Ford F-150 Lightning loses a couple of quarter of its vary when carrying most payload

Vans are for carrying issues — massive issues, ideally. Ford is aware of this, which is why it put towing and hauling capabilities on the centerpiece of its pitch for the F-150 Lightning, the battery-powered model of the bestselling car within the US.

However hauling issues with an electrical truck isn’t so easy. The heavier the load, the much less vary you’re going to have the ability to squeeze out of the F-150 Lightning’s 98kWh battery (or 131kWh for the long-range model). And whereas there have been a number of exams to see how a lot vary the Lightning loses when it’s towing one thing, much less consideration has been paid to a much more widespread situation: payload.

AAA not too long ago set about testing the F-150 Lightning’s payload-to-range-loss ratio and located that the electrical loses near 1 / 4 of its vary when loaded with 1,400 kilos — which is 110 kilos shy of the truck’s gross weight ranking.

AAA not too long ago set about testing the F-150 Lightning’s payload-to-range-loss ratio and located that the electrical loses near 1 / 4 of its vary

The take a look at model of the F-150 Lightning has an EPA-rated vary of 300 miles — however that didn’t fairly measure as much as AAA testing. With no payload, AAA discovered the driving vary to be 278 miles (7.3 p.c much less). With 1,400 kilos of sandbags added, the group discovered the vary to be 210 miles, a 24.5 p.c discount in comparison with the unloaded take a look at situation and a 30.0 p.c discount in comparison with the EPA estimate.

“Our testing revealed a major vary discount, however it’s vital to notice that the Lightning was loaded to close its most capability,” mentioned Greg Brannon, director of AAA Automotive Engineering, in a press release. “Most patrons will possible use their Lightning with a lighter load, leading to a a lot smaller vary discount.”

Ford lists the F-150 Lightning’s max payload as 2,235 lbs with the usual battery and 1,952 lbs with the extended-range battery. However AAA notes that these are for the Professional trim and that payload varies based mostly on equipment and configuration.

As a substitute, AAA relied on the gross weight ranking (GVWR), which is the utmost weight of the car, together with every part hooked up. The take a look at car was the Platinum trim, which has a GVWR of 8,550 lbs. The entire weight for the loaded take a look at was 8,440 lbs — 110 lbs shy of the GVWR.