Dozens of new battery-electric vehicles will reach U.S. showrooms this year. None has generated as much interest as the Ford F-150 Lightning, reviewed here, that’s just gone into production.
There’s good reason for all the excitement considering this all-electric version of America’s bestselling truck starts at less than $40,000. Yet it offers extended range, plenty of muscle, and lots of features, especially on premium versions like the Lightning Platinum.
Here’s our hands-on first-drive review of this hotly anticipated vehicle.
A personal disclosure: I have a Lightning on order. So when I got the chance to fly down to San Antonio for my first drive, I jumped at the chance — not only to review the new pickup but to decide whether I was making the right choice. A little hint before I get into the details: I’m not canceling my order.
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Review
A brutal Texas sun had sent temperatures soaring to record highs as I climbed into my dark-blue Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum edition. I’d been waiting for this opportunity for more than a year, ever since Chief Engineer Linda Zhang took me out for a ride at the Ford Proving Grounds north of Detroit.
Ford was early to electrify its lineup, offering up a mix of hybrids, plug-ins (PHEV), and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). But the original offerings didn’t fare all that well, especially all-electric models like the Focus EV. They were slow, stodgy, and offered marginal range.
But the automaker found religion a few years back when company officials created Team Edison, which, essentially, was assigned the task of taking on Tesla. Its first project, the Mustang Mach-E, is now one of the bestselling BEVs in the U.S.
Ford Struggles to Meet Demand
Like most manufacturers, Ford will eventually go all-electric with its entire lineup. But it’s starting by focusing on icon models like Mustang and, now, the F-150.