Traded in my R1T for an F150 Lightning

[Firstlast]

In Central Illinois no way are you getting $65,000 on trade for a used Rivian (especially on a $20,000 marked down Lightning). You can buy used Rivians with under 20,000 miles for 67,000. Admittedly I'm high mileage (58,000), but I got offered $53,000 from Tesla and $46,000 on a used 2023 Riv with 14,000 miles (they asked 68,000). TBH I should have bought the model X. Get $7500 tax credit off the price at purchase too.

Very true, the median I was getting for my R1T was 55k. Carvana offered 57k and I took and called it a day. I've been stalking R1T prices on Manheim and within a week, most R1Ts lost 6k of value.

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[ThisIsMyHandle]

Yeah, I'm shocked. I knew the Lightnings weren't exactly moving, but I didn't expect such huge discounts at this point. Man, I would have hated to be one of the people who paid well over MSRP for a Lightning.

https://electrek.co/2024/02/26/ford-stops-2024-f-150-lightning-shipments-trucks-pile-up/

 

[srnyoung]

Genuine question for OP and anyone else who cares to chime in, no malice intended; what's the fascination with cupholders?

...
Plus there are 5 cup holders on the center console, and cup holders on each door. Lack of storage and cup holders was one of my main complaints about the R1T.
...

Like, how many cup-shaped things are y'all carrying? I agree that another glove box type spot might be nice and maybe some built-in dividers for the existing storage. That said, I have never once gotten in our T (or any other vehicle for that matter) and been sad because there weren't enough cupholders!?

On my work commute my coffee cup sits on the charging pad (yes, a regular old ceramic mug that is empty about the time I arrive) and my other beverage containers are in my work bag. On longer trips I put either a refillable coffee mug or water bottle in the cupholder and my wife does the same.

I also understand that automakers have been touting multiple cupholders for a few years as a major selling point. I chalked that up to 1) the dumbing down of America (where a truck ad literally makes fun of someone for asking about specs) and 2) marketing departments scrambling for a replacement to talk about.

Is the marketing just, ya know, working?

Anyway, thanks for sharing your comparison OP, hope you remain happy with your choice! (And all those beautiful cupholders...)

 

[defcon888]

tldr; Both are awesome trucks. If you don't need the extra cabin space, R1T is the better truck.

After having another child a few months ago, it became pretty apparent that the back seat of the R1T was not sufficient for our family anymore. With the newest discounts for the F150 Lightning coming back, I decided to jump on the opportunity. We still plan on leasing an R1S for my wife once the standard+ batteries go into production.

Below are a few of my thoughts after having both trucks.

Software:
Win for Rivian here, really no comparison. Ford's software isn't as bad as people have made it seem. Its completely workable. Android Auto is great, and puts Ford ahead when it comes to navigation and being able to use texting while driving. Overall though Rivian puts out updates quicker, and is actively improving their vehicles. Losing gear guard is the biggest thing I'm going to miss. I was already using a Garmin dash cam in my R1T, because the R1T has potato cameras, and I will be using the same one for the Lightning once my new mount is delivered.

Driving:
The Lightning is quieter than the R1T, and drives more smoothly on smooth roads. When it comes to medium/large bumps, R1T handles those a lot better. The Lightning bounces around quite a bit when you hit a big bump. The R1T drives like a big sports car, and the Lightning feels like a full sized truck. The throttle mapping on the Lightning is nice, but I prefer the R1T's regeneration.

Interior:
This is the main reason I switched. The Lightning has a huge interior. There is so much space in the back seat now with 2 car seats. My wife can sit comfortably in the back to watch the baby on long drives. Folding up the seats and having a huge flat storage area is great too. There is also so much internal storage. There are 2 glove boxes, and the center console is twice the size of the R1T's. Plus there are 5 cup holders on the center console, and cup holders on each door. Lack of storage and cup holders was one of my main complaints about the R1T. In terms of the screens, they are both good. I don't have a preferences either way.

Driver+ vs Bluecruise:
I've used Bluecruise on quite a few drives now. It is almost equal to Driver+ at the moment. I still hold onto the wheel when using it, so the hands free option doesn't really apply. Bluecruise 1.3 is supposed to be pushed to Lightning's soon, and is supposed to be much improved. I've found Bluecruise has trouble on the same roads that Driver+ had, and worked the same on other roads. The only advantage Driver+ has is it handles cars merging much better. Bluecruise doesn't really seem to care if a car is merging and I had to press on the bake. The one advantage the Lightning has is copilot 360 works on unmapped roads. Pretty much everything is mapped around me, so I haven't really used it yet. Driver+ has much better visualization of what it sees. Bluecruise just has a small truck showing a car in front of you. I prefer the Rivian/Tesla visualization that gives you an idea of what the truck is seeing.

Storage:
The Lightning has a nice frunk, but combining the R1T's frunk with the gear tunnel pretty much makes that a tie. In terms of bed space, I don't necessarily need a bigger bed. Having the powered tonneau was nice on my R1T. I'm getting a lomax trifold for my Lightning. It won't be as secure, as the R1Ts bed, but will likely be slightly more water resistant.

Overall I will miss my R1T, but the Lightning is more practical for our family.

Congrats on the newborn.

I love your evaluation and comments. It is refreshing to read a concise reason as to why and not because "RIVIAN SUCKS, SERVICE SUCKS....I sold it because there was rattling in the speaker and only 2 cupholders"

I work with a guy that has an lightning and he loves it. I hadn't seen him in a few months (remote work) and I asked him yesterday how is the F150. He said it iwas going good, but he had to take it to the shop to get part of a battery pack replaced. He was one of the first deliveries of the F150 back in the fall of 2022 and I guess that is a known issue.

Best of luck with your F150 and at least you haven't given up on Rivian. We almost got the R1S, but we are empty nesters and no need to have the extra room.

 

[KidThunder]

tldr; Both are awesome trucks. If you don't need the extra cabin space, R1T is the better truck.

Overall I will miss my R1T, but the Lightning is more practical for our family.

Thanks for the detailed walk through of the differences - I'm curious what the trade off was in range? I just talked with a guy that has a lightning and he said EPA is 230 and he basically only uses it around town. But yea the the bed size was noticeably different. We were doing setup for a music event and he could carry 8 keyboards and due to the size not fitting in the R1T either width or length, I could only carry 4 at an an angle. I was like wow, that little bit of extra space made a huge difference.

 

[Scoiatael]

Thanks for the detailed walk through of the differences - I'm curious what the trade off was in range? I just talked with a guy that has a lightning and he said EPA is 230 and he basically only uses it around town. But yea the the bed size was noticeably different. We were doing setup for a music event and he could carry 8 keyboards and due to the size not fitting in the R1T either width or length, I could only carry 4 at an an angle. I was like wow, that little bit of extra space made a huge difference.

He probably has an SR. With the ER, EPA range is 320 miles. After driving it for a bit, on similar routes as my R1T, the Lightning is about 0.1 to 0.2 mi/kwh lower than the R1T. So my quad motor R1T would have done better on longer drives in terms of range and charging speed, but at the end of the day, its probably going to be a 10-15 minute difference in terms of charging.

 

[rodhx]

I have wondered if the Lightning takes as big a range hit in cold weather as my Mach E did. Two winters in my R1T and it has been MUCH superior in that regard.

 

[Count Orlok]

I admit Ford has tempted me with the discounting of the 2023 Lightnings. XLT+ for low 60s before the tax credit is a good deal considering I was willing to pay 84k for the same truck a year ago if Ford could have delivered it then and 74k for it 6 months ago before the stop sale order.

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