If they can give the Ranger the Lightning treatment it will be a huge success in the UK. Previous version have always fallen short of the F150 as a tool. I think the Frunk is a great addition in a pick up, think of the secure storage when parked up for your personal items or expensive tools!
@@rich7447that's all well and good but when the back is full of bikes or building equipment and it's filthy from being a truck it's nice to have somewhere secure and not visible to keep things that is also clean. Plus reaching into the frunk for your shopping is much easier than the back of the load bed!
@@briansmith7443 Very true. I don't usually take my truck when going shopping for things that would fit in the front compartment of this vehicle (mine is a F450 crew cab 8' bed and is a lot larger than the F150). If I stop for something smaller while I am out, it goes under my rear seat or I fold part or all of the rear seat and put it on the floor. I also use the top of my tonneau as a flat load bed for quite a bit (including bikes) since it has a 2,000 lb capacity. I do see the useful features in the Lightning for those who are used to some of the conveniences of a car or SUV/CUV.
@@rich7447 I guess we all use our trucks differently. As a contractor, I like to keep the bed empty to haul lumber, drywall, plywood, etc... so we always store our tools in the back seat. Not great for security and it makes a mess of your back seat. We purchased a lightning to try out and it's amazing, especially the frunk. We can now not only store our tools in the lockable frunk, but we can charge our tools in there too. A real game changer for those that need it.
@@darpompie4354 The bed on the lightning isn't long enough to fully support 8' sheet stock even with the tailgate down. That works for plywood, but how to you stop drywall from breaking at the edge of the tailgate. Do you have to put lumber under the drywall to support? I usually just load sheet stock on top of the tonneau unless I am getting a lot of over length and then I take my trailer. Ford Pro Power gives me an outlet in the cab and another in the bed, so I can see how having one in a weatherproof compartment can be useful. If the range on the Lightning works for you then it is a great alternative. I'm on the Maryland side of DC and am currently planning a trip to Seattle and back leaving in the next 2 weeks. Right now I am looking at 750 miles a day (8 days of driving in an 11 day trip) with a 26 foot enclosed trailer. Even a regular F150 wouldn't really work in this situation.
Ford really seem to be on to something here, it hits its market almost perfectly. Will be interesting to see how the EV maverick and ranger are taken to in the European markets.
As a Canadian I find this review very interesting as the European perspective is very different, especially since the F150 is a monster in size as compared to what you typically have on the road. Thank you for the review, it is the first non-North American one I have seen of this vehicle.
I think Ford is on to something. I live in West Texas and you are right that there are many people here who will not drive anything other than a full size pickup. They will sell everyone they make and I hope they make a lot of them. 🙂
The proliferation of full size pick ups could also be the fact that the American truck market had been artificially/politically bolstered to ward off Japanese competition since the 70s, and European competition since the 50s and 60s to the benefit of US automakers who failed to compete and innovate. They have also been of benefit of being out of step from the crash testing and emissions of regular cars. If Americans had the option of small pick ups, they would be the norm. Your roads would be safer.
@@toyotaprius79 I agree. I had a Chevy S-10 and it was perfect for what I needed. It’s a shame that one can’t buy something in the U.S. like that anymore. In any case, the F150 Lightning is a step in the right direction.
No not just for farmers but for home owners too. I had a midsize Ford Ranger and now a Toyota Tacoma truck with a 6.5 ft bed. It’s great for getting lumber and 4x8 plywood. If you own an old home and like to do your own yard work/repair-a pick up is useful!
@@sebastiansandvik825 We usually don't bother with a trailer for small stuff and we don't drag them around with us all the time. I'll hook up a trailer to take my lawnmower in for service, or to get something heavy (skid steer, excavator, track loader etc) but use the truck bed for lighter stuff (plywood/OBD, drywall, pallet of ready mix concrete etc). My smallest trailer is a 30' enclosed with a 14,000 lb GVWR. It's not worth dragging that around for a bundle of plywood. That being said, I would never buy a 1/2 ton truck as they lack payload and towing capacity.
Ford needs to improve the charge speed. Tesla and Hyundai (and soon the GMC Sierra/Chevy Silvarado) can do 350kW at public chargers vs Ford's 150kW. That would mean 20 minutes to 80% charge rather than 40 minutes. But other than that, there's not much they compromised on.
See after being in a 2018 f150 raptor in the uk, I don’t believe they are too big for the uk, it’s not really any bigger than a transit pickup! The only thing that lets the petrol and diesel versions down for this side of the pond is the miles per gallon!
Ford dropped the diesel from the 1/2 ton trucks. The EPA makes it too tough to run a diesel in something as small as an F150. Also remember that you have to add 25% to the stated gas mileage since the US gallon is only 80% of a imperial gallon.
Thank you for the description about the environment in which this monster was created. I can see the rationale for working trades needing something to haul a lot of kit; but why so large? Surely the pick ups of the 60’s did a similar job without the footprint of a small town. Don’t forget the original willys GP was the size of a present day Golf and it spawned the ubiquitous Land Rover, which is about half the length of this. The F150 vehicle is a good way of getting away from the similar ICE vehicles, but is only usable on the stroads of the USA, the environment it was created for, but that is the catch 22: the environment has ballooned to cope with the expanding waistline of “king truck” You can’t walk anywhere , you have to drive, because paths (sidewalks) have been swallowed by the “Stroad” Oh dear.
Just the fact that the lightning only comes in the 5.5 foot bed configuration makes it smaller and less useful than a standard F150 where the most popular bed choice is 6.5 feet. The extra foot may not seem like much, but it is the difference between having fully supported 4x8 sheet material (6.5' + 22" of tailgate > 8') and having a foot of material hanging off the end. The 5.5 foot beds also don't fit motorcycles, snowmobiles or ATVs as well as a 6.5' bed does. Once you get to a bed mounted hitch situation (10,000 lb trailer is not that big here) you are looking for an 8' bed if you want to avoid clearance issues and gain stability. The real elephant in the room with the Lightning is range. Absolute minimum that most truck owners are going to want to be able to cover in a day is 600 miles/1,000 km. That gives you enough breathing room to get between cities east of the Mississippi without having to be concerned about freezing to death in weather delays. For me, if I can't cover 1,000 miles pulling a minimum of a 7t trailer in a 15 hour day it isn't much use.
Pickups work for may other types of people. Europeans just don't understand them. If you ever needed to get a few hogs, a deer, or a moose home you wouldn't want it in the back of your van. You also can't tow a 40+ foot toy hauler or fifth wheel camper with a van. The Luxe 48FB toy hauler is 48' long and can weigh up to 26,000 lbs with cargo. We tow stuff that that across the country.
@@andymccabe6712 The people that the range would be an issue for will just stay with a gas or diesel truck. The Lightning is definitely a niche product and Ford knows this. After all they only offer the 5.5' bed when the 6.5' short bed is the most popular option in the regular F150.
He mentioned it at the start. Infrastructure doesn't support huge private vehicles. Demand just isn't there for it in the UK, at least not as much as in the US.
American here. If strictly sticking to pickups, I’ll have a lightning for nice occasions, n a normal pickup like a Titan, Ram, or F150 for everything else.
If you need to tow long distances, the petro is still much better. If you don't need to tow or frequently travel over 250 miles then it does everything else better.
I live in N America & that short box means the ' trades' won't touch it, you need an 8ft box. The truck is proving a big problem for Ford, so many of the new trucks have faults that dealers are quietly buying back the lemons before the negitive news gets out. Ford not alone, the GM ev offerings are crap as well.
The sales of the Lightning fell off a cliff not that long ago. I think that anyone who wanted on already purchased it. On the other end of things Super Duty sales are crazy. It took me 2 years to take delivery of an F450. I ordered a 2022 model year and got a 2024.
My dad is downsizing his F350 6.7L diesel for an F150 in the next month or two and try as I might I couldn’t get him to entertain one of these. No heat pump, extended range models are expensive (~$100k CAD before tax for a Lariat trim), range when towing is cut in half or more, and range when towing in temps that get down as low as -40 is nonexistent. He will be putting an order in for the cheaper and more practical hybrid, which has the ProPower system albeit with a 3.5L TTV6 instead of a frunk.
I lived in the US and these cars didn't make sense to me when i was there. Majority are owned by people not working in construction/farming etc and most of the time the rear sits empty. It's a car that feeds into the excess consumption that we have in the west and going to EV doesn't it make any better.
@@tomooo2637 Tonneau covers keep everything in the bed dry and can be opened or removed if you need the bed for cargo or a bed mounted hitch. If you need more interior space you can get a cap and have the same versatility without having to heat and cool the entire interior volume of a cargo van. Europeans have no use for bed mounted hitches because they are not allowed to tow any more than a very light trailer. But you can't put a bed mounted hitch on a van.
@@rich7447 fyi, I can drive a 17 tonne 2 axle lorry, or tow up to 10 tonnes on my normal but old license. Same in Germany, older people have very permissive licences Also up to 11 passenger vehicle. Only restriction is tracked things. In my youth i drove tractors and no restriction on size, length or weight or towing capacity on private land, or even going on a public highway to access land.
It's a wonderful thing, the F-150. But no, it's absolutely ridiculous for the UK. It's far too big for anything except our motorways, or perhaps Milton Keynes.
Transport Evolved had done an excellent review on this, towing a car on a trailer from Washington state to Colorado. The F150 is capable of towing long distance with occasional rests to charge. The Electrify America Charing network is unreliable, it has been undermined and underserviced. Quite often because of overheating (which shade from solar rectifies), an over complication of cooling cables, and other times the chargers just need a technician to reboot the units as more often a remote reset can't be made because if poor internet connection. Bad planning all round. The US government never took Electricity America seriously.
For the most part, electric vehicles in the Heartland of America are impractical. First of all we drive great distances between towns and cities. There's no infrastructure in place for recharging. We need longer battery life then manufactures provide for everyday use such as farming and construction work. If the trucks (or electric cars) are used to sit in LA or New York traffic for hours with short distances to cover, then yes they might be an option. When battery range exceeds 1000 miles (1600 Km), they may become viable.
Agreed. Somewhere around 1,000 miles is my target for distance covered in a single day. If I can't do DC to Fort Lauderdale in a day it doesn't work for me.
Not a fan of pickups for their tax write off purposes, despite their excellent utility. The Ford Ranger has already grown far too big, and I mostly see them without a spec of mud on them driven, or driven as big boi toys. Small pickups are the ideal, like the hybrid driven Ford Maverick, or CUV pick up conversions that Hyundai offers in the US. Or the Citroën Oli concept. The old Ford ranger from the 90s that was also made in collaboration with Mazda were the last great pickup trucks. Besides the VW Combi pick up
Nothing that you have listed is remotely useful for towing or hauling duties. Add in the fact that the mini trucks aren't particularly comfortable and it makes them a bad choice all around. Most palleted material is over 2,500 lbs. A bundle of 2x4s contains 294 boards, with an 8' board weighing 9 lbs (2,646 lbs total). Sheet stock comes in 4x8 sheets and nothing that you listed (including the new Ranger - 44.8" between wheel housings) has 48 inches between wheel housings. Compact and mid-size trucks are ideal for people that don't need a truck. Even 1/2 tons lack payload required for many tasks.
I’d love something similar to Be able to chuck the chainsaws in the back and bring back a load of wood but at the moment the only option seems to be the Maxus t90ev (also known as the “what?)
Yeah, I'm sure that they do. I can't see how you can make that with a rumoured 115kwh usable battery for under 40 000 dollars. But well... in this case Ford's loss is the world's benefit. And it might just get a lot of people onto EV's that otherwise wouldn't be.
@@sebastiansandvik825 under $40k? The 130kWh battery starts at $80k build. The cheapest trim starts at $52k (with 98kWh). The $40k price point was always a lie as it was only offered to fleets buying bare bones trucks in quantity.
@@BobPaul Thanks for correcting me! But still, it's probably sold at quite a loss, considering that the Mach-E with the 98kwh battery starts at 63,5k USD.
@@sebastiansandvik825 I'm trying to find some source that claims the lightning isn't profitable, and I'm finding anything. I think some things that help are the Pro trip ($52k, standard range only) doesn't have a lot of upgrade options, which pushes buyers up $8k to the XLT or $23k to the Lariat. The other thing is that most EVs are either based on petrol cars and somewhat terrible (Nissan Leaf) or purpose built, but lots of unique components. Because US trucks still use bolt on frame, transitioning to a skateboard style EV didn't require any frame redesign. Most of the components other than the frunk, ev motor, and battery are shared with other F150 variants, which surely keep costs down some. I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if the Pro is a loss or break even, but Ford claims that only 20% of units produced have been the Pro trim. 2022 Q1 profits were way down and Ford blamed Rivian as well as investment in EVs. Q2 was really good and Ford blamed EV sales. 2023 is supposed to bring us a ramp to over 100k units from the Deerborn MI plant; I guess we'll see if that happens. So far they've made less than 20k.
It is an interesting monster but the towing is a joke. I saw a US youtuber test it and even with an empty boat trailer it made just like 100mi. So it does a lot but towing is not one of its real competences.
Most truck owners in the US don't do anything useful with their trucks - the Texan would be just as well off with the EV6 (like how Range Rover drivers in the UK don't actually go off-road)
Mostly agree. I only needed my 2014 F150 occasionally, thank goodness because it got about 10 mpg when not towing my trailer. So I normally drove my 2018 prius which always got 50+ mpg. Traded them both in for my lightning platinum. Now I get better range than I got with my prius even when I'm towing my fully loaded trailer. I only pay $.04/ mile in winter and $.06/mile in summer. So yes this is the absolute best f150 that I've ever owned.
I would agree for 1/2 ton owners. Large trucks not so much. If you are towing over about 8,000 lbs there isn't really any way of getting around needing a truck and at that weight I would be looking F250 or greater. My heavy weight trailer is 26,000 lb GVWR so even an F250 is not enough.
The F150 Lightning makes no sense on European roads, it's just too big. But a Ranger Lightning is surely a no brainer. FWIW the F150 Lightning now costs from $56k in the US, that's £46k. Still excellent value, but no longer a steal
Is the main issue the width of British roads? If not, I wonder what modest sized building contractors use there. Here (US), many carpentry crews meet somewhere then go together to the job site, usually in such "crew cab" pickup trucks. Where they can operate, EVs like this can be very practical and economical.
No, it's the parking spaces which were defined in the 1970's based on an Austin Maxi (you can Google that), which is basically a rather small car now. The next winning move will be a vehicle with a roof exit because opening your door in most parking places, other than Costco, is getting rather difficult!
It depends where you live and drive in the uk. The roads vary In size from single track up to motorways. Driving this around some cities would be painful as its nearly the width of a bus, but you could do it if you know the roads. Tradesmen do use pickups but most use vans usually smaller than this that can park in most spaces.
In the city in which I live which is moderate size the truck is at least 30% a status symbol. It's utility for hauling things is probably used once a month and the rest of the time it's a sign of dominance and Power often driven by men supporting the former president in the US. Also admittedly you can haul groceries and laundry in it . Truck manufacturers in the 1970s and '80s lobbied our government to give special tax credits to encourage the purchase of these vehicles. So you'll find college students and grandmothers and Men using this as a symbol of their size whatever that is because the tax breaks encourages them to buy big. It may be 350 days of the year it's simply a vehicle for one person to commute to work and do shopping errands that could have been done in a smaller vehicle. It's main function is to produce sales for the corporation not for the continuation of the planet. Fortunately the all-electric version produces far less net CO2 than the gasoline versions do. And also fortunately somewhere around 50 to 70% of these truck owners actually use them for their purpose and not just to imply how Mighty they are elsewhere. The United States since the 1970s has become a country focused on consuming and a large part of that are corporations influence on our government. The F-150 is simply assurance that we can continue on consuming bigger and bigger. All things being equal it actually is a very needed Improvement in American CO2 production from transportation.
The F150, and the rest of the half tons with it, have traded durability and capability for "car like ride". Most of the guys that I know, myself included, that use a truck as a truck have opted for class 2B or class 3 trucks. Drop 2,000 lbs in the bed of an F-150 and drive it and you will immediately see what I am talking about.
I don't believe they plan to bring the Lightning to the UK. The 3,500 kg wouldn't be far out of line with most half tons which is probably why anyone that tows anything heavy or often here in the US skips the 1/2 ton and goes straight to a more capable tow vehicle.
I absolutely love my 2023 F150 Lightning Lariat (extended range, which is 1 trim level below the Platinum shown in this video). F150s are realistically too big for nearly all of Europe and Asia, but probably would fit fine in Africa and certainly in Australia and South America. For Europe and Asia Ford is probably going to offer an all-electric Ranger, the smaller baby brother pickup to the F series. I wonder how long before Rivian starts selling their R1T and R1S in Europe and Asia, as the R1T is about the same size as a Ranger.
Is too big? For Brits yes. For Sweden no. But the price is ridiculous in Europe and this is in a time when even Americans are whining over the price. Imagine it’s nearly the double in Europe. There are huge trucks driving everywhere in Europe daily. Also this car is great against Teslas in a crash. It’s heavy and high. And also has a truck bed to protect you from Tesla drivers when their autopilot fails and they’re sleeping in their car.
I have absolutely no idea what is meant by the Ford F150 being built to do "a job." What job is that, exactly? And what exactly does a Texan need a pickup truck to do? Because I'm fairly certain that not everyone in the USA is a construction worker who needs a pickup truck, and from what I've heard and seen, pickup trucks in the USA are rarely actually used as pickup trucks. I don't really understand the "infrastructure" comment either, as it was said that the F150 was built for the highway (or motorway in the UK). Why is a pickup truck needed for a motorway? I drive 60 miles on a motorway every single day and I see very few pickup trucks. Just how bad is infrastructure in the USA that requires the use of pickup trucks? It surely couldn't be any worse than the pothole-ridden roads of the UK.
People in the US often do things themselves you might leave to a contractor in the UK as there is less red tape there when it comes to that sort of thing. So if someone wants to do home repairs or build a shed they can go to the home depot, load up their truck and drive the materials home. Then start building it themselves. They might also do the same for bags of concrete or feed for animals in America's many farms. Wealthy people often own large trailers or boats can easily hook them up to the back of these trucks and go where they please. The 4x4 option lets you take them offroad into America's many forested wildlands as well and people use them for offroading and camping. It's just a very different culture from most of Europe.
@@ComfyShortz sounds like many of the same things that are done in the UK... except using a trailer for those tasks makes far more sense. also, from what i have seen, the overwhelming majority of americans do not use pick up trucks for those tasks. so none of it makes any sense.
@@33LB America is also a country where about half of its population lives outside the major cities. They were popularized by us rural people. But in the past few decades, people in the cities started buying them too. Even though most of them don't really need them. But I am not a city dweller and trucks are used frequently out here for daily life.
I might be wrong, but anticipate that the F-150 Lightning will significantly outsell the Tesla Cybertruck. It will feel more familiar, more comfortable, more practical to pickup owners who drive a "workhorse" daily.
From my time living in the USA, a majority of the more expensive trucks sold are not used as 'workhorses'.... We owned full-sized SUVs (Tahoe, Expedition) for a while, but found that something like a 4Runner (I had the V8 back in the day) was a lot better all-round drive. Also drove rented full-size trucks on several occasions. Really not practical daily use vehicles outside of the USA and Canada. In other countries, people do fine with the 'mid-size' pickups like the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and so on.
@@pstoneking3418 the current estimate is 1.5 million preorders for Cybertruck. Honestly, they'll take any truck they can get. It'll be years before anyone is competing on EVs with each other, rather than their own production capability.
@@pstoneking3418 Yes they are building out the assembly line in Texas. The engineering behind the cyber turck is a generation or more ahead of any electric pickup. There is a load of goodness here. I initially hated it. Have made a 180
A few misconceptions in this Tom, it isn't true that this does a job Americans need it to do - they don't, studies show the majority never use their pickup beds. Also given the lithium shortage we have coming do we really want to celebrate people using 90+ kWh batteries for no reason? I think we risk unnecessarily carrying over unsustainable habits from ICE cars, rather than taking the opportunity to change.
I'm totally with you one this one, Wookie - anything that starts to get Americans to switch out of their gas-guzzling Yank-tanks in to less polluting vehicles has GOT to be a good thing. 🤠
This isn't going to work for anyone who uses their truck as a truck though. The range, even with the larger battery, is half what it needs to be and drops like a rock once you tow anything with a good amount of wind resistance. Charging times are too long and for about the same or less than the ER Lightning you can get an F350 with the 6.7 Power Stroke that has 50% more torque, a 750 mile range, 6,000 lb payload and 37,000 lb towing capacity.
Lightning is going to be great when you cant charge it like situation in California or potentially in Switzerland....You are just burning fossil fuel remotely with an EV for now unless some decent base load power is available...
Good review. Having lived and worked in the US, these do make total sense over there at many levels and this one, given the change in technology looks like a very sensible and excellent package. On the other hand for the UK and Europe, they are way too big but then again so are the ICE versions from different brands that you can get over here already, we really don't have the "use case" for these type of vehicles let alone the roads. Over there they are work horses just like a Transit van is over here, owning one over here is sheer misplaced vanity which you will pay for everytime to try to park the thing :)
@@danharold3087 Generally speaking you get your supplier to deliver it in a rather large truck :) Leastways that is what I've always done and its much more cost effective than owning a large vehical for just the odd need during the year.
@@johnhaynes9910 Maybe some of this is a case of people wanting cars the size they are used to. The F150 feels like a bus when your used to a small car. Have experience with that. Not at all saying you should be driving a larger truck. Just that we are all biased in favor of what we are used to. I feel a lot safer in my big pickup than I do in the 1979 hilux. I know I am. Too many people locally who actually need pickups to think about many using small cars.
@@danharold3087 Dan, in the US and especially places like the Mid West big pickups are a very sensible choice for some people. One of my neighbours was a carpenter and he had a pick up which he used to tow a mobile workshop to the job he was on. My main point was that here in the UK and this applies to Europe generally, big pickups are useless, the roads aren't wide enough and the density of population and therefore car ownership way higher compared to the US. I lived in a place called Rockford, one morning a chap at the office said "Traffic was heavy today..." I replied "Yes, there were 6 cars ahead of me at a stop light..." Over here Dan, try 60 ! :)
I would hate to see it come to this country for fear of the damage it would cause to the normal sized transport both on our roads and in our car parks, but it look quite impressive for use in its home country. I certainly wish more manufacturers would copy the moving pedal box idea to allow shorter drivers to sit further back in the cabin space and away from the worst of any potential accident damage.
I sat with a nice English gentleman at a wedding many years ago, and he was stunned how big America actually is (took him two days to drive across Texas). He said he understood why America had such huge cars once he arrived.
The last time I drove back from Idaho (via SLC, Denver, KC, ST. Louis, Lexington KY) to NW of Baltimore MD it took me about 40 hours of driving over 3 days. You can get across Texas in a day, but maybe not if you are stopping for a rest every couple of hours.
@@rich7447 Yeah, depends on how fast you drive and how long your stops are. The most I've driven in one day is 8 hours. Any longer than that and I'll fly.
@@ohger1 I was driving our RV home and the airlines won't let me check it. My longest day on that trip was 17 hours. I usually call it a day some time between 15 and 18 hours, even less in vehicles smaller than a full-size pickup.
American pickups are so cool and so utilitarian. If they shrunk these down to 90% in a photocopier, they'd be onto an absolute winner in Europe. Although, if you're used to driving a Range Rover, it's pretty much exactly the same width and height, just 30cm longer (which some Range Rovers argue would be better!).
If they bring the Home Intelligent backup system to the UK I will order whatever car they enable it on! I had a Maverick many years ago and would get one again if it could power my house.
That is one advantage the lighting has over other electric pickups. It is body on frame. It would be easy to provide all combinations of box and cabs. Even the specialized box replacements used by some trades.
Interesting that you are driving an F150 Lightning in the UK. It is rare to get hold of one if you are in America, let alone UK.! It makes no sense in the UK but I would still love to see one!
good review, they are great trucks, I live in Canada and almost impossible to get one here at the moment unless your willing to wait up to a year , the starting price in the USA is well above 40 grand , the current starting price is somewhere around 53 grand now, I'll wait a few years and get one used and i don't need new or the top model 👍
Even difficult to get one in the U S. Unless you got the early reservations. I was fortunate to get offered a mannequin, but had to wait 6 months to get it. Still paid full MSRP price, lost 6 months warranty, but still better than waiting several years to get one.
My understanding is we are not getting it in Europe, not mentioned. Be good to understand if there will be a smaller version that we get. Crew cab Pick ups are still useful in the UK
We don't get the ford f150 at all. We get the ford Ranger, and there's a f150 model, more like a trim option. The Ranger is smaller than the actual f150.
I think 🤔 Land Rover going bankruptcy sad. As had a golden opertunity with the old multi purpose Land Rover Defender .... old one to all electric with massive Frunk 🌏🤣🙂🙂#buzzofftoxic
As an American with a Powerstroke F350 with a tow rating of 18,800 lbs I find the Lightning's 7,700 lbs tow rating as being able to "tow the World off its axis" rather funny. The tandem axle trailer I use to haul equipment between properties and around my tree farm weighs 7,600 lbs empty. With a tractor, rotary cutter, and a tongue toolbox, it's around 12,500 lbs (5,670 kg). A truck with a tow rating of only 7,700 lbs is of no use to me, but there are plenty of people who buy trucks to haul mulch twice a year. It may work for them. The 2x4 every five years crowd buys Toyotas and the Lightning isn't going to change that.
In Europe we use a real tractors for farmwork. And when you tow that size load a lorry or truck on public roads. They just don't have any role here. The smaller Ranger are pretty much the largest you see, with a few exceptions.
@@SoulFlavor18 My truck (a King Ranch with a FX4 package) was within a thousand dollars of an equivalent trim level Lightning. He asked for an American perspective and I gave mine. You're welcome
It's interesting whenever UK reviewers do a review of either this, or the Rivian pickup, they always only talk about the competition being either those 2 trucks, or the Cybertruck. In the UK, the first EV pickup truck should by on UK roads early next year - and it's not any of those. It'll be the SAIC Maxus T90EV. Who's SAIC? They're the owners of MG, who seem to be doing pretty well with their EV launches this year. Hopefully Electrifying will be reviewing that one as well as soon as it's available....
Is it not a case of the T90 and the F150 being different segments of pickup. The T90 sits in the Ford Ranger segment so describing it as a rival of the much larger and more expensive F150 is a bit like saying a Corsa e is a rival for a ev6.
@@benrgrogan I think this is more a case of for UK reviewers of EV vehicles, at the moment they only seem to acknowledge the very unlikely to ever be available, or ever appropriate for UK roads F-150 or Rivian or Cybertruck and are ignoring that there are other electric pickup trucks, that are suitable for UK/Europe roads that are coming out soon. The only EV vehicle youtube channel that I've heard even acknowledge the Maxus T90 is the US based (although British hosted) Transport Evolved. It's probably because Maxus is not going for the consumer market - it's targeted firmly towards the corporate market so there's no flashy B-roll of it to show yet.
Don't you'all have building contractors and civil improvements crews? These trucks are not for civilians, so much as the small business person who needs the "green" credits of purchases and leases in their business accounts. Sure a bunch will go to ego boys (and girls) who have a boat or a horse and need to haul stuff. But the focus is on business owners who might buy or lease one for their personal use (makes a nice statement when bidding on a build), but if they like it will start to replace their fleet with them. My neighbor is an example. He's a contractor with 5 trucks. He's on the waiting list ...
No, this won't be suitable for European roads. Now imagine a Transit with an interior designed with the same attention to detail as this truck, a useful frunk and power sockets everywhere. The lessons learned in designing this F Series could result in decent commercial vehicles on this side of the Atlantic too.
I have to say that I did feel very normal in it. I used to daily a Hennessey Velociraptor in the UK, and never felt odd. I realise that isn't normal...
Way too big for the UK,and rest of Europe. I have an EV that I feel is a bit too big, we need more smaller EVs, yes I know, range is King so need big battery, so need big car. We need to find smaller EVs for UK.
The adjustable pedals were an option on the EU Focus MK2, I remember seeing it once and thinking it was an aftermarket retrofit but then saw it in the manual.
If they can give the Ranger the Lightning treatment it will be a huge success in the UK. Previous version have always fallen short of the F150 as a tool. I think the Frunk is a great addition in a pick up, think of the secure storage when parked up for your personal items or expensive tools!
That is why they make tonneau covers.
@@rich7447that's all well and good but when the back is full of bikes or building equipment and it's filthy from being a truck it's nice to have somewhere secure and not visible to keep things that is also clean. Plus reaching into the frunk for your shopping is much easier than the back of the load bed!
@@briansmith7443 Very true. I don't usually take my truck when going shopping for things that would fit in the front compartment of this vehicle (mine is a F450 crew cab 8' bed and is a lot larger than the F150). If I stop for something smaller while I am out, it goes under my rear seat or I fold part or all of the rear seat and put it on the floor. I also use the top of my tonneau as a flat load bed for quite a bit (including bikes) since it has a 2,000 lb capacity.
I do see the useful features in the Lightning for those who are used to some of the conveniences of a car or SUV/CUV.
@@rich7447 I guess we all use our trucks differently. As a contractor, I like to keep the bed empty to haul lumber, drywall, plywood, etc... so we always store our tools in the back seat. Not great for security and it makes a mess of your back seat. We purchased a lightning to try out and it's amazing, especially the frunk. We can now not only store our tools in the lockable frunk, but we can charge our tools in there too. A real game changer for those that need it.
@@darpompie4354 The bed on the lightning isn't long enough to fully support 8' sheet stock even with the tailgate down. That works for plywood, but how to you stop drywall from breaking at the edge of the tailgate. Do you have to put lumber under the drywall to support?
I usually just load sheet stock on top of the tonneau unless I am getting a lot of over length and then I take my trailer.
Ford Pro Power gives me an outlet in the cab and another in the bed, so I can see how having one in a weatherproof compartment can be useful.
If the range on the Lightning works for you then it is a great alternative. I'm on the Maryland side of DC and am currently planning a trip to Seattle and back leaving in the next 2 weeks. Right now I am looking at 750 miles a day (8 days of driving in an 11 day trip) with a 26 foot enclosed trailer. Even a regular F150 wouldn't really work in this situation.
Ford really seem to be on to something here, it hits its market almost perfectly. Will be interesting to see how the EV maverick and ranger are taken to in the European markets.
As a Canadian I find this review very interesting as the European perspective is very different, especially since the F150 is a monster in size as compared to what you typically have on the road. Thank you for the review, it is the first non-North American one I have seen of this vehicle.
Fully Charged did a review but the reviewer Rick Roy who lives in San Diego.
@Robert Chow yes, I had seen that, but as you indicated it was not a real European review since the reviewer was American 😎
I think Ford is on to something. I live in West Texas and you are right that there are many people here who will not drive anything other than a full size pickup. They will sell everyone they make and I hope they make a lot of them. 🙂
The proliferation of full size pick ups could also be the fact that the American truck market had been artificially/politically bolstered to ward off Japanese competition since the 70s, and European competition since the 50s and 60s to the benefit of US automakers who failed to compete and innovate. They have also been of benefit of being out of step from the crash testing and emissions of regular cars.
If Americans had the option of small pick ups, they would be the norm. Your roads would be safer.
@@toyotaprius79 I agree. I had a Chevy S-10 and it was perfect for what I needed. It’s a shame that one can’t buy something in the U.S. like that anymore. In any case, the F150 Lightning is a step in the right direction.
Fitness for purpose trumps pretty much anything...
@@toyotaprius79 I mean all of our cars are pretty big so there isn’t much difference in being hit by a pickup than a suburban or acadia
No not just for farmers but for home owners too. I had a midsize Ford Ranger and now a Toyota Tacoma truck with a 6.5 ft bed. It’s great for getting lumber and 4x8 plywood. If you own an old home and like to do your own yard work/repair-a pick up is useful!
Why wouldn't you just use a trailer?
@@sebastiansandvik825 We usually don't bother with a trailer for small stuff and we don't drag them around with us all the time. I'll hook up a trailer to take my lawnmower in for service, or to get something heavy (skid steer, excavator, track loader etc) but use the truck bed for lighter stuff (plywood/OBD, drywall, pallet of ready mix concrete etc). My smallest trailer is a 30' enclosed with a 14,000 lb GVWR. It's not worth dragging that around for a bundle of plywood.
That being said, I would never buy a 1/2 ton truck as they lack payload and towing capacity.
It's the only electric car/vehicle that I actually want.
Ford needs to improve the charge speed. Tesla and Hyundai (and soon the GMC Sierra/Chevy Silvarado) can do 350kW at public chargers vs Ford's 150kW. That would mean 20 minutes to 80% charge rather than 40 minutes. But other than that, there's not much they compromised on.
I agree me 2 but the price is ridiculous.
See after being in a 2018 f150 raptor in the uk, I don’t believe they are too big for the uk, it’s not really any bigger than a transit pickup! The only thing that lets the petrol and diesel versions down for this side of the pond is the miles per gallon!
Ford dropped the diesel from the 1/2 ton trucks. The EPA makes it too tough to run a diesel in something as small as an F150. Also remember that you have to add 25% to the stated gas mileage since the US gallon is only 80% of a imperial gallon.
Thank you for the description about the environment in which this monster was created. I can see the rationale for working trades needing something to haul a lot of kit; but why so large? Surely the pick ups of the 60’s did a similar job without the footprint of a small town. Don’t forget the original willys GP was the size of a present day Golf and it spawned the ubiquitous Land Rover, which is about half the length of this. The F150 vehicle is a good way of getting away from the similar ICE vehicles, but is only usable on the stroads of the USA, the environment it was created for, but that is the catch 22: the environment has ballooned to cope with the expanding waistline of “king truck” You can’t walk anywhere , you have to drive, because paths (sidewalks) have been swallowed by the “Stroad” Oh dear.
Just the fact that the lightning only comes in the 5.5 foot bed configuration makes it smaller and less useful than a standard F150 where the most popular bed choice is 6.5 feet. The extra foot may not seem like much, but it is the difference between having fully supported 4x8 sheet material (6.5' + 22" of tailgate > 8') and having a foot of material hanging off the end. The 5.5 foot beds also don't fit motorcycles, snowmobiles or ATVs as well as a 6.5' bed does. Once you get to a bed mounted hitch situation (10,000 lb trailer is not that big here) you are looking for an 8' bed if you want to avoid clearance issues and gain stability.
The real elephant in the room with the Lightning is range. Absolute minimum that most truck owners are going to want to be able to cover in a day is 600 miles/1,000 km. That gives you enough breathing room to get between cities east of the Mississippi without having to be concerned about freezing to death in weather delays. For me, if I can't cover 1,000 miles pulling a minimum of a 7t trailer in a 15 hour day it isn't much use.
Pickups only work for builders, no one else. American Pickups are way too big for UK roads
Pickups work for may other types of people. Europeans just don't understand them. If you ever needed to get a few hogs, a deer, or a moose home you wouldn't want it in the back of your van. You also can't tow a 40+ foot toy hauler or fifth wheel camper with a van. The Luxe 48FB toy hauler is 48' long and can weigh up to 26,000 lbs with cargo. We tow stuff that that across the country.
Not a vehicle comment. But the quality of the video format is excellent
Im getting a cybertruck on my farm in Norway..
its big, but still an inch short of the f-150 in every dimension.. and they do work here👍🇳🇴
The charging and milage have been underreported by Ford, according to quite a few channels. Towing of course murders that range figure
The range will NOT be a problem for LOTS of owners........
.....it's selling in bucket loads....!!!
@@andymccabe6712 The people that the range would be an issue for will just stay with a gas or diesel truck. The Lightning is definitely a niche product and Ford knows this. After all they only offer the 5.5' bed when the 6.5' short bed is the most popular option in the regular F150.
In Florida, love my Lariat, but I still have my V6 F150.
We are really interested in this vehicle but can’t understand why Ford don’t want to sell it in the UK!
He mentioned it at the start. Infrastructure doesn't support huge private vehicles. Demand just isn't there for it in the UK, at least not as much as in the US.
@@PatLadsChan99 The demand for the Lightning in the US isn't exactly huge. They may send them to the UK in hopes of selling a few.
American here. If strictly sticking to pickups, I’ll have a lightning for nice occasions, n a normal pickup like a Titan, Ram, or F150 for everything else.
Why two trucks of the same class? Super Duty or Ram/GMC HD would be a better choice for a workhorse.
@@rich7447 I guess at the time I was considering what type of work I’d be doing.
Very very practical but i don't want to met on on a small road - can you still get one at $40K? I thought they had a price rise recently
Bring it over here. I’d have one tomorrow. Off over to the states in may will definitely be looking to try and ship one back
They may do that. Ford can't give them away over here in the US.
If you need to tow long distances, the petro is still much better. If you don't need to tow or frequently travel over 250 miles then it does everything else better.
I live in N America & that short box means the ' trades' won't touch it, you need an 8ft box. The truck is proving a big problem for Ford, so many of the new trucks have faults that dealers are quietly buying back the lemons before the negitive news gets out. Ford not alone, the GM ev offerings are crap as well.
The sales of the Lightning fell off a cliff not that long ago. I think that anyone who wanted on already purchased it. On the other end of things Super Duty sales are crazy. It took me 2 years to take delivery of an F450. I ordered a 2022 model year and got a 2024.
Why would you even ask if it's too big for the UK as we'll never have this available for us.
What a shame they’re not doing something with the Ranger. It would be perfect
Would love to see these over here, but will settle for ANY EV pickup. Paitiently waiting for my Cybertruck pre-order though!
My dad is downsizing his F350 6.7L diesel for an F150 in the next month or two and try as I might I couldn’t get him to entertain one of these. No heat pump, extended range models are expensive (~$100k CAD before tax for a Lariat trim), range when towing is cut in half or more, and range when towing in temps that get down as low as -40 is nonexistent. He will be putting an order in for the cheaper and more practical hybrid, which has the ProPower system albeit with a 3.5L TTV6 instead of a frunk.
Smart man.
I lived in the US and these cars didn't make sense to me when i was there. Majority are owned by people not working in construction/farming etc and most of the time the rear sits empty. It's a car that feeds into the excess consumption that we have in the west and going to EV doesn't it make any better.
And everything gets wet, cos it rains a lot here. Get a transit van and it will lug a palette
@@tomooo2637 pickups without backbodies never really make sense to me.
@@tomooo2637 Tonneau covers keep everything in the bed dry and can be opened or removed if you need the bed for cargo or a bed mounted hitch. If you need more interior space you can get a cap and have the same versatility without having to heat and cool the entire interior volume of a cargo van. Europeans have no use for bed mounted hitches because they are not allowed to tow any more than a very light trailer. But you can't put a bed mounted hitch on a van.
@@rich7447 fyi, I can drive a 17 tonne 2 axle lorry, or tow up to 10 tonnes on my normal but old license. Same in Germany, older people have very permissive licences
Also up to 11 passenger vehicle.
Only restriction is tracked things.
In my youth i drove tractors and no restriction on size, length or weight or towing capacity on private land, or even going on a public highway to access land.
@@tomooo2637 That standard changed in 1997 and the EU license got neutered.
It's a wonderful thing, the F-150. But no, it's absolutely ridiculous for the UK. It's far too big for anything except our motorways, or perhaps Milton Keynes.
So will this fit in a standard UK garage?
No. It's almost 6 metres long. Most UK garages are only about 5m long and 2.5 metres wide.
Will a Focus? It appears that UK garages are not designed for any car to fit if the driver intends to get out.
The problem with the lightning is for people who tow. 400 miles of range turns into 150 miles or less at 7k
Transport Evolved had done an excellent review on this, towing a car on a trailer from Washington state to Colorado.
The F150 is capable of towing long distance with occasional rests to charge. The Electrify America Charing network is unreliable, it has been undermined and underserviced. Quite often because of overheating (which shade from solar rectifies), an over complication of cooling cables, and other times the chargers just need a technician to reboot the units as more often a remote reset can't be made because if poor internet connection.
Bad planning all round. The US government never took Electricity America seriously.
Um, the starting price jumped to $52,000 months ago.
It's a full size truck, it should be big
On the small end of full-size trucks really.
For the most part, electric vehicles in the Heartland of America are impractical. First of all we drive great distances between towns and cities. There's no infrastructure in place for recharging. We need longer battery life then manufactures provide for everyday use such as farming and construction work. If the trucks (or electric cars) are used to sit in LA or New York traffic for hours with short distances to cover, then yes they might be an option. When battery range exceeds 1000 miles (1600 Km), they may become viable.
Agreed. Somewhere around 1,000 miles is my target for distance covered in a single day. If I can't do DC to Fort Lauderdale in a day it doesn't work for me.
Not a fan of pickups for their tax write off purposes, despite their excellent utility.
The Ford Ranger has already grown far too big, and I mostly see them without a spec of mud on them driven, or driven as big boi toys.
Small pickups are the ideal, like the hybrid driven Ford Maverick, or CUV pick up conversions that Hyundai offers in the US. Or the Citroën Oli concept.
The old Ford ranger from the 90s that was also made in collaboration with Mazda were the last great pickup trucks. Besides the VW Combi pick up
Nothing that you have listed is remotely useful for towing or hauling duties. Add in the fact that the mini trucks aren't particularly comfortable and it makes them a bad choice all around.
Most palleted material is over 2,500 lbs. A bundle of 2x4s contains 294 boards, with an 8' board weighing 9 lbs (2,646 lbs total). Sheet stock comes in 4x8 sheets and nothing that you listed (including the new Ranger - 44.8" between wheel housings) has 48 inches between wheel housings.
Compact and mid-size trucks are ideal for people that don't need a truck. Even 1/2 tons lack payload required for many tasks.
I’d love something similar to Be able to chuck the chainsaws in the back and bring back a load of wood but at the moment the only option seems to be the Maxus t90ev (also known as the “what?)
In the US an F-150 is considered a small truck.
In pretty sure Ford loses money on every F150 lightning sold.
That's why they limit how many are available.
Yeah, I'm sure that they do. I can't see how you can make that with a rumoured 115kwh usable battery for under 40 000 dollars. But well... in this case Ford's loss is the world's benefit. And it might just get a lot of people onto EV's that otherwise wouldn't be.
@@sebastiansandvik825 under $40k? The 130kWh battery starts at $80k build. The cheapest trim starts at $52k (with 98kWh). The $40k price point was always a lie as it was only offered to fleets buying bare bones trucks in quantity.
@@BobPaul Thanks for correcting me! But still, it's probably sold at quite a loss, considering that the Mach-E with the 98kwh battery starts at 63,5k USD.
@@sebastiansandvik825 I'm trying to find some source that claims the lightning isn't profitable, and I'm finding anything. I think some things that help are the Pro trip ($52k, standard range only) doesn't have a lot of upgrade options, which pushes buyers up $8k to the XLT or $23k to the Lariat. The other thing is that most EVs are either based on petrol cars and somewhat terrible (Nissan Leaf) or purpose built, but lots of unique components. Because US trucks still use bolt on frame, transitioning to a skateboard style EV didn't require any frame redesign. Most of the components other than the frunk, ev motor, and battery are shared with other F150 variants, which surely keep costs down some.
I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if the Pro is a loss or break even, but Ford claims that only 20% of units produced have been the Pro trim. 2022 Q1 profits were way down and Ford blamed Rivian as well as investment in EVs. Q2 was really good and Ford blamed EV sales. 2023 is supposed to bring us a ramp to over 100k units from the Deerborn MI plant; I guess we'll see if that happens. So far they've made less than 20k.
It is an interesting monster but the towing is a joke. I saw a US youtuber test it and even with an empty boat trailer it made just like 100mi. So it does a lot but towing is not one of its real competences.
Most truck owners in the US don't do anything useful with their trucks - the Texan would be just as well off with the EV6 (like how Range Rover drivers in the UK don't actually go off-road)
Mostly agree. I only needed my 2014 F150 occasionally, thank goodness because it got about 10 mpg when not towing my trailer. So I normally drove my 2018 prius which always got 50+ mpg. Traded them both in for my lightning platinum. Now I get better range than I got with my prius even when I'm towing my fully loaded trailer. I only pay $.04/ mile in winter and $.06/mile in summer. So yes this is the absolute best f150 that I've ever owned.
I would agree for 1/2 ton owners. Large trucks not so much. If you are towing over about 8,000 lbs there isn't really any way of getting around needing a truck and at that weight I would be looking F250 or greater. My heavy weight trailer is 26,000 lb GVWR so even an F250 is not enough.
Will this awesome be sold in the UK?
That drain hole in the front is perfect for washing blood out after dumping bodies
Or hunting deer.
Wow, this thing is so massive, Wookie looks like a 5' gramps sitting in a normal sized car, barely seeing over the dashboard.
The F150 Lightning makes no sense on European roads, it's just too big. But a Ranger Lightning is surely a no brainer. FWIW the F150 Lightning now costs from $56k in the US, that's £46k. Still excellent value, but no longer a steal
Is the main issue the width of British roads? If not, I wonder what modest sized building contractors use there. Here (US), many carpentry crews meet somewhere then go together to the job site, usually in such "crew cab" pickup trucks. Where they can operate, EVs like this can be very practical and economical.
No, it's the parking spaces which were defined in the 1970's based on an Austin Maxi (you can Google that), which is basically a rather small car now.
The next winning move will be a vehicle with a roof exit because opening your door in most parking places, other than Costco, is getting rather difficult!
It depends where you live and drive in the uk. The roads vary In size from single track up to motorways. Driving this around some cities would be painful as its nearly the width of a bus, but you could do it if you know the roads. Tradesmen do use pickups but most use vans usually smaller than this that can park in most spaces.
You seriously don't know how contractors from all over the world get to their job without pick ups? That's so very US american...
Contractors in the UK use Ford Transit vans.
It's very Big and good
The country roads in England are like small one-way streets
‘....tow the World....’ yeah, about 100 yards.
In the city in which I live which is moderate size the truck is at least 30% a status symbol. It's utility for hauling things is probably used once a month and the rest of the time it's a sign of dominance and Power often driven by men supporting the former president in the US. Also admittedly you can haul groceries and laundry in it . Truck manufacturers in the 1970s and '80s lobbied our government to give special tax credits to encourage the purchase of these vehicles. So you'll find college students and grandmothers and Men using this as a symbol of their size whatever that is because the tax breaks encourages them to buy big. It may be 350 days of the year it's simply a vehicle for one person to commute to work and do shopping errands that could have been done in a smaller vehicle. It's main function is to produce sales for the corporation not for the continuation of the planet. Fortunately the all-electric version produces far less net CO2 than the gasoline versions do. And also fortunately somewhere around 50 to 70% of these truck owners actually use them for their purpose and not just to imply how Mighty they are elsewhere. The United States since the 1970s has become a country focused on consuming and a large part of that are corporations influence on our government. The F-150 is simply assurance that we can continue on consuming bigger and bigger. All things being equal it actually is a very needed Improvement in American CO2 production from transportation.
The F150, and the rest of the half tons with it, have traded durability and capability for "car like ride". Most of the guys that I know, myself included, that use a truck as a truck have opted for class 2B or class 3 trucks. Drop 2,000 lbs in the bed of an F-150 and drive it and you will immediately see what I am talking about.
Not to big for work. Need this cars and Rivian in Sweden
Lovely but you know the UK version will look nothing like this ...
I hope Ford makes a electric Maverick and Rangers out of the Spain factory.
Surely the max towing would be 3,500kg in the UK
I don't believe they plan to bring the Lightning to the UK. The 3,500 kg wouldn't be far out of line with most half tons which is probably why anyone that tows anything heavy or often here in the US skips the 1/2 ton and goes straight to a more capable tow vehicle.
Is it bigger than a transit?
We need them to stick a transit body on it so that we get a useful version instead
F150 in UK or Europe? Same question as a left hand drive Ami in the UK!
Steering wheel is on the wrong side!
In not too long they will all have steer by wire. Then you can move the wheel to the other side with a torx driver.
If the batteries are placed under the car, imagine driving it in deep water, wouldn’t that submerge them in water resulting in them being useless???
Surely, it would be on Goodyears, Ford would sell... 😉😉😉
I absolutely love my 2023 F150 Lightning Lariat (extended range, which is 1 trim level below the Platinum shown in this video). F150s are realistically too big for nearly all of Europe and Asia, but probably would fit fine in Africa and certainly in Australia and South America. For Europe and Asia Ford is probably going to offer an all-electric Ranger, the smaller baby brother pickup to the F series. I wonder how long before Rivian starts selling their R1T and R1S in Europe and Asia, as the R1T is about the same size as a Ranger.
its not any bigger than the vans we have everywhere, just a different layout.
It's the only EV that you can tow a twin axel caravan at about 1800kg for about 200klm... until Ford make a hydrogen version!!.💕🇬🇧🇺🇦
It’s monstrous .
Working mans paradise a working man yacht.
Is too big? For Brits yes. For Sweden no. But the price is ridiculous in Europe and this is in a time when even Americans are whining over the price. Imagine it’s nearly the double in Europe.
There are huge trucks driving everywhere in Europe daily.
Also this car is great against Teslas in a crash. It’s heavy and high. And also has a truck bed to protect you from Tesla drivers when their autopilot fails and they’re sleeping in their car.
I have absolutely no idea what is meant by the Ford F150 being built to do "a job." What job is that, exactly? And what exactly does a Texan need a pickup truck to do? Because I'm fairly certain that not everyone in the USA is a construction worker who needs a pickup truck, and from what I've heard and seen, pickup trucks in the USA are rarely actually used as pickup trucks. I don't really understand the "infrastructure" comment either, as it was said that the F150 was built for the highway (or motorway in the UK). Why is a pickup truck needed for a motorway? I drive 60 miles on a motorway every single day and I see very few pickup trucks. Just how bad is infrastructure in the USA that requires the use of pickup trucks? It surely couldn't be any worse than the pothole-ridden roads of the UK.
People in the US often do things themselves you might leave to a contractor in the UK as there is less red tape there when it comes to that sort of thing. So if someone wants to do home repairs or build a shed they can go to the home depot, load up their truck and drive the materials home. Then start building it themselves. They might also do the same for bags of concrete or feed for animals in America's many farms. Wealthy people often own large trailers or boats can easily hook them up to the back of these trucks and go where they please. The 4x4 option lets you take them offroad into America's many forested wildlands as well and people use them for offroading and camping. It's just a very different culture from most of Europe.
@@ComfyShortz sounds like many of the same things that are done in the UK... except using a trailer for those tasks makes far more sense. also, from what i have seen, the overwhelming majority of americans do not use pick up trucks for those tasks. so none of it makes any sense.
@@33LB I do personally and many around me do the same but I live rurally. People in the cities usually stick to towing stuff.
@@ComfyShortz if i look at any video of an american city, they are all driving SUVs and pickup trucks. they can't all be hauling massive shit around.
@@33LB America is also a country where about half of its population lives outside the major cities. They were popularized by us rural people. But in the past few decades, people in the cities started buying them too. Even though most of them don't really need them. But I am not a city dweller and trucks are used frequently out here for daily life.
I might be wrong, but anticipate that the F-150 Lightning will significantly outsell the Tesla Cybertruck. It will feel more familiar, more comfortable, more practical to pickup owners who drive a "workhorse" daily.
I wonder if the cybertruck will ever hit the market, and who would buy that ridiculous looking thing anyway.
From my time living in the USA, a majority of the more expensive trucks sold are not used as 'workhorses'.... We owned full-sized SUVs (Tahoe, Expedition) for a while, but found that something like a 4Runner (I had the V8 back in the day) was a lot better all-round drive.
Also drove rented full-size trucks on several occasions.
Really not practical daily use vehicles outside of the USA and Canada. In other countries, people do fine with the 'mid-size' pickups like the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and so on.
@@pstoneking3418 the current estimate is 1.5 million preorders for Cybertruck. Honestly, they'll take any truck they can get. It'll be years before anyone is competing on EVs with each other, rather than their own production capability.
@@pstoneking3418 Yes they are building out the assembly line in Texas. The engineering behind the cyber turck is a generation or more ahead of any electric pickup. There is a load of goodness here. I initially hated it. Have made a 180
@@jonevansauthor I agree. It has me wondering who many assembly lines tesla will build. There are always question like battery supply.
Excellent review.
A few misconceptions in this Tom, it isn't true that this does a job Americans need it to do - they don't, studies show the majority never use their pickup beds. Also given the lithium shortage we have coming do we really want to celebrate people using 90+ kWh batteries for no reason? I think we risk unnecessarily carrying over unsustainable habits from ICE cars, rather than taking the opportunity to change.
The range is pants, check hoovies garage for the long term test
You believe what Hoovies Garage tells you.......!?!?!?
HA!!!!
I'm totally with you one this one, Wookie - anything that starts to get Americans to switch out of their gas-guzzling Yank-tanks in to less polluting vehicles has GOT to be a good thing. 🤠
Yeah, and you have to offer something that fits with the need - Texas won't have a Citroen Ami! 😑
This isn't going to work for anyone who uses their truck as a truck though. The range, even with the larger battery, is half what it needs to be and drops like a rock once you tow anything with a good amount of wind resistance. Charging times are too long and for about the same or less than the ER Lightning you can get an F350 with the 6.7 Power Stroke that has 50% more torque, a 750 mile range, 6,000 lb payload and 37,000 lb towing capacity.
Really not a practical daily use vehicle in any country I have lived / traveled / worked in, outside of the USA and Canada.
Lightning is going to be great when you cant charge it like situation in California or potentially in Switzerland....You are just burning fossil fuel remotely with an EV for now unless some decent base load power is available...
NOT IN THE UK... YOU'RE NOT.......!!!!
Don’t know about an Electric pick up,But would have a Shelby f150
Ah yes the mid size truck of America.
Good review. Having lived and worked in the US, these do make total sense over there at many levels and this one, given the change in technology looks like a very sensible and excellent package. On the other hand for the UK and Europe, they are way too big but then again so are the ICE versions from different brands that you can get over here already, we really don't have the "use case" for these type of vehicles let alone the roads. Over there they are work horses just like a Transit van is over here, owning one over here is sheer misplaced vanity which you will pay for everytime to try to park the thing :)
Given that the F150 is too big what do you do when you need a 10 tons of sand?
@@danharold3087 Generally speaking you get your supplier to deliver it in a rather large truck :) Leastways that is what I've always done and its much more cost effective than owning a large vehical for just the odd need during the year.
@@johnhaynes9910 Maybe some of this is a case of people wanting cars the size they are used to. The F150 feels like a bus when your used to a small car. Have experience with that.
Not at all saying you should be driving a larger truck. Just that we are all biased in favor of what we are used to. I feel a lot safer in my big pickup than I do in the 1979 hilux. I know I am. Too many people locally who actually need pickups to think about many using small cars.
@@danharold3087 Dan, in the US and especially places like the Mid West big pickups are a very sensible choice for some people. One of my neighbours was a carpenter and he had a pick up which he used to tow a mobile workshop to the job he was on. My main point was that here in the UK and this applies to Europe generally, big pickups are useless, the roads aren't wide enough and the density of population and therefore car ownership way higher compared to the US. I lived in a place called Rockford, one morning a chap at the office said "Traffic was heavy today..." I replied "Yes, there were 6 cars ahead of me at a stop light..." Over here Dan, try 60 ! :)
I would hate to see it come to this country for fear of the damage it would cause to the normal sized transport both on our roads and in our car parks, but it look quite impressive for use in its home country. I certainly wish more manufacturers would copy the moving pedal box idea to allow shorter drivers to sit further back in the cabin space and away from the worst of any potential accident damage.
I sat with a nice English gentleman at a wedding many years ago, and he was stunned how big America actually is (took him two days to drive across Texas). He said he understood why America had such huge cars once he arrived.
I realise how silly that sounds - but until you've actually driven across the US, the scale is sometimes a bit weird for Europeans to understand!
The last time I drove back from Idaho (via SLC, Denver, KC, ST. Louis, Lexington KY) to NW of Baltimore MD it took me about 40 hours of driving over 3 days. You can get across Texas in a day, but maybe not if you are stopping for a rest every couple of hours.
@@rich7447 Yeah, depends on how fast you drive and how long your stops are. The most I've driven in one day is 8 hours. Any longer than that and I'll fly.
@@ohger1 I was driving our RV home and the airlines won't let me check it. My longest day on that trip was 17 hours. I usually call it a day some time between 15 and 18 hours, even less in vehicles smaller than a full-size pickup.
@@rich7447 You're a better man than I Gunga Dinn!
American pickups are so cool and so utilitarian. If they shrunk these down to 90% in a photocopier, they'd be onto an absolute winner in Europe.
Although, if you're used to driving a Range Rover, it's pretty much exactly the same width and height, just 30cm longer (which some Range Rovers argue would be better!).
I'm glad Tom didn't climb into the Mega Power Frunk the same way other shameless reviewers have done.
haven't got the knees for it. Or the slimline figure.
If they bring the Home Intelligent backup system to the UK I will order whatever car they enable it on! I had a Maverick many years ago and would get one again if it could power my house.
Wonderful review. Ford should exchange the crew cab for an extended cab and give it a full bed. (for people who need to use a pickup)
That is one advantage the lighting has over other electric pickups. It is body on frame. It would be easy to provide all combinations of box and cabs. Even the specialized box replacements used by some trades.
Interesting that you are driving an F150 Lightning in the UK. It is rare to get hold of one if you are in America, let alone UK.! It makes no sense in the UK but I would still love to see one!
Please don't let them into the UK.
Don't worry.,
good review, they are great trucks, I live in Canada and almost impossible to get one here at the moment unless your willing to wait up to a year , the starting price in the USA is well above 40 grand , the current starting price is somewhere around 53 grand now, I'll wait a few years and get one used and i don't need new or the top model 👍
Even difficult to get one in the U S. Unless you got the early reservations. I was fortunate to get offered a mannequin, but had to wait 6 months to get it. Still paid full MSRP price, lost 6 months warranty, but still better than waiting several years to get one.
My understanding is we are not getting it in Europe, not mentioned. Be good to understand if there will be a smaller version that we get. Crew cab Pick ups are still useful in the UK
We don't get the ford f150 at all. We get the ford Ranger, and there's a f150 model, more like a trim option. The Ranger is smaller than the actual f150.
@@Its-Just-Gizmo There is a Ranger Lightning coming to the US.
@@CMCNestT that's wild ... 🤷♂️ So anyway
It is much too big for British roads
Pretty much everything is too big for GB roads...
I think 🤔 Land Rover going bankruptcy sad. As had a golden opertunity with the old multi purpose Land Rover Defender .... old one to all electric with massive Frunk 🌏🤣🙂🙂#buzzofftoxic
As an American with a Powerstroke F350 with a tow rating of 18,800 lbs I find the Lightning's 7,700 lbs tow rating as being able to "tow the World off its axis" rather funny. The tandem axle trailer I use to haul equipment between properties and around my tree farm weighs 7,600 lbs empty. With a tractor, rotary cutter, and a tongue toolbox, it's around 12,500 lbs (5,670 kg). A truck with a tow rating of only 7,700 lbs is of no use to me, but there are plenty of people who buy trucks to haul mulch twice a year. It may work for them. The 2x4 every five years crowd buys Toyotas and the Lightning isn't going to change that.
In Europe we use a real tractors for farmwork. And when you tow that size load a lorry or truck on public roads.
They just don't have any role here. The smaller Ranger are pretty much the largest you see, with a few exceptions.
This is a great retirement pick-up.
Your comparing an F150 to a F350 is apples and oranges
@@SoulFlavor18 My truck (a King Ranch with a FX4 package) was within a thousand dollars of an equivalent trim level Lightning. He asked for an American perspective and I gave mine. You're welcome
@@Noah_E as an American, you know why you didn't buy an F150 for your work, electric or not.
Why does he keep calling it a car?
It's interesting whenever UK reviewers do a review of either this, or the Rivian pickup, they always only talk about the competition being either those 2 trucks, or the Cybertruck. In the UK, the first EV pickup truck should by on UK roads early next year - and it's not any of those. It'll be the SAIC Maxus T90EV. Who's SAIC? They're the owners of MG, who seem to be doing pretty well with their EV launches this year. Hopefully Electrifying will be reviewing that one as well as soon as it's available....
Is it not a case of the T90 and the F150 being different segments of pickup. The T90 sits in the Ford Ranger segment so describing it as a rival of the much larger and more expensive F150 is a bit like saying a Corsa e is a rival for a ev6.
@@benrgrogan I think this is more a case of for UK reviewers of EV vehicles, at the moment they only seem to acknowledge the very unlikely to ever be available, or ever appropriate for UK roads F-150 or Rivian or Cybertruck and are ignoring that there are other electric pickup trucks, that are suitable for UK/Europe roads that are coming out soon. The only EV vehicle youtube channel that I've heard even acknowledge the Maxus T90 is the US based (although British hosted) Transport Evolved. It's probably because Maxus is not going for the consumer market - it's targeted firmly towards the corporate market so there's no flashy B-roll of it to show yet.
Don't you'all have building contractors and civil improvements crews? These trucks are not for civilians, so much as the small business person who needs the "green" credits of purchases and leases in their business accounts. Sure a bunch will go to ego boys (and girls) who have a boat or a horse and need to haul stuff. But the focus is on business owners who might buy or lease one for their personal use (makes a nice statement when bidding on a build), but if they like it will start to replace their fleet with them. My neighbor is an example. He's a contractor with 5 trucks. He's on the waiting list ...
We have the same posers in pick-ups but most of the people doing actual work use a van because it's way more practical
No, this won't be suitable for European roads.
Now imagine a Transit with an interior designed with the same attention to detail as this truck, a useful frunk and power sockets everywhere. The lessons learned in designing this F Series could result in decent commercial vehicles on this side of the Atlantic too.
I'm waiting to exchange my Tesla Model S with this truck when it will be in Europe or in Italy.
Hmm..yeah!
I can see why you want to buy an F150 if you currently run a Model S ......!!!!
@@andymccabe6712 because I'll go to live in country.
The Lightning isn't monstruous. It is wookie sized.
I have to say that I did feel very normal in it. I used to daily a Hennessey Velociraptor in the UK, and never felt odd. I realise that isn't normal...
Farmers and those that think they need it
Great video Tom 👌👍
I would love to have a Ford F150 Lightning
we just have to find a place to park it!
@@tomwookieford8445 so true.
I will keep on dreaming. It does'nt seem to be, that Ford will sell it in Denmark. Thx for some great videos Tom 👍
⚡⚡⚡👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻⚡⚡⚡
Too big
Buy Canoo
Small truck with extendable 8ft bed
My girlfriend is hoping to buy it because she likes small trucks
Its the same size as a ram 1500? Ive seen one of those in real life,in a romanian city,that thing îs a monster size
The 150/1500 are the entry to the full-size truck class. A CC Super Duty with an 8 foot bed would be 4 feet longer than this truck.
Way too big for the UK,and rest of Europe. I have an EV that I feel is a bit too big, we need more smaller EVs, yes I know, range is King so need big battery, so need big car. We need to find smaller EVs for UK.
The adjustable pedals were an option on the EU Focus MK2, I remember seeing it once and thinking it was an aftermarket retrofit but then saw it in the manual.
Essential requirement for dropping off the children at their private school
They're sold out in US. I would doubt Ford has any spare manufacturing capacity for Europe.
I am waiting for more than à year in Canada ans didnt receive it
They need to figure out how to make money selling them. Like everyone but Tesla.
Wow watching The Wookie getting dwarfed by the size of that interior 😮