In most cases, the perfect time to purchase a particular vehicle only becomes clear in retrospect—of course you should have bought that woody Jeep Grand Wagoneer in 2001 or that dusty Hemi 'Cuda in 1979, or that Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series in 2015. But sometimes the carpe-diem moment hits when a vehicle is still on dealer lots, and that might be the case right now with the 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash.
The Lightning, not quite as popular as Ford once hoped, is subject to discounts aplenty—we can't guarantee that current Lightning incentives require Ford CEO Jim Farley to come to your house and make blueberry pancakes, but we can't rule that out, either. On top of that, the $7500 federal EV tax credit expires at the end of September, so if you've ever been Lightning curious, now's the time to go check one out. The Flash is a good place to start, and not just because it's fun to say "Let's take the Flash."
You can think of the Flash as the Lightning version of a Porsche GTS trim—you get lots of the good stuff at a palatable price. Its powertrain isn't quite on the level of the top-trim Lightnings, but it's not far off. The Lighting Platinum we tested in 2022 had the top-of-the-food-chain setup, with dual motors good for a combined 580 horsepower and a 131-kWh battery. The Flash gets the Lightning's middle-child powertrain, with 536 horses and a 123-kWh battery. So even if the Flash might not duplicate the Platinum's 4.0-second trip to 60 mph, it won't be far off. And the Flash's 300 miles of EPA-rated range comes close to the maximum 320-mile rating assigned to the largest battery. Beware, however, that on our 75-mph highway range test, the big-pack Platinum ran out of juice at 230 miles.
The Flash is positioned as a tech-forward trim, so it gets BlueCruise hands-free driving-assist hardware. The system is active for 90 days, after which it reverts to an annually renewable subscription (currently $495 per year). The Flash also includes a heated steering wheel, a B&O sound system, and a 15.0-inch touchscreen. Crucially, the Flash's $72,190 base price slides in well under the $80,000 cutoff for the tax credit.
Our sample truck included the 9.6-kW Pro Power Onboard generator system ($1200), the Max Trailer Tow package ($1100), and a few other options to arrive at an all-in price of $76,715. One of the minor line items was the spare tire and wheel ($175), which was standard equipment until 2025. We understand that EV manufacturers are always looking to zero out weight and cost, but it is our unfortunately well-informed opinion that pickup trucks—especially ones that might be towing 10,000 pounds, as the Flash is rated to do with the Max Trailer Tow package—need a dang spare tire. That tow-package option also includes an electronically locking rear differential, which can come in handy when you've got a total of 775 pound-feet of torque churning through low-rolling-resistance tires.
The Flash's seats are trimmed in Ford's ActiveX upholstery, which is synthetic leather but should maybe be called I Can't Believe It's Not Vinyl. (Should you find a 2024 Flash languishing on a dealer lot, those had a cloth interior.) But other than that, the Flash presents as an unlikely luxury chariot, a road-smothering rural Rolls-Royce that can tow five tons and serve as a backup generator for your house. The four-wheel independent suspension delivers the pillowy ride of a well-tuned air-spring system, even though it uses steel coil springs. BlueCruise can take the wheel during boring highway slogs. And of course, there's effortless speed and the interior quietude of an SAT exam room.
The Lightning doesn't yet offer a native North American Charge Standard charge port, but it comes with an adaptor that allows it to hook right up to a unit in the Tesla Supercharger network. This is awesome for Lightning drivers (not so much for Tesla owners), but the Lightning's charge port location, deep on the driver's side front fender, means pulling up until the bumper is almost kissing the charger bollard. (At least Ford got rid of the fake charge-port door on the passenger's side, a victory of sensibility over symmetry.) We're sure the next Lightning will have the charge port moved closer to the bumper, on whichever end.
But in the meantime, the Flash is still an impressive truck. We've driven enough EVs to appreciate how much engineering went into the Lightning, with its huge frunk (14 cubic feet) and vehicle-to-grid capabilities. But the pickup crowd isn't exactly full of early adopters—witness Ram's enthusiastic customer response to its resurrection of an engine that makes nostalgic rumbles—and EVs in general face headwinds both political and practical. Which is too bad, because the Lightning is still quietly revolutionary, cosplaying the F-150 aesthetic but delivering a better experience in many ways. Compared to an equivalent gas-powered F-150, the Lightning Flash is quicker, quieter, smoother, has more storage, and more generator output. If you've got solar panels, you can fuel it at your house; and it'll never need an oil change or engine air filter, or spark plugs. It's a great truck, and right now it might even be a good deal.
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