Ford f150 lightning full#

Those that have driven old-school trucks with nothing in the bed will be familiar with how squirrelly and bouncy they can get when driven on slippery surfaces. The Lightning has classic steel coil springs, while the Rivian has an air spring setup at all four corners that allow for adjustable ride height.

The most notable difference is the springs. At the rear, the Lightning has semi-trailing arms, while the R1T has a more sophisticated 5-link layout. Thus, decent ride quality is quite important on modern trucks.īoth the Ford and Rivian feature four-wheel-independent suspensions with similar front control arm setups. Whether being used as a daily driver, or a work truck, most of the “off-road” use is limited to unpaved rural roads and gravel driveways. While automakers love to pitch the go-anywhere, do anything capabilities of trucks and SUVs, the reality is that most of them spend the vast majority of their life on the road. While they have a lot in common, the more time spent with them, the clearer it becomes they are targeted at different buyers.į-150 Lightning Versus R1T: On the Pavement At 217.1 inches long, the R1T is close to a midsize truck and, in fact, is almost identical to the Jeep Gladiator size-wise. The Rivian is also significantly smaller. Rivian has a unified cab and bed similar to the Honda Ridgeline and the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV.

Ford opted to keep the separate cab and bed structures of the gas F-150, reusing most of the same stampings except for outer skin. (An optional smaller pack is coming soon).īut that’s where things start to diverge.

Ford f150 lightning full#

The R1T’s frame is much larger, stretching to the full width of the truck, and houses a 135-kWh pack. The F-150 has always been body-on-frame, and so is the Lightning, with its new frame now housing a 131-kWh battery pack (a 98-kWh pack is standard). While many non-truck vehicles over the last 30 years have shifted to unit-body architecture, the emergence of the electric “skateboard” platform has meant a shift to a new kind of body-on-frame. According to Ford, more than 80% of full-size trucks sold today are crews.īoth the Rivian and Ford both look like traditional pickups, but they’re not the same underneath. Single-cab bench-seaters were, over time, supplanted by extended cabs and ultimately four-door crew cabs. In 1978, trucks were still primarily for work, but in 2022, a large number also double as family vehicles. market for decades, with the Ford F-series leading the segment for 44 consecutive years. Hummer production is still ramping up, but Ford and Rivian are delivering trucks in quantity, which means it’s time to see how they stack up against each other.įull-size pickup trucks have been the top-selling vehicle type in the U.S. Now, battery-powered trucks like the GMC Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T have arrived. First, there was the rebirth of the compact pickup with the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick. All images: Sam AbuelsamidĢ022 is turning into a transformative year for the American pickup truck. But while they might seem similar on the surface, they’re not necessarily targeting the same consumers. The Rivian R1T and the Ford F-150 Lightning are the first two fully-electric pickup trucks to reach mass-market consumers.