The media has finally been allowed to drive the Ford F-150 Lightning and give their impressions. This thread will collect some of the stories and videos. Let's start with the InsideEVs article and video (which has the best opening scene ever) by @Tom Moloughney. 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning First Drive Review: Rebirth Of A Legend
And Motor Trend weighs in: "Ford absolutely had to get its first-ever electric truck right, and with the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, it damn well did."
I know there will be a million reviews and tests with Towing and towing range, but I have a request: Truck Cap. (Camper shell, whatever you like to call it) I'm really curious to see how a standard truck cap impacts the range on the highway, if it does. Over the years I've seen many reviews on how a truck cap impacts mpg (Myth busters, TFL, etc) but often inconclusive or too small to be notable. With the sensitivity of EVs I'd be really curious to see a highway efficiency comparison test for the Lightning with and w/o the cap.
I suspect if the effect on gas trucks is "too small to be notable," it's not likely to make more than a 5-mile difference on an electric truck as well. Personally, I think tonneau/no tonneau might be a more interesting test (though, I imagine there are tests already with gas trucks and it's also probably super close) just because they're a lot more prevalent than caps nowadays. Slightly off-topic, Chevy is planning to make cap accessories for its pickup itself. Because of the shape of the cab/bed, existing product wouldn't fit it.
Maybe, I just figured if someone is looking to test something other than towing, that would be my suggestion. Indeed, one advantage of having the same F150 body is all the accessories fit. You can go get a LEER topper, or any brand you like, and it fits. Here was a test by TFL awhile back, and they saw about a 0.5% increase in mpg with the topper - so basically zero change. Surprising Result: Here’s What Happens To Your Truck’s MPG When You Install A Topper! (Video) - The Fast Lane Truck (tfltruck.com)
Speaking of accessories, any indications whether frame-mounted accessories (specifically a snow plow subframe) will fit the Lightning just as it fits an ICE F-150? This is one of the needs that keeps me tied to a full-size pickup, and I'm eager to switch to an EV (as my wife has with our family/highway/commuter car).
Good question. I believe @Tom Moloughney had mentioned wanting to use a snow plow on his Lightning, which he is receiving sometime in the next few weeks. I'll ask if he has further info and get back to you.
Alright, so Tom says, Ford told him he can plow with it - "it'll do anything the gas F1-50 can." He also says if the standard F-150 accessory doesn't bolt right up, then you just need to buy a new mounting plate for about $400.
I don't believe that Ford ever sanctioned plowing with a F150. They always wanted you to buy a F250 or Super duty for that purpose. Mainly front suspension loading, but also frame strength. Some users like to ram banks and I've seen bent frames from that.
I can't speak to that. I believe Tom was using a Toyota Tacoma most recently for plowing duties. But, he does expect to plow with his Lightning.
I should also add that most all manufacturers shortened your warranty if a plow was mounted on the truck. Most I delt with shortened it to 6000 miles, 6 months. But I also saw a Chevy that they only warrantied for 1200 miles. The only exception to that was the Dodge Snow fighter that came with a Myers plow from the factory.