YouTube is packed with Ford F-150 Lightning content right now, and we’re addicted. But you might want to take a break from car reviewers to watch what a tech specialist has to say about it. If you’ve ever wanted to buy a new phone or laptop, there’s a good chance you’ve watched Marques Brownlee, but he’s also into EVs.
Marques, also known online as MKBHD, has been a Tesla adopter. Unless we’re mistaken, he’s got a reservation down on the Rivian R1T or the Cybertruck. But in the meantime, he’s been spending time with the Lightning. This is actually his second video on the F-150 EV, and his first one from May 2021 was a huge deal online.
So, what’s this thing about an F-150 Lightning being the iPhone of trucks? Well, it’s simple. The iPhone has a hold on the domestic phone market; there are people who only buy new iPhones once innovation reaches a certain point and their device is either too old or obsolete. The F-150 is exactly like that, being the most popular vehicle in America since the last century.
A Lightning for your Lightning
The name shared between this truck and Apple’s controversial charging cable is also pretty funny. So is Lightning so innovative that F-150 owners will want to upgrade? In short, yes.
From the outside, it’s a familiar shape to every other F-150 on the road, which means everything is familiar. Everything is where you expect it to be, and even the driving position is the same. However, being electric makes the Lightning quieter.
It’s also surprisingly fast. As you’ve seen in the recent drag race from TFL, a 580 horsepower Extended Range with dual motors is enough to humiliate most V8 trucks on the road today, supercharged or not.
The 131 kWh battery pack also turns this into a big battery for charging things. The bed is full of power outlets, but the real party piece is the “Mega Power Frunk”, which is a 400-liter cavern under the hood, where the engine used to be on a regular F-150. It can also power your house for up to 3 days, which sounds like a gimmick until you remember how often disasters or simple power outages happen.
To conclude, if the F-150 Lightning really is the iPhone of trucks, it might actually be indispensable to the American way of life. Not just a gimmick with power sockets, but the thing you need to shop, work or engage in recreational activities.
