When it comes to electric pickup trucks, Ford was one of the quieter ones. General Motors brought back the Hummer with the EV edition, and Rivian has had people excited about their 2021 Rivian R1T electric pickup too. Not to mention there is Tesla’s Cybertruck.
With the Ford F-150 being the best-selling truck for 44 years, it finally made the leap with the many other car companies and released an electric F-150. Below are all the details you need to know about the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning set to go on sale in May 2022 thus far.
Overview
With the company’s million-pound towing stunt from 2019 not going away, Ford has been eager to tell us more about this upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning. Look at it from a general scale; the body isn’t that different from a typical F-150 you see. The same applies to the cabin too.
A notable difference that you see is the truck’s gasoline-powered V-6 and V-8 engines are replaced with electric motors. Similar to the V-6 and V-8 engines, you get the option between which two electric motors you’d like.
Range
There is a Standard-Range battery that delivers upwards of 230 miles per charge.
The other is the Extended-Range which is aiming for 300 miles per charge.
These sound nice, but there are other electric pickup trucks that are entering the market. It’s worth comparing those as more information about the other electric pickup trucks becomes more available.
Towing Capacity
While this new truck takes on the same name as its gasoline counterpart, the F-150 Lightning is completely different from the Ford truck lineup for the 2022 model year. You can expect these trucks to provide all-wheel drive and are able to tow up to 7,000 pounds (10,000 pounds if you go for the stronger battery).
Performance
Like many other Ford trucks, they go through brutal testing before being signed off on. The Lightning was no different. Before it gets sent to dealerships, millions of test miles will have been done. Below are some of the details MotorTrend noted in their first-hand experiences with the truck.
High-Speed Power
The first test done is to determine the truck’s speed. When chief engineer Linda Zhang floored it from rest, the acceleration threw out a whopping 563 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque from dual motors that fed into the extended-range battery. When it wasn’t speeding, the ride was quiet and smooth.
Ford has mentioned already that the Lightning can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in the mid-four-second range, which is pretty fast.
Equally impressive is the instantly available torque when driving at highway speeds for passing along with quick steering to make the pass.
You can start to see the electric part of it shine here through the function of one-pedal driving. By lifting off the accelerator, it slows the truck down using the motors’ resistance. This function is something that you have full control over too. Best of all, there wasn’t any jerkiness by using this function.
Torque
The Lightning has a payload of 2,000 pounds and can tow 7,000 pounds (10,000 if you have the Extended-Range battery). For comparison, the typical F-150 can tow 14,000 pounds.
Even though it’s towing less, the truck is able to handle it as MotorTrend felt like there was nothing attached in the back when they were testing. This is despite the fact they were towing about 6,000 pounds. The only indication was a slight tug which was explained as a trailer lash and not an issue with the truck’s capability.
Jumping from 25-percent grade down to 14-percent grade and back up to 7-percent, you wouldn’t hear the engine revving at all. What’s also to be expected is driving downhill will generate electricity that’ll replenish the battery.
Off-Roading Is Still Possible
Because this is more or less a variant of the F-150, Ford knows the drivers are going to be going off-road with their trucks. They ensured that buyers of the Lightning F-150 will still be able to do that.
As such, you’ll find the batteries are in a waterproof casing, and there is a protective exoskeleton as well as underbody metal skid plates.
Ground clearance is lower than usual but still provides a decent eight to nine inches off the ground, depending on the tire package.
In terms of off-road modes, this newer model only has a single off-road mode compared to the three that the regular FX4 offers. That said, thanks to the torque and softening the pedal map in Off-Road, you’ll have more control over the terrain, so you’re not spinning the tires.
Also, note that you can’t use one pedal driving while off-road since you’ll definitely get stuck.
Can It Jump?
It’s very similar to the Ford Raptor in terms of jumping capabilities. It’s robust enough to handle that sort of thing, but it’s not engineered to handle big movements. Consider it a tradeoff but that’s to be expected with the F-150 Lightning.
Despite it doing only slight performances, it can still perform these very well. tIt can surf over obstacles if need be. It’s not overly phased by deep ruts, mud, or water either.
Design
Exterior
As mentioned before, the F-150 Lightning resembles very much the typical F-150 body and overall style. As a way of calling back on what it once was, it’s clear the design is meant to encourage people to purchase these new trucks on the basis of nostalgia.
Interior
Looking at the inside of the truck, you’ll find that the cabin is very much the same as the standard F-150. That said, there are some key differences there. First is the extra-large infotainment display along with a massive front-trunk cargo bay.
Price
At the time of this posting, Ford hasn’t announced the full prices for these trucks yet. That said, they’re priced attractively as people are expecting the prices to start at $42,000. The XLT and EV counterparts will be around $55,000 and $90,000 respectively.
Nevertheless, it’s fair to say that these electric trucks will be priced higher than those same models that use gasoline. It’s also fair to assume that if you get the Extended-Range battery pack, you’ll be paying higher still.
All of this is speculation of course and the final numbers will get announced once it gets closer to spring 2022.
So Far, So Good
Overall, the tradeoffs that this truck offers aren’t dramatic enough to cause loyal truck drivers to be angry. On top of that, it delivers well in certain key areas, even surpassing comparable F-150s with combustion engines. Additionally, the electric aspect of it can enhance the experience in many ways.
