I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to buy a Lightning, especially since the closest dealership for a test drive was 3 hours away. I took the trip in our Model Y and kept thinking, “What am I doing? This car works fine, it’s almost paid off, and we don’t really need a truck for the kids.”
Charging the Y on the way there was easy. Pulled into the supercharger, plugged in, and we were back on the road after 15-20 minutes. That convenience made me hesitate again about switching. Still, I decided to head to the Ford dealership and check it out.
After test-driving both a Flash and a Lariat and taking my time deciding, I ended up going with the Lariat. I forgot how great it feels to drive a truck! Combine that with the electric drivetrain and one-pedal driving, and I was hooked. The truck is big but still drives smoother than our early-model Y, at least for me.
On the way back, I tried out BlueCruise using the 90-day demo, and wow—it’s so much better than Tesla’s FSD. Charging at a Buc-ee’s wasn’t bad, but I struggled for 5-10 minutes trying to figure out how to remove the charger from the port (definitely felt like an idiot). Charging from 26% to 84% cost around $50, which was a surprise since it’s usually $10-$20 to “fill up” the Y. Hoping home charging with our 240V outlet and Ford’s mobile charger will be more reasonable.
Excited to see how this truck works out. Any advice or things I should look out for? Feel free to ask questions or even tell me I made a mistake!
@Arden
You’re right, it’s pretty limited. I think the app’s focus is mostly on basic info like charge level and start/stop. Hopefully, they’ll update it soon.
Eren said: @Arden
You’re right, it’s pretty limited. I think the app’s focus is mostly on basic info like charge level and start/stop. Hopefully, they’ll update it soon.
Yeah, they should definitely add that feature. I’m guessing you’re asking about adjusting the amperage draw, like Tesla lets you do?
Ocean said:
So, did you go with the Flash or the Lariat?
I got the Lariat. The power-folding mirrors, leather seats, and memory settings won me over. Hopefully, I won’t regret skipping the 9.6 Pro Power option.
Laken said:
I’m curious—what makes BlueCruise better than Tesla’s FSD? Isn’t FSD one of Tesla’s main selling points?
The big difference is that BlueCruise actually lets you drive hands-free where available. The upcoming updates will even allow automatic lane changes to maintain speed limits. It’s smoother overall, and Ford has some cool features planned for the future.
@Sage
FSD is hands-free now too. Just drove from Orlando to Atlanta in our Model 3 with barely any steering input. It handled highways, backroads, and roundabouts pretty well. BlueCruise was better on freeways before, but FSD recently got a big update, and it’s surprisingly good.
Laken said:
I’m curious—what makes BlueCruise better than Tesla’s FSD? Isn’t FSD one of Tesla’s main selling points?
Yeah, what IWK said! BlueCruise is really hands-free with minimal warnings if you look away too long. Tesla makes you keep a hand on the wheel, and one time, FSD almost got me into an accident at a red light. Never trusted it after that.
By the way, your Lightning might still be on an older software version. I’ve had my 2024 Lariat for about a month, and it took a few weeks for updates to come through. The newer updates really improve the public charging experience, so hang in there!
