Ford has revolutionized the pickup truck—by making a completely electrical model of its top-selling car, the F-150.

Whereas doing that, and seemingly altering as little as doable about all that already makes the F-150 so fascinating, it’s created a greater car. That is why despite the fact that the F-150 Lightning isn’t the primary mass-produced totally electrical pickup, it’s our Inexperienced Automotive Experiences Greatest Automotive To Purchase 2023.

The Ford F-150 Lightning seems to be like a gasoline F-150 in all however entrance and rear styling cues (and corresponding lighting), nevertheless it seems an entire lot concerning the electrical truck is completely different beneath. It will get a brand new body—considerably wider to suit the battery pack suspended between it, with thicker cross members. Steering and braking are reengineered for the Lightning, which additionally will get an unbiased rear suspension with coil-over springs.

What outcomes is a truck that rides and handles higher than the gasoline F-150 in most circumstances, with unparalleled quiet and refinement. Plus, in washboard gravel, off-road trails, or snow-slicked roads, the nearly instantaneous traction methods working with the electrical motors present their energy and mean you can pull up that boat ramp—or over that moist log—with out upsetting the tires’ footing. Pop the hood, and also you get one thing the gasoline truck doesn’t have: an enormous frunk that gives energy plugs and may maintain as much as 400 kilos. How ‘bout some frunkgating?

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning

All variations of the F-150 Lightning are constructed with entrance and rear permanent-magnet motors offering all-wheel drive, with a crew-cab structure and the identical mattress size. There are primarily two tech specs: Variations with the 98-kwh normal vary battery pack make 452 hp and 775 lb-ft, whereas these with the 131-kwh prolonged vary pack make 580 hp and 775 lb-ft. EPA driving vary for the Lightning stands at 240 miles and 320 miles, respectively.

Unladen, the Lightning leaps ahead, with sufficient of a shriek of the tires to let you understand it’s utilizing each bit of obtainable traction. Ford has cited a 0-60 mph acceleration time of underneath 4 seconds and, seated from excessive up, with a physique that squats and dives a good quantity, it’s as a lot a fun-park trip inside because it should seem from outdoors—more true to the Lightning label than the gasoline truck that used to bear the identify.

It gives extra payload functionality than a lot of its gasoline counterparts. And at as much as 10,000 kilos, it should out-tow a lot of the gasoline-truck lineup. Simply don’t plan to drag that trailer very far.

Ford F-150 Lightning at Electrify America

The F-150 Lightning doesn’t cost shortly when you suppose in road-trip phrases. Ford says that it’ll cost at as much as 150 kw, or from 15-80% in lower than 45 minutes, however these are each best-case-scenarios from what we’ve seen at typical U.S. Electrify America {hardware}.

If you happen to occur to have 100 amps free for its personal circuit, set up the 80-amp Cost Station Professional and cost occasions for a full cost drop to about 8 hours on 240 volts—or about 30 miles per hour. That unit varieties the premise for the place the Lightning actually turns into an EV trendsetter: Add the $3,895 House Integration System, and with Ford’s app the Lightning can develop into its personal energy ecosystem—serving to juggle photo voltaic, or appearing simply as a transportable generator (minus the hum and diesel odor) when the ability goes out.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning

That system and its inclusion underneath guarantee go a good distance towards convincing us that Ford sees a giant image that others haven’t. So does the corporate’s Ford Professional fleet-software push, and its technique to not make electrical automobiles a distinct segment sub-brand however precise automobiles that compete on practically each stage—even outshine—the gasoline variations of F-150, Transit, and Mustang.

The F-150 Lightning has some plain strengths versus any of our different finalists for Inexperienced Automotive Experiences Greatest Automotive To Purchase 2023—most notably, that it feels totally baked, is on the market in all 50 states, and doesn’t really feel prefer it was held again someplace alongside the way in which.

The Cadillac Lyriq alerts the beginning of a era of Ultium-platform automobiles, and it’s spectacular in lots of respects, like styling, trip, and dealing with. However what we’ve seen to date hasn’t fairly delivered on the interface or charging facet. Its effectivity deserves an extended look, too—one we haven’t but been capable of take. We love the no-holds-barred perspective behind the Genesis GV60, and the way it takes private luxurious into a brand new area—with a line-green “enhance” button and crystal-ball shifter—although on the finish of the day we simply can’t give prime props to a mannequin that’s supplied solely in a portion of the U.S. The Kia EV6 wins if model had been the principle standards, and it gives speedy charging and a formidable interface, however in dropping base variations the model appears to be enjoying a distinct segment sport reasonably than profiting from all of the capital in that design. The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV builds on the spectacular effectivity of the EQS hatchback, including three rows of seating and path potential, plus U.S. meeting, nevertheless it merely doesn’t push the bar larger.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning

The largest Lightning strike-outs to date have been its unavailability and repeated value hikes. Ford hadn’t even been accepting reservations for a few of the previous yr; simply 9 months since first deliveries, the usual vary base 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Professional begins at $57,869 (together with a hiked $1,895 vacation spot payment)—up practically 40% from the unique $41,669, together with vacation spot, for the 2022 mannequin yr.

A part of that stems from an earlier, beautiful underestimation of Lightning demand. It’s managed to bump Lightning manufacturing from an unique 20,000 yearly as much as 150,000.

Why all this curiosity, once more? The F-150 Lightning hits on a degree that jumps previous the expertise early adopters which have typically served as a type of Achilles’ heel for precise widespread EV adoption. Sure, there’s loads of room for reinventing the automotive (or truck), making our roads safer, and maybe relying much less on automobiles within the first place, however on this second, exhibiting individuals how the acquainted might be made higher as an EV is essentially the most highly effective assertion of all.