What you get on the entry-level Ford F-150 Lightning Pro model [Update]

What most manufacturers call a ‘Pro’ variant of their device is the exact opposite in Ford-speak. While companies would label their top-spec variant a Pro, the Ford F-150 Lightning Pro is the base model. But Ford does so for a valid reason.

Target customer

The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro is targeted towards the working class or the professionals that will, in all probability, use this truck more than personal vehicle owners. This will be the cheapest of the Lightning series but will still come with several features that allow it to be higher than that of the conventional F-150 and is purpose-built for commercial customers.

Exterior

We’ll start from the outside. First off, unlike the other variants, the F-150 Lightning doesn’t get the fancy LED lighting strip at the front or the rear but a closed-off matte plastic front panel. The wheels have been designed for aerodynamics, while the tyres are designed for low rolling resistance. The Ford F-150 Lightning is also one of the first F-series trucks to get an independent rear suspension. This, along with the low centre of gravity, will greatly enhance the driving dynamics of the truck.

Mega Power Frunk

Of course, this had to make it to the Ford F-150 Lightning Pro as well. The Power Frunk is a high-tech cargo area that can load up to 400 lbs of cement bags. It comes outfitted with four 120-volt AC Pro Power Onboard electrical outlets as well as two USB ports. The frunk is watertight, and the hood that opens up from all the way down to the bumper makes it easy to load and unload gear or anything else that can fit inside.

Pro Power Onboard

As with the four AC outlets in the frunk, two more 2.4 kW outputs are located on the inside of the cabin and two more in the bed. There is also a 9.6 kW Pro Power Onboard which adds two more 120V outlets and a 240V outlet in the bed. This, when paired with the extended range battery, Ford says can rip up to 30 miles of plywood in a single charge. Additionally, the system monitors the battery level of the truck and should it reach a point where the truck cannot reach a charge location, it will shut down automatically. A pre-determined setting can also be set by the user to avoid being stranded.

Range & Specifications

The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro will be available in two versions, the standard and the extended range version. According to EPA estimates, the standard is capable of a total of 230 miles on a full charge. It powers a 426 hp motor that can produce 775 lb-ft of torque. This version also targets a 2,000 lbs maximum payload and a 5,000 lbs towing capacity.

On the other hand, the Extended range variant can cover 300 miles in total, according to EPA estimate. The truck’s motor generates 563 hp of power and 775 lb-ft of torque. Additionally, both trucks feature in-built smart scales that weigh the truck and offer up the metrics to estimate the total range better.

Charging

The standard range variant comes with a standard 32-amp Ford Mobile charger, while the Extended range gets a complementary 80-amp Ford Charge Station pro. Both trucks can also be charged using a 150 kW DC fast charger, and where the standard variant takes 44 minutes to go from 15 per cent to 80 per cent, the extended range charges the same in 41 minutes.

Interior & Features

On the inside, the Ford F-150 Lightning Pro doesn’t get the portrait style display and, instead, a more traditional horizontal 12-inch display complete with SYNC 4 as standard and a 12-inch productivity screen and easy-to-clean vinyl seats. The truck also gets the Ford Co-Pilot 360 2.0 as standard allowing for a full suite of driver-assist features.

Price

The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro starts at USD 39,974 MSRP for the standard variant and USD 49,974 MSRP for the extended range.

Ford F-150 Lightning reservations close 

With the option to reserve a Ford F-150 Lightning removed from the brand’s official website in the US, Ford has officially closed the reservations for the pickup truck in the U.S. market. Although there is an option to reserve the F-150 Lighting from Ford’s Canada website, we speculate that it will be removed soon as well, as Ford will not be able to produce enough vehicles to match the demand anytime soon. 

The reservations were closed on the 8th of December 2021. According to Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, the American brand was approaching 200,000 reservations of the F-150 Lightning as of November 18. Electrek had heard in November that the high reservation numbers did not include the Pro variant, discussed in this story, which is aimed at the fleet market. Ford said in September that it would double annual production of the electric pickup truck to 80,000 units, but this level of ramp-up is expected to take until 2024.

We have a dedicated team right now just doing one thing: finding a way to double our capacity by finding batteries, whatever it takes, to double our capacity of (F-150) Lightning.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, in an interaction with CNBC

It is also reported by InsideEVs that the customer order bank opens in January 2022 and the production of the 22MY Ford F-150 Lightning begins in Spring 2022. They have also stated that not everyone who has a reservation for the F-150 Lightning will receive an invitation to order the 2022 model year vehicle.

This said, Ford has not officially disclosed the timeline for the opening of the order banks yet.

Featured image: Ford