Ford F-150 Lightning review

Less than you think, hopefully. That low entry price is because Ford could have gone more radical with the design, but it didn’t. It kept things simple, recycled as much of the existing chassis as it could, used carry over components wherever possible. In fact, this could well scythe past you and if you didn’t spot the badges, you’d never know it was the Lightning. Giveaways? The blanked off front grille (which incidentally makes this the most aerodynamic F-150 ever, cough), the full width LED running light bar at the front, and the full width brake light bar at the back.

In terms of range, we found the predicted distance remaining to be surprisingly honest and accurate, unless you venture over 70mph, when it really starts chomping through it. That’s because it’s constantly being recalculated based on loads of different parameters: your driving style, how hilly the route is, the weather conditions and how much weight you have on board. A set of scales measures how many kilos you managed to stuff into the front and rear, and warns you how close you are to the maximum payload: 1,013kg in the Pro, XLT and Lariat, 839kg in the Platinum. Attach a trailer and it takes that into account too - hooking up a sizeable Airstream caravan cut our range in half. Not ideal, but reassuring to know the truth.

Ford also claims maintenance and servicing costs will be more than 40 per cent lower than a combustion F-150 over the course of five years or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first.