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Would You Buy A Lightning Again?

astrand1

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100% yes! Absolute best truck or vehicle I’ve ever owned. I look for excuses to go drive it!
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I’ll probably upgrade once the lightning hits 500-600 miles of range and 250+ kW charging speeds. Given the cost of these vehicles it’ll need to be a pretty healthy jump in specs. We would like to do a camper setup some day and that’s really the only area the current Lightning falls short. I’m planning to keep my current Lightning for several years since I think it’ll be a while before something like that is released.
 

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Let’s be truthful. No BS, no sugar. Would you buy another?
I ask because I still maintain my 2022 Lightning was the best Ford truck I can remember in 40 years. Solid. Yes, teething, but it was new technology. I had issues, but the biggest was range. The standard just didn’t cut it for me. I had to bail after trying to get an ER. Then the bottom fell out 2 weeks later after I got out.
Now, I’m in a position to get back into an ER Flash. Just wondering what you owners have to say.
I an upside down in my current truck, and have enough incentives, tax rebate, and a PCO to right me up. I could save an easy $5,000 plus a year driving a Lightning again. But I’d want to just run it. I’m on the fence. In 5 years, I’d have between 150-200k on it. I don’t think the batteries are an issue. The service intervals thru 200k are literally tiring. Nothing. I think a coolant change at 160k if I recall. The ER would fit my daily driving without issue. Vacations? Eh, maybe. I have concerns at 150-200k, who would want a used EV? New tech with better batteries, quicker charging, longer range would have to kill a used Lightning, right? Am I concerned about these things for nothing? I can’t imagine my 2023 STX will return $20k in five years with 150 on the clock, after its $15k depreciation in six months. So what’s the likelihood a 2024 Lightning will return $20k in five years with all the other tech advancement strikes against it? I can’t find my crystal ball. Thoughts appreciated.
All things considered if I was in the market to buy a EV truck, I would purchase the Lightning again!
First off, it is the only functional full size EV pick up!-IMHO
I have not driven any of the others but have met compared side by side and talked to people and watched videos, etc.
Cyber truck looks cool or not depending on your opinion but I don’t think it is truly as functional as the Lightning!
RT1 looks more like a pick up, but I think it’s more the size of the Ranger and not a lot of room in the backseat or Frunk.
Bowtie EV pick ups they do have more range, but that is mainly due to bigger battery and .… see RT1 comments above!

I think the main thing you have to consider is your use case. if you are driving a lot of highway miles, live in a DCFC charging desert, hauling trailers and in a hurry…. The “cost” of driving big heavy brick-shaped EV may not be worth it?

I drove an ICE F150 XLT as a loaner for two days while the Lightning was getting updated and I hated it!
 

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Without any hesitation at all...
I came from a Mach-E (actually 2) and as much as I liked that, I love my Lightning even more. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
 

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The question is highly dependent on your personal situation. My use case is impacted by a family where we take a long trip a couple times a year. Not everyone wants to add 2 hours for charging to a one-day already 10-hour trip (now making it a 12-hour day). So we take the hybrid SUV.

But I absolutely love it as my personal daily driver.
 

lightspeed

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Given when I bought it, yes I would go back in time and still buy it.

But more options are available now and Silverado/Sierra are real options depending on price and availability.

I'm definitely down for the EV trucks with gen2/gen3 batteries from whoever delivers 500 mile range at an ok price. Hopefully from Ford. Hopefully T3 kicks much butt.
 

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I would, based on trucks out right now, buy another again (I have the ER Lariat 2023). Like everyone else, I feel this is the best vehicle I have ever driven (excluding sporty fun cars anyway). All the features are amazing and I use it for daily driving and truck stuff. The fact I can tool around all summer with my golf clubs and push cart in the MPF (Mega Power Frunk!!) is just amazing. Having portable power everywhere has been super useful. I am seasoned EV owner and will never go back to a gas vehicle as a main driver. I plan to keep this for many years...until maybe the elusive T3 is released and makes me want THAT truck instead :cool:.

BUT we are talking "right now", so before making the call, I would wait until next year as I start to adventure with a travel trailer. I plan to adventure tow to a few different places that will require a few fast charging stops and see how that goes (test this year and likely 120 miles with 80% on average range towing our trailer). If we decide we want to do a lot more travel trailer towing adventures AND the short range towing is a showstopper, I would likely consider the Silverado instead...they solved the range issue by throwing a big battery at it. But even then, it would have to REALLY annoy me not having that long range for towing to consider anything but the Lightning.

@tommolog the great and wise EV guy from NJ, did a great video comparing the two. I won't spoil what his choice would be to your question and recommend watching the video.
 

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Another vote for Yes.

Our situation was limited by budget constraints: had to stay below about $55K, removing the other trucks from consideration. Another factor was the comparatively high density of chargers in California (got an XLT SR because the extra range isn't worth the extra cost for us), but if we lived where there are fewer chargers or made more road trips, SR wouldn't be such a good option.

Yet another factor was that we've been driving a Mach-E for 3 years, have climbed the learning curve, and have been pleased for the most part with the whole Ford EV experience.

Hopefully the strength of the votes on this forum can inspire some confidence, while admitting that we're a self-selecting group rather than anything like a random sample.
 

jlferg0509

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Let’s be truthful. No BS, no sugar. Would you buy another?
I ask because I still maintain my 2022 Lightning was the best Ford truck I can remember in 40 years. Solid. Yes, teething, but it was new technology. I had issues, but the biggest was range. The standard just didn’t cut it for me. I had to bail after trying to get an ER. Then the bottom fell out 2 weeks later after I got out.
Now, I’m in a position to get back into an ER Flash. Just wondering what you owners have to say.
I an upside down in my current truck, and have enough incentives, tax rebate, and a PCO to right me up. I could save an easy $5,000 plus a year driving a Lightning again. But I’d want to just run it. I’m on the fence. In 5 years, I’d have between 150-200k on it. I don’t think the batteries are an issue. The service intervals thru 200k are literally tiring. Nothing. I think a coolant change at 160k if I recall. The ER would fit my daily driving without issue. Vacations? Eh, maybe. I have concerns at 150-200k, who would want a used EV? New tech with better batteries, quicker charging, longer range would have to kill a used Lightning, right? Am I concerned about these things for nothing? I can’t imagine my 2023 STX will return $20k in five years with 150 on the clock, after its $15k depreciation in six months. So what’s the likelihood a 2024 Lightning will return $20k in five years with all the other tech advancement strikes against it? I can’t find my crystal ball. Thoughts appreciated.
Absolutely!

Reading the other comments, I have to agree that range of 500 miles and software updates would be the data points that will make my decision of changing in the next 5 years or so... My hope is that battery technology will have matured to easily provide 500 miles of range and Ford will have mastered the software update process.

Remember, this was Ford's initial move into full electric trucks. I'm sure they'll only get better...
 
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100% yes! Absolute best truck or vehicle I’ve ever owned. I look for excuses to go drive it!
We're glad to hear that! Feel free to share pics. :)
 

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Without any hesitation at all...
I came from a Mach-E (actually 2) and as much as I liked that, I love my Lightning even more. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
That's awesome! Thank you for being part of the Ford Family.
 

bellyer

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Yes, my first EV was a 2021 Mach-E First Edition and I love it (aside from the bouncy ride; see my never-ending thread in the Mach-E forum... ?), but my 2023 Lightning Lariat is the best vehicle I have ever owned and I have owned a few that I have truly loved ('98 Wrangler Sport, '07 Mustang GT are in the top 3). I don't love that I paid 20% above MSRP when I bought my Lightning, but I would absolutely do it again because I love this truck so much.
 

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Yes, my first EV was a 2021 Mach-E First Edition and I love it (aside from the bouncy ride; see my never-ending thread in the Mach-E forum... ?), but my 2023 Lightning Lariat is the best vehicle I have ever owned and I have owned a few that I have truly loved ('98 Wrangler Sport, '07 Mustang GT are in the top 3). I don't love that I paid 20% above MSRP when I bought my Lightning, but I would absolutely do it again because I love this truck so much.
That's awesome to hear! We're so glad to have you as a member of the Ford Family!
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