MKBHD Says The F-150 Lightning Is Much Better Than He Expected

Famed tech reviewer Marques Brownlee gets an exclusive hands-on with the F-150 Lightning, and its range seems impressive.

May 28, 2021 at 10:02am ET

Well-known tech reviewer, long-time Tesla owner, and winner of Project Loveday Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD) was able to get an exclusive hands-on experience with the upcoming, all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning.

Brownlee asks, Lightning or Cybertruck? That seems to be the question from a lot of EV fans since Ford unveiled the Lightning. However, we think the upcoming electric pickup trucks from Tesla and Ford will appeal to completely different audiences, at least in many cases.

That said, Brownlee admits that the F-150 Lightning is better than he expected. As with most of MKBHD's videos, there's a lot to take in here, despite the fact that the video is only 13 minutes long. We suggest you watch the whole thing for all the details, but we're just going to focus on one topic: Range.

No matter the specs and features of any new EV, the range seems to remain the most important topic. This is because as legacy OEMs bring electric vehicles to market, they rarely, if ever, match Tesla on range, at least according to the EPA. The F-150 Lightning is arguably pretty incredible in many ways, but its advertised range came as a disappointment to many people. The base model is expected to get just 230 miles, though a version with 300 miles of range will be available.

For comparison, Tesla says its Cybertruck will have a minimum of 250+ miles of range, with over 500 miles available in the top-of-the-line tri-motor all-wheel-drive configuration.

Brownlee notes that the F-150 Lightning was quoting him an impressive 367 miles of range, and it only had an 80 percent charge. Based on his math, with a full 100-percent charge, this electric truck with an empty bed should be able to travel some 459 miles.