You probably heard about the Ford F-150 Lightning’s newfound popularity on the used market. Used Lightnings are now in hot demand because they are selling for half of what they used to when new and buyers see them as a refuge from surging gas prices.
But how much can you really save by driving an F-150 Lightning instead of its gas-powered counterpart nowadays? Quite a lot, according to a Lightning owner who used to own an F-150 Raptor.
One Month of Driving the F-150 Raptor Can Cost the Same as One Year of Driving the Lightning
The owner shared an image of their home charging costs on the r/F150Lightning thread on Reddit, revealing that over the past year, the electricity needed to run the Lightning cost him only a fraction of what refueling the Raptor used to cost. Basically, the person claims the truck’s power costs over an entire year matched what gasoline used to cost for just one month.
“Just thought this would be fun to share, had my home charger installed almost 1 year ago exactly. Roughly 9k miles of usage in that time, only ever fast charged 1x since then,” the owner said. “Coming from the Raptor I owned previously to this, $450 was my monthly gas bill, and I’ve stretched that into a full year’s worth of driving.”
So basically, the same amount of money that used to buy a month of driving the F-150 Raptor now buys an entire year of driving the Lightning.
Mind you, this is just one owner’s experience, but other F-150 Lightning owners chimed in and provided similar stories about savings—although it’s worth pointing out that charging costs vary greatly by state, utility company, mileage and other factors.
Other F-150 Lightning Owners Are Reaping Similar Savings
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For example, one F-150 Lightning driver wrote, “My monthly bill went up by roughly the cost to fill up the Prius I had before my Lightning…and I’d fill up twice a month.”
Another one said their savings where not that high although using the Lightning remained the economical choice. “Unfortunately where I live in Massachusetts that would be $1,500 for me and my electric rates. But still cheaper than gas for an F-150.”
Obviously, for drivers who have a solar setup and battery storage at home, the savings can be even more dramatic. One driver wrote that a 40-mile round trip with their Lightning cost just $0.97. “In my previous ICE Ram, $8 with gas at $4 a gallon.” Another owner said their costs to run an F-150 Lightning were $85.76 a month.
In another post on the Ford F150 Lightning EV Enthusiasts group on Facebook, another owner said he is “saving $500 a month on fuel.” Since his monthly car payment is $700, he reckons that soon he’ll be “driving for free almost.”
Now, it must be said that this math works for people who charge at home, but even so, a lot depends on the electricity rate, how many miles you drive each month, and how you charge—the sweet spot is charging at home overnight. If you use public DC fast charging stations often, your savings may be wiped out.
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