2022 Ford F-150 Lightning – First Drive

Here are the basics, the Ford F-150 Lightning is an all-electric pickup from Ford offered with either a Standard Range battery at 98-kWh pushing 452-hp and 775 lb. ft. of torque with a 230-mile range. Or an Extended range battery at 131-kWh delivering 580-hp, 775 lb. ft. of torque with a range of 320-miles. All trucks get the dual motor, 4-wheel-drive delivery so your only option here is Standard or Extended range batteries. 

The trucks we drove during this quick event all had the extended range pack and when I tell you they’re quick…well, watch the video and find out!

Conversations that always come up with all-electric vehicles are range and charging. I can’t tell you after this quick drive if Ford’s range estimates are completely accurate or what you’d get with real-world driving but charging comes from either the Electrify America stations, the same network the Mustang Mach E uses or you have an at-home charging option featuring an 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro that’ll get you from 15% to 100% in about 8 to 10 hours. 

This truck is filled with lots of truck things that utilize those large batteries like the 8 total electrical outlets throughout the truck. You get the large frunk with lots of quirky features. You also get an independent rear suspension in this truck which is a first for the F-150. 

All of this comes standard on the base trim called Pro which we did drive and if you don’t need all the luxuries of the higher-end trims, this is actually a great option at just around $40k. 

Ford also offers an XLT and Lariat trim as well as the top dog, Platinum trim. 

We drove both the Lariat and Platinum trims with the Lariat having an MSRP pushing $80k and the Platinum well over $90k. Of course, the government, for now, is offering a whopping $7,500 EV tax credit that could help with some sticker shock.

So with that out of the way, what did I think about the drive?

Well, we had a quick route that put us on busy city streets in Historic Downtown Grapevine even going over a railroad track and then out onto the highway for some speed, and then back around to the staging area. Throughout this drive there are 2 things that kept coming up no matter which truck we sat our rear in – these are incredibly smooth, well riding, and quiet and they are quick! Like seriously quick! Like squeal the tires on this big truck and melt your face quick. The great thing about electric power plants is that power is always available so even if you’re already cruising, just planting your foot to the floor will rush you forward with no hesitation. No downshifting, no turbo lag, no toque lag… just power.

In the Pro trim, we took out I did engage the “one-pedal” drive mode which allows the Lightning to use the regenerative braking to slow you down and even allow the truck to come to a full stop. Now I’ve driven many EVs at this point with this feature and some are super harsh while others are super smooth. I’d put the Lightning in the more smooth category making it really easy to get the feel for quickly and use without feeling like you look stupid to other drivers. 

Looking at the interiors we have a good variety with what we drove here. Obviously, that Platinum with its leather and suede mix, heated/cooled/massaging seats, and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a Platinum F-150 makes for the best interior.

The Lariat is no slouch though sporting what I can only describe as a denim-looking interior with bronze and other unique materials. Also sporting heated and cooled seats but missing the always important massaging function. This truck also had the larger 15.5” vertical display (same as the Platinum and the same you’d get in the Mach E). I definitely think the Lariat is a great place to be with great interior and tech and a still reasonable starting price.

In the Pro we had the standard 12” touchscreen, which is still a great option for any vehicle and the rest of the interior was still nice and comfortable even if we were missing out on a bit of luxury, I could easily see this being enough for any F-150 buyer. 

There’s really a lot to like about the Lightning and you get all of the day-to-day convinces that the new F-150 has to offer but with an incredible new powertrain. The F-150 isn’t the best-selling vehicle ever for nothing and of course here at TXGarage we constantly praise it as a family vehicle, executive vehicle, enthusiast vehicle, and a real worker. Now we just get a powertrain of the future as yet another option when figuring out which F-150 we want.