Flash Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning

America’s Best-Selling Truck Is Now All-New and All-Electric

Ford says the all-new, all-electric 2022 F-150 Lighting is “the truck of the future.” If so, then the future looks bright in many ways. Ford plans to lead in vehicle electrification by committing $22 billion to electrifying its cars, crossovers, SUVs and trucks through 2025. The first was the 2021 Mustang Mach-E, next was the 2022 E-Transit cargo van, and now the enticing 2022 F-150 Lightning.

It is one thing to build a new vehicle, but developing one offering so many different appealing technologies and features will draw buyers with broad interests and lifestyles. These buyers will have one thing in common: feeling the joy that comes from driving an all-electric pickup. Ford says 75-percent of F-150 Lightning buyers will be new to the brand, while 80-percent are new to owning an EV.

Concept To Production

Ford early-on knew the wrong way to develop their first-ever electric pickup truck was to do it with preconceived ideas on what consumers wanted, or would buy. So off they went to Texas (which is truck crazy) and California (which is EV crazy) to ask truck owners a wide range of questions about trucks. Not electric trucks, but trucks.

Ford held focus groups with cardboard cut-outs depicting design features to test acceptance. With a truck being a truck regardless of the brand, there had to be something very unique about these slabs of cardboard. One excited the focus groups: the frunk. When Ford showed a front trunk, where a gasoline or diesel engine should be, this caught the interest of the attendees. They became enthusiastic about this new-found storage compartment even before knowing there would not be a conventional engine.

Since Ford expected the frunk would be a popular selling feature (as the Mustang Mach-E has one), they had to engineer a way to include it in a space that usually is crammed (ever looked under the hood of a truck?) with an engine, wires, cooling radiators and other vital mechanical components. Not only did Ford cleverly design a 14.1 cubic foot frunk, but they loaded it with convenience features. The push-button power operated frunk has a drain so it can be an ice chest, two 2.4kW 120V outlets, four 9.6kW 120V outlets, LED lights, and a 400-pound weight capacity. This is only one example of the innovations Ford developed on the Lighting.

F-150 Lightning Specifications

Standard Range Battery

4×4 with a single-speed transmission

Dual electric motors

98 kilowatt-hour (kWh), liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery

452 horsepower (hp)

775 pound-feet of torque (lb.-ft.)

0 – 60 mph: 4.5 seconds

Driving Range: Pro, XLT, Lariat: 230 miles

Payload: 2,235 pounds

Maximum Tow Rating: 7,700 pounds

Extended Range Battery

4×4 with a single-speed transmission

Dual electric motors

131 kWh, liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery

580 hp

775 lb.-ft. of torque

0 – 60 mph: 5.0 seconds

Driving Range: Pro, XLT, Lariat: 300 miles. Platinum: 280 miles

Payload: 1,952 pounds

Maximum Tow Rating: Pro, XLT, Lariat: 10,000 pounds. Platinum: 8,500 pounds

Charging

The most convenient and expected place to charge will be at home using the Ford Mobile Charger that is included with the purchase of a Lighting. When on the road, charging is a seamless transaction through the BlueOval Charge Network.

Using the FordPass app, Lightning owners have access to more than 20,500 charging stations, in North America, through providers such as ChargePoint, EVgo and Electrify America. No payment is required at the time of charging as long as there is a balance on the account. Ford has made entry to ownership even better by including 250kW of free charging at these locations.

Standard-Range Battery

Level 3

150 kWh

10 minutes: 41 miles

44 minutes: 15 – 80%

Level 2

80 Amp

1 hour: 19 miles

10 hours: 15 – 100%

48 Amp

1 hour: 19 miles

10 hours: 15 – 100%

32 Amp/240W Mobile Charger (provided with the Lightning)

1 hour: 14 miles

14 hours: 15 – 100%

Extended-Range Battery

Level 3

150 kW

10 minutes: 54 miles

41 minutes: 15 – 80%

Level 2

80 Amp

1 hour: 30 miles

8 hours: 15 – 100%

48 Amp

1 hour: 20 miles

13 hours: 15 – 100%

32 Amp/240W Mobile Charger (provided with the Lightning)

1 hour: 13 miles

19 hours: 15 – 100%

Power Anything, Anywhere

Ford has done more with the F-150 Lightning than merely make it a powerful, emission-free truck, it is also a power source. With a full battery the Lightning can power a house for up-to three days (10 days if conserving electricity), or run a job site, or a campsite.

Charging at home is straightforward and easy to do. The F-150 Lightning can charge at anytime, any day, 24/7, but also has the ability to only charge at the time of day with the lowest electric rates, which usually is overnight. But that is electricity going into the Lightning, but what about going out?

When on a job or campsite, it is as simple as plugging into an outlet like at home. The outlets on the dash, rear of the center console, in the truck bed and in the frunk, can run electric construction equipment or a cappuccino machine when glamping. A warning comes on when the battery is at 30-percent charge so you have enough battery life to get to a charging station.

Where the F-150 Lighting can be a life saver will be in the case of a power outage. The Lighting can store 9.6kW of electricity to power a home, office or store. A home usually uses 2.6kW daily, so up to three days of emergency power is available–or more if not all appliances are used, giving the electric utility time to restore power.

The Ford Intelligent Backup Power seamlessly turns the Lightning into an external power source when using the Pro Power Onboard system and purchasing and installing the SunRun Home Integration System. When plugged in and the power goes out, the system automatically reverses the electrical flow and begins powering the house. This smart system then returns to charging the Lightning when the power is restored. This works if your power comes from the utility company or solar panels, which can be provided through a program Ford has with SunRun.

Silent Running

Clean Fleet Report recently had the opportunity to drive the F-150 Lightning at a media event in San Antonio, Texas. We spent time on the highway, driving the curves of the Texas Hill Country, and an off-road course that replicated the type of terrain on which the Lightning most commonly would be used.

We first tackled highway driving, which was smooth, with the horsepower and torque easily allowing for merging and getting up to the flow of traffic. We activated Ford’s Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control and the Blue Cruise Hands-free Driving technology to experience driving in traffic at highway speeds between 65 and 75 mph. No matter how many times we use a hands-free driving system, it takes some getting used to, and in the case of Blue Cruise, there was short and easy learning curve. There were no surprises with staying in lanes, slowing, accelerating or trusting the Lightning to go down the road with our hands not on the steering wheel.

The ride was calm with minimal wind noise from the mirrors or the 275/50 Hankook DynaPro AT2 tires on 20-inch bright machined aluminum wheels with Ebony Black painted pockets. Many times all-terrain tires scan be loud or rough on the highway, but not in this case, which was appreciated as the road noise during our all-electric driving was kept to a minimum.

Next was driving through the Texas Hill Country at speeds between 30 and 50 mph on gently winding rural roads. Rural driving past sheep, goats, cattle and even an armadillo, set the scene for how many people will use their F-150 Lighting. The handling, for the 6,171-pound Lightning, felt flat with no harsh body roll, helped in part by the low center of gravity as the batteries are placed below the passenger cabin. We did notice a tendency to push when cornering, even at the posted speed limit, but never felt out of control and it was easily remedied by slowing.

We towed a 5,500-pound horse trailer for about 10 miles and, since the Lightning Platinum we were in has a tow rating of 8,500 pounds, we had to repeatedly look in the side mirrors or turn-on the rear view trailer camera to make sure we were still towing a trailer. The Tow Package comes with trailer backup and trailer hitch assist, trailer reverse guidance, trailer brake controller, a smart hitch, onboard scales, trailer camera and a smart trailer tow connection.

Between the highway and country driving, owners will put the Lightning to the test of Ford’s motto of “Built Ford Tough.” Being on-and-off the accelerator, and utilizing the one pedal driving feature, where the Lightning’s speed can be controlled using the accelerator which reduces the need to use the brake pedal, we got a very respectable 2.7 miles per kilowatt.

Our final test was the off-road course at the Singing Water Vineyard in Comfort, Texas, which had steep rocky sections, water crossings, deep ruts, and just enough sharp rocks to where using the front view camera was a must. The locking rear differential made the difference a few times to get us out of tough spots. The Lightning is off-road capable for everything just shy of serious rock crawling.

Technology

The F-150 Lightning is available with the updated and improved advanced driver assist technology (ADAS) with features that help make driving safer and more confident. These include automatic emergency braking, blind spot and active lane control monitoring, post impact braking, evasive steering assist plus adaptive cruise control.  Here is an overview of the system for the Mustang Mach-E, which is the same as on the Lightning.

FordPass Connect is standard, offering a 4G LTE Wi-Fi that can handle mobile devises and allows for over the air software updates. This is also where electric charging can be managed, including charging and payment, through the FordPass Charging Network, the largest such network in North America.

Ford’s proprietary 15.5-inch vertical touchscreen handles the next generation Sync 4 connectivity system that includes FM/AM/SiriusXM, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Ford+Alexa and Waze navigation. If you get the Lightning Platinum model, the optional 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen Premium audio system sounded great.

Pricing

The 2022 Ford Lightning comes in four trim levels, with the choice of a Standard Range or Extended Range battery. These prices are before any options but do include the mandatory $1,695 destination charge. You may qualify for federal and individual state tax incentives. Please speak with your tax professional or go to a government website for more information.

Lightning Pro             $41,669

Lightning XLT           $54,669

Lightning Lariat        $69,169

Lightning Platinum  $92,569      

Warranties

Bumper-To-Bumper – Three years/36,000 miles

Electric Vehicle Components – Eight years/100,000 miles

Aluminum Body Panels – Five years/Unlimited Miles

Paint Adhesion – Five years/Unlimited Miles

Roadside Assistance – Five years/60,000 miles

Observations: 2022 Ford F-150 Lighting

Ford stopped taking reservations for the F-150 Lightning when they hit 200,000 mark. They are confident this is only a small number of customers who will be excited about owning the all-new, all-electric Lightning. And we agree.

There are many features and technology not covered in this Flash Drive review, which was intended to give an overview and a taste of what the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is all about. If you are in the market for a very capable, modern truck and electric power fits your driving lifestyle, then contact your local Ford dealer.

Clean Fleet Report will have a complete review of the all-new 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning in the coming months. We hope you will be as impressed with the Lightning as we were.

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Story by John Faulkner. Photos by John Faulkner and Ford.

Disclosure:

Clean Fleet Report is loaned free test vehicles from automakers to evaluate, typically for a week at a time. Our road tests are based on this one-week drive of a new vehicle. Because of this we don’t address issues such as long-term reliability or total cost of ownership. In addition, we are often invited to manufacturer events highlighting new vehicles or technology. As part of these events we may be offered free transportation, lodging or meals. We do our best to present our unvarnished evaluations of vehicles and news irrespective of these inducements.

Our focus is on vehicles that offer the best fuel economy in their class, which leads us to emphasize electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and diesels. We also feature those efficient gas-powered vehicles that are among the top mpg vehicles in their class. In addition, we aim to offer reviews and news on advanced technology and the alternative fuel vehicle market. We welcome any feedback from vehicle owners and are dedicated to providing a forum for alternative viewpoints. Please let us know your views at publisher@cleanfleetreport.com.