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Motor Trend First Drive of F-150 Lightning


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2022 Ford F-150 Lightning First Drive: A Monumental Electric Pickup Truck (motortrend.com)

 

No joke: The Lightning is one of the most important pickup trucks—vehicles, really—in history. Forget early adopters, environmentalists, and technophiles. This truck has to convince construction workers, farmers, ranchers, surveyors, and everyday truck fans that electric pickups aren't just viable but desirable. That an EV truck not only can do the work but also do it better. It does that.

To get to brass tacks, the Lightning is the best-driving, best-riding, and best-handling F-150 you can buy.

 

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Looks to be the real deal. I am impressed with how they got the lightning to pass the frontal crash tests without the mass of a conventional ICE powertrain to absorb some of the energy. My gut feeling is that we may see the "frunk" design be augmented with a forward cab configuration; a SuperCrew/8ft box in roughly the same footprint of a regular cab 

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6 hours ago, Chrisgb said:

Looks to be the real deal. I am impressed with how they got the lightning to pass the frontal crash tests without the mass of a conventional ICE powertrain to absorb some of the energy. My gut feeling is that we may see the "frunk" design be augmented with a forward cab configuration; a SuperCrew/8ft box in roughly the same footprint of a regular cab 

 
 
 

Powertrain is actually bad for crash management, You have to plan out what to do with the engine when in a major impact as it doesn’t really absorb energy so much as just become a rock that drives itself into the passenger compartment. Current design is to push the engine down so it would create leg injury if it actually penetrated the passenger compartment. The rule now is to fold the wheel to use as a block to push the engine toward the center.  It spreads the energy across the firewall and gives driver and passenger leg protection. 

 

Electric vehicles will do the same thing with the wheels but the whole frontal structure holds up much better and can collapse at a consistent rate as it’s all crumble zone. 
 

 

Mach-e, Lighting, and e-transit show that Ford is focused on great electric vehicles.This truck will change a lot of perceptions of what an electric truck is and will get many buyers to consider them. 

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On 5/11/2022 at 6:09 PM, bzcat said:

So far all the review I've read is positive. Ford really hit a homerun with this one just like Mach E. 

 

That huge frunk is a real gamechanger. Not having an enclosed trunk was always a downside to owning a pickup. Not anymore with the Lightning.....functionality of bed and enclosed trunk all in one package. I'm sure it will be copied, but Ford is first. 

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On 5/13/2022 at 9:39 AM, FordBuyer said:

That huge frunk is a real gamechanger. Not having an enclosed trunk was always a downside to owning a pickup. Not anymore with the Lightning.....functionality of bed and enclosed trunk all in one package. I'm sure it will be copied, but Ford is first. 

 

For sure FordBuyer. Motor Trend just put up a slideshow highlighting some facts on the very well designed frunk for F-150 Lightning. Frun Facts About the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning’s Frunk (motortrend.com)

 

1. It's Huge

Starting with an opening nearly the width of the F-150 Lightning itself, the frunk boasts a total of 14.1 cubic feet of space, similar to that of the average midsize sedan However, thanks to its yawning opening, the Lightning's frunk is easier to slide stuff into than most any conventional trunk we've ever used. It even fits two sets of golf clubs stacked diagonally.

2. It's Easy to Load

You can put darn near anything inside of the frunk, too, as it has a 400-pound payload capacity, is fully sealed, and—thanks to a drain hole you can pop out of the floor—can even serve as a cooler or ice chest. Or just hose out the frunk's funk if you accumulate too much junk.

3. Reconfigure It as You Like

This little floor panel can be flipped vertically to act as a useful cargo divider. You can place it in one of several slots along the frunk's front-to-rear axis.

 

4. Where'd Ford Put Everything to Make It Work?

Enabling such a huge void in the Lightning's nose required not only the absence of a tall engine (the front electric motor lives beneath the frunk), but also rearranging several ancillaries to the frunk's perimeter. These include fluid fill-up points (coolant, wiper fluid,), the brake booster, and even the 12-volt battery that runs the starting circuit, which lives in a centralized nook nestled up against the firewall. It's accessible via a panel on the frunk's back wall.

5. Can You Feel the Power?

In keeping with the Lightning's rolling-jobsite theme, the frunk plays host to a bank of power outlets similar to that in the pickup's bed. Up front, you get a 2.4-kW quadrant of 120-volt household-style AC outlets, plus USB and USB-C ports. These can be powered while the truck is driving, serving as a mobile charging station for myriad devices. The truck even gives you the option to lower the output wattage via the dashboard touchscreen to prevent frying lighter-duty electronics.

6. The Frunk Won't Eat You

The federally mandated glow-in-the-dark interior release is present in the frunk, in case someone gets stuck inside. Ford even designed the button to show the figure escaping an open frunk.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/11/2022 at 12:20 PM, silvrsvt said:

The CD review was glowing too

 

Car and Driver released official instrumented test results for F-150 Lightning Platinum ER. Not surprisingly, it's the quickest stock F-150 in history. 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Is Even Quicker Than Expected (caranddriver.com)

 

  • 0-60 mph: 4.0 seconds
  • Quarter mile: 12.7 seconds @ 107 mph
  • 30–50 mph: 1.6 seconds
  • 50–70 mph: 2.2 seconds

 

 

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37 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

Car and Driver released official instrumented test results for F-150 Lightning Platinum ER. Not surprisingly, it's the quickest stock F-150 in history. 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Is Even Quicker Than Expected (caranddriver.com)

 

  • 0-60 mph: 4.0 seconds
  • Quarter mile: 12.7 seconds @ 107 mph
  • 30–50 mph: 1.6 seconds
  • 50–70 mph: 2.2 seconds

 

 

 

Raiti's Rides got his hands on a Lariat trim Lightning, and very impressive inside and out. I believe the sticker was $78,000, but we know dealers charge much more than that. Raiti took it out on road, and very impressive handler and figures above speak for themselves. Now the hard part....meeting demand. 

 

Also, it looks like Ford is not going to break out Lightning sales as for May they were included in FSeries sales. Ditto with Transit EV and Explorer cop cars. 

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Interesting issue they experienced.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-113000752.html

 

Braking was a different story, with the Lightning's stoppers fading significantly during our six-stop routine from 70 mph. Although it delivered a solid 180-foot stop (we report the second-best number of the six), after the third one a warning light came on to indicate the brakes were overheating, along with significant fade and smoke, to the point that the truck couldn't keep ABS engaged on the later stops. Although our test may seem extreme, it gives us pause about using the upper reaches of the Lightning's maximum 10,000-pound towing capacity (8500 pounds max for Platinum trims like ours). Many other pickups handle the abuse without complaint, including the heavier Rivian.

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14 hours ago, blwnsmoke said:

Interesting issue they experienced.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-113000752.html

 

Braking was a different story, with the Lightning's stoppers fading significantly during our six-stop routine from 70 mph. Although it delivered a solid 180-foot stop (we report the second-best number of the six), after the third one a warning light came on to indicate the brakes were overheating, along with significant fade and smoke, to the point that the truck couldn't keep ABS engaged on the later stops. Although our test may seem extreme, it gives us pause about using the upper reaches of the Lightning's maximum 10,000-pound towing capacity (8500 pounds max for Platinum trims like ours). Many other pickups handle the abuse without complaint, including the heavier Rivian.

 

Hopefully Ford gets this issue resolved quickly. Unfortunately, Ford has a history of skimping on braking components. In the past, Taurus SHO, Edge, Escape, certain Mustangs, and certain trucks have exhibited similar issues with braking performance. 

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On 5/11/2022 at 12:25 PM, Chrisgb said:

Looks to be the real deal. I am impressed with how they got the lightning to pass the frontal crash tests without the mass of a conventional ICE powertrain to absorb some of the energy. My gut feeling is that we may see the "frunk" design be augmented with a forward cab configuration; a SuperCrew/8ft box in roughly the same footprint of a regular cab 

You hit the nail on the head and described the next gen Lightning….

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 6/2/2022 at 5:15 PM, rperez817 said:

Car and Driver released official instrumented test results for F-150 Lightning Platinum ER.

 

Ezra Dyer at Car and Driver did an informal review of F-150 Lightning Pro ER. It's his favorite version of F-150 Lightning. Dyer offered a suggestion about how non-fleet buyers can get one (actually 5 or more). Ford Lightning Pro Extended Range Is the Best Truck You Can't Buy (caranddriver.com)

 

When you go to the configurator on Ford's website, the little slider that lets you choose the standard-range or extended-range battery is absent on the Pro. It's standard-range only. So how did I end up driving an extended-range Pro? Was this a hot rod hacked together by rogue Ford engineers to explore the possibilities of super-quick work trucks? Nope. Ford does build an extended-range Lightning Pro, but it only sells it to fleet customers. No Pro for you. At least, not with the big battery.

 

Which got me wondering about how many trucks constitute a fleet, so I asked Ford. And the answer is five. If you buy five Lightning Pros at once, you're a fleet customer. Who wants to go in on a Groupon?

 

 

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A ton of full sized crew cab pickups are bought with little or no intention of towing, maybe on the odd occasion. Heck orders are showin that most Lightning buyers are not repeat F150 buyers, so Lightning is pulling lots of sales form everywhere except F150 which is good but shows that maybe Lightning is seen as more of a big sedan and expectations are different?

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15 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Heck orders are showin that most Lightning buyers are not repeat F150 buyers, so Lightning is pulling lots of sales form everywhere except F150 which is good but shows that maybe Lightning is seen as more of a big sedan and expectations are different?

 

F-150 Lightning has broad appeal. In Autolist's BEV pickup truck shopper survey last year, it was the top choice overall and for each of the following segments. Survey: Ford’s Electric F-150 Pickup Tops Rivals from Tesla, Rivian, GM (autolist.com)

  • Past/current BEV owners
  • Past/current pickup truck owners
  • People who have never owned a pickup truck
  • All age groups above 35 years old

Only among younger shoppers (younger than 35) was F-150 Lightning not the top choice.

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1 hour ago, coupe3w said:

 

Some observations:  Towing with a travel trailer uses lots of energy whether gas or electric.  The limited range of the lightning makes it practical for short trips under 75 miles and even then requires charging at the destination.

Charging takes a long time just to get to 75%.

Cost wasn’t that much different.  $94 in premium gas vs $75 plus chicken dinner.  $4 per gallon and gas comes out ahead.

 

Also, why is GM putting a 24 gallon tank on their ultimate pickup with a 6.2L V8?  It should be at least 30 gallons, 36 like the F150 extended range would be better.  A larger tank would really drive home the difference in range between gas and electric.

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4 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

F-150 Lightning has broad appeal. In Autolist's BEV pickup truck shopper survey last year, it was the top choice overall and for each of the following segments. Survey: Ford’s Electric F-150 Pickup Tops Rivals from Tesla, Rivian, GM (autolist.com)

  • Past/current BEV owners
  • Past/current pickup truck owners
  • People who have never owned a pickup truck
  • All age groups above 35 years old

Only among younger shoppers (younger than 35) was F-150 Lightning not the top choice.

 

 

I don't think that should come as a big surprise considering the F-150 is the best-selling pickup in America and is instantly recognizable out of all the pickups listed save for the Hummer. I think Ford has a real winner with their EV lineup, save for maybe the E-Transit. 

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7 hours ago, slemke said:

Some observations:  Towing with a travel trailer uses lots of energy whether gas or electric.  The limited range of the lightning makes it practical for short trips under 75 miles and even then requires charging at the destination.

Charging takes a long time just to get to 75%.

Cost wasn’t that much different.  $94 in premium gas vs $75 plus chicken dinner.  $4 per gallon and gas comes out ahead.

 

Also, why is GM putting a 24 gallon tank on their ultimate pickup with a 6.2L V8?  It should be at least 30 gallons, 36 like the F150 extended range would be better.  A larger tank would really drive home the difference in range between gas and electric.

Both manufacturers supply smallish base fuel tanks, mostly because a lot of crew cabs sold are use more like cars with infrequent towing.

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1 hour ago, jpd80 said:

Both manufacturers supply smallish base fuel tanks, mostly because a lot of crew cabs sold are use more like cars with infrequent towing.

GM only offers the larger 28 gal tank on regular cabs.  Ford starts out with an extra 2 gallons (6 if you get powerboost) and provides a 36 gal option on the 2.7, 5.0, and 3.5eb.  Ford has a significant range advantage when towing.

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51 minutes ago, slemke said:

GM only offers the larger 28 gal tank on regular cabs.  Ford starts out with an extra 2 gallons (6 if you get powerboost) and provides a 36 gal option on the 2.7, 5.0, and 3.5eb.  Ford has a significant range advantage when towing.

But that wasn’t the point of this test as TFL used the Lightning with a standard battery.

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