FordLightningMan
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- Dec 21, 2021
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- Upstate New York
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- F150
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I was a lucky invitee to the San Antonio F-150 Lightning event. First I want to give a huge thank you to Ford and their new Friends of Ford program. Ford reached out to me seemingly at random, as the company is looking to engage normal customers to get a feel of their impressions of the vehicle. I was definitely surrounded by some social media influencers, I even overheard one guy say he has 300k followers... on my side I have only as many people who will listen to me on various forums.
Before we were able to get first hand impressions with the Lightning, we were able to talk to some of the Ford engineers and designers about the vehicle. As a XLT SR order holder, I was interested in some details around this trim. First, although I couldn't get anyone to commit to a final number on the SR 0-60 time, I was assured that the 5.5ish original estimate was conservative. I was twisting some arms to get an exact number, but it seems below 5 seconds is likely. The ER (unofficially) should clock in around 4.3 seconds and the SR won't be far behind. I asked if additional power could be unlocked via a software update, the engineers said software updates are possible, but they are pretty confident they've squeezed out all of the power they can at this point.
A few other points discussed were battery range, where Ford stated they are again going conservative with their number, unlike some competitors who never hit their actual range. Interesting was the technology around the towing range, where the computer on board will update based on towing weight, conditions, etc. and it's anticipated the range with get within 5% of actual. This was a focus of Ford, because they said they don't want the bad press of stranding people towing because their computer is off. There is no official towing range estimate, as the variables are many (i.e. aerodynamics of what's being towed, weight of tow, etc.), so you will never see a published towing range, but the computer should accurately inform owners in their individual situations. One last point discussed is 1,000lbs of cargo will not have a noticable impact on range.
After speaking to people from Ford, we were able to get a chance to go into the trucks. The first trucks we had our hands on were all Platinum and Lariat trim. I won't dwell too much on these trims, other than to say they are luxury front to back and people who pay for them will be happy with the trim and features.
Next I was able to check out the Pro. This truck in my opinion is the best value of any vehicle on the market. From a tech perspective, the 12 inch screen is larger than most competitors in the same price range. The rest of the features such as the cameras and sensors around the vehicle, the various drive modes, and app control of the vehicle are features commonly seen in higher trims. The vinyl seats weren't quite the quality of "vegan leather" I've seen in other brands, they were a little stiffer for sure. However, as a work truck this should suffice, I imagine cleaning would be exceptionally easy.
Then finally I found an XLT! The truck I have on order has not been discussed nearly anywhere, it was refreshing to affirm it does exist! I've been somewhat concerned about my order of this trim. Is there enough in extra features to justify the price over the Pro? Is there too many features missing from the Lariat? Seeing the truck in person cleared up all my doubts.
First, the cloth interior is noticeably an improvement over the Pro. Whereas the Pro was a bit stiff and built for a work purpose, the XLT felt like something more appropriate for your average consumer. One of the affirming moments the XLT was the right trim for me was my girlfriend's reaction to the truck. She was actually less than impressed with the Pro interior, which makes sense based on the fact she has no interest ever using a truck at a work site, but was pleasantly surprised with the XLT. If you have a family and are using the truck for commuting regularly, I feel like this is the appropriate trim. The fact the Pro has been labeled as a fleet vehicle is spot on, it's missing some of the comfort I expect in an everyday ride.
I also think the light bar in front is something I really would've missed. The XLT having this signature lighting really makes it look like a fresh vehicle. I don't even mind the lighting being front only (tailgate lights don't have the bar), as it almost becomes excessive having the light bars all over, the XLT is a perfect compromise of new and old.
Unfortunately the XLT wasn't turned on when I was inside. I went through just about every option on the Pro's infotainment screen, I am unable to confirm if the XLT has any more bells and whistles. For example, the games on the Lariat screen were nowhere on the Pro, might there be something at the XLT trim? This is TBD, but the Pro had enough functionality that I won't be bummed if nothing is added (besides XM radio). I actually liked the Pro/XLT screen a bit more than the Lariat/Platinum, coming from a Tesla it's nice to have buttons back.
Overall, I walked away very impressed. After hands on with all trims, they actually seem very well thought out, and there's a good trim option at almost every budget. The XLT hit my sweet spot for features and value, I'm more excited now to get my truck! Please let me know if anyone has any questions, especially fellow XLT order holders. I don't want to write more of a book, but I'm happy to share more details if people are curious.
A few XLT pictures as well. It was a XLT ER, so no load info sticker for a SR is still not available.
![Ford F-150 Lightning In-Person Lightning Impressions - From a XLT Order Holder (w/ Photos & Door Payload Sticker) [San Antonio Event] 20220506_093151](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='2400' height='1800' viewBox%3D'0 0 2400 1800'%2F%3E)
Before we were able to get first hand impressions with the Lightning, we were able to talk to some of the Ford engineers and designers about the vehicle. As a XLT SR order holder, I was interested in some details around this trim. First, although I couldn't get anyone to commit to a final number on the SR 0-60 time, I was assured that the 5.5ish original estimate was conservative. I was twisting some arms to get an exact number, but it seems below 5 seconds is likely. The ER (unofficially) should clock in around 4.3 seconds and the SR won't be far behind. I asked if additional power could be unlocked via a software update, the engineers said software updates are possible, but they are pretty confident they've squeezed out all of the power they can at this point.
A few other points discussed were battery range, where Ford stated they are again going conservative with their number, unlike some competitors who never hit their actual range. Interesting was the technology around the towing range, where the computer on board will update based on towing weight, conditions, etc. and it's anticipated the range with get within 5% of actual. This was a focus of Ford, because they said they don't want the bad press of stranding people towing because their computer is off. There is no official towing range estimate, as the variables are many (i.e. aerodynamics of what's being towed, weight of tow, etc.), so you will never see a published towing range, but the computer should accurately inform owners in their individual situations. One last point discussed is 1,000lbs of cargo will not have a noticable impact on range.
After speaking to people from Ford, we were able to get a chance to go into the trucks. The first trucks we had our hands on were all Platinum and Lariat trim. I won't dwell too much on these trims, other than to say they are luxury front to back and people who pay for them will be happy with the trim and features.
Next I was able to check out the Pro. This truck in my opinion is the best value of any vehicle on the market. From a tech perspective, the 12 inch screen is larger than most competitors in the same price range. The rest of the features such as the cameras and sensors around the vehicle, the various drive modes, and app control of the vehicle are features commonly seen in higher trims. The vinyl seats weren't quite the quality of "vegan leather" I've seen in other brands, they were a little stiffer for sure. However, as a work truck this should suffice, I imagine cleaning would be exceptionally easy.
Then finally I found an XLT! The truck I have on order has not been discussed nearly anywhere, it was refreshing to affirm it does exist! I've been somewhat concerned about my order of this trim. Is there enough in extra features to justify the price over the Pro? Is there too many features missing from the Lariat? Seeing the truck in person cleared up all my doubts.
First, the cloth interior is noticeably an improvement over the Pro. Whereas the Pro was a bit stiff and built for a work purpose, the XLT felt like something more appropriate for your average consumer. One of the affirming moments the XLT was the right trim for me was my girlfriend's reaction to the truck. She was actually less than impressed with the Pro interior, which makes sense based on the fact she has no interest ever using a truck at a work site, but was pleasantly surprised with the XLT. If you have a family and are using the truck for commuting regularly, I feel like this is the appropriate trim. The fact the Pro has been labeled as a fleet vehicle is spot on, it's missing some of the comfort I expect in an everyday ride.
I also think the light bar in front is something I really would've missed. The XLT having this signature lighting really makes it look like a fresh vehicle. I don't even mind the lighting being front only (tailgate lights don't have the bar), as it almost becomes excessive having the light bars all over, the XLT is a perfect compromise of new and old.
Unfortunately the XLT wasn't turned on when I was inside. I went through just about every option on the Pro's infotainment screen, I am unable to confirm if the XLT has any more bells and whistles. For example, the games on the Lariat screen were nowhere on the Pro, might there be something at the XLT trim? This is TBD, but the Pro had enough functionality that I won't be bummed if nothing is added (besides XM radio). I actually liked the Pro/XLT screen a bit more than the Lariat/Platinum, coming from a Tesla it's nice to have buttons back.
Overall, I walked away very impressed. After hands on with all trims, they actually seem very well thought out, and there's a good trim option at almost every budget. The XLT hit my sweet spot for features and value, I'm more excited now to get my truck! Please let me know if anyone has any questions, especially fellow XLT order holders. I don't want to write more of a book, but I'm happy to share more details if people are curious.
A few XLT pictures as well. It was a XLT ER, so no load info sticker for a SR is still not available.
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![Ford F-150 Lightning In-Person Lightning Impressions - From a XLT Order Holder (w/ Photos & Door Payload Sticker) [San Antonio Event] xlt pts.JPG](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='1099' height='686' viewBox%3D'0 0 1099 686'%2F%3E)
