[Kawartha Lightning]

Noticing a trend with people who are selling their lightnings already (which I also considered given the cold weather performance) -- seems to be the case that they often have the SR battery

Should Ford even be marketing this vehicle with the SR, particularly in cold weather environments?

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

I can't relate to the 'really cold' environments, but after 8,000 miles and many, many trips of 800 miles or more, and many trips pulling our camper, to the beach, to the mountains... I have no issues 'understanding' the abilities and the consequences of how the 'EV' part of this scenario works. It's different. You have to 'plan'. You can't, no, do 'everything' you used to do. You have to take on a different mindset when it comes to EVs, ANY evs.

 

[laselvasurf]

Yes they should. I had a BMW i3 for almost 3 years on a lease, it got far less range than a lightning with the SR battery and was an extremely useful vehicle. Even with the ER battery, the Lightning does not replace my need for a long range/tow capable truck, so I'm keeping my raptor for that and will be using the lightning as a daily driver. The cost savings on the SR battery made the truck a viable and financially logical purchase. An ER version of the truck would be too expensive and I would never touch the extra 80 miles or so because any longer trips I'll be taking my raptor as it's just more convenient. When range gets closer to 500 miles @ 75MPH and you can charge from 15% to 100% in less than 30 minutes, then I'll consider switching over to electric fully, but until then having a relatively inexpensive daily driver that's free to operate(I have solar) and using my ice vehicle for any longer trips is the best option.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Yes. There’s a good market for the SR.

Most farm trucks rarely leave their county. The same can be said for most landscaping crews and many other work trucks. Ford surveyed their customers and found work trucks average 62 miles per day of driving. Why pay extra for mileage you don’t need.

 

[Art p]

I use my SR mostly fir driving locally and within NJ. The SR works fine for me for that. I didn’t need to spend an addutional 10k for the extended range. We have a second home in the mountains about 200 miles from home so I can make one stop to charge when I take it.

 

[grumpy]

Ford expected to sell in 2022 to the public 70% of the Lightnings with ER batteries. Not surprising most of the used units have ER, especially when they can be sold for a good profit.

 

[RST]

Yes they should. There are many of us that don't do cross country trips, or drive 80 mph in a pickup truck. I fully expect my Pro (when it arrives) to easily make the published range figure...(during the summer months). Winter is a different story, and to be expected. The wife's ID.4 has never been charged to more than 80%, and in the summer months shows a range of 250 miles at that state of charge. During winter months range at 80% runs from 195 to 220 miles. 250 miles is the advertised range for this model with full battery. For reference, I am in the Buffalo, Rochester area of NY.
So, a pickup with 10 or 20 miles less range than the VW, will suit me just fine.

 

[Leaf-clarity]

I went with SR. Can’t justify spending 20k ish more for 30% more battery that I would need to use 1% of the time. For daily commutes 200 miles is plenty, even in real situations when range drops to 150 miles it is still more than I need.

Coming from multiple BEVs, they are really designed for daily commutes. They are still not convenient for long travels, especially in extreme weather (hot or cold). EVs also go crazy trying to cool itself in 110 degree heat.

Until the charging structure improves, an ICE or hybrid is the smart vehicle to use when traveling over 300 miles. With 20k in my pocket I can rent a car for that 1% of the time or just keep the trade in ICE vehicle on the side.

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

right, as we might as well say 'Ford should only provide a truck that can go from coast to coast without having to Stop!'.... but, that's also not realistic.

 

[Spiffster]

220 miles is way more than I need. I move a lot of computer equipment around town but thats like maybe 50-75 miles in a day. Only things I will be towing are jet skis to the local reservoir, and camping sites I like are 50 miles away. 120 mile range would have been good enough for me. My wife had a 2012 RAV4 EV before we got the e-tron (~220 also) for a while and it had 100-120 mile range and we took it everywhere. We also have a Fusion Energi to use if we ever need to drive that far but there has never been a situation where we had to use that car because of inadequate range.

 

[eman5oh]

I’ve had my XLT SR since July I have taken 1 road trip that required charging away from home. I planned my trip with conservative charging stops planed around lunch time and booked a hotel that had charging available, sure that takes bit of planning but the other 99% of the driving has been done with just home charging and that has been a great time saver. I live in a cold climate and yes the truck does not go as far, but it still goes farther than I need it to in my daily use. One has analyze their use and see what will work for them. For me the SR fits the bill so I did not opt for extended range and saved around 20K. For 20K I can buy a gas vehicle and not worry about range on trips, although I have not felt the need.

 

[RX8]

I think too many people believe that EV’s will be a plug and play for their gas vehicle. We aren’t there yet. Until rapid chargers are everywhere, EV’s are perfect for one thing at this time - using it as an around town vehicle.

I’ve got an older Kia Soul EV that has a range of about 100 miles. We drive that car every day around town. I’ve put on well over 15K miles in about 21 months, all with a max range of 100 or less every day. I don’t even charge every day. When I do charge, I do it off peak at night. There has never been a day when I had to say “can’t take the Kia as I don’t have enough range today”. You would be surprised at how many miles you do just for shopping/work/kid’s sports games. The longest trip I did was 35 miles each way, made it home with plenty to spare.

I’ve got a Lariat SR on order. I am not going to tow or take massive road trips, I’ve got a gas vehicle for that, but I will use the hell out of it around town and will put on lots of miles doing it. I will maximize my range with the city driving and smile as I pass gas stations. I’ll take the kids to school and then all around town to their soccer games. If I need to, I’ll load stuff up in the bed of the truck that can’t fit in the Kia. If if can do that now at 100 miles I will have no problems with a max range of 240.

If anyone has a life like this, an EV is perfect for you.

 

[cjb]

Even with the cold weather hit to range, I only use more than 20% of my SR battery during the work week. I don't think I've dropped below 50% running about on weekends. Unless the ER battery were decoupled from expensive trim lines and $10k option packages, Ford is totally justified in having a low cost of entry EV truck for those of us who plan to use it around home base. Just look at how much more demand there was for the Pro model than there was supply.

 

[Kawartha Lightning]

All good points - I was hoping to use mine as more than just a puddle-jumper but lesson learned! Won't be going too far afield for the winter.