Chevy Silverado EV vs. Ford F-150 Lightning: Which Traditional Truckmaker Gets the Electric Truck Right?

Rivian and Tesla were first to announce electric pickups, in 2018 and 2019. Ford offered its Better Idea in May 2021: What if, instead of wild ’n’ edgy styling, monster power, and funky storage solutions, we simply built an electric version of the nation’s perennial bestseller, the F-150? The resulting Ford F-150 Lightning offered the same familiar look, ProPower Onboard, BlueCruise and Pro Trailer assists, and bed design (to fit existing caps, campers, and tonneaus) but added a V-8-sized frunk and independent rear suspension. The Ford F-150 Lightning quickly became the bestselling electric pickup—an honor it only recently ceded to Tesla’s Cybertruck.

Then at CES in January 2022, General Motors unveiled its clean-sheet Ultium-based Chevrolet Silverado EV. Designed from the ground up to leverage the benefits of a compact electric powertrain, the design scootches the cabin forward, enlarges the pickup bed, and evolves Chevy’s own clever midgate concept, allowing the truck to accommodate long couches, 4x8 sheet goods, and other larger loads.

To determine which is the better electric pickup truck, we invited a new, range-topping Platinum version of our 2023 Truck of the Year–winning Lightning to audit our 2025 TOTY proceedings, putting it through most of the same paces our contestant Silverado EV RST First Edition endured. Dimensionally and performance-wise, these rivals mostly fall within fractions of whatever pertinent measurement unit, and the Chevy costs just 7 percent more than the Ford. But they feel more different than that to drive.

Power, Torque, and Capability

Both of these top-spec trucks feature front and rear permanent-magnet motors with combined torque ratings within 10 lb-ft—785 for Chevy, 775 for Ford. The power balance tilts 174 hp in Chevy’s favor, but those surplus horses have their work cut out for them—they must lug the Silverado EV’s extra 1,930 pounds. (Ford may not have engineered the Lightning from scratch, but its sizeable 2015 investment in aluminum bodywork sure is paying off now.) The Silverado’s 8,780-pound curb weight leaves 1,544 pounds of payload capacity, and it’s rated to tow 10,000 pounds. The comparatively wraithlike 6,850-pound Ford allows for 1,639 pounds of payload and an 8,500-pound trailering limit. (The lower trims can tow up to 10,000 pounds.)

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How Does Performance Compare?

Engage WOW mode in the Silverado (“Wide Open Watts,” which summons some auditory drama) then simply flat-foot the accelerator for a head-snapping launch. The Lightning prefers part-accelerator brake-torque then release and mash the pedal. They each whoosh up to 40 mph neck and neck, then the Ford inches ahead by a tenth to 50. By 60 mph the Chevy’s ahead by a tenth, and it crosses the quarter mile in 12.6 seconds at 110.8 mph. The Ford follows in 12.8 seconds at 106.0 mph, just before a limiter caps Lightning top speed at 107 mph. (The Chevy can supposedly do 112, but boy does speed kill EV range!)

Not surprisingly, the Ford feels and acts a (literal) ton lighter on its feet, stopping from 60 mph in 123 feet versus Chevy’s 132, hanging on for 0.77 g versus 0.73, and zipping around our figure-eight course a second quicker despite wearing smaller 22-inch General Grabber tires versus the Silverado EV’s 24-inch Michelin Primacys and lacking the GM’s rear-wheel steering. Nobody would call either truck nimble, but we’d sooner dodge a deer in the Lightning.

Range and Efficiency

The EPA rates the F-150 Lightning Platinum at 73/60/66 mpg-e with its 131-kWh battery providing a range of 300 miles. Sporting a 205-kWh battery, the Silverado EV achieves a 440-mile range, which works out to 72 mpg-e combined. (Chevy doesn’t have to certify the Silverado EV RST with the EPA due to its high gross vehicle weight rating).

In our 70-mph road-trip range test, driving from 100 down to 5 percent battery capacity, we went 253 miles in the Lightning Platinum and 401 in the Chevy, after which 30 minutes on a DC fast charger added 138 miles to the Lightning (at a peak of 160 kW) and 236 miles to the Silverado (at a peak of 263 kW). Chevy says the Silverado can accept 350 kW of power, but the challenge is finding a station that reliably delivers that much juice. Road trips will take noticeably less time in the Chevrolet but you’ll pay for its lower efficiency with higher electricity bills.

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How Are They as EVs?

Both drive quietly, with the more aero-slick Chevy (0.33 Cd vs. Ford’s 0.43) suffering less wind noise. When availing ourselves of the immense torque, the Silverado rears back more, lightening its front end and inducing disconcerting torque steer from a helm that several editors regard as too light to begin with. They’re both gigantic, but four-wheel steering shrinks the Chevy, making it much more maneuverable; its turning circle diameter is 9 feet smaller.

Each offers switchable one-pedal driving, but finding Ford’s control requires some menu diving, while the Silverado EV keeps a one-pedal button on the home screen. It also offers “normal” and “high” regen options plus a rheostatic steering wheel paddle that can add variable regen on demand regardless of setting. Our one-pedal enthusiasts heralded this as a best-in-class approach. Both have big, hi-res screens offering extensive customization, though we noticed no particularly innovative EV-operation or efficiency-coaching screens in either truck. Superior one-pedal driving, range, and recharging speed make Chevy the better EV.

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How Are They as Trucks?

Their beds are similar in width and height, but the Chevy’s measures 4 inches longer. Each offers bed lighting, two 120-volt outlets and one 240-volt plug for powering a jobsite or your home, and the expected tie-downs. Our Lightning lacks a bed liner and tonneau, but they’re available (and matching the Silverado’s would add $1,185). The Chevy retains signature Silverado corner bed steps in the bumper and the three-way Multi-Pro tailgate, while the Ford has its easier-to-use tailgate bed step. Air springs allow the Chevy to kneel for easier cargo and cab access.

The Silverado’s standard roll-up soft tonneau cover latches at the rear, relies on Velcro along the sides, and attaches with thumbwheel clamps at the front for easy removal and tidy storage when opening the entire midgate. Speaking of which, it’s a bit of a schmeer. Instructions are molded into the rear floor (where they’re covered up after step three). It’s not difficult per se, but the electric releases for the 60/40 folding panel didn’t always release on the first try. Three seat headrests must each be manually folded prior to lowering the seat backs. Then after closing the gate, we often ended up with “gate-unlatched” warnings, requiring us to take it all back apart again so we could slam the panels shut. There were rattles and clunks associated with this hardware, as well. If we owned this example, it wouldn’t inspire us to use this feature frequently, but the concept absolutely expands the Silverado EV’s capability.

Both afford a comfortable ride, though the F-150’s is attended by more traditional body-on-frame NVH issues (like doors and seats audibly moving around). The Silverado feels more like a unibody attached to a skateboard, with a much higher natural frequency that instead invites buzzes—especially when engaging WOW mode or setting My Mode for sport suspension feel, which intensifies inputs from those low-profile 24-inch tires. Still, the air suspension, expanded capability, and improved maneuverability give Chevy the edge here.

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Can They Tow?

We outfitted each with a Curt TruTrack 2P weight-distribution hitch and a 7,770-pound KZ Connect C312RE 36-foot travel trailer then drove both rigs on a 13-mile mixed rural and freeway route to find out. Each yanks the RV up to speed easily; the Chevy is quicker but with even more torque steer. A curve in our freeway on-ramp induces some sway in the Chevy but not the Ford. Once merged, Super Cruise quickly assumes steering in the Silverado, while Ford offers neither BlueCruise nor lane centering assistance with a trailer attached. It nudges us to prevent straying into another lane but only warns when straying toward the shoulder. Each truck offers a helpful trailer-attachment checklist, trailer-light test feature, and reverse cameras, but only Ford assists with hitch alignment and trailer reversing. Ford also displays a blind-spot camera view on the central screen when signaling, helping compensate for side mirrors that are too small for trailering (on both trucks).

We also recorded the range lost over the 13 miles, and each truck expended 35 miles of range driving this loop. The Chevy’s bigger battery will allow it to pull a trailer farther, but we feel trailering capability generally carries less weight because recharging while towing is such a cumbersome business. Customers frequently towing long distances should probably steer clear of electric pickups for now. For hauling a boat to and from a nearby lake? They’ll be excellent.

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What About Off-Road?

Both of these trucks offer an “off-road” drive mode, and the Ford offers a mechanical rear differential lock, but they’re each fitted with overtly street-focused tires, so neither harbors realistic Rubicon ambitions. Selecting high ride height via a button near the driver’s left knee gives the Chevy an immediate ground clearance advantage that allows it to traverse the entire rock garden at our nearby Holly Oaks ORV Park, whereas the Lightning only makes it one truck length in before sliding off a boulder.

The Chevy manages to climb higher up our sandy hill climb than the Ford. Both trucks climb the steep cement surface at Holly Oaks’ “Mt. Magna,” though the locking diff makes this easier in the Lightning. The Silverado frequently grinds to a halt, at which point we lift off the accelerator then reapply it, and it somehow finds traction and continues. The Silverado EV’s fixed rocker panels drag on the stair-step feature, while the Platinum’s optional electric rockers stay tucked up out of trouble. So although MT trucking pro Jason Gonderman finds wheeling the Chevy to be “all around a frustrating and humiliating experience,” it still performs marginally better than the Lightning, and a Trail Boss, with locking diffs and knobbier tires, is coming.

Value for Money

These range toppers are pricey: $90,440 for the Ford and $96,495 for the Chevy. Inside, the Lightning Platinum’s materials all look vastly richer. There’s an embarrassing percentage of shiny black pebble-grain plastic throughout the Silverado EV that screams “work truck,” especially in the rear seat, where it covers most of the doors. The panoramic roof is larger in the Chevy, but it’s fixed and offers no shade, where the Ford’s opens and has a shade.

But then the Silverado EV is way more technologically advanced, from its 205-kWh battery and 800-volt charging to its Super Cruise with trailering, air suspension, four-wheel steering, midgate, and head-up display. You will, however, have to learn to adapt to Google and built-in apps, because Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not offered. (Ford still supports both.)

And the Winner Is?

Coming into this long-anticipated matchup, we expected the from-scratch Chevy to wipe the floor with the essentially motor-swapped Ford, but the contest ends up much closer than expected. The Ford may always suit traditionalists better with its utterly familiar user interface, CarPlay, trailering aids, etc., but the electric truck future belongs to 800-volt, 400-plus-mile rigs like the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV. Yes, this one is priced too high to suit its interior trim, but cheaper versions are coming, and we can envision easy software and hardware solutions to most of our other complaints. And as those more affordable and diverse models roll out, we anticipate Chevy giving Ford (and Tesla) a run for the sale lead. Maybe. Unless Ford’s Project T3–based 2026 Lightning is improved enough to retake the lead itself.

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2nd Place: 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum

Verdict: Adapting the F-150 into an EV gained Ford a huge sales lead, but the Blue Oval will need to get its bespoke Lightning right to regain e-truck supremacy.

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1st Place: 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST First Edition

Verdict: Manages to advance the pickup truck and electric vehicle arts in subtle ways that shouldn’t alienate traditional truckers.