Ford F-150 Lightning Faces Diesel Ram 2500 Cummins in Tug-of-War, It's Tight

Ford's first all-electric pick-up truck, the F-150 Lightning, is the star of the latest tug-of-war video. Its hybrid sibling with a twin-turbo V6 heart joins in on the show, but the co-star is the diesel-powered Ram 2500 with a Cummins motor under its hood.

The tug-of-war in this video takes place on dirt, which puts less strain on the drivetrains of these vehicles, but it does come with an advantage for the heavier vehicle in the pair. On asphalt, things would be more difficult for the transmission, half shafts, and differentials, and the grip offered by the tires would play a more significant role than the weight of the vehicle.

With the above in mind, you should take note to view the video for its entertainment value, rather than its direct comparison between one technology and the other. While electric vehicles can be compared with conventional ones for comparable tasks, this may not be the best example of that situation.

It may be more interesting to see one of these tug-of-war competitions between other pick-up trucks, such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, or the Rivian R1T. Either would be a closer match to the F-150 Lightning, although you must always remember that these competitions do not prove that much in real-life use.

Instead, an efficiency test while towing the same weight with the same kind of tire would be a more suitable test for a comparison between electric pick-up trucks.

It would also be interesting to see which would be the fastest to be charged at various plugs, as not all EVs are created equal where their on-board charging system is concerned. However, doing either of the latter takes more time, and it might not be as exciting to watch as a tug-of-war competition.