2022 Ford F-150 Lightning—Test Drive Review

As different as the Lightning is from a regular F-150, this is not an all-new platform. Instead, Ford modified the existing F-150 frame system to accommodate the massive battery pack, hardware and that new rear suspension. At the heart of the truck is of course the battery. The standard range model is impressive. It boasts a 98 kWh lithium ion pouch-style battery pack with internal liquid cooling for an EPA estimated range of 230 miles. The truck’s front and rear electric motors deliver 452 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque. But our truck had the extended range pack, a 131 kWh battery that boasts an EPA estimated range of 320 miles. Ford also bumps the total system horsepower up to 580 (!). It’s a $10,000 upgrade on the Lariat trim.

When connected to a typical home 32A/240V Level II charger (Level I is a regular 120V household outlet) the big Ford takes 19 hours to bring the battery from a 15 percent state of charge (SOC) to 100 percent.

Those numbers improve dramatically if you plug into a public DC fast charger. Using a speedy 150 kW charger, the battery can go from 15 percent SOC to 80 percent in just 41 minutes. A 50 kW unit does the job in 122 minutes. So, if you can grab a spot at one of these chargers, we typically use Electrify America, you can grab a meal nearby while the truck charges and be back on the road in a reasonable amount of time. Yes, those numbers might seem painfully slow compared to gas, but remember we’re still very early in the evolution of electric vehicles and their infrastructure. 

Up front, Ford retains most of the components of the F-150’s double wishbone independent suspension. But instead of a traditional differential up front, there’s a massive three-phase, fixed magnet AC electric motor. It’s protected by a good sized skid plate and we measured 8.75-inches of clearance underneath it thanks to the 33-inch tall 275/60R20 tires.

The rear suspension is a major departure from today’s F-150. Gone is the solid axle and leaf springs. In its place is another electric motor supported by a semi-trailing arm independent rear suspension. A coil-over shock is mounted on either side and the electric motor is protected by a large skid plate. We measured a little over 8.5 inches beneath that plate. Unlike just about any internal combustion-powered 4×4, the lightning doesn’t have a transfer case. The electric motors make maximum torque instantaneously, so the Lightning has almost 800 lb-ft working to turn those tires right away. In a nod towards off-road capability, every F-150 Lightning comes standard with a rear E-locker.

Batteries add a considerable amount of weight to a vehicle, even when you consider there is no longer a V6 or V8 engine riding up front. The battery alone weighs 1,500 lbs. So expect a well-equipped Lightning Lariat like ours to hit the scales at around 6,700 lbs. Even with all that heft, it’s able to tow 7,700 lbs or up to 10,000 lbs with the Max Tow package which this truck has. 

Our truck was rated to handle a payload of 1,697 lbs. too. And a full 400 lbs. of that can be carried right up front, under the hood where the Ecoboost engine used to live. 

The Mega Power Frunk, as Ford calls it, measures out to a huge 14.1 cu-ft—that’s equal to the size of a trunk on a large sedan. There’s a host of 120V outlets up there too along with a place to store your mobile charge cord. And if you have kids, they’ll definitely want to check it out.

On the Street

Slide up into the Lightning and the interior is not unlike any other F-150. The dash design and seating configurations are similar to other F-Series trucks. The big departure from the gas models on the Lariat and Platinum models is the new 15.5-inch vertical touchscreen. It’s massive and borrowed from Ford’s electric Mustang, the Mach-E. It controls just about every function from audio to navigation, to climate control and even drive modes as well as the electric locker. It all works, yes but the lack of hard buttons is a bit much. At a minimum, we’d prefer some physical knobs or buttons to control the HVAC. One solution to touch screen overload? Buy the lower XLT model which comes with a more conventional 12-inch horizontal screen. You’ll get more off-road friendly 18-inch wheels too. Anyway, those gripes melt away once you press the accelerator.

Hoofa! The Lightning is very, very quick. Our pals at Car and Driver tested a heavier Platinum trim model and it sprinted to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat. For comparison, a Ram TRX can do the same job in 3.7 seconds. So the Lightning is in good company, speed-wise. The difference of course is that while the TRX delivers an angry V8 bellows—the Lightning makes that speed in complete silence. It also launches violently off the line with so much torque that it almost makes you nauseous. The Lightning actually breaks the front tires loose on pavement when you floor it. Then the tires regain grip momentarily and then break loose again. It’s nuts. Sport mode sharpens the throttle response as well as engaging a stronger regen brake program, putting more electrons back into the battery when you lift off the throttle. It allows near one pedal driving. If you want true one pedal driving, which calls up an even more aggressive brake regen program, that’s available at the push of a button on the touchscreen. And it’s certainly fun to drive around town without ever really needing to press the brake pedal. When you lift off the throttle in that mode, it feels like someone just threw a giant anchor overboard.

On the highway, the Lightning’s strong powertrain translates into easy passing. See a hole in traffic or need to squirt past a big rig quickly? Not a problem in the Lightning. It’s very easy to make those moves in this truck. And that potent powertrain makes you forget this thing almost weights three-and-a-half tons. Ford’s Blue Cruise driver assistance system allows for near hand’s free driving on some roads. Simply engage the system on the steering wheel and the truck will apply the throttle, brakes and steer. How does it work? Okay. We’ve tried other systems, like GM’s Super Cruise that performs better. Ford’s system offered delayed responses at times that had the truck ping ponging a bit between the lines, especially when the highway curved. But it is certainly helpful to use in heavy freeway traffic or on longer trips. 

In terms of ride quality, the independent rear suspension does provide a relatively smooth experience. The impact absorption over small-to-medium bumps is quite good and better than other F-150s. But deeper, sharp-edged city potholes send a quiver though the chassis. The Lightning’s frame seems a bit more flexy over those events than other F-150s. Perhaps it’s the added weight of the battery pack. On the freeway, the Lightning is a smooth rider with little hop on sections that send other pickups bucking. Overall, the suspension is tuned well for the street. But the coolest thing about the Lightning on the road is just how quiet it is. The only sounds you really hear is just a bit of wind from the mirrors. It can be downright relaxing to drive the Lightning.

When it comes to the Lightning’s range, we didn’t get close to the EPA’s estimate of 320 miles. On our mixed driving test loop which included a good half day of four-wheeling in the dirt, plenty of full throttle launches and highway miles, the Lighting went 243 miles before we had to charge up. The screen said we had 12 miles remaining, and that’s probably true. But we didn’t want to push it. That’s a fairly impressive range considering how we were driving the truck. The long freeway grade up to the off-road park seemed to use a big chunk of range, according to the truck’s gauges. Since we were too far to make it home, we found an Electrify America charging station and plugged in for a bit.

As it was charging, the 150 kW DC fast charger bounced around quite a bit delivering 125 kW, then 86 kW, then just 43 kW. This is typical of chargers we’ve experienced as demands on the grid fluctuates but it’s still frustrating. Eventually the charger settled at 86 kW for the longest stretch. After 20 minutes our predicted range had crept up from 12 miles remaining to 80 miles—plenty to get home with 25 miles to spare. 

Charging the battery all night at home brought the range up to 220 miles remaining. It took another partial night on the charger to fully charge the pack. These truck batteries are massive and we learned that they require more than a full night to fully recharge if they are near-fully depleted. That’s different from a smaller EV like a Chevy Bolt or Nissan Leaf which can easily charge overnight at home. 

The Lightning can do more than operate like a pickup or even a typical EV. It’s a mobile power station of sorts too. Up front in the frunk, Ford has four 120V power outlets. There’s also four more in the bed (along with one 240V outlet) and two more 120V units in the cab too. The truck’s electric generator can deliver 9.6 kW of power and allows you to charge other EVs, power a full host of appliances and tools or with special home charging gear, power your house—for a short while.

On the Trail

The most enjoyment you can have in a Lightning isn’t on the pavement or on a 4X4 trail. Nope. Go find an empty dirt road, turn off the stability control and plant your right foot. This truck is a fishtailing, dirt-slinging fun machine. The truck’s incredible power and torque combined with mild tires make for four-wheel drifts unlike anything we’ve driven in recent memory. It’s a blast to be sure. 

But when it comes to more technical four wheeling, the Lighting isn’t quite as capable as a normal F-150. First of all, the truck sits fairly low. And though the ground clearance numbers under the axles are okay, the other measurements are lacking. A regular F-150 4X4 Super Crew has an approach angle of 24.3 degrees, a departure angle of 25.3 degrees and a breakover angle of 20 degrees. The Lightning an approach angle of 24.4 degrees, which is about equal but with a breakover angle of 17.6 degrees and departure of 23.6 degrees, we had to do some careful self-spotting as we drove. Of particular note is that the battery pack does appear to hang a bit lower than the drivetrain on a conventional F-150, especially beneath the front of the cab.

As we carefully played with the Lightning on some mild articulation bumps, we noticed that the suspension doesn’t move as freely as we’d like. The front suspension doesn’t seem too different from a gas F-150. But that new independent rear suspension definitely doesn’t flex like a solid axle leaf-sprung F-150. Here’s a look at the Lightning crossed up versus that last F-150 Tremor we tested. Granted the Tremor was engineered with a bit more wheel travel, but the differences are dramatic nonetheless.

Even though the Lightning’s articulation is modest, it’s the General Grabber HTS 60 Extra Load tires and their mild tread pattern that seemed to hold the truck back most. Tire slip came early and often. The only way to get the truck through any sort of challenging obstacle was to lock that rear diff. And it does help, as does the truck’s specific Off-Road mode. Press that button and the throttle calibration relaxes and the truck feels more at home in the dirt thanks to traction control that intervenes more quickly. 

But slow-speed four wheeling is tricky in the Lightning. The good news is, there’s plenty of torque from those electric motors. The bad news is it’s so easy to get a tire in the air that forward progress can get dicey. On more than one occasion we backed down because we felt the low slung chassis would either get hung up or that the truck would sustain some body damage. In fact we lightly touched down on that battery tray more than once.

On our hill climb test, the Lightning made it about three-quarters of the way up with the rear locker engaged. And it was a struggle to get the truck that far. Here, the tires really struggled for grip. But the scary part came when we tried to park on the 26 degree hill and exit the vehicle to take some photos. Even with the parking brake engaged, the truck would begin to slide backwards a bit. We’ve never experienced this in any other 4X4 on that hill. Luckily, our buddy was along on this test and could hop out and take the shot for us. But just to make sure the truck wouldn’t slide even with our foot on the brake, we turned the wheels hard left, which held the truck. We’re not sure if the sliding was due to the tires, something within the electric drivetrain or just the excess weight of this truck but it was unsettling. Backing back down that hill was no fun either as the truck would slide easily with the wheels locked up. 

In the sandy washes, the Lighting was quite fun. Like our experience on a dirt road, this is a place where you can really put the Lightning’s power down. The truck hooks up fairly well, despite the tires and pulls insanely hard. But the Lightning’s mass and quivery chassis put a small damper on the fun and make you dial back the speed on rougher sections. But here’s the thing, the whisper quiet drivetrain and insane torque feel like a game changer. We’d love to experience a similar powertrain on a smaller Wrangler-sized vehicle with a better suspension and set of tires. 

Higher-speed rough roads with occasional whoop-style bumps is no place to test the Lightning’s speed. The suspension just can’t handle it and bottoms out very easily due to the soft springs, dampers and the truck’s massive weight. It’s hard to trust that the truck can take the punishment without doing some damage. So we kept our speeds down to the mid-to-high teens. For the record, that’s very slow on this road—just a few ticks faster than the speed we hit in a Ram 3500 Dually with a Cummins diesel.

The Bottom Line

The Lightning’s powertrain is incredibly fun on the street, dirt roads and in sandy washes. And for those that are looking to use the Lightning primarily for work and light recreational towing and hauling, it’s a great choice. As we found, the range is certainly adequate for most drivers too.

But the Ford Lightning isn’t the truck to buy if you’re looking to do any serious four-wheeling. Sure, some better tires would help. But generally, it doesn’t have the same capability as gas F-150 in the dirt. That new independent rear suspension means lifting the Lightning to fit larger tires and gain more clearance will be tricky. And even if you could lift one, those larger tires and that taller stance would absolutely have a negative impact on the truck’s range. 

The F-150 Lightning shows that EVs have some real potential for fun and are a pleasure to use on the street. We like the idea of an electric 4X4, as long as it can handle the same off-road challenges as a gas truck. We know Ford has another electric truck in the works, perhaps that model will deliver better performance off-road.