Let’s delve into the world of electric trucks, focusing on a new electrifying addition to the Canadian marketplace, the Ford F-150 Lightning. Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s get…

The Ford F-150 Lightning: Redefining Power and Practicality in the Canadian Automotive Landscape

Let’s delve into the world of electric trucks, focusing on a new electrifying addition to the Canadian marketplace, the Ford F-150 Lightning. Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s get a sense of the pricing:

XLT 4WD SuperCrew 5.5′ Box:

$79,000

LARIAT 4WD SuperCrew 5.5′ Box: $90,000

Platinum 4WD SuperCrew 5.5′ Box: $121,000

Remember, you can also uncover the Invoice Price for free, giving you even more control over your purchasing decision. Now, onto the good stuff!

The Electric Revolution: F-150 Lightning:

With the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), Ford has stepped up with the F-150 Lightning, bringing together the ruggedness and reliability of the classic F-150 with the eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness of electric power. The Lightning defies typical F-150 expectations. Floor the accelerator and you’ll encounter an instantaneous, forceful torque that pulls you back into your seat as if you’ve been rear-ended by a Peterbilt truck.

Power and Performance Under the Hood:

Underneath its familiar exterior, the Lightning is an all-wheel-drive powerhouse with an Extended-Range battery that supports up to 580 horsepower. At the test track, this super truck went from 0-60 mph in a lightning-fast 4.0 seconds. EPA estimates suggest a driving range between 370 Km with the standard battery and up to 514 Km with the larger one.

Economic and Environmental Impact of EVs:

Now here at the Car Magazine we have crunched the numbers on the cost of travelling 100 Km in Canada in 2023 with an average gas price of 1.60$ a Liter. Currently a normal 2023 Ford F-150 will cost roughly 16$ in gas for 100 Km whereas the lightning cost only 2.37$ per 100 Km, over a couple of years those are some huge savings!

The Pros and Cons of an EV:

One cannot ignore the holistic benefits of an electric vehicle (EV) like the Ford F-150 Lightning when considering its impact on both your wallet and the environment. Operating an EV typically leads to lower costs over time, thanks to cheaper maintenance, no oil changes, and reduced fuel costs. In fact, the cost of ‘refueling’ an EV can be significantly less than filling a gas-powered vehicle. Moreover, EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions, contributing to cleaner air and a healthier environment. However, it’s important to also consider a potential downside. While the F-150 Lightning boasts impressive ranges under normal driving conditions, it’s worth noting that towing heavy loads over long distances can significantly decrease the battery range. This could result in more frequent stops to recharge during lengthy trips, which could potentially extend your travel time. That said, as charging infrastructure continues to improve across Canada, the inconvenience of finding a charging station is becoming less of a concern.

Value and Practicality in Design:

The Lightning is not all about raw power. Ford has crafted this vehicle with practicality in mind. Even with the steep price increase over last year’s model, the XLT trim provides substantial value. The Extended-Range battery pack adds $10,000 to the total, but it’s a worthy investment for long-distance journeys or regular towing. The XLT model, coupled with the 312A High package, boasts a variety of desirable features, including adaptive cruise control, the Pro Power Onboard generator, heated front seats and steering wheel, a power-operated tailgate, in-dash navigation, and much more.

Storage Solutions in the Lightning:

And let’s not forget storage. The Lightning pairs its practical cabin with an innovative frunk storage area and continues the F-150 legacy with a 66-inch cargo bed.

Maintaining the Classic F-150 Look:

On the outside, the Lightning retains the signature F-150 look, offering familiarity amidst change. It’s the perfect truck for Canadians keen to join the EV trend without losing the classic design they’ve come to love.

Concluding Thoughts

So, from an auto enthusiast’s perspective, the Ford F-150 Lightning offers an appealing blend of power, practicality, and environmental consideration to the Canadian market. It’s a vehicle worth considering if you’re passionate about trucks and open to the undeniable benefits of electric power. A spin in the Lightning feels like a leap into the future of the automotive industry – and it promises to be a thrilling journey.

Discover the Lightning MSRP & Invoice Price right here

Delve into Factory Incentives, Lease Rates, and Finance Rates right here

Searching for comprehensive details on Vehicle Specifications? Uncover them here

Unearth all the latest features right here

Just as the glitter and confetti from all our New Year celebrations is being swept up, Ford and Hyundai have been sweeping up 2021’s North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards.…

Hyundai and Ford clean up at 2021 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards

2021 Hyundai Elantra Car of the Year
Hyundai’s 2021 Elantra (also shown above) just won the North American Car of the Year.

Just as the glitter and confetti from all our New Year celebrations is being swept up, Ford and Hyundai have been sweeping up 2021’s North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards.

Yes, it appears as if 2021 is the blue-oval brand’s year to shine as two of its vehicles drove away with class wins, the always best-selling F-150 earning 2021 Truck of the Year honours, and the controversially named Mustang Mach-E silently accepting 2021’s Utility of the Year.

Car of the Year went to Hyundai with its new 2021 Elantra, the reality of which might cause some in Dearborn to wonder what might have happened if the much-lauded (in Europe and other markets) new Focus had been made available in our market.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E
Ford’s 2021 Mustang Mach-E took top honours as this year’s North American Utility of the Year.

Runner up in the Car sector is Genesis’ redesigned G80 mid-size luxury sedan (FYI: Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury division), while Nissan’s revised Sentra took a respectable third place in the annual awards program. Of note, the Chevrolet Corvette won the Car of the Year Class in 2020, but no GM products earned awards this year.

Just behind the Mustang Mach-E crossover EV, Genesis once again placed well in the Utility of the Year category with its new GV80 mid-size luxury crossover SUV, while Land Rover’s rugged new Defender 4×4 earned third. Last year it was Kia’s turn to impress, incidentally, with its stellar Telluride three-row, mid-size crossover SUV.

2021 Ford F-150
Ford’s 2021 F-150, the only fully redesigned model entered in the North American Truck of the Year contest, earned top spot.

Lastly, but hardly least when it comes to sales, NACTOY judges chose the “Desert Rated” Jeep Gladiator Mojave for second place in the Truck of the Year category (the entire Gladiator line won this class last year), while the off-road “race replica” Ram 1500 TRX showed up in third.

Notably, the just-noted Truck of the Year finalists are merely significantly upgraded trims of models already available in 2020, leaving the winning F-150 as the only entirely redesigned model entered into this year’s North American Truck of the Year class. How this may have impacted the Truck of the Year results is not known.

If you’re interested in purchasing one of the above-mentioned vehicles, make sure to click on the associated link to find out about available manufacturer leasing and financing rates, possible manufacturer rebates, and best of all, dealer invoice pricing that could save you thousands. CarCostCanada is our nation’s top source for money-saving automotive info, so be sure to download their free app on the Apple Store or Google Play Store and save money now.

Story credits: Trevor Hofmann

Photo credits: Ford, Hyundai

Ford F-150 buyers love their special editions, and I must admit the new 2017 Lariat Special Edition added to my SuperCrew 3.5 Ecoboost 4×4 tester is one I could definitely fall for as well. This…

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition
This is one damn hot looking pickup truck. Notice those red lines between the grey grille strakes? (Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press)

Ford F-150 buyers love their special editions, and I must admit the new 2017 Lariat Special Edition added to my SuperCrew 3.5 Ecoboost 4×4 tester is one I could definitely fall for as well.

This thing looks fabulous! I can’t tell you how many rubbernecking stares I got while driving around town, and my neighbourhood is one of the rarer places to find pickup trucks, at least when it comes to those that live here. There are plenty of plain white work trucks with side signage scattered across the myriad building sites throughout my ever-burgeoning inner-city-like suburb, while the streets are literally littered with the bourgeois supercars of the nouveau super riche, from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren, and the like. Cars like that are commonplace, but a truck like this totally stands out.

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition
The painted bumpers and lack of chrome make this Lariat Special Edition look sporty from all angles. (Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press)

Lariat sits third amongst seven trims, the others being XL, XLT, King Ranch, Platinum, Raptor, and Limited. We really should consider the Raptor a completely unique model due to exclusive body panels and an extreme off-road specific driveline, but for the time being we’ll just leave it alone, being that Ford has promised a full week’s test with one in the near future.

Back to the Lariat, while third-rung up the F-150 ladder, its $46,149 price tag is somewhat higher than the XL’s $28,249 starting point, or the XLT’s $30,549 base window sticker. Then again the King Ranch starts at $63,349, which is well into premium-branded luxury mid-size SUV territory, and the Platinum delves even deeper into the luxe class with a sticker of $65,549. The Raptor, incidentally starts at $68,399, while the end-all-to-be-all luxury trucks (or at least Ford would like to have us think of its F-150 Limited this way) is a highfalutin $73,149: ranch owners and contractor/developers only need apply.

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition
Lots of red highlights in the cabin set the Lariat Special Edition apart. (Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press)

All of a sudden this Lariat is looking pretty approachable, even with its fancy additions. Upgrading to the four-door SuperCrew cab with the five-and-a-half-foot short box, the 3.5-litre Ecoboost V6, new 10-speed automatic (yes, a 10-speed, just like the bike my big brother got when I was relegated to a 5-speed) with auto start/stop, and four-wheel drive elevated that Lariat price to $58,249 (back up to mid-size luxury SUV territory again), while its Ruby Red paint adds another $450.

That black stripe down the side and its black hood decal are part of the Special Edition package mentioned a moment ago, as are the strips of red running across the otherwise grey-tone grille. There’s much more to this $2,400 package than that, mind you, such as LED headlamps with dark housings (my tester also had the Luxury package, so expect halogens in lesser equipped models), body-colour front and rear bumpers, unique 20-inch alloys on 275/55 all-terrain tires and a set of black running boards between them, unique red and black fender and tailgate “F-150” badges, and finally a unique squared off chrome tailpipe finisher on the outside.

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition
There’s a lot of tech in the new F-150, and plenty of luxury features. (Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press)

Inside, the F-150 Lariat Special Edition gets an exclusive red-stitched leather-wrapped steering wheel, red-stitched detailing on the unique instrument panel and doors, a red-stitched console top, and a very fine looking set of red-accented, leather and psuede-trimmed Special Edition seats, plus all of the features that come with the Lariat and the Luxury package noted a moment ago.

The latter is a $4,900 package that adds whollops of high-end features like those LED headlights that are actually comprised of very cool looking dual-stacking beams and infused with auto high beam technology, while the taillights are upgraded to LEDs as well. The package normally comes with 18-inch chromed wheels and a whole host of chromed exterior trim, all of which gets nixed for the Special Edition package above, but the normally chrome-capped side mirrors (black as-tested) benefit from power-folding capability, auto-dimming, LED side-mirror security approach lights, blindspot monitoring warning lights, and more, while rear cross-traffic alert is also part of the 502A Luxury upgrade.

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition
Love those seats, and enamoured with that fabulous panoramic sunroof. (Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press)

Additional kit from this package includes rain-sensing wipers, a universal garage door opener, a heatable steering wheel rim, a powered tilt and telescoping steering column with memory, 700-watt 10-speaker Sony audio (with a sub), satellite radio, voice-activated navigation, Sync Connect services, and heatable rear seats.

We could leave it there, but you might notice the addition of the $1,250 Technology package in the photos, which ups the ante with a 360-degree parking monitor with a split-screen display and Dynamic Hitch Assist, plus lane keeping assist.

A $550 spray-in bedliner made the box much more serviceable, while Ford’s exclusive (and still brilliant) $400 Tailgate Step made getting in and out much easier (money well spent for the 50-plus crowd). Likewise for the $300 retractable Box Side Steps, and there were more extras added on, but I will leave it there as this is supposed to be a “Garage” piece, not a complete review.

2017 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost Special Edition
Old man steps… a must-have for my aching back and limber-less limbs. (Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press)

That means I’ll be back soon with that full road test review where I’ll talk about how the modern-day legend 3.5 Ecoboost mates up to its new 10-speed partner, and how intrusive (or not) the auto start/stop system is. Fuel economy matters a lot in this class and was one of the key reasons Ford spent all the crazy money needed for this truck’s fully aluminum body shell, so will go over in detail, plus hauling specs, and of course the experiential stuff, how it drives in town, rides overall, pulls away from a stoplight, manages highway speeds, handles, coddles, comforts, etcetera.

Come back soon for a full report…