F-150 Lightning review: Ford's electric pickup is a winner

I had the chance to drive a production version of the Ford (F) F-150 Lightning electric pickup, quite possibly one of the biggest releases in Ford’s history.

Yes, yes, we all know about the Model T's significance, but imagine taking the winning F-150 playbook that has given Ford the best-selling vehicle for 45 straight years, and ripping up it up to offer a work truck with full battery electric power.

This was the massive undertaking Ford gave itself as it seeks to reinvent the brand in an electrified world.

The F-150 Lightning package

Ford gave F-150 Lightning buyers a nice surprise last month, when the already stout power figures were recently upgraded to 580 hp for the extended battery version and 452 hp for the standard range. The Lightning also received an upgraded range estimate of 320 miles with the extended battery truck carrying a full payload of 1000 lbs. The standard range battery truck has a range of 230 miles.

Those are impressive performance upgrades considering Ford is pricing the base model at $39,974 (commercial-oriented Pro model with standard battery), with better-equipped XLT trims starting at $52,974 before any federal or state tax incentives.

Exterior Design

Now the Lightning does basically look like a regular gas-powered F-150 with a couple of subtle changes, such as the exterior front and rear lights and the charge port located on the front quarter panel. And that was done on purpose to presumably give those prospective owners on the fence a bit of comfort knowing that the F-150 looks and formula of being “built Ford tough” is still there.

But make no mistake — this is a truck and it is big. It is one of the biggest electric vehicles I have ever seen (the GMC Hummer EV takes that crown), but it immediately occurred to me the challenge Ford is facing making this behemoth move quickly, nimbly, and efficiently.

Now actually keeping the skin of the truck the same is remarkable, considering the Lightning has a completely new chassis, built with high-strength steel. A whole new area was needed in the floor of the chassis to house the batteries, along with the two motors both front and rear, in addition to a new suspension setup.

One of the biggest, key features of the truck was the "Mega Power Frunk" — the lockable front hood opening that can store oodles of cargo and features electrical ports to power a range of equipment.

Adding the frunk wasn't as simple as removing the engine and making a bay for cargo and voila. Ford tells me it required a lot of packaging work to move components around to make the frunk spacious and functional. For instance, the brake master-cylinder had to be moved from the right bulkhead area where it had been located in the regular truck for years - this was the kind of challenge engineers had to work around.

An electrified interior

Inside, Ford was able to play it up more, with a more futuristic, electrified cabin. I spent most of my time in the Platinum edition (starting at $90,874), which was ultra-lux with lounge-like leather seating areas, open-pore wood trim, soft touch materials, and even massaging seats. It also contained the new vertical touchscreen tablet that Ford has been using in the Mach E EV, housing Ford’s new SYNC software. All infotainment and climate controls are performed on the tablet screen.

The Pro model, which is in the $40K price range, has some nice touches. The washable vinyl seating surfaces are comfortable and feel like leather. It also has a 12-inch horizontal touchscreen that works great, and actual physical switches and buttons for climate control and infotainment.

The drive

As mentioned before, with the extended range battery the F-150 has 580 horsepower at its disposal — and that is a lot of power even with the truck's heavy curb weight (6,590 lbs for extended, 6,171 lbs for standard).

Driving around town in San Antonio, where Ford was holding the event, the truck felt very much like a traditional F-150. Everything is very smooth and refined, with no herky-jerky truck-like movements. This is by design, in my opinion, to make the driver feel like its very similar to a traditional F-150.

The Lightning has good amount of horsepower and torque, but note it has a very different delivery of that power. This truck will blow past basically any truck or car at the stoplight if you mash that accelerator; in a straight line it is seriously fast. I believe President Joe Biden said, in his official capacity, that “this sucker’s quick.”

Handling-wise, it’s truck-like, meaning there's some push into the corners when steering somewhat aggressively. Overall the truck still feels very planted, and you don’t get that "floaty" feeling that a lot of pickup trucks suffer from when cruising around.

The F-150 Lightning is easy driving — very composed, fast and quiet. I was able to push this F-150 into tighter corners and drive a bit more aggressively than a standard F-150, due to the Lightning's low center of gravity, balanced weight front to back, and that revised suspension set up. And the power delivery, by design, wasn’t meant to snap your neck.

I also took the truck off-road, and this where I thought it really shined. With instant torque and the ability to lock the rear axle with an electronic locking rear differential, a rocky off-road course was no real challenge for the Lightning. There was no engine or transmission whine or need to make sure you were in the right gear for the terrain. The F-150 makes it easy with an off-road mode for rocky and loose gravel terrain, and the ability to lock the rear axle gave the truck all the power and grip it needed. We weren’t even using off-road tires here.

And the sensation of off-roading with no engine noise at all, just the sounds of nature, was wonderful.

Big features and tricks up its sleeve

Many people who buy pickups are interested in towing. The Lightning can tow up to 10,000 lbs when it's equipped with the extended range battery, and 7,700 lbs with the standard battery. I towed a 5,000-lb trailer with another Platinum model that Ford offered for us to use. Other than the occasional rattle for the two hook or slight momentum budge from the rear due to the trailer, the truck drove like there was nothing attached, and performance almost seemed the same.

However, as expected, there was a big drop in range. The F-150 uses weight, dimension and destination to calculate real-time range, and it was reading 160 miles of range with the 5,000-lb trailer. Ford says this is the kind of range a driver would get towing an equivalent trailer with a gas-powered F-150. But at least with the gas-powered vehicles, finding a gas station and filling up isn’t a real challenge, as it can be with an EV charger sometimes.

Two of the biggest features that really set the F-150 Lightning apart are Pro Power Onboard and Intelligent Backup Power.

Pro Power Onboard, on the extended range battery trucks, can power a work site (or a campsite), as the truck doubles as a mobile generator. The Lightning can output up to 9.6 kW of power, which is typically more than enough to power a home, for instance. Outlets are located in the Mega Power Frunk, cab, and bed, and all locations have 120V outlets with an available 240V outlet in the bed with a 9.6-kilowatt variant.

Intelligent Backup Power is a pretty cool feature that allows you to have bi-directional energy flow between the truck and your home. This means you can power your home in the event of a power outage using the Lightning, for around 3 days if power use is normal, or even 10 days if you conserve power.

Also, the system can be programmed in a way so that the truck, when plugged in, can be the source of power for the home when electricity use is at peak times, when it’s most costliest. Likewise, the system knows when power is cheapest, perhaps at night, and will only charge the truck then.

The verdict

Ford has accomplished what the it wanted to do. The company really focused on what was important and really delivered on the key aspects of what's crucial for the truck’s viability: power, range, and utility.

The F-150 Lightning is an extremely composed truck with 300 miles of range. And remember, that’s with a 1000-lb payload. When I hopped in my Platinum truck with extended range battery, my range was around 360 miles, and if you’re doing short distances around town and not a lot of highway miles, you could easily eke out even more miles.

Plus, from a pricing and market point of view, the Pro model at $40K with around 450 hp is not a bad package at all, plus you can add the extended range battery for around $10,000. This opens the Lightning to a number of middle-range buyers who have thus far been priced out of the EV game.

The only competition right now for the Lightning is Rivian R1T. The Rivian is also an amazing product —really it’s an adventure-based vehicle, with its quad-motor setup, massive battery, and luxury appointments. The Rivian is a great package for those looking to drive around town in style or go on adventures, though not likely a construction site.

The F-150 Lightning is really about getting stuff done, Ford-style — from work, to job sites, to the home. Oh, and by the way, you can do a bunch of fun stuff too.

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Pras Subramanian is a senior autos reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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