4 Little Known F-150 Lightning Features We Wish Every Truck Had
It should come as no surprise that the Ford F-Series is the best-selling vehicle in the United States of 2023, according to Car and Driver. This line of pickup trucks has been an American staple for decades, and the F-150, in particular, has essentially become the poster child for not just the pickup truck but the American auto spirit in general. Because the series of trucks has been so enormously successful for so long, you may think that Ford would be willing to rest on its laurels a little bit and coast on name recognition and reputation, but that isn't the case.
A couple of years ago, Ford introduced an all-electric version of its signature pickup truck called the F-150 Lightning. As the automotive industry steadily moves towards an electric future, it only makes sense that Ford would apply that methodology to its best-selling car, and it has been an overwhelming success for the company. Of course, simply making the truck electric isn't going to sway everyone away from gas-powered vehicles, but along with its modern power source, the company has also implemented a number of terrific features to make the F-150 Lightning all the more enticing for those who want the size and handle of the truck but without all of the emissions that come along with it. Here are just four worthy of spotlighting.
Schedule charge times
Just because you are no longer paying for gas doesn't mean you are no longer paying anything to make your car run daily. The charges will instead be on your monthly electricity bill, as you must plug in your truck occasionally to ensure you have enough battery to run things. Depending on your situation, you may want to be able to spread out how you allocate your daily electricity rather than have everything in your home running all at once.
For the F-150 Lightning, Ford has given people the ability to schedule when their car is charged through the main dashboard screen or the FordPass app. For example, you get home around 6:00 P.M. and plug in your car. You can have a schedule where your car won't start being charged until midnight so that it doesn't overlap with your regular evening usage. Not only that, but you can also schedule when the charging ends and for how much battery capacity you want it to charge.
Not only is this great for spreading out your power usage, but it also takes out the guesswork of wondering when you need to charge your car. Instead of worrying about whether you have enough battery power when you hop in the driver's seat, you know exactly when it charged and how much power it has.
Heated rear seating
Climate-controlled seating has been around in vehicles for many years now. It first was a major feature in luxury automobiles, but it has become much more commonplace as the years have passed. However, its commonality is mainly reserved for just the front-row seating. Even in many luxury brand vehicles, only the first two bucket seats are equipped for heating and cooling whoever sits in them. With the F-150 Lightning, that luxury extends backward.
For the LARIAT and Platinum models of the F-150 Lightning, the people in the back no longer have to be jealous of the people up front for having warm seating on cold days because they offer heated rear seating. This feature comes standard on the Platinum model and can be an upgraded option on the LARIAT. Unfortunately, this feature is not available on the PRO or XLT models, but considering how uncommon this feature is across all car companies, it shouldn't be that surprising you can only get it on the more expensive F-150 Lightning configurations.
If you tend to have quite a few people in your truck and live in a particularly cold climate, perhaps that premium price is worth it to help the people in your life not feel as cold.
Center console tray
Some people spend a lot of time in their car, even when not driving. If they are constantly on the move, they may find themselves working on a laptop or eating meals in their car. However, the main cabin of an automobile — especially the driver's seat — is not conducive to this kind of lifestyle. After all, cars are transportation machines and not offices. Well, the F-150 Lightning has made things infinitely more user-friendly for people needing to maximize the space in their vehicle for non-driving related tasks.
In this pickup truck, you can transform your center console into a full work tray to comfortably use a laptop or lay out a to-go meal. At the press of a button, the gear shifter seamlessly collapses flatly into the console, and then you pull the tray out over the gear shift and cupholders. No more are the days of squeezing your laptop between you and the steering wheel while you use your lap as a desk. The F-150 Lightning gives you a flat surface and some space.
Massive frunk
Pickup trucks offer plenty of space for moving things. One of the principal reasons to own a pickup truck is because the truck bed lets you haul things that your average vehicle would not be able to handle. However, this feature can also be a bug because you lose something standard for every other car on the market: a trunk. A truck bed may be great for moving a couch, but it isn't a great place to secure your grocery bags after a regular visit to the supermarket, especially if your truck bed doesn't have a cover. People have made do with placing things in the passenger or back seats, but if you leave things lying there in the open for people to see as they pass by, that could spell trouble. The F-150 Lightning gives the iconic pickup truck a trunk or, more precisely, a frunk.
Because an electric vehicle doesn't need a giant engine underneath the hood, the fronts of many electric vehicles have been converted into frunks. Because these cars tend to have traditional trunks, frunks aren't all that spacious. Meanwhile, the F-150 Lightning's frunk is massive, with Motor Trend reporting it at 14.1 cubic feet. You now have a place to safely and securely store grocery bags, suitcases, umbrellas, or whatever else you may put in the trunk that a truck owner could never have.