Over the previous two months, I’ve had two possibilities to take a Ford Lightning for a fast spin — as soon as across the scenic village of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (which you most likely know as the house of the famed Road America racetrack) — and as soon as across the block in part of Chicago dotted with strip malls.
I wasn’t going to put in writing about my expertise, as a result of these quick drives aren’t as informative as a full day of driving on a press journey or a week-long press mortgage, and since our personal Matt Guy had lined the first-drive occasion for us. I initially considered these fast journeys as a technique to study concerning the truck on background.
For these unfamiliar, I don’t write up each car I check. Sometimes, I contemplate the drive to easily be offering background data. I may not evaluate, say, a BMW X3, however I’ll comprehend it drives, which is helpful when evaluating it to a competitor I’m writing about. That’s only one instance.
The extra I mulled it over, nevertheless, the extra I noticed I had some ideas on the Lightning, ideas that merited sharing.
Still, this received’t be a deep dive — I received perhaps 35-40 minutes of wheel time, mixed. There shall be no fast-facts field. I do have at the least one Lightning mortgage scheduled, so search for a full evaluate down the street.
I drove a Platinum with the extended-range battery each instances — I didn’t verify the VIN, however I believe it was the identical truck. The estimated horsepower on this mannequin is 563 and peak torque is 775 lb-ft from the entrance and rear traverse-mounted twin electrical motors. Range is 300 miles.
What I discover most attention-grabbing concerning the Lightning is how very like a standard F-150 it’s, regardless of the electrical powertrain and all the opposite Lightning-only options Ford likes to promote. Yes, the truck has some styling cues that differentiate it from ICE-powered F-150s. But the general profile nonetheless screams “F-150.”
Lightning’s driving expertise is clearly completely different, after all. There’s no engine sound — simply the silence one associates with EVs. One-pedal driving could be activated when you so select. And the torque is immediate.
The one-pedal driving expertise stored me from having to make use of the brakes an excessive amount of — I largely solely wanted to use the binders when site visitors in entrance of me got here to a sudden cease. Pay consideration to the street forward, pay attention to yellow lights, and also you’ll be capable to coast right down to a cease with the one-pedal motion.
The Lightning rides properly sufficient on good pavement, feeling not too completely different than some other full-size truck with an unladen mattress. The steering does really feel distant at instances whereas feeling properly weighted at others.
This truck’s biggest methods have little to do with driving, although. You know concerning the entrance trunk (“frunk”), the onboard chargers that may energy instruments (or different EVs), and even the flexibility to energy your private home. But you may not know that the truck can estimate your payload dimension that can assist you modify your driving fashion — and to ensure the vary estimate is correct.
There’s a helpful area within the frunk for cooling drinks — I took be aware as somebody who likes to tailgate at concert events — or for baggage or two golf baggage. Speaking of tailgating, the presence {of electrical} retailers (4) and USB ports (2) within the frunk make the Lightning an intriguing alternative to your subsequent SEC soccer recreation.
I additionally preferred that Ford’s Sync system can present you a breakdown of power that was used in your final journey. My second spin got here on a extremely popular day, and it was attention-grabbing to see how a lot the local weather management (and ambient temperature) have been a part of the power utilization.
More wheel time is required earlier than I can render a verdict on the Lightning, however the extra time I spend across the truck, the extra curious I’m to see what a full mortgage will reveal. It’s probably the most curious I’ve been a couple of Ford since — final 12 months, once I was intrigued to drive each the Bronco and Maverick.
The EV truck revolution is upon us. I can’t wait to study extra about Ford’s half in it.
[Images: Ford, © 2022 Tim Healey/TTAC]
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Source: www.thetruthaboutcars.com
