The Final Review | 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning

This is the final year of the Ford F-150 Lightning as an electric pickup truck. It came out four years ago, hasn't really registered all that big in sales. However, there are still thousands of brand new and used Lightnings available on CarGurus. So, is it worth considering a Lightning? Now you can get a discount. And the fact that this truck delivers greater speed than a Raptor, has more usable technology than a Tesla, and is still, at its core, a great F-150. So what do we think? Come with us for a drive. This isn't the very last Lightning. It's only a temporary farewell before the Lightning strikes again as a plug-in hybrid with a gas-powered electric generator. But for Ford, it definitely was disappointing. CEO Jim Farley, at the launch, boasted that Ford had 200,000 reservations for the Lightning in just the first year. Fact was, Ford sold half of that number over four years. At just over 100,000 sales in total, that's just over 3% of all F-Series sales during that same time. Production snags, higher prices, and poor range when towing made the Lightning invisible well before EV tax credits and fuel economy rules changed. But we have liked this truck so much that it won a comparison test against the GMC Sierra EV that was faster and had more tech than the Lightning. So here's why you should consider one now, in 2026. The thing I've liked most about the Lightning is that it looks like a regular F-150. It's a handsome classic design. The only differences are the wheels, 18, 20, or 22 inches, like you'll find on this Platinum. Of course, the front, it's got a solid grill, a connecting light bar. That, of course, is very different than a regular F-150. And on the upper trims, like this Platinum, a connecting light bar across the tailgate. That's it. Yeah, and there's no exhaust pipes. Otherwise, handsome looking, five and a half foot bed, crew cab, it's just like every F-150. For some people, they want an electric truck to look totally different. My take is that Ford built two of these. Doesn't matter what the powertrain is between gas and electric. And there's been no other major exterior changes since this truck came out for 2022. The F-150 Lightning's interior is basically an F-150. It's no different. It still has the same power shifter. You get the work console here, which is a nice touch. Really nice leather seats. They massage, they heat, they cool on this Platinum, but there's no more banging awesome speakers in these headrests. The material quality is good, but it's not up to the Ram 1500 standards. Not when you get to the tungsten level where this price premium really commands. But on the F-150, everything is laid out really logically. I don't like how every single thing, or almost everything, is in the big touchscreen, but Ford doesn't make it too confusing. If you've already been in any F-150, and there's millions of them from this generation, you'll be right at home in a Lightning. Every Lightning is a crew cab, so there's tons of headroom and legroom even with the panoramic moonroof above me. Two-tone leather, heated outboard seats, and also a 20-amp power outlet below here in addition to that in front. The Lightning has 14 cubic feet of storage in its front trunk. I still find this unusual to be able to do this in any electric truck. It's just that cool, still, after all these years. But you have under-tray storage. There's four AC outlets. A lot of power here. 9.6 kilowatts in total on the Platinum. It's optional on other Lightning trims. And USB ports, lighting, tie-down points. It's everything up here, but there's way more space in the back. Generator power is a big benefit of having a Lightning. You get up to 9,600 watts on all trims except on the Platinum, where it comes standard. Otherwise, it's 2,400 watts. Now, with 9,600 watts, you're getting a 240-volt connection right here in the bed alongside these AC outlets. That's an NEMA twist-lock connection. It's definitely heavy-duty. You're also getting a spray-in bedliner as an option, all the usual F-150 accessories, including this on the tailgate. That pops out as a step and a little hook. Not as easy to use as some GM vehicles, but it's also a workbench. You can put your clamps here. They've got some ruler trim in here so you can actually measure things. So everything that you like about the F-150 is here. It's not compromised by having the electric version. The top Lightning trim, the Platinum, has the full 580 horsepower. It's noticeable, but more noticeable is the torque, which is the same across every of the five Lightning trims. 775 pound-feet that you feel absolutely instantly, effortlessly. For a truck that is about 6,000-plus pounds, close to 7,000, it moves so well. Basically, you're getting to raptor speeds in full silence. Every Lightning has two electric motors for all-wheel drive. You notice I'm not saying four-wheel drive because technically that's not what this is. There's no low-range transfer case because there's so much torque, and there's no transmission. It's direct drive. But the horsepower ratings and the battery capacity do differ across the lineup. The biggest battery is 131 kilowatts. It's standard on the Lariat and Platinum, and that's good for 300 miles. That same battery is optional on the Pro, and you can get up to 320 miles on that model or with the Lariat. The next option, 123 kilowatt-hours, slightly smaller. It's on the Pro and the Flash, and they have less power, 536 horsepower. And the smallest battery at 98 kilowatt-hours can only do 240 miles, but that's only on the XLT, and it has the least power, 452 horsepower. So most of the Lightnings that are still in stock are gonna have the bigger batteries, not the smaller one, which is a good thing because you do need essentially all of the range that's possible here. In the cold, the Lightning does not do nearly as well, of course, as it would in the warmer temperatures. It's still pretty decent when compared to, say, the GMC and the Chevy EVs. We've tested those also in cold weather, and they lose a lot more charge than you would think, despite having significantly larger batteries. That's really the Lightning's biggest drawback, is range, when actually using it for truck purposes. It's rated to tow up to 10,000 pounds, which is fantastic, only you'll probably only get about maybe 100 or so miles on a full charge with a load that large. That's a big reason why the Lightning hasn't been very popular with truck buyers who need the capacity. But if you're able to charge at home, if you're not driving significant distances, I really do like the Lightning. It really drives so well. It rides smoother than a regular F-150. There's a lower center of gravity, thanks to the battery, and there's also an independent rear suspension instead of the live axle setup. And in doing so, not only is there more body control, it feels sportier, and the ride is almost pillowy in a way that a regular F-150, even though it's very good, is not. And there's no air springs here, so this is just a standard suspension. But the added weight, if anything, improves the ride of this truck without anything in the back. There's the option for a one-pedal drive mode, but you cannot change the regen. The stock one, that's basically the normal default setting, I like, because it's not too strong. And it's a simple vehicle. That's what I like about this truck, because it's driving just like any F-150. It just has electric motors instead of big gas or diesel engines. That is it. So you can jump in the Lightning, immediately be familiar, don't have to relearn anything like you would in, say, a Rivian or a Tesla. And the fact of the matter is, is that the Lightning is just compatible with any accessory, interior-wise, out in the bed. It is an F-150. So I would have thought that it would have done better in the market, but the prices of these trucks have always been, obviously, pricier than regular F-Series. However, even at roughly 88 grand for this truck, people are happily spending that much on regular F-150s. So the market is just saying we don't want it to be fully electric, but there's still, I think, a good reason to drive the Lightning, especially if your commute is not very long and everything you're doing is within a shorter radius, because there's a lot to like about it. Just the driving experience alone. It's sporty, and it feels really comfortable. The feeling you get here is control. I've been in the Rivian R1T, and at full throttle, you're actually losing control of the steering. It gets a bit light. You don't really feel that in the Lightning, which is great. The steering is not as direct as you would find in, say, a Ram 1500. Slightly sloppy off-center, just a little bit. So it's not like you want to hustle this thing down a back road all crazy-like, but it moves, and it does not intimidate you, which I think is important for a big truck. And the fact that it doesn't have the battery size of the GM electric pickup trucks, which, yes, those trucks really do do it all, but at a massive cost and massive weight. So the Lightning, despite it not posting those big real-world numbers, it ultimately, I think, is an easier vehicle to live with. You just have to make more sacrifices. Braking is smooth, secure, and even without one-pedal driving, it feels like it's going to stop this truck without any issue. Lightning trims that are flash and above have this 15-and-a-half-inch portrait display. Otherwise, you're getting a squarer 12-inch setup. No problem there either, very similar setups. This system runs a little slow. You have to be running the vehicle for a while so the menus don't load. Even now, they're still a little laggy, but for 2025, it's a predictive speed assist. That's a new feature that's added to vehicles with the adaptive cruise control. So you have, basically, it'll preview upcoming road turns, close the speed, does exactly what it says it's going to do. So some additional features in here, lots of driver assistance systems. Of course, Ford Blue Cruise available on here. They've extended a lot of the terms so you don't just have to wait for 90 days until it expires. You can have it for much longer. Now, everything in here is digital. I generally don't like that. I really don't. Let's just put it that way. I get used to this. You get used to this whole display, and especially how it lags. Again, this would be really much quicker in 2026, even though this is a 2025 model. I don't want to excuse it because everything is in here. There's still some physical buttons. The cameras are good. You can access them always up here. Bed cam, side cameras. So that's good. All the features are here. I just wish that Ford had some more analog controls, but that's clearly not what they were intending. And also, the wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto takes up most of the screen, but of course, it's not full screen. I just wish this was a little faster, but it's not going to detract from your experience with lightning all that much in the long term. The digital instrument panel comes standard. I like the colors, the typefaces. Everything is nice and crisp. It's easy to adjust. You can see your towing options all from here. Of course, you have the automatic trailering assist, which if you have a trailer connected, it'll help steer, brake all of it for you, which is awesome. I do like that. Ooh, the only thing you're going to find different from the Lightning is the fact that there's a range indicator and you're seeing a battery temp. There's nothing for oil, nothing like that, of course, because there is no oil. But if you're used to driving any other F-150 with this system, you'll like it in the Lightning. The 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning starts at $55,000. There are five trims. We tested the Platinum with the spray-in bed liner, the spare tire, which is now an option, and the mobile power cord, with destination, just over $88,000. But the actual selling price that you'll find and be able to negotiate, expect tens of thousands off that price. The competitors, the Chevy and GMC EVs, the Rivian R1T, and I guess the Cybertruck. A lot of people won't miss the Lightning, but I like the fact that it was an alternative to regular F-150 models. The F-150 is the most varied pickup truck on sale in so many different configurations. So the fact that Ford took on a risk when EVs were starting to take off, and now they're not so much, it's not about politics or consumer choice. It's just the fact that this vehicle for this price just didn't really deliver all the things that F-150 buyers and truck buyers traditionally want. But there's still so much to like about it. The power, the smoothness, the technology, the style, and the fact that Ford didn't have to completely re-engineer the F-150 to make a really good electric pickup truck. Now, what do you think? There's not that many full-size electric pickup trucks on sale. And are you looking forward to the plug-in hybrid? Maybe that's an option. Any way you choose, stick on cargurus.com, subscribe to the YouTube channel, and we will see you next time.