The Ford F-150 Lightning has been with us for two years now, and remains the go-to midsize electric pickup on sale. It’s become a surprisingly frequent sight in that time, gradually adopted by even some of the iciest commercial gas-burners for its lower operating costs and business write-off value.
Competition may be on the horizon, but serious numbers are still some time out. Chevrolet Silverado EVs are just barely hitting dealers, and the Ram 1500 EV is still far off on the horizon. In the interim, then, it’s Ford’s segment. Does the F-150 Lightning match expectations, or has a lack of competition left Ford to phone it in?
The headline figures are there: 775 lb-ft of torque and 10,000 lbs towed. Beyond this, however, the F-150 Lightning’s first impressions are relatively relaxed. Whereas EV-segment peers have fallen back on self-congratulatory eco-coded chest-beater electrification badging and sustainability gimmicks, the F-150 Lightning largely just presents and drives as a pickup.
This has its ups and downs. The usual F-150 arrangement of abundant hard plastics is trimmed in unremarkable vinyl, if with some interesting plastic appliqués in between for visual and tactile interest. Cabin storage includes upper and lower passenger-side gloveboxes; and Lariat and higher models get the flat-folding centre-armrest work surface when parked with drive selector stowed.
Soft-touch areas on the upper door panel benefit the tested Lariat’s passenger comfort, and all sorts more stick-on comforts dress up the higher Platinum configuration.
At the centre, a monumental 15.5-inch touchscreen projects all manner of cabin and vehicle controls. Navigating its menus while parked, the infotainment experience is dense but relatively straightforward. This density proves challenging on the go, however, drawing significant driver bandwidth and representing a rather serious distraction.
As in the F-150 Hybrid, the Lightning makes minimal on-screen reference to its electrification. Excepting the basic range readout in lieu of a fuel gauge, EV signalling is largely limited to a (purposeful) regen meter and deceleration energy recovery indicator to help minimize kinetic energy waste at the squeeze of traditional brake pads. One-pedal driving largely obviates this with maximum (appropriate) regen on full lift-off, and this prompt can be switched off.
Big output is expected of EVs, and the F-150 Lightning answers that with 775 pound-feet of hard-pulling (but power-sapping) torque, and either 452 or 580 horsepower, depending on fitment of the standard- or extended-range battery option. The big-power setup is standard from new mid-range ‘Flash’ trim and up; fleet-spec ‘Pro’ and entry XLT trims come to consumers with the ‘standard’ battery only.
That power hauls the Lightning with ease, but in a refreshing recalibration for the electric segment, never with excess. The F-150 Lightning accelerates controllably and without startling other drivers — welcome points for energy consumption, tire wear, and road safety alike.
F-150 Lightning range and efficiency
The 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning is available in two battery configurations: 98-kWh (usable) ‘standard’ range in Pro and XLT models; and 131-kWh (usable) ‘extended’ range in Flash, Lariat, and Premium. Fleet buyers can option the extended pack on the Pro, but you can’t.
Both of these batteries are significantly larger than most EVs, and bear greater weight and charge times as a result.
Driven in high-20s temperatures with driver-side climate control enabled, the F-150 Lightning Extended Range slightly exceeded efficiency claims, yet fell short on overall range calculations.
NRCan-posted ratings for the 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning are thirsty at 26.9 kWh/100 km city, 33.3 kWh/100 km highway, and 29.8 kWh/100 km combined. Range is claimed at 515 km for this extended-range model, or 386 km from the standard-range batteries.
Our own mixed city driving returned a consumption figure of ~25 kWh/100 km. Riding up ON-400 with low A/C and Blue Cruise set at an Ontario-mandated 100 km/h, highway economy registered 28 kWh/100 km in dynamic metropolitan traffic, and 32 on emptier northern routes without traffic-slowdown regen opportunities. Actual highway range counted out toward ~450 km.
Charging all that capacity takes a moment, albeit not the longest. Ford claims an optimal 15%-to-80% charge sprint (not 10% to 80%, as most manufacturers quote) in 32 minutes for the 98-kWh standard pack; or 38 minutes for the 131-kWh extended.
Charging from 15% to 80% took 44 minuteson a Petro Canada 200-kW DC fast-charger, spending much of its time around 149 kW before tapering toward 120 kW, then into the high 40s as it curved toward 80%. This was recorded on a 20°-Celsius evening with no other vehicles charging. Close to claimed then, if not a Hyundai-E-GMP 800-volt sprint to a down-to-the-minute calculation. As ever, too: mileage varies.
Power & towing
While it forgoes outright acceleration, the F-150 Lightning’s 775 lb-ft deploy to accommodate a gnarly maximum towing figure. Depending on spec and trim, the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning is rated to tow trailers weighing 5,000 and 10,000 pounds (2,270 to 4,545 kg). This isn’t quite the 12,700 lbs (5,770 kg) touted by the F-150 Hybrid, but well exceeds what most quarter-ton shoppers will ever actually hook up to.
The trade-off is of course in energy consumption. A community-understood baseline assumption of half-range when towing in optimal conditions seems the accepted wisdom, though we’ve seen a slew of independent tests in the few years that suggest the situation can easily fall even worse. Aerodynamic drag is a particular consideration here, so note that a flatbed load may get you farther than a lighter baby camper or toy-hauler, depending on your variables. The F-150 is smart about this, though: punch in your load length and weight when you hook up, and the Lightning will recalculate a more reasonable half-ish range estimate straight away.
On longer journeys, the earlier quoted charge times will need to be factored in, as will trailer disconnection and charge-nap security logistics. Might be worth keeping wheel chocks and a hitch lock under the rear seat.
If you’re hauling a camper or work trailer, the F-150 Lightning matches Hyundai-Kia’s heavy-hitting E-GMP EV platform with standard 2.4-kW vehicle-to-load capability. Optioned up, frunk and bed outlets can combine to offer a total 9.6 kW, the bed alone delivering as much output as a typical home Level 2 EV charger. Chop saw, freezer, plasma cutter, whatever; that’s a third more than the maximum available output of the already-impressive gas-hybrid F-150 Powerboost.
Blue Cruise hands-free highway assistance
The Ford F-150 Lightning equips Ford’s Blue Cruise hands-free, eyes-up highway driver-assistance system. This enables the truck to manage speed, braking, and steering to follow traffic on pre-mapped highways, much like GM’s Super Cruise. Importantly compared to Super Cruise, Ford’s system will not autonomously change lanes to pass slower vehicles or ride a more open lane; assisted lane changes must be manually initiated.
Like other systems, Blue Cruise uses infra-red driver monitoring cameras to peer through sunglasses and ensure that drivers are indeed watching the road ahead. Look down into the bottomless infotainment menus for a few seconds and the truck will scold you, eventually locking the system out for serious text offenders.
These sorts of Level 2.5 assistance systems have started to work well enough across the industry that their general operation is largely consistent and unremarkable — a positive sign, to be sure.
Whereas EV-segment peers have fallen back on self-congratulatory eco-coded chest-beater electrification badging and sustainability gimmicks, the F-150 Lightning largely just presents and drives as a pickup
Unfortunately, Blue Cruise only seems to calculate acceleration based on the vehicle immediately ahead, even if it has mostly (but not completely) left the lane and there is clear line-of-sight to the next vehicle ahead. This has resulted in some jarring maneuvers in stop-and-go highway traffic, where the truck treated the path as clear and started accelerating aggressively toward stopped vehicles.
Conversely, too, adaptive cruise does not seem to acknowledge vehicles entering your lane until they are almost completely in it, at best making you look like a jerk accelerating to stop someone merging, or at worst bringing the vehicle nervously close to other drivers who had signalled and entered properly. Works well — but still some way to go then.
Ford F-150 Lightning pricing & competitors
The 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning is priced from $62,790 in ‘Pro’ fleet spec to catch the federal iZEV rebate threshold, or $72,790 in volume-entry XLT trim; both fit the 98-kWh ‘standard’ battery. A new mid-range ‘Flash’ model steps up to the 131-kWh battery from $84,290. Top-range Platinum models sticker from $113,290. Note that the F-150 Lightning can also be taken under the iMHZEV rebate structure for businesses.
The electric pickup-truck segment is still in its infancy, with General Motors’ answer to the Lightning only just beginning to hit Canadian streets. That model, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, leans a little more into the EV gimmickry — including with a party-trick performance mode which boosts power for a limited time. Note that this truck’s published performance figures indicate output in this mode, and do not reflect usual motoring output. Canadian Silverado EV pricing spans from $76,899 to $119,699.
Ram aims to launch its Ram 1500 REV pickup by 2025, but with Q4 underway and no drives yet, this seems optimistic. We expect pricing and model/trim structures to target the Lightning and Silverado, but we aren’t holding our breath on any hard details yet.
General Motors also offers the Hummer EV in notchy pickup configuration, though this costly indulgence isn’t a model to be looked to as a pickup truck in the same even vaguely utilitarian vein.
Similarly, the Rivian R1T can do pickup truck stuff including towing, but remains relatively rare, costly, and targeted toward the lifestyle crowd. From experience, the R1T can competently tow a light race hauler, if again at a serious cost to range.
The Tesla Cybertruck also exists, but you might as well bandage your ear and don a red baseball cap.
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