FORD LIGHTNING FULL

Charging is still a sore spot for most EVs, and itвЂ™s what sapped some of the fun out of my time with the Mustang Mach-E.

That all sounds fun (and also a little bit ludicrous for a big truck), but all this power is only so good as long as you can easily charge the electric F-150 back up. (Larger F-Series trucks, of course, can pull and haul more - no word on when those might get electrified just yet.)

FORD LIGHTNING FULL

Still, these figures fall roughly in the middle of what you can find across the full range of F-150s. The standard range F-150 Lightning, meanwhile, maxes out at 7,700 pounds.Д«ut because of the weight difference in the battery packs, the standard range Lightning wins out on payload capacity, as it can carry up to 2,000 pounds versus the extended rangeвЂ™s 1,800-pound max. The extended range Lightning is able to tow up to 10,000 pounds, which is more than what most affordable gas-powered F-150s are capable of, though itвЂ™s a few thousand pounds shy of what the F-150 hybrid or the diesel version can tow.

Towing and hauling will sap some range, but FordвЂ™s betting on accurate estimates to calm nervesДЇord announced last month that it was bringing this onboard scale technology to all F-150s, though it seems particularly useful for the Lightning - especially since Ford hasnвЂ™t compromised a ton on towing or payload capacity with its first serious electric truck. Or as Ford CEO Jim Farley said on The VergeвЂ™s Decoder podcast, which comes out Thursday morning: вЂњThere are lots of flavors of soda, but thereвЂ™s only one Coke, and thereвЂ™ll be lots of electric pickup trucks, thereвЂ™s only one F-150.вЂќ But I think itвЂ™s going to tempt people who werenвЂ™t even looking.вЂќ вЂњI think thereвЂ™s enough to tempt people to look at, and a good percent already were - we saw that in our research. What matters is weвЂ™re all true to ourselves,вЂќ Darren Palmer, the head of FordвЂ™s EV division, told The Verge in an interview. And Ford is betting big that this unchallenging boxy design - which Elon Musk poked fun at during the Cybertruck announcement in 2019 - will pay off. In fact, the F-150 Lightning is by far the most familiar-looking of the electric pickups announced to date. And it all comes wrapped in an exterior design that is almost indistinguishable from its internal combustion counterparts, save for a new grille with a striking continuous light bar. It has a few unique tricks that may make buyers who are skittish about range or price think twice, too. Those willing to make the jump will find a truck overflowing with utility features, including a lot of ideas that Ford has already offered on the gas-powered model (like a fold-out center console work surface) and the hybrid version (like the onboard charger).

Ford has already started taking reservations for $100. Most electric vehicles to date have cost more than their gas counterparts, but Ford is the closest to bucking that trend. The base model Lightning is even slightly cheaper than its comparable hybrid F-150 counterpart. ItвЂ™s especially stunning, though, because all variants of the F-150 Lightning are built with FordвЂ™s four-door вЂњSuperCrewвЂќ cab, the gas version of which starts at $36,650. And since FordвЂ™s vehicles are still eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, that price tag can essentially come down even more for early buyers. That puts it right on par, price-wise, with TeslaвЂ™s Cybertruck and far below more luxury-minded options like RivianвЂ™s R1T or General MotorsвЂ™ exorbitant GMC Hummer pickup. The base model with 230 miles of range starts at $39,974, while the extended range version starts in the mid-$50,000s and can go about 300 miles. Ford has revealed the F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of its popular pickup truck due out in 2022, and itвЂ™s aggressively priced for an EV. The most popular vehicle in the United States is going electric.

Ford lightning