Electrifying

Ford’s new F-150 Lighting EV offers luxury, practicality and fun

TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editor
nash@dallasvoice.com

OK, I admit it: I love pickup trucks. I grew up out in the country, and EVERYbody I knew had a pickup truck. I mean, you had to have a truck to haul hay or to move farm equipment or to tow your boat or … . Well, you just needed a truck.

In high school for a while, I drove the 1953 Chevy pickup that belonged to my grea-uncle, then my Papaw and then my dad. I loved it that truck; I wish I had it now.

Later on, I bought my own truck, and then much later I bought a second one. I would have one now if it were even remotely feasible. But given trucks’ habit of guzzling gas and the exorbitant price of gasoline these days, owning a pickup truck just isn’t practical for me.

Or is it…..?

Recently, I had the opportunity to check out and, yes, even drive a brand new Ford F-150 Lightning, a full-size and fully electric pickup truck. And — all over again, just like when I was kid — I want a pickup truck.

I will be honest: While I have always respected the ecological practicality of electric vehicles, I have just never wanted to own one — not even a cool-looking one like the Tesla. I like vehicles that make me feel like I am driving a late ’60s/early ’70s muscle car with power and speed. And I always figured if you made a full-size truck powered by batteries, you weren’t gonna end up with power and certainly not with acceleration or speed.

The F-150 Lightning proved me wrong. The top-of-the-line truck I was driving was as big as they come, with its king-sized four-door can and an 8-foot bed. But pulling that Lightning onto the highway, I put my foot down on the accelerator, and the truck responded immediately, surging up to highway speed with ease.

Merging into and keeping up with the traffic was no problem.

Was it comfortable, you may ask? Like gliding down the highway in a high-quality recliner. It was a smooth, effortless ride that handled even the not-so-smooth surface streets under construction with aplomb.

I admit, when we hit the “road closed for construction sign” and I had to turn around and go a different way, the truck didn’t handle the U-turn as easily as my own subcompact sedan does. But then, my subcompact sedan can’t haul a load of hay or lumber or furniture or anything else, either.

I got to drive the F-150 Lightning Platinum, which comes with ALL the bells and whistles, including a giant, vertically-oriented 15-inch touchscreen that handles the radio and plenty of other options. There is a twin-panel sunroof that extends all the way over the back seat, with the front half opening all the way up to let in the fresh air. You can check out the Ford website to get all the details, but one option I want to mention is that when you are in park, you can punch a button by the gear shift that folks the gear shift down flat, allowing you to fold open what is basically a desktop so that you can sit there in your cool, comfy truck to have lunch, work on your laptop or whatever.

The seats are heated and cooled and even have a massage option, and the steering wheel is heated, too (not an asset during a Texas summer, but when those winter super-storms set in, you are golden).

Since there is no engine (all the batteries are tucked underneath, running along the sides beneath the running boards), the area under the front hood basically becomes a front trunk — “frunk” — with plenty of space for whatever you want to keep safe and dry. There are electrical outlets there and even a well that, as the rep told me, you could fill with ice to keep drinks cold for a tailgate party. The well in the frunk even has a built-in drain, so when the ice melts it drains right away.

The tailgate features a fold-down step and a fold-up handle for old folks like me who might have trouble climbing in and out. There are outlets back there, too, and even a “yardstick” built into the tailgate to help with measurements if you need them.

The Platinum edition’s extended range battery gives you about 340 miles of driving, while the standard battery will make it about 240 miles. And it comes with the standard charging card and a rapid charger, too.

But what are the drawbacks? For me, mainly the price. The truck I drove was around $99,000, and that is way beyond my budget. The entry-level Pro edition starts around $42,000, and the XLT and Lariat editions go up from there. And yeah, even the low-end price is a bit much for a lot of folks. There are, of course, incentives for buying an EV, and you will certainly save a TON of money on gas, so that can surely help offset that initial expense.

So if find yourself needing a truck — or if you, like me, just really want one — definitely check out the Ford F-150 Lightning, in whichever trim level fits your needs and your pocketbook. But don’t expect to get a new one any time soon; Ford has already sold out of the 2022 models. But they’ll be opening up orders for the 2023 model soon!

Check out Ford.com/trucks for all the technical details on the F-150 Lightning and Ford’s other EVs.