I would never buy one. WAY too many expensive components on these. Yes, all trucks are getting expensive. But the BlueCruise cameras, battery pack, electric motors, one-off construction, etc. etc. etc. on the Lightning are all things that are probably insanely expensive. And, these have zero resale value. Even my lease is projected to lose $40,000 in value (!) So owning one of these long term is a huge no-no for me.
However, I did lease one. 2025 Lightning in the "Flash" trim. Window sticker shows 5-21-25 but door jamb placard shows 06/25 so the truck rolled off the line around two months ago. It's FRESH. I had no intention of getting an EV when I showed up at the dealership Saturday. Actually went there to look at Broncos and Rangers with the 2.3L EcoBoost. But after they showed me the numbers and I realized how much I could save with the Lightning I started to entertain the idea. And then they told me that Ford will pay to install a 240v fast charger at my house which sealed the deal.
I only have one weekend of driving under my belt, so this opinion is very early, but....
Things I do not like :
- 15" screen sucks. I would MUCH prefer to have the 12" screen and its associated physical buttons. The 15" screen makes it far too distracting to perform basic functions like adjusting HVAC controls, etc.
- Apparently in "Job 2" production the Flash trim level lost a lot of standard equipment, and that equipment is stuff that I would have used a LOT. Tailgate step, door entry keypad, wireless phone charging pad, electronic locking diff, etc. etc. Sigh...
- Too much redundancy in the driving aids. I hate the "lane centering", but there's also "lane keeping". So which do I turn off to make the truck stop controlling the steering wheel?? It's maddening how long the driving aids list is to sift through.
- The adaptive cruise is apparently tied to the BlueCruise hands free stuff, so that I can't use adaptive cruise without keeping my hands at the 10 and 2 position on the wheel constantly. This is annoying and fatiguing on longer drives.
- Steering/handling has a lot of "torque steer" present. I don't yet know if this is because of the AWD, the regenerative braking, or a combo of both. But it feels disconcerting at times.
- No Homelink buttons in a $72,000 truck??
- I'm still very concerned that our 150 to 250 mile one way trips to camp sites are going to be a disaster with the camper behind us, because charging stations are hard to find, hard to navigate with a trailer in tow, and take 45 minutes minimum for charging.
Things I do like:
- Seats are SOOOO much better in the 2023+ trucks. Even the wife loves the comfort and that's really saying something because normally she would b*tch about it if they hung her with a silk rope.
- Ride quality is very good.
- Lots of power for passing or merging onto the interstate. Feels almost just like the tuned and diet planned diesel I traded for it.
- No more oil filters, oil changes, etc.
- 2,003 lbs. of payload is very good for a "1/2 ton" truck.
- I feel like the gauge cluster provides very good information to the driver about what's going on with the battery capacity and range.
- 360° camera system is so nice and truly useful.
- Being able to see the charge status, lock the doors, unlock the doors, etc. via the Ford Pass phone app is very convenient.
- The Frunk is very useful and adds real cargo space for our needs.
- Drivability (throttle response and linear feel, brake feel, etc.) is perfect and is exactly like my Ford diesel truck which was also perfect. Ford nailed it.
At the end of the day, you know that it's a nice truck when my wife openly and verbally praises it. However, she and I both are reserving our final thoughts until we see how daily life goes with this truck over a long period of time. If charging stations were on every corner like diesel stations are, and if those charging stations would accommodate a trailer, and if those charging stations would fully charge the truck in less than 30 mintues I would have no fears or reservations about this truck at all. But unfortunately that's not the case so there will be sacrifices made to use this EV and only time will tell if those sacrifices keep us from enjoying the activities in life we'd normally do.
However, I did lease one. 2025 Lightning in the "Flash" trim. Window sticker shows 5-21-25 but door jamb placard shows 06/25 so the truck rolled off the line around two months ago. It's FRESH. I had no intention of getting an EV when I showed up at the dealership Saturday. Actually went there to look at Broncos and Rangers with the 2.3L EcoBoost. But after they showed me the numbers and I realized how much I could save with the Lightning I started to entertain the idea. And then they told me that Ford will pay to install a 240v fast charger at my house which sealed the deal.
I only have one weekend of driving under my belt, so this opinion is very early, but....
Things I do not like :
- 15" screen sucks. I would MUCH prefer to have the 12" screen and its associated physical buttons. The 15" screen makes it far too distracting to perform basic functions like adjusting HVAC controls, etc.
- Apparently in "Job 2" production the Flash trim level lost a lot of standard equipment, and that equipment is stuff that I would have used a LOT. Tailgate step, door entry keypad, wireless phone charging pad, electronic locking diff, etc. etc. Sigh...
- Too much redundancy in the driving aids. I hate the "lane centering", but there's also "lane keeping". So which do I turn off to make the truck stop controlling the steering wheel?? It's maddening how long the driving aids list is to sift through.
- The adaptive cruise is apparently tied to the BlueCruise hands free stuff, so that I can't use adaptive cruise without keeping my hands at the 10 and 2 position on the wheel constantly. This is annoying and fatiguing on longer drives.
- Steering/handling has a lot of "torque steer" present. I don't yet know if this is because of the AWD, the regenerative braking, or a combo of both. But it feels disconcerting at times.
- No Homelink buttons in a $72,000 truck??
- I'm still very concerned that our 150 to 250 mile one way trips to camp sites are going to be a disaster with the camper behind us, because charging stations are hard to find, hard to navigate with a trailer in tow, and take 45 minutes minimum for charging.
Things I do like:
- Seats are SOOOO much better in the 2023+ trucks. Even the wife loves the comfort and that's really saying something because normally she would b*tch about it if they hung her with a silk rope.
- Ride quality is very good.
- Lots of power for passing or merging onto the interstate. Feels almost just like the tuned and diet planned diesel I traded for it.
- No more oil filters, oil changes, etc.
- 2,003 lbs. of payload is very good for a "1/2 ton" truck.
- I feel like the gauge cluster provides very good information to the driver about what's going on with the battery capacity and range.
- 360° camera system is so nice and truly useful.
- Being able to see the charge status, lock the doors, unlock the doors, etc. via the Ford Pass phone app is very convenient.
- The Frunk is very useful and adds real cargo space for our needs.
- Drivability (throttle response and linear feel, brake feel, etc.) is perfect and is exactly like my Ford diesel truck which was also perfect. Ford nailed it.
At the end of the day, you know that it's a nice truck when my wife openly and verbally praises it. However, she and I both are reserving our final thoughts until we see how daily life goes with this truck over a long period of time. If charging stations were on every corner like diesel stations are, and if those charging stations would accommodate a trailer, and if those charging stations would fully charge the truck in less than 30 mintues I would have no fears or reservations about this truck at all. But unfortunately that's not the case so there will be sacrifices made to use this EV and only time will tell if those sacrifices keep us from enjoying the activities in life we'd normally do.