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Is the Ford F-150 Lightning Really the Best F-150 Yet? One Reviewer Thinks So

More and more companies are starting to copy Tesla's pattern of revealing their new models ages before they actually become available to the public. We have to admit this practice is a bit confusing.
Ford F-150 Lightning 6 photos
Photo: Marques Brownlee/YouTube screenshot
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GMC is doing it with the Hummer EV electric pickup, and Ford is also guilty of teasing us to death with the next-gen Bronco. Well, the Blue Oval is doubling down now by coming out with another vehicle we'll have to wait one year before we can own: the F-150 Lightning pickup truck.

When Ford called its performance-oriented version of its F-150 truck "Lightning" back in 1993, it had absolutely no idea how fitting it would become nearly 30 years later for the company's first all-electric pickup truck. The performance side associated with the nameplate is still there (in fact, at least until the Raptor R comes along, the Lightning is the quickest F-150, beating even the V6 Raptor), but with the addition of an electric powertrain, the Lightning name gets a whole new dimension.

As we said, the battery-powered F-150 won't see its commercial launch any time soon, but some people are already getting the chance to a hands-on experience with the EV. One of them is Marques Brownlee, a famous tech reviewer and also electric vehicle enthusiast, who came out of the encounter profoundly impressed.

He even went as far as calling the F-150 Lightning the best F-150 ever created, which is a bold statement, to say the least. At the same time, he admits (repeatedly) that he's not a "truck person," which might make his opinion somewhat irrelevant for some people, but the facts he points out do make a lot of sense.

Let's start with the performance, and we're not just talking 0-60 mph times here. Being a truck, it's all about hauling and towing, and with 775 lb-ft (1,050 Nm) of instant torque, there's very little the Lightning won't be able to move. The weight of the battery means it's going to have its payload reduced, but it's a small price to pay for the rest of the conveniences you get with the truck.

For instance, it has four 120V sockets at the back, four at the front and one inside, right next to the center console that also turns into a huge counter. Oh, and the aft four sit in a gigantic frunk that can swallow up to two golf bags or, alternatively, can be filled with ice for a tailgate party—minus the tailgate part.

What's more, you won't just be able to plug in your power tools or auxiliary lighting in the many outlets at the back; the F-150 Lightning can also act as a giant powerwall using its battery to store energy and pump it back into the house in case of a blackout.

Ford isn't disclosing the size of the battery right now. Still, given the F-150 Lightning has an EPA range of 300 miles/480 km (in top trim, calculated using a 1,000 lbs load) and looking at what the rest of the industry uses for similar vehicles to achieve that (we're primarily thinking about the GMC Hummer EV's 200 kWh pack), expect the Ford's to have more than 150 kWh.

However, Marques says that a no-payload F-150 Lightning at an 80 percent state of charge displays a range of 367 miles (590 km), which should be enough for most people, especially when you consider there's 20% left of the battery to be filled. Do the math, and you get about 450 miles (720 km) of range, which would be absolutely ridiculous and pretty hard to believe.

Still, everything about the F-150 Lightning shows that Ford takes it very seriously and doesn't just put it out there to tick a box on its to-do list. And with prices starting below the $40,000 (for the basic trim), this might just be the truck that brings electric power in what seemed like one of the most difficult to penetrate segments.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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