Ford’s EV pickup, the F-150 Lightning, has been around for a few years now. The biggest recent change was the addition of the NACS (North American Charging Standard) adapter, allowing the Lightning to be charged at Tesla’s Supercharger stations. The Lightning has a maximum charging rate of 150kW, which is a very fast rate but less than the 250kW that the superchargers can provide to other vehicles.
In my days with the Lightning, I charged it at Electrify America’s station as those are the closest to me. My charging rates varied between 70kW and 130kW. Those seemed incredibly fast compared to ChargePoint’s level-2 charges that generally provide 7kW.
On public charging:
It must be noted that charging at public stations is not cheap. I did some calculations, and I concluded that those costs are not far from off from what I would pay for gasoline for a comparable F-150 with the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6. This varies by state, but here in Massachusetts electricity is rather pricey.
I have yet to see a DC fast charger provide charging rates anywhere near their advertised maximums. I was actually surprised to see it go as high as 130kW. So, while automakers will keep bragging about their decreased charging times, finding a suitable charger can be challenging.
During one of my charges at Electrify America, there was a charging fault which ended my session. Fortunately, at the time I was sufficiently charged and just ended my session, and went on my marry way.
On the truck:
It is fast. 0-60 comes in under four seconds. That used to be supercar territory. Highway passing power is equally amazing, and addictive. The pull into the seat from the electric motors is quite dramatic. The power for this model is rated at 580hp and 775 lb.-ft. of torque, and it is delivered instantly.
The F-150 Lightning drives like a conventional F-150. If not for the power and the decreased noise, it would be hard to tell it apart from its ICE cousins. It is also as comfortable and functional as a typical F-150, aside from the potential driving range anxiety.
The range anxiety is real with the Lightning. This model was equipped with the larger 131kWh battery. Under ideal conditions this would translate into a range of 320 miles. But the real world is anything but ideal. Like with any car, your milage will vary depending on your acceleration and driving speeds. Weather also has additional impacts.
On the price:
The F-150 Lightning gets a bad reputation for being pricey. This Lariat model, equipped with the NACS bundle, Pro Power Onboard with 9.6kW, and Blue Cruise has the MSRP of $79,985. A similarly equipped Lariat with 3.5-liter PowerBoost full-hybrid engine (needed for the comparable 7.2kW Pro Power Onboard), High Equipment Group (to make it equal to the above Lightning), and a sunroof, came out to an MSRP of $75,815. That’s small difference that can be made up with home charging quite quickly.