{"id":27385,"date":"2021-05-25T14:22:47","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T18:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=27385"},"modified":"2021-05-25T14:22:47","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T18:22:47","slug":"first-impressions-fords-electric-f-150-lightning-offers-speed-grunt-and-a-big-frunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/first-impressions-fords-electric-f-150-lightning-offers-speed-grunt-and-a-big-frunk","title":{"rendered":"First impressions: Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning offers speed, grunt and a big frunk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Romeo<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Eighteen months ago, Tesla CEO\u00a0Elon Musk threw down the electric pickup gauntlet, introducing the sci-fi Cybertruck at a Los Angeles news conference as a vision of the future. In so doing, he mocked Detroit Three pickup designs, saying \u201cthey all look pretty much the same.\u201d Promising \u201csomething different,\u201d his stainless-steel\u00a0exoskeleton EV opened a new battlefront in the pickup wars.<\/p>\n

This week, Ford responded.<\/p>\n

The 2022 F-150 Lightning enters the EV market using the same\u00a0tried-and-true\u00a0three-box, ladder-frame formula that has made the gas-powered F-150 the King of Trucks for the last 44 years. Then it spices the recipe with signature features only electrics can offer.<\/p>\n

The Lightning sits an all-new, ladder-frame\u00a0skateboard architecture built around a massive battery. Up front, it boasts the industry\u2019s biggest \u201cfrunk\u201d (front trunk) where an engine traditionally resides. With a jaw-dropping 775 pound-feet of torque and 563 horsepower, the Ford can dash from zero-60 faster than the Ford Raptor super truck. The Ford even uses its massive battery to double as a home generator should the lights go out.<\/p>\n

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More:<\/strong>Ford’s F-150 Lightning starts under $40K, has up to 300 miles of range<\/a><\/p>\n

For subscribers:<\/strong>Here’s how Ford used its HQ to flash ‘a moment of history’ with electric F-150 reveal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur customers told us they wanted distinct, but not different,\u201d said F-150 Lightning marketing manager Jason Turnbull, who\u00a0threw some shade at Cybertruck\u2019s radical design. \u201cThey did not want it to look like a doorstop or a spaceship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Ford\u2019s first EV, the Mustang Mach-E, Lightning is aimed directly at Tesla, even matching its entry-level price \u2014 $39,974 before destination fees and government tax breaks. Yet unlike Mach-E, Lightning is determined to win over customers with an evolutionary \u2014 not revolutionary \u2014 design.<\/p>\n

The Lightning name is even a throwback to the wicked-fast\u00a01992 F-150 Lightning pickup. \u201cLike the original, this is a truck that reinvents the way we look at trucks,\u201d Ford North America president Kumar Galhotra said.<\/p>\n

With this 6-foot-5\u00a0reporter riding shotgun, the Lightning\u2019s development team recently demonstrated the e-truck\u2019s prodigious capabilities at Ford\u2019s sprawling\u00a03,880-acre Proving Grounds in Romeo, with media riding shotgun in upper Lariat and Platinum-trimmed prototypes.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll know the Lightning by its bold\u00a0horizontal LED running light running across the plastic,\u00a0non-functional grille like a unibrow. And a driver\u2019s side charging port.<\/p>\n

The Ford vaults from 0-60 in the mid-four second range despite its 6,500-pound curb weight. To achieve this freak of nature, Lightning operates in constant\u00a0all-wheel-drive mode to maximize traction while putting its instant torque to asphalt. The mid-4 second figure is shy of the Cybertruck\u2019s claimed sub-3 second shot (not to mention the reigning gas champ, Ram 1500 TRX\u2019s 3.7 seconds) but beats the 5.3-second time of Ford\u2019s fastest gas beast, the F-150 Raptor.<\/p>\n

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Mega-torque also pays towing dividends.<\/p>\n

The F-150 effortlessly clean-and-jerked a 6,000-pound trailer up and down steep Proving Ground grades (maximum tow rating is 10,000 pounds, shy of the 13,200-pound figure claimed by the F-150\u2019s 3.5-liter turbo-6 cylinder). With a single-speed transmission, Lightning pulled smoothly up a steep grade where its gas-engine counterpart would have to shift down to low gear to make the climb.<\/p>\n

More:<\/strong>SK supplies batteries for Ford’s F-150 Lightning. Is a joint venture next?<\/a><\/p>\n

All-wheel-drive, independent rear suspension\u00a0and a low center of gravity also pay dividends off-road. The big truck sped through a serpentine dirt trail like an oversized rally car \u2014 the weight in its belly minimizing head toss. Thanks to state-of-the-art electronics, Lightning integrates all extra-terrain modes into a single \u201cOff-Road\u201d mode (Normal, Sport\u00a0and Tow-Haul are also available). The pickup also features a lockable rear axle for when the going gets really tough.<\/p>\n

Ladder-frame trucks are typically rugged, and Lightning showed off its macho chops by harmlessly slapping its belly over uneven moguls. Thanks to the flat battery drivetrain, however, Lightning appeared better protected by full under-body skid plates that didn\u2019t have to protect a low-hanging muffler or rear \u201cpig\u201d (differential).<\/p>\n

Passengers survey this capability from a familiar F-150 interior with options first introduced last fall on the 2021 gas model, including a stowable gear shift and work table.<\/p>\n

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The interior departs from its gas sibling with an available, vertical 15.5-inch console touchscreen. It echoes the Mustang Mach-E\u2019s tablet with swipeable pages and a giant volume knob. The touchscreen is paired with a fully digital instrument display behind the steering wheel.<\/p>\n

Cybertruck debuted a clean, integrated box design \u2014 but that limits the ability to screw on different-length beds. Lightning sticks to the familiar pickup box design with no Cybertruck tricks like a rolling bed cover or kneeling rear.<\/p>\n

Sold separately from its vehicles, Tesla offers battery-powered \u201cpower walls\u201d to light your home. Ford one-ups Tesla by offering Lightning as a home generator. The estimated $10,000 option is targeted at the gas generator industry that installs \u201cengines-on-a-slab\u201d for homes \u2014 and telegraphs Lightning\u2019s ambitions to go after higher-income truck buyers.<\/p>\n

With an industry-best power output of 19.2 kWh on board, the pickup\u2019s power can be routed through a wall-mounted inverter to run a home during a power outage for up to three days.<\/p>\n

Even without the generator option, Lightning offers 9.6 kW of onboard power (first seen on the F-150 Hybrid introduced last fall) that can be used to charge tools at a worksite\u00a0or a TV at a football tailgate. The bed bristles with three 110-volt outlets and a 240. The frunk? Three 110s and three USBs.<\/p>\n

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The yawning frunk is Lightning\u2019s killer app. Pickups alienate many due to the lack of covered cargo space. Not this pickup. Its frunk can swallow two golf bags or three pieces of luggage.<\/p>\n

Lightning also comes with batteries\u2019 inherent drawbacks. Chief among them is range.<\/p>\n

The standard battery offers 230 miles, with an optional extended-range unit rated at 300 miles. That\u2019s on par with the Mach-E \u2014 but well shy of, say, the F-150 diesel\u2019s 850 miles.<\/p>\n

Towing with any engine sucks juice \u2014 whether gas or electrons. TFLTruck.com reports that towing degrades mpg in a gas or hybrid-powered F-150 by 70%. Ford estimates Lightning will see similar degradation. But when the diesel runs out, there is ample fueling infrastructure. Not so the nation\u2019s fast-charging grid. And when the Ford does stop for charging, it will take longer than a gas pump fill-up \u2014 think 10 minutes for 50 miles of range.<\/p>\n

With the F-150\u2019s six engine options, pickup owners have a lot of choice. Naturally, Lightning is targeted at the higher-income\u00a0urban toy truck customer. Construction or landscaping pros seem a natural audience as well.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the big EV can be recharged in about eight\u00a0hours and be back on the job in the a.m.<\/p>\n

The race is on for the first EV pickup, and the Lightning will compete with the GMC Hummer, Lordstown Endurance, Bollinger B2\u00a0and Rivian R1T due next year. In addition to its conventional styling, Ford thinks customers will appreciate the conventional dealer network. Some 2,300 Ford dealers are already certified for service.<\/p>\n

Expect it to arrive on dealer lots in the middle of next year. Your move, Tesla.<\/p>\n

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