Few vehicles have made quite such an impact on the automotive industry as the Ford F-Series pickups. Adopting the F-150 name over 30 years ago, preceded by the F-100 and the F-1, the F-150 has consistently remained the best-selling vehicle in the entirety of North America.
Obviously, the F-Series pickups have always used some type of gas (or diesel) guzzling internal combustion engine to carry people, things, and for towing. As times in the auto industry are changing, an electric F-150 seemed obvious to happen sooner or later. It's now here, in the form of the F-150 Lightning, reviving the name of a legendary street truck from about 20 years ago.
10 Styling Differences
Unlike its competitors, the F-150 Lightning has taken a different approach to exterior styling. On the face of it, it's essentially the same as the regular gasoline-powered F-150, but there are a few distinctions to let you know that this is a different beast altogether.
At the front, the big and brash grille has been omitted completely, in favor of a solid panel with an interesting faceted pattern. Ever seen rear light bars? Well, the F-150 Lightning also has a front light bar above the faux grille, connecting the LED strips in the headlights. There's also a charge port on the front fender, and new aerodynamic wheel designs specific to the Lightning. Finally, there's a similarly fashioned rear light bar and a Lightning badge on the rear fender.
9 Power & Range
Since the F-150 Lightning is fully electric, let's talk about that all-important power output and range. Every F-150 Lightning, regardless of trim level, has two electric motors and AWD as standard, though Ford hasn't talked about battery sizes yet.
The basic F-150 Lightning targets 230 miles of range, whereas the Extended Range package bumps that up to 300 miles, which is a very impressive number. Note that these are Ford's estimates. The most powerful version of the Lightning has 563 HP and a rumbling 775 lb/ft of torque, the highest torque figure ever seen in an F-150 truck. 60 mph happens in the low 4-second range, making it the quickest ever F-150 too.
8 The Pro Model
Even though Ford first showed off the versions of the Lightning that will be more popular with private buyers, they haven't forgotten about the F-150's commercial side. The Lightning version of the truck takes care of the commercial market with the Pro model.
As Ford themselves say, the Pro model is made specifically for the commercial market. The styling is more subdued, losing the front light bar and the shiny faceted faux grille. The Pro model does still offer all the power outputs and capabilities of the other Lightning trucks, though. Inside, the plastics are harder-wearing, and it receives the infotainment system from the more upscale ICE F-150 models, with added over-the-air updates. The most tempting thing about the Pro is the price; Ford estimates it'll start around $40,000.
7 A Massive Frunk
With only a few exceptions, a lot of electric cars have additional storage underneath the would-be hood, because there's no internal combustion engine taking up all the space. The F-150 Lightning also has a frunk, with one notable distinction; it's absolutely massive.
The frunk has a surprisingly huge opening, revealing a storage area with 14.1 cu ft of cargo space and a 400 lb payload, enough to carry two sets of golf clubs. It's also securely lockable, and depending on the model, power opening and closing. This is a great idea if you plan to bring valuable items that you don't want to leave exposed in the bed.
6 Towing Capacity
As well as payload capacity, one of the most important things about a pickup truck is how heavy the item you can hitch up to it can be. In plain English, how big is the towing capacity? Electric motors are notorious for producing tons of torque, and more torque equals better towing capabilities. The Lightning has this base covered too.
With the bigger battery pack and the Max Trailer Tow Package, the F-150 Lightning is rated to tow around 10,000 lbs. While that's slightly down when compared to all the internal combustion-engined F-150s, it's still a mighty impressive figure. Payload, meanwhile, is around 2,000 lbs. There might even be ways to increase it, like with the F-450.
5 Technology
Naturally, the F-150 is filled with the latest technology, as expected from an electric vehicle and a 2022 model. The landscape infotainment display is gone in all models, bar the Pro, and in its place is the 15.5" portrait display from the Mustang Mach E, running the latest version of Ford's SYNC, now capable of Ford's Power-Up over the air updates.
Aside from the big infotainment screen, Ford has kept the rest of the interior surprisingly normal and familiar, even down to the fold-away gear lever. Onboard Scales will tell you exactly how much you're carrying in the bed, and debuting in an F-Series truck for the first time is BlueCruise. BlueCruise will allow you to drive hands-off on over 100,000 miles of mapped roads.
4 It Can Power Your House
It's clear that whatever is driving the F-150 under the skin, it's pretty powerful. The Lightning can hold so much charge, that it can act as an electricity generator for your home for up to three days. This is a brilliant idea, and we hope to see it on more EVs in the future.
The official title of the facility is Ford Intelligent Backup Power. After it's hooked up, the F-150 is able to offload 9.6 kilowatts of electricity, which is plenty enough to power the lights and appliances in your home, as well as security systems.
3 The Competition
Obviously, you can't talk about the F-150 Lightning without mentioning its main competitors. Let's leave the Cybertruck to one side for now, as Tesla's track record for meeting production demand is slightly spotty.
That leaves the upcoming GMC Hummer EV and Rivian R1T. The Hummer EV's 1,000 HP and increased off-road capability definitely best what the Lightning has to offer, and the R1T's 754 HP in the most powerful version is also way higher. In terms of styling, one can argue that both have the Lightning trumped as well. However...
2 The Appeal Of The Lightning
Ford has done a much better job recognizing its target market with the F-150 Lightning. While the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV are very cool, they can be seen a lot more as lifestyle toys and tech fests than actual pickup trucks you might use for pickup truck purposes. The Lightning is the exact opposite.
Ford hasn't built something that you might see in Blade Runner or something that can turn all four wheels at the same time to make your life easier on rocky terrain. They have taken America's favorite vehicle and given it an electric powertrain. While the comparison to the aforementioned rivals is obvious, it's also slightly unfair, as the Lightning has a completely different appeal by comparison. That is absolutely not a bad thing, though.
1 Pricing & Launch
Finally, it's time to discuss pricing and launch. The F-150 Lightning is planned to go on sale by the end of the year, but with the industry-wide semiconductor shortage which has also affected Ford's production plants, 2022 is a safer bet.
The commercial-grade Pro model will start at around $40,000, which considering the capabilities and just the fact that it's fully electric, seems very appealing. Lariat, XLT, and Platinum trim levels are also confirmed for the Lightning, and if you tick all the option boxes in the configurator, the price could easily reach $90,000.