The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning sees a great deal of hype. The highly capable successor to the Ford F-150 caught the hearts and minds of many. After all the humble F-150 took a jump into the 21st century with electrification. With a broad demographic of customers Ford's mid-sized truck appeals to manual workers, small businesses, and families. Ultimately what sells a Ford F-150 is its utility.

However, with battery technology, there are certain issues with the F-150 Lightning that it cannot accept. In cold weather and in winter months, EVs see a reduced range that limits the time between charges drastically. When the 300 miles range came for an EV for many range anxiety left their mind, instead replaced by a fear of the infrastructure. But with mass queues at charging points over the festive period of 2022, the technology isn't quite yet there for utility vehicles like the Ford F-150 Lightning.

Ford's Electric pickup struggles with winter performance in the winter making the internal combustion engine F-150 a better buy for rural customers.

RELATED:Warming Up Your Electric Car In Winter: Everything You Need To Know

The Ford F-150 Lightning Builds On The Outgoing F-150

Red Ford F-150 Lightning off-roading front third quarter view
Via: Ford

The Ford F-150 Lightning is the successor to the F-150. While many brands are killing off previous name plates with the move to EVs, take Volkswagen's ID range for example. Ford is sticking by the F-150 and even bringing back the old Lighting name. A name that belonged to the old SVT Lightning. Killing off old nameplates as a marketing move is wise, with battery technology still a little unproven, there's no need to risk these long-standing models' reputations. But Ford is standing by the F-150, after all as the United States' best-selling vehicle, there's no reason to get rid of it and not use the ICE model's momentum.

According to Ford the F-150 Lightning has an estimated range of 240 miles for the entry-level Pro trim, a towing capacity of 7,700 lbs, and achieves 60mph in 4.1 seconds. With instantaneous torque, the truck not only accelerates quickly but also pulls freight with more ease than previous diesel or petrol models. All of a sudden the EV pickup truck makes a little more sense.

Electric Vehicles Have Poor Range In The Winter

Ford F-150 Lightning, Ford F-150 and Ford F-350
via Ford

However, it's not all sunshine and roses in the world of electric pickups. 240 miles of the range sounds like a lot if you're just commuting. The most expensive Platinum trim has a range of 300 miles, this hits 60mph in under seconds.

This comes as no surprise when even Tesla, effectively the EV market leader still encounters winter issues. So much so that the brand has a 'Winter Driving Tips' page that focuses largely on the range. According to Tesla, " In cold weather, vehicles use more energy to heat the battery and cabin, and it’s normal to see energy consumption increase".

RELATED:Ford Reveals Steps To Squeeze The Most Range From Electric Vehicles In Harsh Winters

It's most important to note that these are best-case scenario figures, likely with a little tweaking from the manufacturer as per usual. For those who don't own an EV, the advice to care for the battery is to charge it to around about 80%. This extends the battery life, beyond this 80% mark usually charges slower. So you're already down to 250 miles with the best car in the F-150 Lightning range. Now add in a few hard accelerations and pulling around freight be that in the bed or a trailer, and that range will only get smaller.

Over the past year, EV sales have skyrocketed. Not only did Ford introduce the Lightning and sold more than they could make. Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche all fully entered into the market alongside Tesla. Over the winter months, charging was truly stress tested, with owners making more and further journeys over the holiday period.

But there's also a second fault. Batteries don't work as well in the winter. So much so that Ford officially put out a press release moving into the winter describing 8 ways to make your range last longer. According to Ford, these 8 tips include, "Keep your driving speeds moderate as high speeds use more energy", as well as "When charging, turn off the heater."

Without going too far into detail with chemical engineering. The electrons in the battery are colder, which means they have less energy stored in them. To produce the same results as in a warmer environment, you need to use more energy. A brief search of social media over last winter finds a lot of discord regarding winter EV range, but some EV owners find their actual range at the end of a drive only being 50% of what the car stated at the start of the drive.

This Is Who Needs To Worry About The Poor F-150 Lightning Range

Ford-F-150_Lightning-2022-1024-02
source:netcars

While for many drivers this drop in range doesn't matter. After all the F-150 sees such great sales success due to its broad appeal. It works as both a lifestyle truck, there's an appealing working-class air to it. But it also backs this up with genuine capacity as a workhorse. For the former, the decrease in the range likely won't concern them as they dart across town on the school run.

But for those who use their F-150 Lightning in rural states, parts of America like Alaska or the mid-west. The conversion to battery technology might take a little more persuading. Lugging around heavy items in sub-zero environments might see ranges of less than 100 miles, that's more than achievable daily mileage in a working environment. The likelihood of finding a charging point on a building site is unlikely. But then take into consideration that these rural states, with less dense populations, have fewer charging points and with further between them. Rural EV ownership looks less and less appealing. Although home charging may remedy this.

While the F-150 Lightning looks like a brilliant EV to rival the likes of Tesla and Rivian. Over winter months it's more limited than Ford may care to admit.