By Edward A. Sanchez – May 26, 2021

Last week, Ford unveiled its highly anticipated EV variant of its perennially popular F-150 pickup, the Lightning – to much fanfare. Undoubtedly, the Lightning packs a lot of innovative features and technology into a compelling package. For many potential buyers, it will meet their needs perfectly. However, despite Ford’s commendable efforts to give the Lightning similar levels of capability to conventional internal-combustion pickups, there are certain limitations inherent in battery electric vehicles that are exacerbated by some of the edge use cases of trucks, most notably towing.

Towing with an EV will change with time. As battery technology improves and the concept of powered trailers go from the fringe to the mainstream, as well as the national charging infrastructure building out to accommodate higher charge rates and pull-through charging stalls becoming commonplace along freeways, I have no doubt that the EV towing experience will mature with time.

But at this particular point in time, I do believe the more practical choice for an efficiency-oriented truck is the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid. Let’s compare some of the key attributes and see how the two trucks stack up.

The new Ford F-150 Lightning EV lineup includes three distinct trim levels and a plethora of potent features. But can they compete against Ford’s PowerBoost Hybrid?

Powertrain Output: Advantage – Lightning
There’s no doubt, in terms of sheer output, the Lightning trounces its ICE and hybrid counterparts. The long-range Lightning is rated at 563 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque. The shorter-range Lightning’s peak power is slightly more modest at 426 hp, but the same peak torque. The PowerBoost, meanwhile, is the most powerful non-EV F-150 at 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque. The outgoing Raptor was rated at 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque. The “regular” 3.5L EcoBoost is rated at 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. None of these engines are “gutless” by any means, but the Lightning is the undisputed winner in this category.

Range: Advantage – PowerBoost
This may seem like a “duh” category, but when you’re talking about refueling on the road, it’s a big one. The 4x4 F-150 PowerBoost is rated at 24 mpg in city, highway and combined. Since all Lightning models are all-wheel drive, it seemed to be the most reasonable apples-to-apples comparison.

The PowerBoost has a 30-gallon fuel tank. Assuming it meets its EPA ratings, that would give the PowerBoost a 720-mile range. Let’s also assume fuel economy is cut roughly in half towing. I know that’s painting with a broom, but let’s go with it for sake of argument. That would give the PowerBoost a fuel consumption figure of 12 mpg, and a range of 360 miles.

The Lightning has an estimated full-charge range of 300 miles unloaded. Assuming a 50% range cut while towing, that gives it a towing range of 150 miles. While that’s still a reasonable range to get “out-of-town” and assuming you can find a pull-through DC fast charger, you could still go on a road trip with your travel trailer. But a lot more advanced planning is needed, as well as more downtime for refueling. Certainly not impossible, but far from ideal when you’re trying to get away for the weekend.

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Towing Capacity: Advantage – PowerBoost
This one is fairly cut-and-dry. The PowerBoost 4x4 has a maximum towing capacity of 12,400 pounds. While final ratings are not yet available for the Lightning, Ford is “targeting” 10,000 pounds. Considering its short range to begin with, and the considerable increase in power consumption while towing, it’s probably wise to lower the bar for towing slightly with the Lightning.

With a 4x4 tow capacity of 12,400 lbs, Ford’s F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid is a half-ton powerhouse.

Power Versatility: Advantage – Tie
I can already hear the EV fanboys throwing a flag on the play for this one, but hear me out. Yes, the long-range Lightning has a maximum electrical output of 9.6 kW, while the max output of the PowerBoost is 7.2 kW. The Lightning also has the advantage of having the “Mega Power Frunk” with its additional outlets. The Lightning also has the advantage of the available 80-amp Charge Station Pro of providing hassle-free household backup power during a blackout if it’s plugged in. It can also provide that power from within an enclosed garage, something that would definitely not be a recommended practice with the PowerBoost.

However, if your home’s electrical system is already provisioned for a 30A generator input, it only takes an extension cord from your truck in the driveway to your input to be able to power at least a few key critical appliances (refrigerator, microwave, some lights and outlets) from the PowerBoost. Although not a perfect analog, TFL Truck charged a BMW i3 with an F-150 PowerBoost, and added 18 kWh of power, and burned just under three gallons of gas. Ford claims the PowerBoost can run at full (power) draw of 7.2 kW continuously on a full tank of fuel for 32 consecutive hours. If you’re frugal with your power use during a blackout, and limit your use of lights, TV watching, etc., it will probably last a lot longer than that. If you were fortunate enough to have some full gas cans before the blackout, you could still top off the tank to drive it wherever you needed to go. Granted, it requires some specialized hardware and circuitry to do it, but the PowerBoost can do what the Lightning can do, but in a slightly different way.

The ability to power tools from bed-mounted outlets is not exclusive to the Lightning. In fact, it the PowerBoost Hybrid keeps pace very well.

Purchase Price: Advantage – PowerBoost
Although prices have only been officially announced for some trims of the Lightning, assuming the $10,000 price premium between the standard and long-range battery configurations of the commercial and fleet-oriented Lightning “Pro” stand, the long-range XLT will be around $62,974.

Pricing out a PowerBoost F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew, comparably equipped, came to $51,285. Granted, for the time being, the Lightning will still be able to qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which brings the net price down to $55,474. However, that credit won’t be around forever – and not everybody fully benefits from tax credits. But even with the credit, the PowerBoost is cheaper.

Final Score: Lightning: 1; PowerBoost: 3; Tie: 1
Even if we were to give the “Power Versatility” win to the Lightning, it’s still a victory for the PowerBoost.

Let me be clear, I’m as excited as anyone about the Lightning and what it represents for the full-size truck market and EVs in general. But in terms of overall versatility and practicality in today’s environment, with today’s technology and charging/fueling infrastructure, the PowerBoost hybrid makes a slightly more compelling case for itself in terms of overall versatility and usefulness in edge cases.

(Images courtesy Ford)

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