By: Joshua Lee
June 6, 2024
Having tested the hybrid powertrain of the Ford F-150 Limited PowerBoost last year, we’ve concluded that the hybrid truck works wonderfully and doesn’t skimp on its workhorse capabilities. If you wanted to go completely electric, Ford has got you covered with the F-150 Lightning.
Ford Canada provided us the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum for our week-long test. This top-of-the-line trim tester features dual motors, four-wheel drive, and a 131-kWh extended range battery capacity, which gives the F-150 Lightning 580 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque.
This means that the fully electric F-150 is more powerful than the PowerBoost and the Raptor. Even though it does weigh heavier with the battery pack, it handles just like an F-150 should. There are no complaints about how quickly this truck accelerates, and we liked that there is minimal body roll with its low center of gravity. The standard range battery has a maximum towing capacity of 5000 lbs, whereas the extended range can handle 7700 lbs (8500 lbs with the Max Trailer Tow Package).
Our F-150 Lightning features a deep Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat finish, 22-inch bright machined alloy wheels, and fixed extended running boards with enhanced lighting. The Lightning’s design is similar to its gasoline counterpart, but with smoother fender lines for aerodynamics. The Platinum trim has a high gloss Vador Black with tinted chrome front grille and the same geometric pattern as the lower trim level, the Lariat. Full-width exterior lighting distinguishes the Lightning from other models.
The F-150 Lightning features Zone Lighting, which allows you to turn on the exterior lights, including the ones in the bed, so you can continue working when it gets dark or use them at a campsite or a tailgate function. The F-150 Lightning only comes in the SuperCrew style with a 5’5 bed. Other useful features of the F-150 Lightning include a power tailgate with an integrated tailgate step and flat workstation, a 9.6kW Pro Power Onboard, and the Onboard Scale with Smart Hitch, which provides information on the cargo weight of the bed and the tongue weight of the hitch. If you require additional space, the frunk provides an additional 400L and four 120V outlets, which are part of the Pro Power Onboard.
The interior is spacious for all passengers, and the twin-panel moonroof provides excellent outward visibility and light. Premium Nirvana leather looks nice with a contrast black tuxedo stripe. Heated and ventilated front seats are comfortable to be in and offer a 10-way power adjustment for the driver’s seat. A 15.5-inch SYNC4A infotainment system sits in the center of the cabin, which is easy to navigate from charging info to the navigation system. It can be somewhat distracting when you’re driving and need to operate the climate control system. A 12-inch driver’s display provides all the necessary information you would need, and we also like the Interior Work Surface, which stows the gear lever away with a press of a button and folds the centre console into a flat area to work on. An 18-speaker B&O sound system including subwoofer, wireless charging pad, 360-degree camera, and heated rear seats are standard on this trim.
Ford Co-Pilot 360 2.0 makes driving this truck easy with various driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and blind spot monitoring. The Platinum adds Assist 2.0 and Active 2.0 which adds adaptive cruise control, parking assistance, and BlueCruise for hands-free highway driving.
With a battery pack this big, it’s not wise to charge with a standard outlet as it could take around 3-4 days to get it back to full. A Level 2 charger will charge the truck from 15-80% in about 13 hours and a 150kW fast charger will do it 41 minutes. We went to a 50kW Flo fast charging station with 37% and it took 2 hours and 40 minutes to charge it back to full. 88.3kWh has been charged back and our bill cost $53.47 including tax. According to EnerGuide, the F-150 Lightning is rated 3.2Le/100KM city, 3.9Le/100KM highway, for a combined 3.5Le/100KM. 483 KM of range is what Ford estimates the Platinum model to get; we had about 440 KM for our test and 3.82Le/100KM.
At the time of testing, our tester came with $2200 in optional equipment and an MSRP of $122,855 including taxes and delivery. Thankfully, there are three other trim levels you can get: the Pro, XLT, and Lariat. These three also offer the standard-range battery, which has an estimated range of 386 km.
The Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum is a great truck with useful features that you expect from a work truck. It’s also a really nice EV with decent range and ample power. While we had the truck, an OTA update was available notifying us that Ford’s Plug & Charge services will work at Tesla Superchargers. This is great news for EV owners as it increases the charging network. A Fast Charging adapter is complimentary for new and existing Ford EV customers until the end of June this year. Although towing capacity is lower for the Lightning, it shouldn’t be much of a problem for F-150 fans as this luxurious cruiser has been incredibly enjoyable to experience.
