Ford F-150 Lightning May Drive Further Per Charge Than Expected

One of the most exciting vehicle announcements in recent months has been the new F-150 Lightning electric pickup. Ford promised the version of the truck with the larger battery pack would go about 300 miles per charge. There's some evidence that suggests Ford might be sandbagging on the driving range, and the vehicle is good for significantly longer drive times between charge ups.

According to YouTuber Marques Brownlee, the F-150 Lightning might offer up to 460 miles of driving range per charge. Recently, Brownlee was able to get his hands on a preproduction Lightning for a video, which can be seen below. According to Brownlee, the 300-mile driving range of the Lightning is quoted with 1000 pounds of payload in the bed.

It's worth noting that tidbit about the 1000 pounds of payload in bed comes from Brownlee, not Ford. However, Brownlee does show on the video that the truck he is driving has 367 miles available range according to the dash display with about 80 percent of its battery capacity available. It's worth keeping in mind that as with any range estimates from onboard electronics on modern cars today, it depends on how you drive the vehicle.

However, any way you slice it, a range of 367 miles with only 80 percent of the battery capacity left certainly suggests Ford is underquoting driving range. Another potential caveat is that the truck Brownlee uses in his video is the top-of-the-line Platinum with the extended range battery pack. Ford may not be underpromising on other trims.

It's certainly possible that Ford might be sandbagging with the standard range battery pack as well; only time will tell. Ford will undoubtedly attract significant numbers of EV buyers with the electric F-150, particularly fleet operators with trucks that are driven short distances within cities. In fact, one version of the truck is aimed at fleet operators and those working out of the electric pickup.