around here day to day and with that point in mind let me now tell you that this truck has a 4,100 pound tow rating that's the same as the Maverick the Maverick can do four grand too so when it comes to work yeah this truck you know was rated the same and might not feel quite as good power wise but I don't know what's your takeaway on that getting the more power well you know let's say the technology has advanced sure so we're getting more power out of smaller engines you know what if you can do it great however was this truck underpowered no it wasn't it did a good job and the one thing about it I used to like rear-wheel drive trucks on a day like today because you get to go around all the corners sideways yeah it is actually another thing I noticed sitting here feels like we have more ground clearance a little bit more ride height feel like I'm sitting up taller I know I am actually you can just tell by looking at the truck side by side so yeah the Maverick definitely not prioritizing ride height or ground clearance really whatsoever and one other thing I noticed this truck has tow hooks in the front the Maverick does not so back in the day I think they were also thinking you were probably going to get stuck oh this thing would have got stuck all the time trust me all right folks now we're going to go drive the Maverick and we'll talk to you about the differences and before we go I'll give one more shout out to Claire our friend who owns this little Ranger and why don't we talk to him now and he can kind of give you a little bit more of the story on this truck I can't remember how long I've had it it's a 2003 seems like we've had it forever I bought it as a sitter when we were doing road tests and so forth for various outlets we'd need a vehicle to get to Toronto to pick up the car and leave something down there and I thought hey this thing's it was under 10 grand and fit the bill well it's more than fit the bill and we just love it it's it's it's handy for all kinds of stuff around this you know a suburban home you know whether you're picking up peat moss or taking you know refuge to the recycling depot or whatever it's a handy thing and how about maintenance what have you done to keep the Ranger going anything major or touch wood but never had a major problem you know minor stuff here and there we've had it oil guarded every year with crown rust removing every every year which I think has done a lot to preserve it but the engine keeps running fine and just you know the odd tweak now and then nothing major so then finally as a Ranger owner you've seen the new Maverick today what's your kind of overall thoughts on the Maverick does that look like something that could replace your old Ranger here it's a perfect size I love the new Ranger but it's just again it's too big for what what I'm looking for the Maverick perfect I take it in a heartbeat and now folks here we are driving in the Maverick and I think the biggest differences that I kind of feel right off the bat that are kind of general differences between modern vehicles and older vehicles and I'll tell you what what I mean really it's quiet in here it's comfortable you know this thing really does just ride smooth where the Ranger was a little more you know body roll and you felt everything leaf spring suspension sure fair enough and yeah just overall refined I think that's the word I come away with driving this Maverick it feels refined it feels modern and obviously getting out of the Ranger yeah it just feels old and loud and creaky and groany and that's like and maybe that was the experience of an old truck right that was probably much more normalized at the time you wouldn't think about it because that was normal true exactly all right so that's really that's the one difference but then the other one is is the size in here I think that's the most surprising thing we're coming away with they've really designed this Maverick to maximize this space we're not even touching we have plenty of space plenty of leg room headroom the whole deal so yeah you know you can just see that when they put the Maverick together passenger comfort was one of if not the most important consideration and that's definitely not true of the Ranger no and that's how things change over time in other words the engineers have a focus and with that original Ranger the focus was still on cargo it was still on the back of the truck sure you had a little cabin you got two people in there but it was still meant to have a very usable bed because they figured they couldn't see anybody buying that who wasn't going to be hauling regularly Maverick is different and this is very much what's the new attitude family family you got your wife got your kids you got the dog that's what this truck is about so the Maverick is really combining the the best thing about that Ranger which was its size its small size yep with the best thing about today's modern vehicles which is all that stuff we talked about being quiet and comfortable and and we've said this before the funny thing about the Maverick is that Ford created its own problem by making the Ranger and the F-150 so big but now they have absolutely answered that problem with the Maverick and we're already seeing that this thing is sold out it's very hard to come by at dealerships so so far the response has been quite strong to this little truck and yeah after today's comparison I can absolutely see why yep absolutely and you can see the direction that we're headed in and I've said this before but I'll say it again I'm excited to see what GM and Ram are gonna do absolutely all that I think we've gotten to the end of this video so now of course I want to hear what you guys think please weigh in let me know what you think about this Maverick as it compares to the Ranger hey did you all own an old Ranger let us know your experiences with it and then as always don't forget to go below hit like hit subscribe hit join to become a member of the channel and then come right back here to Truck King to see what we're testing next see ya