Automotive Engineering - June 2022 - 12

ROAD READY
Tow ratings run
to 10,000 lb. for
an appropriately
equipped F-150
Lightning.
Towing and hauling capability are the
" real-truck " metrics, however, and Ford
gamely set up journalists with plenty of
options to test the Lightning in order to
dispel what some engineers called
" myths " about towing's derogatory effect
on driving range. With trailers ranging up
to 9500 lb (4309 kg), the Lightning
yanked them as easily as you'd pull a toddler
across the snow on a plastic toboggan.
And without any driveline " windup "
or fuss, no blaring exhaust (a downside
for the 'coal-rolling' crowd, I suppose),
just the crisp and smart step-off of 775
lb-ft applied instantly and silently.
The Texas hill-country test roads were
rolling but fairly low-speed. The handy
functionality of the Lightning's Intelligent
Range feature (program your trailer's
weight and other environmental effects
are calculated), generated a forecast,
backed up by on-the-fly mile-per-kWh
figures that indicated the extended battery
pack's 320-mile range might be cut
in half by a heavy trailer. The impact is
" very similar to what you get on the
F-150 gas, " said Jim Caruso, vehicle engineering
supervisor.
High-speed highway towing probably
would consume more. But unless you've
got an IC pickup with large or even twin
fuel tanks, more than 160 miles before
refueling can be a stretch - although
the refueling time is a fraction of the 41
minutes required to take the extended
battery from 15% to 80% capacity at a
DC fast-charger, according to Ford. A
15% to 100% recharge with a 48-amp
Level 2 setup at the high end of what
consumers are likely to have installed at
12 June 2022
The 2022 F-150 Lightning cabin is similar to that of its IC-engine counterparts; the striking portraitformat
center touchscreen is for all trims except the base Pro.
home is a 13-hour commitment, although
if one is of the means to plump for the
80-amp Charge Station Pro, that Level 2
recharge is cut to eight hours.
It's doubtful those maxing out the
payload or towing light-ish trailers would
find a too-painful effect on driving range
- but those who plan on routine towing
of heavier loads had best figure on the
extended-range battery. With either battery,
the 2022 F-150 Lightning isn't the
ultimate work-focused configuration
(the payload and tow ratings place the
Lightning about in the middle of the
conventional F-150's capability range)
but it's more than able to serve most
consumer (and even commercial-oriented)
light-pickup duty cycles. For the rest,
electric in its current state of development
simply isn't the answer.
New-age dynamics
We spent the better part of a day
road-driving the F-150 Lightning Pro
fitted with the extended-range battery,
the Tow Technology and Max Trailer
Tow packages and a few other options
that took it from a base price of
$39,974 to $56,109 (which included the
$1,695 destination charge), a configuration
that appealed as a heap of electric
truck for the money. The Forddeveloped,
3-phase AC induction motors
replicate the imperceptible AWD
traction expected of a family crossover,
while the standard electronically locking
rear differential and the truck's also-standard
off-road drive setting
equip the Lightning to scrabble up
challenging loose-rock hill climbs and
traverse slimy-mud water crossings.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
ALL IMAGES: FORD

Automotive Engineering - June 2022

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