The Lightning is the F-150 that drives like a sports sedan, instant torque, the quietest cabin in any truck, and a ride that somehow gets better when you load it up. The deal-breaker is concrete: towing cuts range by two-thirds, turning a 300-mile trip into a charging scavenger hunt, and the software still boots slower than your laptop while burying every climate control three taps deep. If you charge at home, rarely tow far, and want the smoothest daily driver in the segment, it's a steal at current lease rates; if you need a real workhorse for long hauls, the gas F-150 still does that job better.
You're shopping two completely different trucks under one badge. The old compact Rangers (1990s-2011) earned their reputation the hard way, owners routinely push them past 300k miles on original drivetrains, fix them with junkyard parts for pocket change, and replace them with another Ranger when rust finally wins. The current midsize version (2019+) tows 7,500 pounds, rides like a car, and packs a punchy turbo four, but it's grown to F-150 dimensions at near-F-150 money, and 2021-2023 models are showing up with oil leaks and transmission hiccups while still under warranty. Buy a clean old one if you want a proven workhorse that'll outlast your career. Skip the new one unless you need modern towing and safety, and even then, you're betting on Ford ironing out first-generation kinks.