The most important EV of the decade? We drive the F-150 Lightning

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Simply put, the Ford F-150 Lightning is the most important new electric vehicle we’ll be driving for a while. Motoring journalists can be accused of being all too easy to use that cliché, but in this case I think it’s defensible. Americans love pickup trucks more than any other four-wheel vehicle, and when it comes to pickups, they love the Ford F-Series enough that it’s been the best-seller for almost as long as I’ve lived. country.

Making an all-battery-electric version of its favorite pickup therefore seems like a good way to boost electric vehicle adoption in a country lagging behind Europe and China. But only if the truck is good. Part of the reason why Ford sells so many F Series trucks is that many of them are put to work pulling trailers or hauling heavy loads in their beds. And it’s just as important to decarbonize those trucks, meaning a stripped-down electric F-150 should be able to do just as well on the job site as it does in the role of a fully-loaded suburban dad’s pickup truck.

To a casual observer, there’s little that marks the F-150 Lightning as anything other than just another F-150 with a super crew cabin and 5.5-foot bed. Instead of an open grille, there’s a more aerodynamic treatment at the front, plus some eye-catching daytime running lights. The surfaces of the alloy wheels are more disc-like than you would normally see. And if you look closely, you can see the occasional bolt of lightning. The cabin is light and airy thanks to the large sliding glass roofs, and there is plenty of room in the rear for large adults.

The drivetrain between the rails

All of this can lead to underestimating the amount of work that Ford’s engineers and designers have put in over the years. The bodywork may look like most F-150s, but that’s the beauty of using a body-on-frame construction. And unlike the other electric pickups we’ve driven in recent months, this one is resolutely body-on-frame. A lot of the hard work has gone into that. The battery pack, encased in its protective shell, is insulated from the frame rather than just bolted on — more resistant to the shocks and vibrations that can occur, Ford engineers say.

By redesigning the frame rather than just taking out combustion parts and putting electrics in their place, Ford didn’t fill the nose of the truck with the air conditioning parts and other accessories we find all too often in European BEVs. Rather, there’s an impressively usable frunk, big enough for sets of golf clubs or a set of carry-on suitcases, that can be locked away from prying eyes.

The F-150 Lightning can be ordered with different batteries. The standard package offers a usable capacity of 98 kWh, which is sufficient for an EPA-estimated range of 230 miles (370 km), and has a built-in AC charger that can accept up to 11.3 kW and deliver 10.5 kW. The battery pack also dictates power; choose the smaller package and the permanent magnet electric motors front and rear will deliver a combined power of 452 hp (337 kW) and 1050 Nm.

The extended range battery offers a usable capacity of 131 kWh, which should be between 300 and 320 miles (482-515 km) between charges, depending on the equipment. The larger package also delivers more power to the engines – in this case 580 hp (433 kW). Torque is identical to the standard package, but in addition to the larger capacity package, Ford also applies a built-in AC charger that can accept up to 19.2 kW and deliver 17.6 kW.