Would you buy the Lightning because of the great MME experience.

[RickMachE]

I've owned my 2022 MME for 4 months and nothing but the best of times.

I have a 2023 Lightning in "build" status. However, the Lightning forum is not showing the same happiness the MME forum (here) is.

I'm 50-50 on buying the Lightning based on Lightning forum (here) reviews (- 50) vs my MME experience (+50).

I am open to thoughts to help me out.

My wife is the real pickup driver and I'm more of the MME driver. May seem weird. but she does the plant and furniture hauling (I only do the load/unload stuff). I just drive and have fun. However, she loves the MME so much she won't listen to the Lightning issues.

That is what I was thinking. I have a RAM 1500 Laramie and it is a very good (even great) pickup. I think I should wait for the bugs to be fixed in the LIghtning. Sad that the MME is frig'n awesome but the Lightning is less than awesome it seems.

This ^^^

I own both. My primary use case for a truck is back and forth to my farm, about 65 miles. Some pretty heavy towing at times. This means that the charging limitations imposed by 400V architecture isn’t an issue for me. I love the truck!

Bottom line is that it depends on your use case.

I think the state of affairs on the Lightning forum is pretty comparable to what it was here 2 years ago. Other than the extra issues over there involving 1)SunRun & the FCSP; and 2) The big production halt due to the truck that caught fire.

This ^^^

What "great Mach-E experience"? Yes, nice car. But issues that Ford should be over by now, 2 years in, they're not. Dealerships without enough techs. Problems for some on HVBJB replacements. Not replacing the rest of the HVBJB anytime soon. Flaky app. I expected the updates issues to be gone by now, but they're not. Multiple issues with the Lightning that I figured they wouldn't have given the Mach-E learning.

I had a Lighting reservation in at 11 hours in, and that gave me a November ordering opportunity - because of ZEV states and allocations. I chose not to order, still have my reservation slot to see what Ford does this summer.

We have a 2013 F-150, so we don't "need" a truck. I wanted it. But the biggest argument against it is the roughly 40% more energy required to go a mile vs. the Mach-E. That's pretty big. I get 2.9 to 3.0 on the highway in the summer, and 2.3 - 2.5 in the winter. So that becomes 2.0 - 2.1 if I'm lucky in the summer, and more time to fuel, although the truck has a better charging curve.

I pushed a bit to get it, my wife gave all the sound arguments against, including not wanting 3 vehicles (all EV isn't an option if you want to drive to places with poor infrastructure). I would have bought a 2022 demo with little to no mileage, that's ~$85k with tax, less $7,500 tax credit = $77,500. To buy a 2023, without tax credit (Lariat ER) would be about $13,000 more. I'm not spending $90k on a truck.

If you take trips (as we do), the charging infrastructure is concerning. In 2021 we were the lone chargers almost all the time. In 2022 one or two others. In 2023 we've have lines twice, and more broken chargers (2021 was so-so, 2022 saw repairs, 2023 is much worse). As car makers provide years of free charging and sell more, it's going to get worse, not better.

So we'll wait to see the 2025 Explorer EV or the T3 truck, and see how Ford figures out better reliability for updates and recalls, as well as the charging infrastructure.

If did find a handful of 2022 Lariat ERs with very low mileage (new, tax credit) if you want to get one, DM me.

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[TGIF]

I have an MME. DH has/needs a truck for work, but no towing. It needs replacing. He’s seriously considering a Lightening. Biggest issue is he doesn’t need bells and whistles but does want extended range as he has serious range anxiety and no patience for public charging. I’m sure the Lightening will work for him. Being a Ford truck person the only choice is between a cheaper ICE F150 and a Lightening.

 

[mccdeuce]

I have never owned new cars until 2021. March 2021 I bought a new VW Tiguan. Had issues. I had issues with roadside. I had issues with dealers. Came close to Lemon law. In the end we got it working. I drove it as my daily driver until I got the MME.

My MME is my daily driver where I commute 35miles each way. The buying process was not fun. Was it Ford? Meh. It was the local dealer. I have 18,000 miles on the MME with really no issues. I love driving it, there are some qwerks and the occasional reboot of synch needed, but I do not know many computers that don't need that every once in a while.

I find the black and white nature of some peoples experiences off putting. Whether its statements of I will never buy a Ford again because I had this one experience or 400V vs 800V or something else. Almost all manufactures have some sort of issue or specific design. Tesla/Ford/VW - at the end they are trying to make money and shareholders are the most important.

So to buy the lighting or not? Does it meet your mission? Can you afford to spend the extra money on still non-proven tech? Are you willing to give it a shot and possibly go through lemon law procedures? Do you care about 400V DCFC? I wouldn't use complaints in the forums to dictate your purchase or not.

 

[Mike G]

I have both. I bought the MME on spec alone. I wanted an EV but knew I didn't want a Tesla. Have been pretty happy with the car in general but wasn't happy with the broken software promises. At the time I got the MME I traded in an EcoSport, and my truck at the time was a Raptor that I sold back to the dealer when I put an order in for a '21 Powerboost 'placeholder' for the Lightning I wanted. I was surprised that the Powerboost wasn't very efficient and was overly complex mechanically. Jan 6th 22 I ordered the Lightning and it arrived in June and by that time I was glad to see the back of that Powerboost.

All new vehicles have 'something' that needs refinement. In my Lightning's case it was the very slight stub axle play that was causing a 'ting' whenever the shaft moved ever so slightly during acceleration or deceleration. That was fixed with a special spring washer on each stub axle. The truck is silent now.

I've taken the truck on several trips and it's a far better ride than my Mach-E is. Also, on the software front the engineers have learned a lot from the missteps they made with the Mach-E. OTAs are the same PITA they are in the Mach-E, but I do all my own updates using FDRS anyway, so in that regard I'm not a typical owner.

I am completely satisfied with my Lightning and it's the quietest, fastest, and most useful (to me) vehicle I've ever owned.

 

[Maquis]

SunRun is expensive, but they seem to know what they're doing. The FCSP does the charging job OK. Connectivity is poor. I think I will replace it with a Clipper Creek in a few years. FCSP doesn't seem sturdy enough for me. That said, I have Grizzl-e chargers and maybe it is just the comparison in build quality.

Since I already had an EVSE for the Mach-E, my FCSP is still in the box. Judging from the Lightning forum, there seem to be more people dissatisfied with SunRun than satisfied. I have no personal experience with them, other than they shipped the FCSP to me.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

I've said it before, when the Car just works, it's a dream car, sadly the software is pretty bad, making it very frustrating, very often. I don't think Ford was anywhere near ready with it (which is odd considering how old the SYNC platform is) at launch.

I agree. I have little patience for poor software implementation at this point in human history. However, it is software, something that can always be amended and even outright replaced with essentially no effort on the owner's part.

I'm a serious tech geek and even for me, the software shortcomings are not a deal breaker. Not with how much I enjoy the driving experience. I tried Unbridled for the first time this weekend (after ten months of ownership). Having a hard time going back to Engaged now .

Also, I test drove a Polestar. A vehicle with arguably smoother and more responsive software than the MME. It was okay but my MME had much more refined road manners, bounce and all. Perhaps I'm just used to my car. Hey, but to each their own. People should at least like if not love the car they own.

I like the flare and style of the Rivian more than the Lightning but the V2H and V2L potential of the Lightning makes it tempting.

 

[4sallypat]

If you like the Mach-E, you'll love the Lightning. It rides smoother, has a lot more room, quieter on the expressway and for the differences in size, the Mach-E isn't that much efficient.

Agreed - I love my base '22 Lariat Lightning - it's been a perfect day 1 EV.
Drives like a dream - very quiet and very solid built.

Now while waiting for my year old ordered MME, I have test driven 2 trims (GT & Premium) and have to say that the MME driver display is what made me squint - tiny info screen squeezed in between the steering wheel was a bit disconcerting compared to the massive 12" Lightning driver screen.

Contrasting the MME suspension is more like a sports car. Reminded me of the early 2000's BMWs which was nice with RWD bias.

I love AM radio on my '22 Lightning ('23 onwards are deleted) and going to miss that in the '23 MME.

However for a daily commuter vehicle, it's been tough to rationalize keeping a $70K truck when I really wanted the Pro trim for $40K originally.
Unlike others who need to do truck stuff, I never tow, never haul, never do any off roading...

But after the $10,750 fed & state credits I received - it's looking good so far with zero issues and no recalls (except for the wiper motors).

When my MME eventually arrives, I'll take a look at the numbers and see if it makes sense.

 

[JGuske23]

My buddy just picked up a demo and I gotta say it's pretty amazing. If you have a use case for the truck I'd jump on it.

I love my Mach E, but his Lariat is quicker off the line than my AWD Extended Mach, the independent rear suspension makes it drive like a Cadillac in comparison. Moving the blue cruise monitor sensor is nicer than the Mach Es nagging as well.

Charging is not an issue if you put the 100amp service the prochsrger accepts, charges faster than I can at home.

He took the demo because it was a 22, accepted A plan, wasn't missing any temporarily removed features of the 23 and was clocking in $11k cheaper OTD. A no brainier.

Wish they would have accepted A plan on his demo when I inquired about the truck 2 months ago

 

[Logal727]

However, the Lightning forum is not showing the same happiness the MME forum (here) is.

Are you sure you're talking about THIS forum?

 

[Charlie]

Are you sure you're talking about THIS forum?

This forum seems to be connected with the Lightning forum. I could be wrong. Ask my wife and I'm ALWAYS wrong.

 

[Charlie]

All in all, it seems that if I like my MME so much the Lightning is going to be a wonderful step up.

Thanks for all for the information. I feel very comfortable now in buying the Lightning.

 

[RickMachE]

have to say that the MME driver display is what made me squint - tiny info screen squeezed in between the steering wheel was a bit disconcerting compared to the massive 12" Lightning driver screen.

Tiny?

The Lightning instrument panel is in fact 12 inches long.
The Mach-E instrument panel is 10.2 inches long.

Is that "tiny" in comparison?

 

[4sallypat]

Tiny?

The Lightning instrument panel is in fact 12 inches long.
The Mach-E instrument panel is 10.2 inches long.

Is that "tiny" in comparison?

Yes while the dimensions are close, when I first test drove an MME, the driver display was very slender compared to the full sized display on my Lightning.

Sort of like 4:3 ratio on the Lightning and 16:10 on the MME.

Took me a bit to adjust like re-positioning the steering wheel.

 

[Kangio]

After close to 2 yrs with order reservation, was finally able to place an order mid December for a loaded Lariat. Current status is "scheduled for production wk of 4/10". However I canceled my order early January, mainly due to the significant price jump (over $93k!), new rules for tax credit, and concerns about range.

Feb placed an order for a loaded F150 Platinum Powerboost Hybrid. This vehicle is scheduled for production 4/3.

Drove the ICE version multiple times. Wonderful road real, great acceleration, and reasonable mpg.

Main reason for the switch (other than getting a much more premium Platinum for more than $13k less than the Lariat lightening) was range anxiety, especially during winter driving. My F150 will be a road trip vehicle for us, and after serval long road trips in the MME (Philadelphia to Maine, Nashville, Altanta, Virginia), I have no confidence in the DC infrastructure, which I believe will only become more manifest as the many new EV's hit the road in the nest two years.

Love the MME, but only using for local and short trips.

 

[woody]

SunRun's reputation precedes it. And it is not good. Which prompts one to wonder why Ford would associate with with them. The combination of Ford and SunRun is not a good one. The Lightning owners attest to this.
Enphase (who now owns Clipper Creek) is now introducing bi-directional supply equipment. Perhaps a better way to go?

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