Ford Just Killed the All-Electric F-150 Lightning. Here’s What the Next One Needs to Do Better

For how much we liked its powertrain, the Lightning’s ride quality left a lot to be desired, especially on the highway. It was more punishing than it ever should have been, unable to keep its massive curb weight at bay while on the move. Our truck also had an early version of Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving. It was sketchy at times to say the least. We’ve driven newer cars with many iterations of the system, and they performed much better than the BlueCruise in our Lightning.

But our biggest issue with the Lighting was more existential than anything else. We simply didn’t like it as much as the gas-powered F-150 hybrid. That truck cost less to purchase, was easier to refuel and live with, and took on every challenge we could throw at it. The F-150 hybrid is a reminder that this company has built excellent gasoline trucks for a long time and knows what it’s doing. 

So that’s what will be on our minds going into the reveal of the next F-150 Lightning: Will a complicated engine and battery solution make the truck any better? On the surface, it’s all very interesting, but we’ve yet to see a manufacturer pull off an EREV with any sort of success — at least, not in the American market. We’ll all find out if they pulled it off when we see the next Lightning, likely in the next two years. 

Until then, farewell to the all-electric Lighting — it was (mostly) nice getting to know it.