Electric Ford F-150 Lightning revealed
The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning pickup has been revealed with a starting price under $40G. The all-electric truck is the most powerful F-150 ever and offers a range up to 300 miles per charge.
Ford F-150 Lighting buyers may be shocked to find out their trucks can travel farther than expected between charges.
Ford announced that the all-electric pickup will be offered with two battery sizes providing up to 230 miles and 300 miles of range, but the numbers come with an asterisk that could work in the favor of owners.
The automaker's general manager of battery electric vehicles, Darren Palmer, told Insider that the trucks being tested for range are loaded with an extra 1,000 pounds of weight to better represent how they will often be used. That's exactly half of the truck's estimated maximum payload rating and more than enough to affect its overall efficiency.
THE FOX GARAGE – DARREN PALMER ON THE FORD F-150 LIGHTNING:
A Ford truck spokeswoman told Fox News Autos that this method is not used to determine the fuel efficiency of the internal combustion engine versions of the F-150.
SEE IT: HERE'S WHAT THE $40K F-150 LIGHTNING LOOKS LIKE
The exact capacity of the F-150 Lightning's battery packs has not been announced, but members of the engineering team have indicated they could weigh up to roughly 1,800 pounds, which is larger than anything available on a consumer-focused electric vehicle today.
Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee also heard the 1,000-pound range test figure and also came across some interesting supporting information in a prototype truck with an empty bed.
The prototype's infotainment system display indicated that its battery was 80% and that it had 367 miles of range left, which would extrapolate to a maximum range of 459 miles.
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Ford did not confirm the accuracy of the gauges, but the system is programmed to account for the weight of the truck or a trailer being towed and calculate the range based on those factors in order to better keep the driver informed about when they need to plan to plug-in.
The F-150 Lightning's closest competitor, the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck dual motor, claims a 300+ mile range while Chevrolet has promised that the electric Silverado it has in the works will be able to cover up to 400 miles per charge.