Ford F-150 Lightning Unanimous 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year
Photo: Ford
The Ford F-150 Lightning has made a bit more history this month, earning the 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year award in a unanimous vote. This marks just the second time in MT award history that an electric vehicle won its category by securing every first-place vote, and it’s the first time an electric truck has ever done so.
Ford’s Other Award-Winning EV: 2023 Mustang Mach-E keeps bringing the heat
MT: F-150 Lightning ‘leads a new breed’
Despite the Rivian R1T winning the 2022 Truck of the Year title, MotorTrend calls the F-150 Lightning “the first EV pickup to appeal directly to the existing truck market.” MotorTrend’s Scott Evans adds that where the R1T and options like the GMC Hummer EV feel like reimaginations, the F-150 Lightning better finds that sweet spot between what truck customers have always wanted and will want in the future.
A not insignificant element of that is the way it looks. While the Rivian and GMC trucks stand out a bit more with flashy exteriors, Evans notes that blending in is very much the point Ford is going for.
“The F-150 Lightning leads a new breed of electric vehicles specifically designed not to scream, ‘I’m green,’ as they roll silently down the road,” Evans writes. He adds that the F-150 Lightning “looks mostly like the traditional new F-150s on the road, job site, or trail,” distinguished only from its ICE-powered siblings.
Of course, it ain’t just about looks when it comes to a Ford F-150. MotorTrend unanimously decided upon the F-150 Lightning as its choice for 2023 Truck of the Year due to the familiar combination of horsepower and torque, towing and hauling, durability, and innovation. It also earns high marks for electric truck must-haves like range and charging speed as well as high-tech offerings like Intelligent Backup Power and BlueCruise hands-free.
F-150 Lighting scores value points despite price hikes
MotorTrend also hails the Ford F-150 Lightning for its value proposition, noting that it’s a favorable choice to other trucks despite a recent price hike. While it was revealed days after the announcement that Ford again hiked the price of the F-150 Lightning, the uptick in cost likely isn’t enough to have cost the truck even a single vote.
And by securing all votes for the title of 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year, the Ford F-150 Lightning again cements itself as the leading choice in the rapidly growing electric pickup segment. Between its launch in May and November, Ford has sold 13,258 F-150 Lightning trucks. That, plus the success of the Mustang Mach-E, has the Blue Oval positioned as the No. 2 EV brand in the United States in 2022.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.