Advice on New Lightning - 2023 XLT or 2023 Lariat Extended Range

[DesertEV]

I'm looking forward to doing this on the way to Chattanooga from Nashville in the near future.

Chiming in as a new XLT 312A owner to say that the only Lariat feature I really wish I had is the panoramic roof; I came from a Honda Ridgeline RTL-E that had leather seats and the sunroof, and I didn't fully appreciate how much the open roof lightened up the interior until I didn't have it any more. I'm actually having a bit of buyer's remorse over not having done more searching for a deal on a Lariat, but I'd have had to go way out of state to get remotely close to the deals I've been reading about on here, and I was already pushing my budget.

The bigger screen looks cool, but I'm OK being able to adjust the climate control without taking my eyes off the road, and I'm not a huge fan of basic functions of a vehicle being reliant on a computer screen that may or may not brick itself at a moment's notice. I use Android Auto pretty much exclusively, and if my neighbor's Mach-E is anything to go by, the difference in screen real estate when using AA is negligible. I miss the leather seats a bit, but I also don't miss worrying about every single crease that appeared in them; not sure about Ford, but Honda's leather seats aren't the greatest quality, and I use neoprene covers on the rear seats to keep my dogs' hair and nails off them, so it's a moot point.

Overall if it were possible to get an XLT with some form of sunroof, that's what I'd have gone with, but that alone wasn't worth the extra $8k to me. It's still the most powerful vehicle I've ever driven, even as a mid-range trim it's packed with features. the frunk is even handier than the under-bed storage compartment on my Ridgeline was, the Pro Power Onboard is going to come in super handy when I'm using it as a support vehicle at motorcycle track days, I don't have to worry about fuel prices ever again, and the solace of cruising in nearly complete silence is something I didn't appreciate until I experienced it. By the time mine is paid off, there will hopefully be more trim options, at a lower price, with longer range and better tech, so I'm going to enjoy what I have and look forward to that.

Very well said. Thank you for the great advice!

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[bmwhitetx]

When I was deciding on what trim back in 2022, I put together a spreadsheet sorted by trim. Here are the extra features you got in 2022 going from a 312A (XLT High) to a 511A (Lariat High). Please look at the 2023 Order Guide and the specific window sticker though as things may have changed slightly or had a delete (e.g., intrusion alarm). Also Tow Tech was standard on Lariat but available as option on XLT.

Leather-trimmed, heated and ventilated front seats, 10-way power driver’s seat and multi-adjustable power passenger seat with power lumbar (XLT has Cloth heated seats, 10-way power driver’s seat with power lumbar, Power passenger seat)

Driver's memory seat with Easy Entry/Exit

Mirrors, Sideview – Power-folding, Memory, Auto-Dimming Feature (Driver's Side), High-Intensity LED Security Approach Lamps, and Body-color Skull Caps

Signature tailgate lighting

SYNC® 4A, 15.5-inch LCD touch screen

Universal Garage Door Opener

Wireless Charging Pad

B&O Sound (8 speakers and subwoofer)

Visors with Driver and Passenger illuminated, covered mirrors

Pedals, add Memory to power adjustable

Seat, Rear — Armrest w/cupholders

Heated Steering Wheel

Power-Sliding Rear-Window

Ambient Lighting – Ice Blue Color Only

Advanced Security Pack (Intrusion alarm)

Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 – adds BlueCruise, Active Park Assist, Phone-as-a-key

Twin panel moonroof

Rain-Sensing Wipers

Second row heated seats

Power Tilt/Telescoping Steering Column with Memory

 

[republicoftexas1836]

Air conditioned seats is a must have for me in south texas, lariat lowest trim with those. I really like them, they are pretty darn cold and come on when I remote start it. Also I love the panoramic sunroof. JMO.

 

[JRT]

I moved up to my XLT ER from a 2021 Mach-e Premium. The biggest issue with a giant screen is when it fails you have no control access. My center screen got so bad and the dealership couldn't figure it out after months in and out. The XLT is a proven system in the ICE truck and so far is awesome. The seats are nice enough to me and as was noted the adaptive cruise is nicer then Blue Cruise yelling at you.

 

[DesertEV]

When I was deciding on what trim back in 2022, I put together a spreadsheet sorted by trim. Here are the extra features you got in 2022 going from a 312A (XLT High) to a 511A (Lariat High). Please look at the 2023 Order Guide and the specific window sticker though as things may have changed slightly or had a delete (e.g., intrusion alarm). Also Tow Tech was standard on Lariat but available as option on XLT.

Leather-trimmed, heated and ventilated front seats, 10-way power driver’s seat and multi-adjustable power passenger seat with power lumbar (XLT has Cloth heated seats, 10-way power driver’s seat with power lumbar, Power passenger seat)

Driver's memory seat with Easy Entry/Exit

Mirrors, Sideview – Power-folding, Memory, Auto-Dimming Feature (Driver's Side), High-Intensity LED Security Approach Lamps, and Body-color Skull Caps

Signature tailgate lighting

SYNC® 4A, 15.5-inch LCD touch screen

Universal Garage Door Opener

Wireless Charging Pad

B&O Sound (8 speakers and subwoofer)

Visors with Driver and Passenger illuminated, covered mirrors

Pedals, add Memory to power adjustable

Seat, Rear — Armrest w/cupholders

Heated Steering Wheel

Power-Sliding Rear-Window

Ambient Lighting – Ice Blue Color Only

Advanced Security Pack (Intrusion alarm)

Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 – adds BlueCruise, Active Park Assist, Phone-as-a-key

Twin panel moonroof

Rain-Sensing Wipers

Second row heated seats

Power Tilt/Telescoping Steering Column with Memory

Thank you for this. I was 100% XLT before I read this. Now I'm 50/50 lol. We'll see tomorrow.

 

[DesertEV]

I moved up to my XLT ER from a 2021 Mach-e Premium. The biggest issue with a giant screen is when it fails you have no control access. My center screen got so bad and the dealership couldn't figure it out after months in and out. The XLT is a proven system in the ICE truck and so far is awesome. The seats are nice enough to me and as was noted the adaptive cruise is nicer then Blue Cruise yelling at you.

Thank you. Do they have a lot of issues with the larger screen on the Lariat? Anyone ever put a nice quality leveling kit on the XLT?

 

[Rfemle]

double check your area for ford $7500 off rather than the $5k, that could make a difference. If ford rebate is same diff is $6500. I thought I wanted the XLT to try and save money, wife said hell no. She reminded me of power mirrors when parking and she loved the large screen which does make me smile everytime I get in, we are techy. YOLO. Oh the memory seats with easy entrance exit, nice. Did i say I prefer the Lariat!

 

[Montecarlossfan]

Well I guess it depends on what pricing you get.

Personally my decision to go XLT(312A) was :
Dont want a glass roof(headache)
Wanted physical tactile controls for hvac,seats etc.
Didnt need leather.
Didnt need bluecruise

The XLT checked all the boxes and is very well equipped.

 

[bmwhitetx]

A couple of points. You can still have adaptive cruise without BC yelling. Simply turn off lane centering. It’s the mode I mostly use. OTOH you will find many folks that declare BC a game changer.

Using the screen for HVAC is no big deal. I didn’t think I would like it but the new UI that came out in 23 made it better. I set it on Auto 2 and occasionally have to adjust temp.

Didn’t think I needed heated steering wheel but it’s awesome! Also like the easy entry/exit, power fold mirrors for my tight garage, and passengers like rear heated seats. All Lariat only.

 

[Schroederhc1]

Thank you. How much was that?

I purchased the techperf option and hand them installed. 2k all in.

 

[JRT]

Thank you. Do they have a lot of issues with the larger screen on the Lariat? Anyone ever put a nice quality leveling kit on the XLT?

Not entirely sure, mine was just perfect until last year when Ford went crazy with OTA updates and then it was unreliable. You have no HVAC controls, no camera when it goes black. My aggravation was too much so it was easy for me to say no to the big screen.

 

[JRT]

Wow, is $2k front and back installed? My RAM custom order from Katskin was $4,800 with 2 tone red and black leather and RAM logo sticking on front seats.

 

[mags]

I purchased the techperf option and hand them installed. 2k all in.

Did anyone think it might be problematic to put your ass on top of the American flag?

 

[Schroederhc1]

Did anyone think it might be problematic to put your ass on top of the American flag?

It's only one cheek, they make exceptions for 19-kilo Army Veterans!

 

[Dinozero]

Thank you for this. I was 100% XLT before I read this. Now I'm 50/50 lol. We'll see tomorrow.

So while I cannot add any new information I can give some more perspective an opinion.

I had a 2021 loaded XLT ICE F150 that I traded on a 2023 Lariat Lightning.

I had considered trading for an XLT lightning to save money, but I was disappointed that I would be trading my 3 year old truck in for basically the exact same truck. So I pushed for the Lariat. At first, I only knew of a few differences, but as I've owned the truck for a month there are several upgrades that really stand out to me.

1. Leather Seats are nice and two tone is attractive
2. Cooled seats, this is one of the big items
3. Power folding mirrors, another huge one cause my garage is sooo tight with the mirrors out.
4. Memory settings. My wife likes to drive my truck and I love the memory settings cause it was annoying on the XLT without it
5. The sunroom/moonroof is massive and my kids love it. They ask me to open it every time they're in the truck.
6. The ambient lightning is very nice and it's the first thing my 6yr old daughter noticed when she got in the new truck vs the old one.
7. The rear light bar is a huge feature for me. I love the look and it really "completes" the lightning package. Lightbar on front and rear for the full look of a lightning.
8. My wife's seat has lumbar now, she's a big fan of this option
9. The better sound system
10. The garage door opener is very nice. People also forget about the 1 touch down on all 4 windows and the automatic touch unlock on all four doors.



I'll stop there.. again I want to stress the XLT is very nice, and if it has more features than you currently have, I think you'll be very happy.

This is the first time in my life I've had a truck with all the features I wanted though. Sometimes I've had cars with some of these nicer features but never got to have them in a truck before.

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