GMC Hummer EV Battles Ford F-150 Lightning in the "World's Toughest Towing Test"

While Americans are slowly warming up to the electric-vehicle idea, they are still far from becoming EV addicts. Yet electric pickup trucks are badly wanted, making people sign up for waiting lists that take dozens of months to clear. But it’s hard not to notice the disappointment when they see how the current electric pickup trucks perform in towing tests. Not because they are not up to the task but because there is a severe range penalty when towing heavy loads.

In all fairness, it’s not just the electric trucks that see their range dropping dramatically when towing a trailer. No matter what propulsion system they use, most trucks are penalized when dragging a heavy brick, especially when this is happening uphill in the mountains. But electric trucks don’t have the luxury of ubiquitous charging stations, and few people have the time or the patience to wait for them to charge.

The Fast Lane Truck’s latest towing test inevitably turned into an ICE vs. EV contest, although two electric trucks were taking the test. One of them even graduated from the competition magna cum laude. But the stress of thinking that it would not make it there to the charging station and that one of the trucks needed assistance to finish the test prompted many people to scoff at electric trucks’ usefulness.

The TFLT guys took the two trucks on the infamous Super Ike Gauntlet. If you’re wondering, it’s an eight-mile stretch on I-70 in Colorado that goes up to over 11,158 feet above sea level at the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels at the Continental Divide. The road has up to 7 percent inclines as it climbs 2,000 feet. Both trucks had to travel there and back, which is an almost 200-mile drive. There’s also a charging station on the road, in case it’s needed.

We’ll not spoil the results for you, so go ahead and watch the video below because it is as entertaining as it is revealing. Let us know what you think. Would you consider buying an electric pickup?