theblet
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I would never buy one at all. Period
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F150 Lightning
- Thread starter HotHareSpey
- Start date
WXman
Ram Guru
Well this thread is 4 years old now. Hard to believe. And I have always been skeptical of EV pickup trucks, as clearly seen in this thread. But ironically I got to use a F-150 Lightning over this last several days to do a job and some of the things I've experienced have changed my opinion of the truck quite a bit.
Yes, there is range anxiety. But the truck will direct you to nearby DC fast chargers and in 30 minutes you've got 300 miles of range again. So it's not horrible. Also, I see that Ford is currently doing a promotion where they will install a 240v charge station at your house for no cost if you lease or buy a new Lightning. So that would be a game changer. So I think over time you just adjust to the way of "filling up" this truck and it probably won't be as much of an issue as we all thought.
The truck itself is amazing. This one has 2,030 lb. of payload capacity. It's limited to 7,700 lbs. of GTW because it doesn't have the Max Tow package, but with Max Tow you get 10,000 lbs. of GTW rating AND a mechanical locking rear diff. The truck is 98% traditional F-150 intentionally, so there is almost no learning curve at all. All controls, shifter, push to start, doors, handles, buttons, etc. are just like the ICE version. I have found that to be convenient. The seats are super comfortable. Telescoping wheel and adjustable pedals makes it a perfect fit for everyone. And it's got all the bells and whistles by default since it's EV such as hands free driving, adaptive cruise, auto climate in dual zones, bending dynamic LED headlamps, cross path detection, etc. etc. Almost too many features for me. I'm traditional.
At 580 horsepower and 775 lb/ft it honestly feels just like the deleted and tuned diesel truck I've been driving for the last 2 years. The Lightning has perfect programming for the accel pedal. It's linear and smooth. Brakes are the same, very linear and smooth. Cannot tell that I'm not driving an ICE truck. It weighs 6,500 lbs. but it doesn't feel like it at all. Drives excellent.
I don't think I would ever BUY one because of the expense, but a lease would be very very tempting especially with the XLT version going for $311/month and several of the other trims with the extended range battery leasing at $500ish per month. Like most guys I have been skeptical of this truck since day 1. I still have some reservations about it. But after living with one for a few days I can start to see the benefits here for some people.
Yes, there is range anxiety. But the truck will direct you to nearby DC fast chargers and in 30 minutes you've got 300 miles of range again. So it's not horrible. Also, I see that Ford is currently doing a promotion where they will install a 240v charge station at your house for no cost if you lease or buy a new Lightning. So that would be a game changer. So I think over time you just adjust to the way of "filling up" this truck and it probably won't be as much of an issue as we all thought.
The truck itself is amazing. This one has 2,030 lb. of payload capacity. It's limited to 7,700 lbs. of GTW because it doesn't have the Max Tow package, but with Max Tow you get 10,000 lbs. of GTW rating AND a mechanical locking rear diff. The truck is 98% traditional F-150 intentionally, so there is almost no learning curve at all. All controls, shifter, push to start, doors, handles, buttons, etc. are just like the ICE version. I have found that to be convenient. The seats are super comfortable. Telescoping wheel and adjustable pedals makes it a perfect fit for everyone. And it's got all the bells and whistles by default since it's EV such as hands free driving, adaptive cruise, auto climate in dual zones, bending dynamic LED headlamps, cross path detection, etc. etc. Almost too many features for me. I'm traditional.
At 580 horsepower and 775 lb/ft it honestly feels just like the deleted and tuned diesel truck I've been driving for the last 2 years. The Lightning has perfect programming for the accel pedal. It's linear and smooth. Brakes are the same, very linear and smooth. Cannot tell that I'm not driving an ICE truck. It weighs 6,500 lbs. but it doesn't feel like it at all. Drives excellent.
I don't think I would ever BUY one because of the expense, but a lease would be very very tempting especially with the XLT version going for $311/month and several of the other trims with the extended range battery leasing at $500ish per month. Like most guys I have been skeptical of this truck since day 1. I still have some reservations about it. But after living with one for a few days I can start to see the benefits here for some people.
You wouldn’t exclusively charge your iPhone at convenience stores, you refuel it overnight at home while you sleep.
On rare occasions such as perhaps while traveling you need to find a spot to charge it for a while.
And so the same paradigm shift applies to EV’s - you refuel them at home every night and then sometimes when you travel far from home it’s a pain and slow but doable.
If you are able to do so every night, and especially if you don’t often venture far from home and/or have other ICE vehicles I think an EV makes a lot of since for appliance duty.
I just struggle to justify an EV as a truck (or a sports car for that matter). Just seems antithetical to the purpose for which the form exists.
Now I think a Lightning etc. makes a ton of sense as a work truck with local routes - public works, utilities, local trades etc.
But for me my truck is the go to for either long road trips, venturing far out into the nothing, or towing not usually locally (not a boat person, no local lakes).
I think a Lightning etc. absolutely could do all that stuff and be considerably less a pain in the *** than people make it out to seem.
But I’d prefer my EV take a more efficient form to begin with, as a sedan, SUV or blob-like local people mover.
It’s why my wife has the EV and I have the truck and sports car I suppose.
I have driven the Lightning and it was really nice actually. Drove really well. Very fast. Plenty of “truck” there to do anything someone would ask of any other stock half ton.
Found myself contemplating more than once if I should own one, but just kept coming back to the same thought - this drivetrain makes so much more sense as a car/suv thing.
On rare occasions such as perhaps while traveling you need to find a spot to charge it for a while.
And so the same paradigm shift applies to EV’s - you refuel them at home every night and then sometimes when you travel far from home it’s a pain and slow but doable.
If you are able to do so every night, and especially if you don’t often venture far from home and/or have other ICE vehicles I think an EV makes a lot of since for appliance duty.
I just struggle to justify an EV as a truck (or a sports car for that matter). Just seems antithetical to the purpose for which the form exists.
Now I think a Lightning etc. makes a ton of sense as a work truck with local routes - public works, utilities, local trades etc.
But for me my truck is the go to for either long road trips, venturing far out into the nothing, or towing not usually locally (not a boat person, no local lakes).
I think a Lightning etc. absolutely could do all that stuff and be considerably less a pain in the *** than people make it out to seem.
But I’d prefer my EV take a more efficient form to begin with, as a sedan, SUV or blob-like local people mover.
It’s why my wife has the EV and I have the truck and sports car I suppose.
I have driven the Lightning and it was really nice actually. Drove really well. Very fast. Plenty of “truck” there to do anything someone would ask of any other stock half ton.
Found myself contemplating more than once if I should own one, but just kept coming back to the same thought - this drivetrain makes so much more sense as a car/suv thing.
