How the Lightning Stacks Up Against the 2-Motor Cybertruck and Rivian R1T

[FMarkus]

At launch, Elon Musk limited the outlets he allowed to test his Cybertruck to a tiny handful of friendly "influencers." Now MotorTrend has finally managed to rent one and pitch it against the Rivian R1T Dual Motor and a Lightning Platinum, and my prose in this comparison aim to provide a more objective analysis that considers performance, off-roading, towing, and cargo.

First thing to know: We expect very few folks will honestly compare these trucks. Anyone who thinks they might want a Cybertruck probably wouldn't consider a "conventional" option like a Lightning, and conversely those who like the notion of a familiar Ford F-150 will almost certainly find the Cybertruck abhorent.

Second thing to know: Like the Rivian, these three are lifestyle trucks, at least when your're considering the priciest Platinum F-150 Lightning that comes closest to the prices of the other two.

Bottom line: Don't believe all the hype that's been pushed out there about the Tesla Cybertruck.

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/...-ford-f-150-lightning-comparison-test-review/

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[BennyTheBeaver]

This was at 70 mph, not bad in comparison. The Lariat ER and XLT ER get approximately 237mi in this test (their EPA is 320mi). The R1T has an 141kw battery pack and, I believe, the Cybertruck has 122kw. It's nice to see Ford is a little more accurate on their EPA figures.

Considering Rivian and Tesla were designed from start to finish as an EV, on an EV platform (versus Ford that used a best selling platform to deliver an extremely competitive vehicle), I'd say the engineers at Ford have done a commendable job of (very successfully) putting a square peg in a round hole. (Albeit a very fast square peg, )

 

[RickKeen]

The article is wrong about the Ford.
The fact that it looks like an F150 fools a lot of people into thinking they just bolted a battery and a couple electric motors into an F150 frame. Not at all what the Lightning is

Its actually a ground-up EV design that shares very few parts with its ICE look-alike. About the only thing shared with the ICE F150 is the cab frame, glass, some parts of the interior, and the front suspension.

The frame is specific to the Lightning.
All the exterior skins, box, tailgate, bumpers, lights are specific to the Lightning.
The rear suspension is new.
The front hood, fenders, bumper, lights, frunk are all new.
The wheels are new.
The dash and center console is all new.

.

 

[Henry Ford]

The difference between advertised EPA range and real range is absurd. This is an EPA issue. I don't blame automakers for taking advantage of a terrible system.

 

[swajames]

The difference between advertised EPA range and real range is absurd. This is an EPA issue. I don't blame automakers for taking advantage of a terrible system.

it's not absurd, they're not testing the same things. The EPA estimate assumes a 45/55 split between highway and city driving. If you do more than 55% city, you're likely going to beat the EPA estimate. If you do more than 45% highway, like that 70mph motortrend test, you're going to fall short. It's not rocket science, and it's not a "real range" issue. If you broadly drive what they test for, you're probably going to get close to your EPA number. If you don't, you won't. The issue isn't how they test, it's people not understanding the test procedure.

 

[Henry Ford]

it's not absurd, they're not testing the same things. The EPA estimate assumes a 45/55 split between highway and city driving. If you do more than 55% city, you're likely going to beat the EPA estimate. If you do more than 45% highway, like that 70mph motortrend test, you're going to fall short. It's not rocket science, and it's not a "real range" issue. If you broadly drive what they test for, you're probably going to get close to your EPA number. If you don't, you won't. The issue isn't how they test, it's people not understanding the test procedure.

Including city driving in official range is absolutely absurd. Nobody cares how far you can go in the city. 300 miles of city driving is 8-10 hours of driving in a place that has chargers.

What people care about is if they can get between chargers on highways. The reason I know this is there's a new thread here every week where someone complains their truck won't go 300 miles on the highway.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

Its actually a ground-up EV design that shares very few parts with its ICE look-alike. About the only thing shared with the ICE F150 is the cab frame, glass, some parts of the interior, and the front suspension.

The frame is specific to the Lightning.
All the exterior skins, box, tailgate, bumpers, lights are specific to the Lightning.
The rear suspension is new.
The front hood, fenders, bumper, lights, frunk are all new.
The wheels are new.
The dash and center console is all new.

The frame has an adaption from the ICE, still built on an ICE designed chassis.

The Pro and XLT have the same tailgate, and alot of the exterior features which were adapted from an ICE F-150.

Pro and XLT not only have the same screen as their ICE counter parts, but they run much of the same software.

Interior layout, buttons, steering wheel, cubbys....etc. All similar if not the same to their ICE counterparts.

They took an ICE and made everything fit. They redesigned small areas where need but it was still 100% based off the ICE F-150.

That's not a bad thing. It just goes to show how talented Ford's team is to adapt the ICE design to work as an EV.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Biggest difference - Lightning ain’t fugly.

 

[Pioneer74]

The frame is specific to the Lightning.
All the exterior skins, box, tailgate, bumpers, lights are specific to the Lightning.

The frame is specific to the Lightning, but it's a modified ICE frame. Every stamping of the cab is the same as ICE. The only part of the bed that is different from the ICE truck is the outer bodyside. The XLT and PRO tailgates are from the ICE truck. The rear bumper is the same as ICE.

 

[F150ROD]

The frame has an adaption from the ICE, still built on an ICE designed chassis.

The Pro and XLT have the same tailgate, and alot of the exterior features which were adapted from an ICE F-150.

Pro and XLT not only have the same screen as their ICE counter parts, but they run much of the same software.

Interior layout, buttons, steering wheel, cubbys....etc. All similar if not the same to their ICE counterparts.

They took an ICE and made everything fit. They redesigned small areas where need but it was still 100% based off the ICE F-150.

That's not a bad thing. It just goes to show how talented Ford's team is to adapt the ICE design to work as an EV.

Agreed. The ICE F-150 pretty much sold me on an EV version as I was all in on the Cybertruck.

I traded in a Model 3 for an F-150(XLT 2.7 EB) after I was impressed with everything about the truck on my test drive.

 

[Danface]

Biggest difference - Lightning ain’t fugly.

Wells said!

 

[Danface]

The frame is specific to the Lightning, but it's a modified ICE frame. Every stamping of the cab is the same as ICE. The only part of the bed that is different from the ICE truck is the outer bodyside. The XLT and PRO tailgates are from the ICE truck. The rear bumper is the same as ICE.

It's the same lever on the seat adjuster too... those bastards! LOL

 

[RickKeen]

The frame is specific to the Lightning, but it's a modified ICE frame. Every stamping of the cab is the same as ICE. The only part of the bed that is different from the ICE truck is the outer bodyside. The XLT and PRO tailgates are from the ICE truck. The rear bumper is the same as ICE.

Its a frame. Its specific to this vehicle model. Because they re-used the cab and parts of the bed and the front suspension, sure the frame has to be compatible with those. But those things are only remotely related to ICE vs. BEV. There are no ICE engine mounts. There is a differing shape to accommodate the battery. There are mounts for the electric motor/axle units. There are changes for the independent rear suspension. There are crash-protection features for the battery. The crash protection for the front is entirely start over design without the engine, etc.

If you are referring to the fact that Tesla uses a structural battery pack bolted in the middle of their vehicles instead of a frame, sure its not like the Tesla.

 

[TheBigBezo]

Practically speaking, when people say the Lightning and an ICE F-150 are the same, they don't mean physically so much so as in they share a ton of common parts. For example, I bought a Leer bed topper that was designed for regular F-150s and it fit, because the dimensions were the same. Sure I have a fancier tail light that all F-150s should have because it's sick, but at the end of the day they're mostly the same. All sorts of accessories fit our trucks that the competitors don't have. A ton of interior accessories as well. I bought a center console holster that fit without issue. It's kinda semantics to say that the gas and electric versions are wildly different when they really aren't. Sure if you're in an accident you'd want a replacement lightning bed, but I also get the feeling you could swap in a gas bed okay.

 

[Dinozero]

Including city driving in official range is absolutely absurd. Nobody cares how far you can go in the city. 300 miles of city driving is 8-10 hours of driving in a place that has chargers.

What people care about is if they can get between chargers on highways. The reason I know this is there's a new thread here every week where someone complains their truck won't go 300 miles on the highway.

Well, I kind of have to disagree with you on the premise that most folks are probably doing City driving most of the time.

I do realize that there is a little bit of a 180° difference than what we’ve been used to our whole life.

In gasoline vehicles, you always got the best mileage on the interstate. So far long distance trips that’s usually when car owners were the most pleased with their vehicle. Local driving was always the number that was hard to get.

My 2021 F150 would get 24+ miles per gallon on the highway. But it usually would not get the 19 or so that it was rated for City.

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