Quite a bit, but that is par for new products. At least Ford breaks out their EV business and reports numbers. GM and the others apparently have something to hide... It took Tesla years, and financial help to earn a profit.
Ford F-150 Lightning Flash
- Thread starter OVERKILL
- Start date
Nope, you're in good company.
I know 4 people locally with Rivian and love that truck. No one has the Lightning.
What’s wrong with pouch cells?
I see a decent amount of Lightning around here and the occasional Rivian, but for what the Lightnings are actually selling for it’s a considerable price difference.
They have a number of challenges. To be fair all designs do, but the big concern historically has been
- heat based expansion and contraction and pouch to pouch level variances in voltage - the entire pack is limited, or restrained by the hottest component in it at any given time.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
So, my wife randomly showed up with it yesterday
Guess she decided she was going to test drive it.
It rides very nicely, was quiet, felt just like a normal F-150, even creeps along when you let off the brakes. Unlike the Mach-e however, it doesn't make fake engine sounds or other noises, it's just very quiet.
My wife told me it was very quiet, like 10x. You know what? It was very quiet, LMAO! Her truck isn't, and I know that's an internal point of conflict for her and one of the reasons she hated the e-tron, though she told me that this didn't stir up the same negative emotion with the Lightning as it did with the e-tron, so
Amusingly, my daughter (who was with her for a ride along, co-conspirators I guess...) liked the quiet, to which my wife feigned offence, hahaha.
I did not test drive it, didn't feel that necessary and I'm not enthused about changing anything in the fleet, I like it as-is and I told her that.
Observations from the passenger seat:
- Ford has clearly intentioned to make it feel like a gas vehicle, and have succeeded. It feels completely familiar, there's no real "EV experience"
- The plethora of plugs and outlets all over it boggles. It has power ports EVERYWHERE, including 220V, with adapter cables for running stuff, that was impressive
- Back seat occupant sensor had a bit of a stroke with two people back there, positioned on each side, it was certain there was somebody in the middle and flipped out accordingly. Had to buckle the middle belt to get the warning to go away.
- No underfloor bins that I could see
- Seats are not as comfortable as the RAM, though they are decent for cloth truck seats; certainly not uncomfortable
- Interior definitely less upscale than the RAM, but it's not bad. It does however make the price much harder to process
Her criticisms:
- No memory seats
- No sunroof (obviously, not a point of contention for me, I prefer no sunroof)
- No power wheel
- Centre console storage is a fraction of what the RAM has, which is cavernous
It has the power pedals (she's 4'11") that she needs and had no problem getting into a comfortable seating position.
Her likes:
- Lots of power, it feels very quick, and with 775lb-ft of torque on tap (and 580hp) that's nice for a vehicle this size
- The massive tablet screen (LOL!)
- The wireless phone charging
- The frunk
- The number of outlets it has
Takeaway:
I think Ford has done a pretty decent job here. Their approach, to make it feel like your typical gasser F-150 with "perks", likely explains why I see quite a few of them locally. If GM's approach is similar, I expect they will have just as much success.
Reminds me a lot of why I really loved the BMW i4 M50, it wasn't trying to provide a different experience, it was a very familiar feeling pocket rocket BMW sedan that happened to be electric.
I think what appeals to me most about it is it doesn't feel like a departure from my 2017 5.0 F150 other than being quiet. My only real gripe with that truck aside from fuel economy was the rough ride. I had the chance to slam a Lightning along rutted railroad ballast(huge rocks) and it never felt upset in the way that my 2017 would have bounced over that. I know there are higher scale luxury versions of the Lightning, but that doesn't really appeal to me in a truck. The Lariat and up are in a price bracket I don't want to touch and while the cloth is nothing to write home about I find it passable. That's as good as I can say about it though, it's just passable.So, my wife randomly showed up with it yesterday
Guess she decided she was going to test drive it.
It rides very nicely, was quiet, felt just like a normal F-150, even creeps along when you let off the brakes. Unlike the Mach-e however, it doesn't make fake engine sounds or other noises, it's just very quiet.
My wife told me it was very quiet, like 10x. You know what? It was very quiet, LMAO! Her truck isn't, and I know that's an internal point of conflict for her and one of the reasons she hated the e-tron, though she told me that this didn't stir up the same negative emotion with the Lightning as it did with the e-tron, so
Amusingly, my daughter (who was with her for a ride along, co-conspirators I guess...) liked the quiet, to which my wife feigned offence, hahaha.
I did not test drive it, didn't feel that necessary and I'm not enthused about changing anything in the fleet, I like it as-is and I told her that.
Observations from the passenger seat:
- Ford has clearly intentioned to make it feel like a gas vehicle, and have succeeded. It feels completely familiar, there's no real "EV experience"
- The plethora of plugs and outlets all over it boggles. It has power ports EVERYWHERE, including 220V, with adapter cables for running stuff, that was impressive
- Back seat occupant sensor had a bit of a stroke with two people back there, positioned on each side, it was certain there was somebody in the middle and flipped out accordingly. Had to buckle the middle belt to get the warning to go away.
- No underfloor bins that I could see
- Seats are not as comfortable as the RAM, though they are decent for cloth truck seats; certainly not uncomfortable
- Interior definitely less upscale than the RAM, but it's not bad. It does however make the price much harder to process
Her criticisms:
- No memory seats
- No sunroof (obviously, not a point of contention for me, I prefer no sunroof)
- No power wheel
- Centre console storage is a fraction of what the RAM has, which is cavernous
It has the power pedals (she's 4'11") that she needs and had no problem getting into a comfortable seating position.
Her likes:
- Lots of power, it feels very quick, and with 775lb-ft of torque on tap (and 580hp) that's nice for a vehicle this size
- The massive tablet screen (LOL!)
- The wireless phone charging
- The frunk
- The number of outlets it has
Takeaway:
I think Ford has done a pretty decent job here. Their approach, to make it feel like your typical gasser F-150 with "perks", likely explains why I see quite a few of them locally. If GM's approach is similar, I expect they will have just as much success.
Reminds me a lot of why I really loved the BMW i4 M50, it wasn't trying to provide a different experience, it was a very familiar feeling pocket rocket BMW sedan that happened to be electric.
You really don't want a sunroof in an F150. They've had a lot of problems over the years with leaking and cracking. The cab is a lot more likely to flex than the solid roof, which is where I think most owners who actually offroad much run into issues. The F150 is the only vehicle I've owned without a sunroof in like 15 years and I'd prefer not to have one. I've had problems at some point with every sunroof I've had. I'm sure I'm just around the corner with issues with the GTI being 6 years old and I've always cleaned the drains and greased the track with every service, though still have concerns.
Really weird about the center console. I didn't look in it on the Lightning, but the one in my 2017 went all the way to the floor. I kept and atlas, 2 CD books and had plenty of room to stash random other stuff in there so I'll be curious to look at it next time I go to see the truck. At this point they know I'm interested, so it's on them to try and make contact again.
I'm not sure I love the big tablet application in this truck, especially as big as the dash already is it shouldn't have been a problem to integrate it. The 2023 XLT still has the regular gasser's radio, which I think I prefer. I wouldn't say no to the bigger tablet, but it's not my first choice. I do find the application of the volume knob on the screen to be kind of neat though.
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