Tram is rad. They offer a unique driving experience that is quite enjoyable, even in basic, low-powered models. I drove and enjoyed Lucid Air more than 1,000 horsepower much as Fiat 500e. What I’ve never driven but am extremely curious about is an electric pickup truck. Right now, there are a few that you can buy, including Rivian R1Tthe Hummer . tram And Ford F-150 Lightning. For me, the latter is the most exciting, because Lightning not only caters to early adopters of electric vehicles, but also has to appeal to casual truck buyers.
Full disclosure: Ford wanted me to drive the F-150 Lightning, the company brought to my house a 2023 Platinum model with a full battery pack for me to use as I wanted for a week.
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The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum I test drove is a pretty serious piece of equipment. It’s powered by Ford’s extended range battery pack, matching 300-mile range (320 miles for the less luxurious XLT or Lariat versions), 580 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque. lb-ft from a dual-motor four-wheel drive. drive setup. For those of you playing at home, those aren’t all-diesel Super Duty numbers, but they aren’t too far off either. The sprint to 60 mph comes in 4.5 seconds, which feels quick for a full-size truck.
While the body of the Lightning says F-150, underneath it’s quite a different monster, and we’re not just talking powertrains. For example, the Lightning was the first F-150 to offer an independent rear suspension. This, coupled with the Lightning’s nearly 6,500-pound weight, offers the benefit of the best ride quality I’ve ever experienced in an unladen pickup.
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The Lightning is also built to work like a truck, with up to a 10,000-lb towing capacity (8,500 lbs in my Platinum tester) and a payload capacity of 1,952 lbs on all extended-range models. These aren’t the best or the worst figures in the F-150 lineup, and in fact, they skew right toward the middle. Of course, just as with internal-combustion models, efficiency will take a nose dive when towing or hauling.
Thanks in part to the excellent ride quality, the Lightning is actually really nice to drive, particularly around town. The steering is light and accurate, and the brake transition from regen to physical brakes is fairly smooth. However, I mostly find myself using Ford’s well-calibrated one-pedal driving mode and rarely touching the brake pedal as a result. The cabin is well-insulated and, in my Platinum model, very well-equipped.
Being Ford’s flagship F-150 model, the tech on the Lightning is great. The large portrait-oriented central dashboard screen is sharp, responsive and super easy to use. It’s the same unit found in the also-excellent Mustang Mach-E. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard and work very well. There’s also a wireless charging pad and a retractable gear lever that’s great but ultimately unhelpful, even when the center console cover is flipped to desk mode.
Safety technology is also pretty cool, with Ford’s amazing BlueCruise Advanced Driver Assistance System ride companion as well as all the individual features that make BlueCruise work, like lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, etc. Platinum model.
While the Lightning Platinum’s interior is a nice place to be, the quality of the materials falls short of what you’d expect from an eye-catching $99,759 vehicle, including a $1,895 destination fee. The seats look great but aren’t particularly comfortable, despite plenty of adjustability. This leather is great for an F-150 but could be better quality for the money, and in many places the dashboard looks plastic and cheap. It’s not a penalty box, but if you’re going to bill the big league, you have to be able to support that with the luxury of the big league.
Even with its hefty price tag and some flaws, the Lightning is still a huge achievement for Ford. It’s like a real truck, ready to do all the work that real truck owners buy. As a first attempt, it was an incredible achievement. Now, Ford needs to work to lower prices. Even the “work truck spec” Pro version starts at $59,014.and that may still be too much for most people who want to make the switch. Even at that price, it’s still cheaper than the Rivian R1T, which starts around $73,000 and is aimed at more land-based buyers.
Should you buy the Ford F-150 Lightning? If you have the money, you’re ready to deal with the current dire state of America’s charging infrastructure and you don’t need to pull horribly heavy loads, then yes, sure. It’s a killer drive, offers unique and useful features, and thanks to Ford’s “Power Up” over-the-air updates, will likely only get better with time. It lives up to the F-150 name and also adds new value to it, which is a huge achievement.
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