Ford F-150 goes electric

Signature electric-car LED light bars aside, it still looks like an F-150 – the daddy of double-cab pickups that has dominated US truck sales for 44 years. The design is certainly a lot more traditional than the angularly odd-looking Tesla truck that will be one of its biggest rivals. And the new Ford still boasts all the signature F-150 attributes that have made this ultimate work/lifestyle machine so popular stateside.

This electric giant will tow trailers (up to 4.5 tonnes), scale mountains, ford rivers, accommodate the family in the luxury cabin and take a 900kg payload. It is as big as a house of course and has enough power onboard that it can power your actual house – for up to three days – if you have a power cut. That’s just one of several neat ways in which it can deploy its kilowatts.

In F-150 Lightning XLT form (the one most folk across the pond buy) it will also be quick. Quicker than the twin-turbo V6 F-150 Raptor, says Ford, which means 0-62mph in around 4.5 seconds. For this you can thank dual electric motors rated at 563PS (420kW), but mostly it’s about the torque.

The electric Lightning delivers more torque, more instantly than any F-150 before it: 1,050Nm, or 775 lb ft. It’s delivered to all four wheels of course, and the sophistication doesn’t end there: staggeringly, this is the first F-series with independent rear suspension.

Range? There’s a standard-range battery estimated to offer 230 miles or a bigger battery that aims to take the Lightning 300 miles. The Lightning comes with an 80-amp charge station which can add around 30 miles per charging hour. At a fast-charger, it can take on 80 per cent juice in 41 minutes.

Drive modes comprise Normal, Sport, Off Road and Tow/Haul. Ford says the motors have been engineered as inboard units to allow regular F-series ability across rugged terrain, with special underbody skid plates to protect the battery. And on road? An all-new frame, all-aluminium body, low centre of gravity and that new independent rear are said to make this the most refined and surefooted F-150 yet.

It also abounds with electric, digital and connected cleverness. Inside, the dashboard is dominated by two big screens (a 15.5-inch touch screen and 12-inch customisable instrument cluster). Natural voice control, cloud-connected navigation wireless connectivity, standard over-the-air software updates and available BlueCruise self-driving tech all feature. It represents a sizable technology step forward for a machine that’s only now ditched the live rear axle.

And what about this in the practicality department: a front trunk – inevitably called a “frunk” – that opens and closes electrically and offers watertight space for bags or golf clubs, along with two USB chargers and four electrical outlets offering 2.4kW to power tools, TVs, laptops, speakers or camping cookers. Just as important in the work/lifestyle stakes, there’s a “drainable floor that can double as a food and beverage container”. Sounds like somewhere to store the cold beers to us.

If all this is starting to sound expensive, think again. In that typical (and, for Brits, frustrating) nack that Americans have for seemingly bargain pricing, the F-150 Lightning will go on sale across North America next year for an ex-tax $52,974, about £38,000. That’s for the well-equipped XLT model; a stripped-back commercial variant actually starts at $39,974.

Keeping the prices in line with similarly-configured petrol equivalents was a Ford priority – and is surely a lesson for other car makers. As one Ford high-up says, “We’re not here to make an electric truck for the few – Ford is committed to building one that solves real problems for real people.”

We’d take a cold beer out of the F-150 Lightning’s frunk and drink to that…