Is The Ford F-150 Lightning The Cheapest Truck To Drive Today?

Can you save money on total ownership costs by choosing the all-new Ford F-150 Lightning over a comparable pickup truck that’s powered by gasoline or diesel? How do a hybrid pickup truck’s fuel costs compare?

At this point, there’s almost no getting around the fact that vehicles with electric powertrains are cheaper to “fuel” than vehicles that run on gas, and the savings are the most obvious when you charge at home. This is due in part to gas prices at record highs, but it was already the case when gas prices were in a more “normal” state. That said, EVs are more expensive than gas-powered vehicles, including diesels and hybrids. 

The Ford F-150 Lightning starts at around $40,000, which is impressive. However, to get the lowest trim level that’s designed for typical consumers, you’re looking at a minimum of about $53,000. Opt for the Extended Range Battery – which not only adds plenty of range, but also improves horsepower – and the price climbs to over $72,000.

For comparison, the gas-powered F-150 base model starts at ~$31,000. The hybrid version of the F-150 has an MSRP of around $42,000, though when you try to configure the hybrid on Ford’s website, it’s only available in an upper trim, which pushes the price up to well over $60,000. Ford doesn’t offer a diesel powertrain for the 2022 model.

The Fast Lane Truck took a bit of a different approach here, likely based on which specific models it could get its hands on. Rather than comparing the F-150 Lightning to various gas-powered F-150s, it compared a number of trucks with different powertrains, though they’re all produced by different automakers.

The trucks featured in the video include the new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with a turbodiesel engine, the GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X with a 6.2-liter V8 engine, the redesigned Toyota Tundra Pro with a hybrid powertrain, and, of course, the F-150 Lightning electric truck.

The crew at TFL drove all of these pickup trucks for 160 miles to figure out which is the cheapest to “fuel.” We probably don’t have to tell you that the Lightning was the cheapest to fuel, even though public fast-charging is typically much more expensive than charging at home. However, there were certainly charging concerns along the way, and Tommy was left behind in the Lightning as the gas trucks were able to fill up in a jiffy.

The video is packed with many more details that should prove very helpful if you’re currently in the market for a new pickup truck. However, the most important part here is to look very closely at each truck you’re considering. Before you come to a final decision, be sure to analyze not only its out-the-door price, but also its annual fuel costs.