LIGHTNING CURIOSITY -- Why Did You Choose It?

[vbaker4444]

Former Tesla model S owner in Michigan and absolutely loved having an EV. Waking up with a full charge and not having to get gas in the mornings was great. It only cost me about $30-40 extra a month in electricity. Sold it after warranty work and dealing with their horrible service center. I went to a truck and loved the utility aspect, but missed the cost and ease of use with an EV. Reserved the cybertruck for fun, but as soon as I heard the f150 is coming out, I went all in and reserved immediately. The features, size, and having our dealer close by for service made it simple to go that route. I test drove the Mach e shortly after reserving as it appeared to use the same UI as the lightning. Fords UI and build quality far exceeded the Tesla. Cancelled my cybertruck reservation and now I have a scheduled production date of 5/30 on a Pro model (39k) and get the federal tax credit. Overall, I think it’s an excellent way to go, even in a cold environment like Michigan.

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[CRAIGC540]

I have a 04 F150 Lariat that still runs and looks good but the gas is what makes me want an EV, but there is no EV truck so I flirted with the thought of getting a Tesla for my wife and just keeping my truck. Not knowing the Lightning was on the way. I Reserved the same day I found out about the lightning which was 9 days late ?.
I drive 7 miles to work and visit Los Angeles and San Diego a few times a year, that's 60 to 80 miles one way for this trips.

 

[bryan995]

Current Tesla owner who is simpy waiting for the Cybertruck. Hopefully Ford will exist just long enough for me to exit the brand . The future will not be kind to the dealership model.

 

[davehu]

"I was curious as to what the draw to the Lightning is and would like to hear feedback on why you chose this truck........."


For me the environment has nothing to do with it. I don't believe for a moment that when you look at the complete energy chain from product of electricity to usage that it does anything for the environment. My reasons for wanting an F150 to replace my aging Chevy Avalanche are simple: 1) Electric vehicles are inherently superior to ICE vehicles; smoother and quicker accleration, Enormous torque across the entire power band, substantially more reliable, and much quieter. 2) 325 days a year I drive less than 150 miles and for those longer range trips we'll take my wife's ICE Honda Pilot. Range anxiety isn't a concern. 3) I sold my portable generator and will use my Lighting for emergency power. 4) electricity is much cheaper than gas. 12,000 miles in my Avalanche will (has) cost me $2,000 in gasoline. 12k miles in a Lightning will cost about $525. and lastly Electric motors are far more reliable. the maintaince savings over 10 years will be significant.

Other than those things, it's just a truck.

 

[Duckwrangler]

The pricing on the Lightning is significantly more than the normal F-150 and I for the life of me cannot see any advantages to going EV (Besides Eco Reasons)

Curious to hear the feedback.

Am i just missing something?

Was just at the Cleveland auto show this week. The Lariat Lightning on display sticker price was only $2k more than the ICE Lariat sitting about 30 ft away.

We want it b/c we like the utility of a truck but also need it to be a daily driver. With my husband's long commute, the fuel costs made it unreasonable until the Lightning came along.

 

[beatle]

The Lightning will allow me to sell my Model S and my Ridgeline and free up a space in the garage. The Tesla is a fantastic driving car, but their service gets worse by the day, and their underhanded business tactics that involve stealing features you've paid for and crippling the performance of the vehicle post-sale have me looking elsewhere. Cap that off with almost zero third party service stations and closed-off diagnostics make for a car that can be very expensive to own when out of warranty.

I like the Rivian more as a truck (I don't need or really want a full size) but at their current production rate it will be a couple of years before I get one. They are also unproven and may suffer from the same service/parts issues down the road. Ford's electrification is still in its infancy, but the rest of the truck is still an F150 which means highly available inexpensive parts and service, especially compared to Tesla.

I am not an environmentalist, but I do pay attention to science. We're better off not driving gas vehicles if we can help it. That said, my primary reason for going and staying with an EV was not the environment, it was the driving experience. The instant, smooth, almost frightening levels of power, no fill ups for daily driving, remote HVAC, one-pedal driving, silence, and a very low center of gravity make for a vehicle that's a joy to own and drive.

Ultimately looking forward to the Ranger or even Maverick EV as the successor to the Lightning.

 

[Galactus55]

I have a 2014 Chevy Volt excellent car still works flawlessly. It can't tow a thing. So I was looking for a full time EV. I have a reservation on the CT will wait for it. I believe Tesla battery, motors and charging grid is superior by 10 years. When the Lightning was revealed and more I learned about it I liked the production advantages! When they mentioned the VTH (Vehicle To House) power feature. OK I'm in! Just looking at the chasey, it is above and beyond any car based EV. I should be able to tow and just do other utility things. Also I like the size it's large enough.

 

[BoreBrotherBore]

Have had a Tesla M3 performance since December after trading off my 80k mile Land Cruiser.
The Land Cruiser is and was amazing for me. Held its value, great road trip vehicle, but the gas milage was abhorrent.
I could live with it after retiring from the military while I was going back to school as my daily commute was less then 20 miles.

Now I drive 100 miles 5 days a week. Getting 14 mpg highway with current gas prices would mean I would have to work 1 day a week just to pay for the gas for the week. Nope. My electricity is well below the national average and it gets cheaper at night when I charge.

Plus, the fact that in Iowa during the winter I don't have to get out of my vehicle to pump gas twice a week can not be understated.

Now for the truck reasons, I go fishing and biking with the family on the regular, going to see how the lightning does going up to the Canadian border on a couple of quick charging stops.

And also, ever since I was a private in the Army and a buddy got a early 2000s lightning I've wanted one.

Forgot: I will have to rearrange my garage as they way it's set up now the truck will not fit. So keep that in mind.

 

[Diabolical!]

Why I chose the Lightning:

Ford did a glitzy unveiling for a truck that starts at under $40,000 before tax credits with available range of up to 300 miles.

Why I un-chose the Lightning:

Starting price of $75,000 for 300 mile battery.

 

[Fordskeptic]

Why I chose the F150L: $40k full size crew cab, 4wd, BEV, with all the, seating, payload and towing capacity I want/need. Now if only Ford would sell me one.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I was curious as to what the draw to the Lightning is and would like to hear feedback on why you chose this truck.

I worked in sales for Ford for years and in my personal experience, found very little amount of people who were wanting these or electric trucks in general.

To all of you who are anxiously awaiting this vehicle, what are your reasons??

I know here in the Yukon there is major issues with EV's due to cold and the distance between towns and charging ability.

Is this just your commuting vehicle for shorter trips and you have another vehicle for extended trips or?

The pricing on the Lightning is significantly more than the normal F-150 and I for the life of me cannot see any advantages to going EV (Besides Eco Reasons)

Curious to hear the feedback.

Am i just missing something?

I've been wanting an F-150 for about 20 years now and loved the original SVT lightning but could never bring myself too buying one. The gas mileage was killer for me.

I made due with crossovers with a trailer until I got fed up with hooking up a trailer just to pick up some PVC pipes. So when I found out they were launching the lightning the nameplate nostalgia, love of the F-150, and EV/mileage mix just worked for me.

 

[F150ROD]

had a tesla, traded for f-150 when the money was right, miss the instant torque

Same. The F-150 ICE to me almost better in every way to a Model 3, except the drivetrain, efficiency and obviously handling. My ICE F-150 has not disappointed, now add EV power and its a game changer. Yes it will be my commuter

 

[GDN]

I drove pickups my whole life until the Model 3 came along. It was good enough to get me to leave the truck behind, so now we have 2 Model 3's. The only vehicles we own. The 3 makes me smile getting into it every day, it has since day 1. I attended the Cybertruck reveal and signed up that night for those kinds of prices. I believe those prices will be higher when it finally hits the market, but likely the best prices there will be among trucks.

Then along comes the Lightning reveal - plunk $100 down in the first few minutes, because why not, who knows what will happen.

Fate got me a Wave 1 order. I had never looked at the Lightning since reveal. I almost deleted my order email. Then after a day or two it, it was why not I really do want back in a truck. So I did. Now I'm just hoping it won't be a bad $80K experiment gone wrong.

Huge worries that the tech is not as good as Tesla. I'm hopeful for a good handling and driving experience. I really wish they could have had a 400 mile range as I do know what cold weather will do.

All that aside it seems I should be able to get my money back out of it in the first year if it doesn't meet all of my expectations. I'll go to a Y until the Cybertruck is built.

 

[FordLightningMan]

I sold a sporty Audi sedan for a Model 3 Performance. The quality of the drive improvement for a vehicle with nearly the same MSRP is incredible. Even knowing I've lost range, there is no turning back.

I've actually asked myself the question in personal reflection, what if the ICE was the car with better performance? Would I push back on the environmental benefits for my own personal enjoyment? I'm glad I don't have to be put in a position to answer that question, because you'd probably have to come confiscate my EV with force to get me back into an ICE now, based on drive quality alone.

 

[LightningShow]

I drove F-150s from the time I got my license until my mid/late-20s when gas prices started really getting up there and I had a very long daily commute (35k mi/yr). I bought a Subaru WRX in 2002 and have owned a series of "family" vehicles since then but I always missed the utility of the truck. The gas mileage has mostly kept me away. When the EV trucks started getting announced I knew that I would probably end up with one. I had been thinking about EVs for the last several years but didn't have a reason to get one. Last year I took a job with a 70 mile daily commute and bought a Bolt EV (my Flex was also getting long in the tooth). The Bolt was such a great car to drive I didn't have any second thoughts about getting the F150L.

EVs are better driving vehicles for almost every case IMO. They're missing something as a true sports car, I've driven a Taycan and it's nothing compared to a manual 911 (except insanely fast, obviously). For everyday driving the EV is far superior to all of the non-sports car ICE vehicles I've owned. It's so much better that I'm happy to deal with the downsides associated with roadtrips/towing/etc. I don't do those things enough that it will have a major impact on my life.

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