Aaron Brzozowski 
By any reasonable measure, the new pure-electric Ford F-150 Lightning is a slam dunk. With a base MSRP just under $40k, it’s affordable for an EV, and a duo of battery options promise to deliver from 230 to around 300 miles of range on a full charge.
And here’s something else we’ve just learned: the Ford F-150 Lightning with the larger 131-kWh battery pack weighs less than one of its biggest rivals, the Rivian R1T, when equipped with its highest-capacity battery pack. The total curb weight of the F-150 Lightning is a not-unreasonable 6,590 pounds, making it an absolute featherweight next to the 9,046-pound GMC Hummer EV, although it’s a full 950 pounds heavier than the F-150 Hybrid. With the smaller 98-kWh battery pack, the Ford F-150 Lightning weighs 6,171 pounds – a little more than 500 pounds more than the F-150 Hybrid.
That’s according to Ford’s eSourceBook for the F-150 Lightning, which was posted by the folks at the F150gen14 forum.
Granted, the Ford-v-Rivian comparison isn’t a totally fair one; the Rivian R1T’s biggest battery pack is 180 kWh to the Lightning’s 131 kWh. Still, the Ford F-150 Lightning’s relatively low curb weight (for a battery-electric pickup) should have a positive impact in a number of areas, like its acceleration, braking, and handling.
And then there’s the payload rating: the Ford F-150 Lightning is rated to haul up to 700 pounds more than the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST.
2,000 Pounds Of Payload
The base F-150 Lightning’s 2,000-pound payload rating is nothing to sneeze at, and it’s nearly 54 percent more than the Silverado EV RST – almost 67 percent more than the Silverado EV WT. It’s also more than the internal combustion F-150 with either the 3.3L V6 or 3.0L Power Stroke turbo-diesel, and just 120 pounds less than the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid. That’s impressive given that it’s carrying around thousands of pounds of batteries. Step up to the extended-range 131-kWh battery and you only lose 200 pounds of payload capacity.
Of course, we wish that Ford had a larger-capacity battery pack on offer for the Ford F-150 Lightning; when it comes to EVs, range is everything. But for now, 300 miles of range will have to do.
