Aside from the fuel efficiency and emission-free advantages, most new electric vehicles today, including EV pickups, offer another significant benefit: extra storage space. More so electric cars than sport utilities — now, we can add trucks to the list, including Ford’s first electric pickup with the F-150 Lightning.
When hybrids first came out, the opposite was true, where big-ass batteries of the day would hog much of the rear trunk space (under the front hood remained the engine). All electric vehicles are void of combustion engines and sport significantly smaller, more efficient batteries and electric motors today.
That means one thing: you have more space for all your valuable gear under the front hood. The equipment we love and can’t live without — above all, the equipment we need to charge and juice up to make our lives more fulfilling and joyful. Essential things like crockpots for tailgating, laptops to surf the Web, and Nintendo Switches to keep the kids from crying.
You may ask why I need a front-loading truck when I have a massive truck bed.
Well, unless you enjoy hauling your luggage in the back during a rainstorm, thoroughly packing your cabin with bags and gear (and family members) for those long road trips, or enjoy inconveniently turning your Ford F-150 around to power up tools using the Pro Power Onboard at the back, well, then the ability to store all these valuable, space-invading objects in a secure place (yes, like a trunk) that offers 2.4 kilowatts of power may not be for you.
A high-powered space enabling unchartered experiences
Regarding the new all-electric F-150 Lightning’s front space, Ford says, “It will have customers rethinking what their truck is capable of – and enable the kinds of experiences they never would have thought possible before…The words ‘front trunk’ don’t even begin to describe all the innovation and capability Ford packed into this high-powered space.”
So, once the novelty of a frunk wears off, coupled with the awkward and unconventional images of an F-150 void of a front engine, this idea of rethinking how our future journeys will be begins to take hold, changing how we travel on the road.
Whether that’s the F-150 Lightning towing a 5th-wheel trailer (with the hitch in the bed), customers hauling big payloads with a cabin full of passengers, heading out on an epic road trip with lots of gear, or simply throwing the ultimate tailgate party where the party’s actually in the front. Again, it all begins to make sense if you’re a full-size truck owner, the luxuries that coveted front space can afford you.
A water-resistant space good for a pair of golf bags backed by 2.4 kilowatts of power
Overall, the 2022 Lightning’s front-loaded space offers 400 litres of room — good for two carry-on bags and one checked bag or two sets of golf clubs. Plus, a respectable 400 pounds of payload as well.
Ford designed the space to be easily accessible with bumper-height clearance. The entire cargo area is water-resistant and can double as a food and beverage container thanks to the drainable floor (nice).
More space is one thing; adding some charging outlets is quite another. Essentially, the new F-150’s frunk is a high-tech storage area. Thanks to 2.4 kilowatts of power directed to four electrical outlets and 2 USB ports, customers can easily set up a mobile workstation outside.
If you’re a truck owner, the idea of a frunk likely never crossed your mind. Well, now it has, and the 2022 Lightning pickup pretty much sums up why this is something we need but never realized. On that note, I hope this opened your eyes to the possibilities, and frunk-you for listening.
