Saying Goodbye to Our 2023 Truck of the Year | Ford F-150 Lightning Farewell

It's time to say goodbye to our long-term Truck of the Year, the Ford F-150 Lightning. Yes, you read that right, our F-150 Lightning proved to be worthy of the Truck of the Year title, but that doesn't mean it was the best fit for me and my off-the-grid lifestyle. Let's dive into what ownership has been like and what you need to know if you're looking into purchasing an electric Ford half-ton truck. It is clearly an F-150 first, EV second, but it's a very good EV. The Lightning has certainly not been without its flaws, but that's what this video is all about.

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0:00 Introduction
1:05 MSRP
2:42 A Converted F-150
4:15 The Bed
7:10 Interior Features
8:40 Trucky Things
10:31 Range/Efficiency
12:08 Real-World Expectations
14:04 Truck of the Year
16:09 Final Thoughts

[paulh]

Alex, your reviews are honest and exactly what we need to know. Keep up the great work. Best wishes to you and your family.

[rusticroads]

Great no nonsense summary of your actual first-person long-term experience with the vehicle! Not many people are able to purchase a vehicle and sell it off after a few months, so being able to hear from someone that's done it provides a value not possible from the typical review. I was incredibly impressed after spending a few hours in a Lightning with Lariat trim, but I can't justify the price for the limited need that I have for a pickup truck. Your comments are very similar to mine when I talk to people about the experience, so it's good to know my impressions were not far off the mark!

Thank you for reiterating the point that vehicle purchases must match the needs of the individual buyer, whether it's an EV or not!

[scruffy]

Thanks for the review. I placed my reservation early I thought and missed the 1st wave. I was hoping for the Pro at 39k. I just received notice from FoMoCo that this winter, I'll be eligible to purchase a Lightning. The least expensive one is $55k plus. I'll just have to pass on it. Maybe later, EV prices will come back down to Earth.

[pstoneking]

I'd love to see the manufacturers give more real mileage ranges. For instance:
All city driving expect 3 - 3.3 mpk
55 mph highways 2 - 2.4 mpk
70 mph roads 1.8 - 2 mpk
Etcetera. That way, if you know your battery kwh you could easily calculate your expected range.
Even with all that, there are weather conditions and your driving habits. Do you use one pedal driving to factor in. It is very difficult to come up with an accurate guesstimate on what you can expect.

[TristenHernandez]

Imagine if the truck with this size battery also had a range extender a very small generator not just similar from what they put into the power boost. That could add another hundred miles of range. That way, 99% of the time you’re running on electric only but when you need extra towing ability or you need to go a greater distance between charges or it’s winter warrior driving on the highway whatever the case is. You’ve got the ability to drive just as far as any other Vehicle that would make this the perfect vehicle, and I would be willing to pay an extra five grand for such a feature.

[stephenoverstreet]

I would love to hear your in-depth thoughts and especially a head-to-head comparison (now based on experience) on the F150 Lightning vs the F150 Hybrid.

[PhilT]

Great review, Alex. I can't believe they didn't put a heat pump in this truck. That is really dumb!! So, with that in mind, I guess you wouldn't recommend this truck for the northern states or Canada, considering the range loss in Winter? Imagine the range when it is double digits below freezing.

[paulavenoso]

I absolutely LOVE that color Alex. But I’m a bit of a clean freak and live in NJ. Winter salt spray would drive me crazy. So I got Iconic Silver. Due to be built any minute now (build week 12/19, blend date 12/23).

[TRYtoHELPyou]

Ur the best at this, dude. Tks for sharing

[malifestro]

Really happy to have purchased a used gas truck and cancelled my lightning. I tow, and having to put up with that while trying to get 1200 miles away is not something I think they are setup for yet.

[rightlanehog]

Alex, I think it is bonkers that "the single best feature" of a pickup truck is its front trunk. 🤨

[watchreport]

Alex, what are your thoughts on the cold weather and these EV’s, especially the Lightning. Real world reports of the range being drastically reduced by the cold. If you then tried to tow in the cold, from what I have seen you would be getting 100 miles of range at best.

[mikiroros]

Thanks for the review.

Lots of reviews out there are also pointing out that the lightning is not performing well in cold weather climates. Food for thought for those who experience harsh winters.

[the_jarmel]

LOVE THE SHOW ALEX👏👏...HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY EVERYONE ✌️

[pstoneking]

I've definitely seen a range drop in colder weather, and it hasn't dropped to single digits yet. Although that's not a problem for me because my daily drive never exceeds 60 miles. However, charging to just the 80% recommended SOC, my 131 kwh battery drops to around 104 kwh and only getting 1.6 miles per kwh is about 167 miles of range. So if I was planning to drive farther than tgat in a day, there would be a problem, because the last thing I want to do is pay the public chargers ridiculously high kwh costs.

[dfberry]

As always, an excellent, through review -- Lightning is great, but won't (yet?) meet everyone's needs/wants/desires. Thanks for your "real world" reviews.

[kipamore]

I've said it before, but nobody is going to tow cross country with EVs for a good number of years. But if you tow like 90% of the people who tow daily (generators, wood chippers, crap that NEVER gets disconnected from the hitch) an EV will save you A FORTUNE in short order. 10mpg on $5.50 diesel, or $2 worth of electricity at night. You do the math.

[gordgooding]

I quite like Alex on Autos and think he gives a pretty fair shake to BEVs and other types of vehicles but I just heard him say something that I think really underscores the problem with the future of EV adoption in America (And Solar and Wind and any number of things we have to have a reckoning When he was considering to buy/lease another Durango vs other options, he seemed to have his argument clearly entered on towing. (That might be the only reason IMHO to prefer a Durango as it's pretty much prehistoric and offers a massive V8 as it's only raison d'être while towing with 3 rows because otherwise it's circa 1980s like a lot of Mopar's offerings:-) 

In reviewing his reasons for NOT keeping the BEV F150 he again talked about towing and I again, assumed he was towing large loads long distances often for his other business that I guessed must be some sort of Interstate cinderblock delivery company:-) Then he said "I have to tow 300+ miles 1-2 a YEAR!" And there you have it. As long as we continue to make vehicle decisions on something we may or may not do 1 or twice PER 365 days and for which there are many alternatives (rent, hire, pay somebody) we are all going to be driving around in V8 Durangos and XL Suburbans because, you know, we MIGHT need to tow a boat that we are thinking of buying plus a few horses it would be lovely to someday own to Grandma's in insert-name-of-distance state-here WITH 6 other Full sized Boy Scouts in the back:-).

Like the channel. Keep up the good reviews. People, get a grip on your wants vs needs and we'll all get to a better place sooner....

[jimhlee]

Thanks for doing all the tests, I bought one with more confidence based on your videos vs a lot of other "chatter" on YouTube.

Regarding the tonneau cover, which video did you do the test on range differences with or without it? I missed it. Thanks.

[BSPOKELLC]

Thanks for investing in the review. Which video did you do the bed cover range experiment?