Ford beat the other two members of the Detroit Big Three in bringing an electric pickup truck to the market by a considerable amount of time. But progress waits for no one, and now Chevrolet has its own electric truck to compete with the Blue Oval’s excellent F-150 Lightning.
Both of these trucks are supremely capable and pack tons of practicality, so you can’t go wrong with either one. Chevrolet has used its time wisely and rolled out a great electric truck with superior specs in many areas, the Silverado EV.
Let’s explore which is the better electric pickup truck: the Silverado EV or the F-150 Lightning?
1. Range Comparison
The maximum range of the F-150 Lightning is an estimated 320 miles when you opt for an XLT or Lariat with the 131 kWh Extended Range battery (the base 98 kWh pack gives 230 miles). This is an excellent range number, especially for a vehicle as large and heavy as the F-150 Lightning, but Chevrolet has the Ford beat when it comes to going the distance.
The Silverado EV Work Truck, equipped with a 200 kWh battery, can travel up to 450 miles on a full battery, which means it can tackle routes that would be difficult to tackle in the F-150 Lightning. The non-Work Truck Silverado EV line of trucks also offers an impressive range of up to 400 miles, handily beating the F-150 Lightning.
When it comes to range, you can’t go wrong with either, but the Silverado EV has a clear advantage.
2. Which One Tows More?
When it comes to pickup trucks, towing capacity is one of the most commonly compared metrics. Even if you never tow a huge boat or a heavy trailer with your fancy new pickup truck, its ability to do it is still something to show off to your friends.
The best EV pickup trucksare no different, and in the case of the F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV, they’re both more than capable of pulling heavy loads.Towing a heavy trailer with your EVmight sound crazy, especially when said EV is a pickup truck that can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds for the Lightning or around 4.5 seconds for the Silverado EV.
But in the case of these immensely capable EV trucks, you’ll be just fine towing fairly heavy trailers. The F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV both offer maximum towing capacities of 10,000 pounds when properly equipped.
In terms of towing, both of these electric pickup trucks are evenly matched, although you can’t help but wonder if Chevrolet missed an opportunity to upstage Ford with a better towing capacity (especially considering the Silverado is arriving quite late to the party).
3. Which Has a More Practical Bed?
Both of these trucks offer awesome beds with lots of space to put whatever you want. The Ford’s bed is five feet, 6 inches long, while the Silverado has a slight edge in terms of length with its five-foot, 11-inch bed.
The Silverado EV also has a massive trick up its sleeve that the F-150 Lightning cannot compete with, and that’s the Multi-Flex Midgate. With the Multi-Flex Midgate, you can remove the division between the bed and the cab, freeing up space for items up to 10 feet, 10 inches long, when used in tandem with the tailgate load stop.
The Silverado EV is the clear winner here because the F-150 can’t compete with the midgate system, which is extremely practical and can help you accommodate especially long items in the Silverado’s bed. The Silverado’s bed is also larger in its standard configuration, which is something to consider as well.
4. Which Has the Better Frunk?
When it comes to frunks, the F-150 Lightning is still the king of the hill. The Lightning’s front storage compartment offers 14.1 cubic feet of load volume, making it one ofthe largest EV frunks.
The Silverado’s frunk is also massive, but at just 10.7 cubic feet, it falls short of matching the F-150 Lightning’s cavernous proportions. The Ford also has the Silverado beat when it comes to power outlets in its front trunk, with four 120-volt connectors as well as two USB ports thrown in for good measure.
The Silverado EV makes do with only one 120-volt plug in its frunk, which is technically less than what the F-150 Lightning offers, but in reality, a multi-plug extension should solve any issues that may arise from a lack of outlets in the Silverado’s frunk.
Even if a multi-plug extension can help alleviate some of the Silverado’s shortcomings, the F-150 Lightning has more storage capacity in its frunk, along with USB ports and more 120-volt outlets. The F-150 Lightning is the clear winner when it comes to the battle of the frunks.
Payload capacity is another important metric when it comes to pickup trucks, and because EV pickup trucks are heavier than their internal combustion counterparts, the payload rating does tend to suffer a little bit.
The F-150 Lightning’s maximum payload capacity is 2,235 pounds, which is significantly less than its internal combustion F-150 counterpart’s 3,325 pounds. This isn’t that big of a problem when you compare the F-150 Lightning to its EV peers, especially the Silverado EV Work Truck’s maximum payload capacity of 1,400 pounds.
The F-150 Lightning is the clear winner when it comes to this important metric.
6. Which Has the Best Exterior Design?
Design is subjective, but certain elements of these EV pickup trucks' design can be objectively analyzed. The F-150 Lightning is a handsome vehicle, but its design is almost the same as the internal combustion F-150 (save for a few subtle lighting differences here and there, the most noticeable of which being the full-width front light bar).
Ford needs to be careful when modifying anything about its best-selling pickup truck, but then again, it’s not like the Lightning is replacing every internal combustion model in the F-150 lineup. With this in mind, Ford could have played it less safe with the F-150’s exterior design.
The Silverado EV has no such problems; the big truck’s styling is bold and forward-thinking. The best part is that it looks nothing like the regular 2024 Chevrolet Silverado. When it comes to design, the Silverado EV takes home the gold because, with its striking design, it’s not afraid to take risks.
7. Which Has the Best Interior?
Both of these trucks offer enormous amounts of legroom for all passengers, as they should considering their dimensions. But even though both of these giant beasts can provide their passengers with the utmost comfort, differences in their interiors merit some discussion.
In terms of flair, the Silverado EV is better than the F-150 Lightning. The huge wrap-around screens that envelop the driver will make you feel like you’re piloting a fighter jet, and the interior color choices and contrast stitching help make the Silverado EV feel special.
Chevrolet also gets extra points for not offering leather seating surfaces inside the Silverado EV, instead opting to join otherautomakers that use sustainable materials in their interiors. Ford still puts leather interiors in its F-150 Lightning, and the entire cabin has a more old-school feel (other than the enormous Mach-E-sourced center touchscreen).
What both Chevy and Ford get right is the combination of digital and physical buttons for functions like the radio volume and the HVAC system’s fan speed. Both of these trucks do this very well, but the F-150 Lightning’s central knob (which can be used to adjust multiple settings, depending on what menu you’re in) is easy to use and eliminates the need for additional separate buttons (like those present on the Silverdo EV).
The Ford also offers storage underneath the rear seats, which gives the Lightning huge bonus points in the interior practicality department over the Silverado. Overall, both interiors have their pros and cons, and this round can be considered a tie due to how well-thought-out both interiors are.
The Silverado EV Edges Out the Ford for the Win
The Ford F-150 Lightning is still an excellent EV pickup truck, even compared to the newer Silverado EV. The problem is that the Silverado EV offers some features that take it over the top when it comes to practicality. One of those features is the excellent removable midgate, which makes carrying large and irregular items a breeze.
The Silverado EV also offers a larger bed than the F-150 Lightning, even without the novel removable midgate party trick. Chevrolet’s EV pickup truck also wins when it comes to the ever-important electric vehicle category of range, where more is always better.
The excellent Ford F-150 also scores its own victories, such as its superior frunk space and its better payload capacity. Both the F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV can power your home during a blackout, which is a great feature to have.
Both of these pickup trucks are excellent choices, and even though the Silverado narrowly wins here, there are no losers between these two.
