I should correct myself on one point: When going up-hill with the trailer, the main reason for the derating was unlikely cooling as it did not do that with more weight on the trailer in an earlier test at 88% SOC, it was mainly the low SOC (under 20%) that was causing the power cut.
Sounds plausible. With a lower state of charge, the voltage is lower so the car would have to draw more amps from the pack for the same power output. Drawing more amps would mean more heat but would also lower the voltage even further, compounding the problem. This is essentially the reason why Apple slowed down older phones a couple of years ago, to prevent them from bringing the battery voltage to a too low state when asking peak demand of the CPU. Here, Ford is preventing peak power output to ensure the battery stays at a healthy voltage as well.
Just went on a tour of the Rouge factory in Dearborn, the bodies of the Lightning and regular F-150s are both stamped in the exact same building. The bodies destined to be Lightnings then go to the building to the left to be completed, and the gas versions go to the building on the right to be completed.
thanks for pointing out the combined EPA range. I have seen so many videos pointing out the 'terrible' range when towing but they never calculate the EPA range while only driving on the highway
spot on and especially Roman at Road Chaser made the same very mistake every time me mentions range forgetting the word "combined" when making absurd outright range claims.
A reason why with WLTP you always see 3 ranges mentioned: highway, city and combined. Not sure if promotional material mentions that the listed range is the combined range, but if not, they should make that a requirement.
Without a doubt, you provide the best real world technical reviews on RU-vid. Eng-Expl is very good too, but you really dig into testing and live with the vehicle long enough to learn and explain all the little nuances. I love the blended braking; my Lightning Pro ER (yes extended range, was a cancelled fleet order) has a nice "braking coach" that gives you feedback on energy recovery during braking. Brake moderate to gently and you recover "100% energy." Of course, that is not all momentum recovered because there is always wind drag, tire rolling resistance and friction, etc. But it is really great to drive my truck (without one pedal) the same way I drive my older gas truck. Just feels right! Anyway, great review, thank you!
It's good to know about the way the hybrid regen works on the Lightning. Coming from an early Gen 4 Prius, the hybrid regen annoys me because I never know how much is regen and how much is just friction braking. Since test driving a Model 3, I have really liked the idea of the regen being 100% separate so I know (by how much or little I use the physical brake pedal) if I'm using regen or not haha
Excellent review Alex, love the detail in the towing setup to get the tongue weight calibration. Others using this feature didn't do their homework and fumbled around never really getting it to work properly. The overall performance evaluation was also very detailed and concise. This review was perfect balance of technical detail and practical application. Well done!
Been looking forward to your views on this for a while. I think your take on this is accurate. Ford wasn't really looking to push the envelope here. The F-150 has been tuned to the needs of that buyer for decades. They wanted to make it electric and not a whole lot more than that. Every feature they did add was still tailored to that specific audience. I don't think it's going to expand the audience like Rivian might (although it certainly got my attention), but I don't think anyone can make an argument that Ford didn't do exactly what it set out to do here. And like everyone else, they'll sell as many of them as they can make for quite some time.
I hate, hate, hate these large screens in cars that completely take over the dash. They ought to be integrated much more subtly into the dash design. This looks ridiculous. And for most people who look at screens all day, the last thing they want is one bigger than their computer monitor in their car.
With my 2014 F150 I only got around 10 mpg and if I was lucky I got 5 mpg towing fully loaded trailer. Even with a 36 gallon tank I could only get 180 miles when towing if I ran the tank empty.
Interesting. So, when charging stations are as well distributed as gas stations, an EV will be as easy to fill as your 2014 F150. If you took 40 minutes for each filling station stop.
Efficiency is really an underrated talking point when it comes to any vehicle, but especially EVs. A more efficient vehicle will get you a longer distance for the same size battery, but will also cost you less money to cover the same distance. For example, the energy cost to use this F150 as a daily driver might be as much as twice as much as an efficient EV like a Model 3 or a Kona, maybe even 2.5x as much as a very efficient EV like an original Ioniq. It can also mean less charging time. The Kona would probably spend about as much time DC fast charging as this F150 would on a road trip, but use half as much energy (the Tesla would charge much faster). It can also potentially reduce the purchase price of the vehicle since a smaller battery can be used. Obviously using an F150 Lighting would cost substantially less to use as a daily driver (in energy and maintenance costs) than a gas F150, but it would still be an expensive daily driver by EV standards.
I don't think the point is underrated, it's just not important here. I don't think anybody is under the impression that f150 lightning is efficient just as nobody is under the impression the gas f150s are efficient. The gas f150 also gets like less than half the mileage of most efficient sedans, but I assume buyers in this segment just don't care, because a corolla is not a truck. The fact the f150 compares poorly against like a model3 is completely irrelevant because the latter too is not a truck. The fact that it's a good amount behind a Rivian MIGHT be slightly more relevant, but truck buyers also might not care that much about efficiency in general. As long as it has range and charges quickly, really doesn't matter whether it has good efficiency or huge battery.
I need to correct you on the trucks inverters. There are 3 inverters with the 9.6 kw on board power. The 2.4 kw handles the frunk and cab recepticals. There are 2 - 3.6 kw Inverters operate 180 degrees out of phase with each other to power the 240 volt 30 amp receptacle for 7.2 kw plus each 3.6 kw inverter power each of the 20 amp duplex recepticals. I know this is true because I took a voltage measurement from the hot terminal of one duplex to the hot terminal of the other duplex and measured 240 volts. Had both duplex recepticals been powered off the same inverter I would have measured zero volts.
Jesus H. Yesterday in the Bolt I ran my ass off on the highway but turned 4.6 miles/kwh giving me a real range of over 300 miles. Nobody talks about this, but range doesn't matter in EVs because the thing is "full" every morning. It ONLY matters on long road trips. And NOTHING about efficiency matters when talking about EV trucks, because a 9k trailer going over a mountain pass in gas or diesel would be less than 10mpg, and towing in the city would be around 8mpg. ANY EV truck is going to be an order of magnitude cheaper to operate than ANY ICE truck, end of story. If you tow equipment daily for your work, you will be saving THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars a year with an EV.
I’ve owned 2 Bolts (a 2019 Bolt and a 2022 Bolt EUV). I love the car, but 4.6mi/kwh is not a realistic efficiency to expect when at normal highway speeds (70mph). More like 3.6 mi/kwh in the summer and 2.8-3.0mi/kwh in the winter. I’m not saying your numbers are wrong, I’m saying they aren’t typical and you shouldn’t use them as such.
@@ouch1011 Agreed. Just happened that it was cool enough to turn the hvac off, and I drive slow. But my average numbers are the same as yours. I’m weird, because I think there’s a market for sub 100 mile EVs. And in a few years when really fast DCFC is everywhere, a small battery will drive the costs of EVs so far down adoption rates will be huge.
The Lightning is a modified F-150 platform where GM Silverado EV BT1 is a EV from ground up next year. Wait for Ford 2025 redesign. The Ford F-150 Lightning is already being promised a redesign for the 2025 model year. Reuters mentioned this when discussing Ford’s production plans for the Lightning.
The lack of a rear bumper on the R1T kills me. I use it all the time on my pick up. The power tailgate and integrated ladder on the F150 is hot and seems like something the Rivian should've had.
At 26:35 it would be good to cover one pedal mode... And that this mode isn't available in in tow mode. Also the Regen coach feature might be good to mention for those new to BEVs.
I have no idea why I didn’t think of this until now, but this would be stupid easy to make an Expedition Lightning off this thing. I wonder if Ford will do that once production catches up? That would really be the cat’s meow for someone who doesn’t really want a pickup but likes the BOF truck practicality / capability.
Alex, great review and information. For personal reasons and your comparison data points, I’m happy I’m sticking with the Rivian and hope to have my soon.
thanks Alex for explaining the efficiency standards, many people like ROMAN for example forget that little word "combined" when they were doing there range testing and making absurd claims. As for your conundrum, only you know the full range of activities that the vehicle has to complete however based on a general idea the Rivian would be the better of the two to keep.
Gotta say, the more I hear about the Lightning, the more I like what Ford has done. If I hit the lottery, I’m heading to a Ford dealer and ordering a Lariat or Platinum.
Hey Alex! Thanks for the detailed explanation. English is my second language, but the way you state power by "K" "W" is kinda confusing to me... in EV world we used to say 400 "volts" charging instead of 400 "V" charging. Also we call it level 2 48 "amps" instead of 48 "A" charger. I believe "kilowatt" and "kilowatt-hour" make more sense and in consistent with other units. Just my 2 cents.
I'm surprised the Americans don't convert kilowatts (kW) into horsepower because you know backwards US Imperial because they do not understand the metric system. The same goes for foot-pounds (lbs) or in metric speak Newton Meters (Nm). It's funny seeing Americans be so confused over what kWh and Amps are :)
At 14:40, if you are DCFC for two hours... Your doing it wrong. Normally you would stop charging at 80%, because beyond that it slows down substantial. If you spend twice as long as it spent before 80% as you did after 80% you also might be taking up the refueling location that someone else needs. Perhaps you were not at a 150kW+ DCFC location. The Lightning should try to use 200+kW capable stations because it can peak around 170kW and hold about 120kW until 80%, at which time it drops off sharply and gets really slow... Help spread the word about DCFC etiquette of stopping at 80% unless you absolutely need those last few percent beyond that.
the key difference is in conserve mode the Rivian is essentially a front wheel drive vehicle with ride height at its near lowest level, the Lightning has no ability i this regard as its "fixed" for those two settings.
I’m more interested in people customization like better aerodynamics in the future by panels splitter’s, vents even a rear diffuser a working wing like race cars do?
@@EVBuyersGuide I had assumed that Ford reduced power due to overheating and that the additional Tow cooling option would mitigate that issue, would be interesting to see how the Rivian would fair under heavy trailer load and up a step grade.
Ah, no the reduction was most likely more SOC related than specifically cooling. The battery was under 20% , essentially all EVs will see some variety of power reduction at low SOCs. I know I said cooling in the video, but it's really more likely to just be SOC related reductions.
What is it with the disdain for CarPlay and current crop of electrics, also applies to all f150. This review is so late you can’t get massaging seats anymore
