2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Review

I’ve got an exciting car on deck today! The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric vehicle with quite a high price tag, but even more family-friendly amenities attached to it. While this is not the typical car you consider when thinking about a vehicle that you’d drive to the pickup line, I want to show you a lot of really unique features this F-150 has to offer.

If you’re new here - welcome! I’m Kelly the Car Mom and as a mom of four, CPST, and a huge car fan, I can’t wait to walk you through all the features of the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning to help see if it’s right for your family.

Before you dive in and start car shopping, make sure you’re fully prepared to tackle today’s market with confidence. To learn everything from dealership prep to a complete negotiations strategy, check out my Car Buying Course!

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Exterior

With the Platinum trim level, this 2023 Ford F-150 Platinum has an MSRP of $93,000. This is an expensive family car to say the least, but a lot of what you’re paying for is the electric vehicle capabilities and higher trim level bells and whistles. 

We’ve got about 300 miles of range on this truck and one of my favorite things is that while it’s equipped with all the latest and greatest technology, it still looks like a classic Ford F-150. In a world where so many manufacturers are putting out crazy EVs, Ford took the car so many people love and just put EV capabilities inside it.

Let’s talk about the front grill of the Ford F-150 Lightning. Now, it’s not crazy different than the typical F-150s you’ve seen before, but they’ve added some fun electrified elements to it. We have a really cool-looking light bar that spans around the front of the grill and on top of the textured “grill” that looks like a chrome-plastic mix. It looks really good.

One thing I want to note is while the charging port is on the driver’s side, Ford put a matching divet on the other side of the truck for no good reason other than to confuse me. It serves no purpose and does not open, but regardless it’s there. Other than that, the body looks like the same F-150 truck we know and love.

Frunk (Front Trunk)

Since this is an electric vehicle, we get a frunk (front trunk) with excellent extra storage space. I’ve toured many EVs now and this is one of the best frunks I’ve ever seen. One of the main reasons I hear many moms do not want a truck is because of a lack of closed storage space in the truck bed.

Now, there’s no problem and you could fit an entire grocery haul in here — even the Mockingbird stroller would fit! Lastly, just like in a lot of newer trunks, you’re going to get power tailgate up here in the frunk so the open and close is simple. 

Tailgate

Moving on to the truck bed, we have a power tailgate back here as well. Features like this truly make life so much more convenient and once you have a car with a power tailgate, you never want to go back. 

There are two buttons on the top of the truck door that when opened, can be used as a step and stability bar to get into the truck with zero difficulty. I love this and think it’s such a great feature to access the bed of your tailgate.

The last few amenities I wanted to mention back here are an engraved measuring tap in the back of the tailgate door (how cool is that!), lights you can turn on and off, and outlets that you can use to power pretty much anything.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning First Row

Even Ford’s most high-tech cars, still include the keypad on the driver’s door to get into the car if you choose to use it. Ford will not let this go and I personally love it. 

I want to say it here first – everything about this car is large and in charge. Even just looking at the driver’s side door panel, I have cubbies for days. It fits my Stanley with room to spare and I still have more space to store things.

As for the interior itself, I think it looks nice and matches the high-end price tag that Ford is charging. I like that although we still have a little bit of luxury, it doesn’t feel out of place to have in a truck like this. We have suede, contrast stitching, and a nice wood grain throughout the first row of the car and moving towards the second row.

Let’s talk about the center console because it’s truly beautiful. This is one of my favorite parts of the car, not just because of the size, but because you can fold in the shifter and fold the console into a table. You can eat, work, and even change a diaper here – it’s truly multi-purpose and makes this car so functional from a mom’s perspective. Why this isn’t on the Expedition? I’m not sure.

Infotainment System + Technology

This car is LOADED with all the latest technology, including Blue Cruise. This is Ford’s version of autonomous driving, which allows you to drive hands-free and with your feet off the pedals on certain pre-mapped roads. Now, you still have to keep your eyes on the road, and sensors inside the infotainment system can monitor and ask you to take back over if there is too much going on in the road. 

Looking at the infotainment system itself, this is the exact same system I had in my 2022 Ford Expedition and it’s not my favorite. There is a lot of touchscreen with a lot going on and I hate when any infotainment system (not just mine) has climate controls inside the screen. This makes it so difficult to turn down the air quickly, which I have to do a lot of the time with my kids in the car.

Right under the infotainment system, we do get wireless charging, USB, and USB-C ports for all the charging you need.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Second Row

Amenities in the second row include:

• Heated seats

• Charging on the back of the center console

• Air vents on the back of the center console

• Panoramic sunroof

• Leather-back pockets

• Door cupholders (I am excited and delighted to see this) 

Let’s talk car seat setup. Full-size trucks are historically very good for car seats and this F-150 is no different. The bench seat is both wide and deep, so you’re able to work around with three car seats and typically not have much of a problem. Sometimes I work with certain benches where I can fit one specific three across combination, but it takes me a while to find something that works. This bench seat could accommodate anything you throw at it — car seats, passengers, boosters, you’re good to go.

LATCH in the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning is as follows:

• 2 tether anchors in the outboard seats

• 3 tether anchors across the back

The bench in the second row is a 60/40 split, which I typically don’t like but is more than fine in this truck. What I wanted to mention and find really cool is you can lift up the seat and fold it closed for extra storage space. There’s a bit underneath the flooring, but you can just use this as additional room if needed.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning: Wrap-Up

Overall, this car is incredibly functional for families and I think should be normalized as a mom car! While the price tag is very high for this EV with the Platinum trim level, my only complaint is the infotainment system in this truck. Everything else is really top-notch and would be a car that truly works with a family instead of against them.

Would you ever use a truck as a family car? Let me know in the comments! And to keep up with all the latest family cars on the market, check out my recent tours: