Electric automobiles are rad. They supply a singular driving expertise that’s fairly enjoyable, even in primary, low-power fashions. I’ve pushed and loved the 1,000-plus hp Lucid Air as a lot as the Fiat 500e. What I’ve by no means pushed, however have been tremendous interested in, is an electrical pickup truck. Right now, there are just a few that you would be able to purchase, together with the Rivian R1T, the Hummer EV and the Ford F-150 Lightning. The latter, to me, is probably the most fascinating, as a result of the Lightning has to cater to not solely EV early adopters, nevertheless it additionally has to win over individuals who purchase regular vehicles.
Full Disclosure: Ford wished me to drive an F-150 Lightning so badly, the corporate dropped off a 2023 Platinum mannequin at my home with a full battery pack for me to make use of as I happy for every week.
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The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum that I’ve as a check car is a reasonably critical piece of kit. It comes outfitted with Ford’s extended-range battery pack, which is nice for a claimed 300 miles of vary (320 within the much less luxe XLT or Lariat trims), 580 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque from its dual-motor all-wheel drive setup. For these of you taking part in at house, these aren’t fairly diesel Super Duty numbers, however they’re not too far off. The dash to 60 mph is available in 4.5 seconds, which feels depraved quick for a full-size truck.
While the physique of the Lightning says F-150, beneath, it’s a reasonably totally different beast, and we’re not simply speaking concerning the drivetrain. For instance, the Lightning is the primary F-150 to supply unbiased rear suspension. This, together with the Lightning’s practically 6,500-pound curb weight, has the advantage of one of the best journey high quality I’ve but skilled in an unladen pickup truck.
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The Lightning can also be constructed to work like a truck, with as much as a ten,000-lb towing capability (8,500 lbs in my Platinum tester) and a payload capability of 1,952 lbs on all extended-range fashions. These aren’t one of the best or the worst figures within the F-150 lineup, and in reality, they skew proper towards the center. Of course, simply as with internal-combustion fashions, effectivity will take a nostril dive when towing or hauling.
Thanks partly to the wonderful journey high quality, the Lightning is definitely very nice to drive, notably round city. The steering is gentle and correct, and the brake transition from regen to bodily brakes is pretty clean. However, I largely discover myself utilizing Ford’s well-calibrated one-pedal driving mode and infrequently touching the brake pedal because of this. The cabin is well-insulated and, in my Platinum mannequin, very well-equipped.
Being Ford’s flagship F-150 mannequin, the tech on the Lightning is nice. The giant portrait-oriented central dashboard display is sharp, responsive and tremendous simple to make use of. It’s the identical unit discovered within the also-excellent Mustang Mach-E. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are normal and work like a appeal. There’s additionally a wi-fi charging pad, and the retractable shift lever is cool however finally not that helpful, even with the middle console lid flipped over into desk mode.
Safety tech can also be fairly nice, with Ford’s glorious BlueCruise superior driver help system coming alongside for the journey in addition to all the person options that make BlueCruise work, like lane-keep help, adaptive cruise management, automated emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, and many others. Somewhat predictably, all these goodies are normal on the top-tier Platinum mannequin.
While the inside of the Lightning Platinum is a pleasant place to be, the standard of the supplies is nowhere close to what you’ll count on from a car that stickers for an eye-watering $99,759, together with a $1,895 vacation spot price. The seats look nice however aren’t particularly comfy, regardless of a number of adjustability. The leather-based is nice for an F-150 however may very well be higher high quality for the cash, and the sprint appears plasticky and low cost in lots of locations. It’s removed from being a penalty field, however should you’re going to cost big-league cash, you will have to have the ability to again that up with big-league luxurious.
Even with its mega price ticket and its handful of flaws, the Lightning stays a large achievement for Ford. It appears like an actual truck, able to do all the actual truck issues homeowners purchase vehicles for. As a primary effort, it’s a staggering achievement. Now, Ford must work on driving the value down. Even the “work truck spec” Pro model begins at $59,014, and that’s nonetheless probably an excessive amount of for most individuals to wish to make the swap. Even at that worth, it’s cheaper than a Rivian R1T, which begins at round $73,000 and is geared toward a way more overland-y purchaser.
Should you purchase a Ford F-150 Lightning? If you’ve bought the money, you’re ready to cope with the present crappy state of America’s charging infrastructure, and also you don’t have to tow loopy hundreds, then yeah, completely. It’s a killer drive, affords distinctive and helpful options, and, because of Ford’s “Power Up” over-the-air updates, is probably going solely going to get higher with time. It lives as much as the F-150 identify and provides new worth to it too, which is a large achievement.
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Source: jalopnik.com