Canadian Winters (Dealer told me F150 Lightning not the truck for me)

[Iceman31]

I stopped in to speak with a dealer on Saturday and told him that 3 times a week I make a 260km round trip to coach volleyball. He told me that the Lightning was not the truck for me. He told me in this cold weather I would have to charge after the 130km one way just to make it back home (with the extended range battery). He said that is with the temperature just below freezing and the colder it got out the worse it would be. This really put a damper on what I was thinking. Everything I read and all the reviews I watched did not indicate that the F150 Lightning was this bad. Can you all let me know about your real life Canadian winter experiences with your trucks? I was looking at an F150 XLT with the extended range battery.

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[RickLightning]

I stopped in to speak with a dealer on Saturday and told him that 3 times a week I make a 260km round trip to coach volleyball. He told me that the Lightning was not the truck for me. He told me in this cold weather I would have to charge after the 130km one way just to make it back home (with the extended range battery). He said that is with the temperature just below freezing and the colder it got out the worse it would be. This really put a damper on what I was thinking. Everything I read and all the reviews I watched did not indicate that the F150 Lightning was this bad. Can you all let me know about your real life Canadian winter experiences with your trucks? I was looking at an F150 XLT with the extended range battery.

160 miles roundtrip in the dead of winter would be doable, but very close. If you preconditioned, while plugged in, before departure, and used heat judiciously, with heated seats and steering wheel, I would expect 160 to be doable.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Good for you to check the truck capabilities before buying.
Extremely low temperatures reduce range. I couldn’t tell you how much but seeing where you are I’d listen to the upfront salesman.

 

[Iceman31]

I was actually dealing with the General Manager as my salesman was tied up with a customer.

 

[Tundra]

I live in Minnesota with a SR, so far, in the week I have owned it about 240km's would be the farthest I could make it. Things have been unseasonably warm right now and it has been around 0C, but winter can get to -40C here and I am sure that will drop more. Your salesman may be correct.

Battery preconditioning has made a big difference so far.

If you can wait a year or two you may want to check out the Ram charger. It has a full electric drive-train (the battery is rated for about 240km), however it also has a gas generator in it, which gives it lots of range - theoretically over 1100km's between fill ups/charging. You would lose the frunk, but you would have the range for lots of long weekly trips.

 

[Adventureboy]

I do 300km regularly through the winter in my Lariat ER. Respect the winter headwinds and you'll be fine with 260km. I charge to 100% in the winter (90% in summer) to make the trip and always make my 300km at highway speeds of 110-115km/hour. I will however slow to 100km/h if there is a good headwind and watch it closely. If you are round-tripping, headwinds may play less of a factor - hinder one way, help the other.
Setting departure time will precondition and help with the range on the way out.

 

[mb0220]

160 miles roundtrip in the dead of winter would be doable, but very close. If you preconditioned, while plugged in, before departure, and used heat judiciously, with heated seats and steering wheel, I would expect 160 to be doable.

Agreed. To limit your use to 90% of your battery (meaning you charge to 100% and leave 10% buffer) you would need to average about 1.4 mi/kWh. This is reasonable for cold temps. My only hesitation would be for elevation gain, but if it's a round trip then presumably that should even out. Is there at least one DCFC along your route? If so, then I think you're certainly you're fine with the Lightning ER. But even without a DCFC I think you're probably fine.

 

[sotek2345]

With my Lariat ER, I have never not been able to make a ~290km trip, even in the dead of winter in upstate NY. You will be a little close at 260km, but it should be doable.

 

[GarageMahal]

Keep in mind that speed is a big factor, range is much better in the winter at speeds under 100kph.

 

[Bandit216]

I've had a full winter in Fairbanks with my Lightning Lariat ER running on AT tires. I drive it like a regular vehicle in terms of speed and interior heating (i.e. I don't take any special steps to maximize mileage). I keep the truck in a heated garage at home and outdoors at work. My typical drive is non-stop at highway speeds up and down steep hills. Winter temps here range from -40c to -5c.

For the full winter (2022-23), I averaged 1.2-1.3 miles per kilowatt hour for the entire winter. Using Forscan to monitor my vehicle's 131 kWh battery, Forscan typically shows a maximum useable capacity of 121 kWh at 100% charge in winter. My real-world experience suggests that in very cold conditions you can expect a maximum of 145 miles (233 km) at 100% charge. It could be less if you are driving into headwinds or pulling a load.

So, yes, your dealer rep was accurate in their assessment. That being said, in my particular use case, the Lighting is an excellent choice for winter or summer, and I love it.

FYI. My Mach E, driven in a similar manner averages 1.8 miles per kWh in winter.

 

[mefly2]

As said above ... precondition and keep your speed reasonable.

 

[CdnCGM23]

I was actually dealing with the General Manager as my salesman was tied up with a customer.

So I'm in north of the GTA with an ER, 130 km to my work on Mondays I used 30% then I head home Friday evenings return 130 km. I think you'd be just fine in a Lightning ER. If you have an outlet to plug into at volleyball it would a tiny bit by keeping the battery warm. Def be at 100% at start of trip and locate if there's an Electrify Canada (EC) on your route to be safe. They're usually at Cdn Tire's. In warmer weather you'd be golden. I recently did a trip Barrie, ON to Saint-Jean QC $100 each way with 3 40 min stops at EC stations.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Iceman31]

The city I travel to and from is a small city but yes has charging stations at the Petro Canada and at Canadian Tire.

 

[columbiaskier]

I stopped in to speak with a dealer on Saturday and told him that 3 times a week I make a 260km round trip to coach volleyball. He told me that the Lightning was not the truck for me. He told me in this cold weather I would have to charge after the 130km one way just to make it back home (with the extended range battery). He said that is with the temperature just below freezing and the colder it got out the worse it would be. This really put a damper on what I was thinking. Everything I read and all the reviews I watched did not indicate that the F150 Lightning was this bad. Can you all let me know about your real life Canadian winter experiences with your trucks? I was looking at an F150 XLT with the extended range battery.

It all depends on temperature. Don’t have any fast chargers on your route? If so on the way back you can top up a bit. But be prepared to be slowed down by slow charging speeds below 0 C. Coincidentally I regularly do trips from Calgary to Lake Louise in the winter and some times can make it with only one stop at the Canmore fast charger (260 km), but when it gets below -20C forget it. At those temps I get about 230 km of range at those temps driving between 105 and 120 kmh. Again depends on where you live and what the temps will be plus availability of fast chargers to save you.

 

[Lavaorange]

I've tried the local Petro Canada fast chargers many times over several months. They are terrible and more often down than working. Until they improve, I would not count on them in the dead of winter. I'd recommend checking the reviews/comments on Plugshare for real world results of the actual chargers you'd need to rely on if selection is minimal. You can also check reviews on Google maps searching "Charging Stations". Range anxiety sucks, especially when you buy such an expensive vehicle.

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