When asked about electric cars around 20 years ago, I’d probably picture an odd-shaped egg that whirrs and whistles at every go, probably a vehicle worthy of a The Jetsons cameo.
But the future is here and electric cars have become a popular option for car buyers – well, at least in a global sense. In the Philippines, at least we now have the Nissan LEAF and a few others that offer electric mobility. Even Porsche is now selling the Taycan for the affluent Filipino market.
While I was right with the whirrs and whistles, modern electric vehicles are actually far from being the odd-shaped eggs I mentioned earlier. More importantly, America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck, now has an all-electric version called the Lightning.
The Ford F-150’s not the first electric pickup, though. Tesla has beaten the Blue Oval in introducing the Cybertruck (through the facility to build a production model is still underway), while General Motors, specifically GMC, has already resurrected the Hummer nameplate back into an electric pickup truck.
It’s a bit far-fetched to think that these three trucks will make their way into Philippine shores soon, but sooner or later, electric mobility will be upon us and we might be looking at the future with these machines.
With that said, how do these three EV pickups compare in terms of their spec sheets? Here’s a quick rundown.
Design
Let’s start with something subjective, which is the design and styling of all three. The Tesla Cybertruck has undeniably the most interesting design of the three. Revealed in 2019, the angular truck made out of stainless-steel structural skin (read: DeLorean DMC) is an unconventional take on trucks… and EVs in general.
The Hummer EV, on the other hand, banks on its pseudo-military design of its predecessors, which has been carried over to the resurrected version.
The F-150 Lightning is the most conventional of them all, but still carries a futuristic look with several LED lighting elements integrated into the typical F-150 truck form.
Design-wise, I’d go for the F-150 Lightning because despite my adoration towards peculiar-looking cars (such as the Nissan Juke), conformity wins, for now.
Power
This is where it gets tricky. While the Ford F-150 Lightning is offered with a conventional dual-motor setup, the Tesla Cybertruck and GMC Hummer EV are both offered with single, dual, or three motors, with power figures not available for all options.
But considering the most powerful setup available, the GMC Hummer EV is the most powerful of the bunch with 1,000 horsepower coming from its trimotor configuration. It also comes with 15,591 Newton-meters of wheel torque, which should be equivalent to 1,084 Nm at a more conventional rating.
The Cybertruck follows closely with its 800 hp, 1,355 Nm torque output via three electric motors, while the F-150 Lightning is the least powerful of the bunch with its two motors producing 563 hp and 1,050 Nm torque.
Of all three, though, the Cybertruck is the quickest (at least according to Tesla), with a zero to 97 km/h sprint rated at less than 2.9 seconds.
Range
When talking about EVs, range should be an important part of the conversation, much like fuel efficiency in internal combustion engine equipped cars.
Of the three, the Cybertruck again takes the cake with a claimed range of up to 804 kilometers with the biggest battery pack employed. Even better, Teslas enjoy the advantage of a wide supercharger network globally, or specifically in the US, UK, and China… for now.
The Hummer EV, on the other hand, promises up to 563 km of range in one full charge, while the F-150 Lightning has the juice to reach up to 482 km.
Remember, though, that the Philippines is relatively a short-driving country, so range isn’t so much of a problem here – unless driving from Ilocos to Bicol is your daily thing.
Capacity
Of course, what’s a truck comparison without talking about the amount of payload they can carry or tow. In this case, however, the Hummer EV is out of the game since GMC has yet to release figures for the returning nameplate.
As for Tesla and Ford, it’s a tough contention between their two contenders. Both in their dual-motor setup, the F-150 Lightning and Cybertruck are on equal footing in terms of towing capacity – both have the power to pull up to 4,535 kilograms.
In terms of payload, though, the Cybertruck has a bit of an advantage with 1,587 kg, while the F-150 Lightning can only carry substantially less at 907 kg.
Price
As for pricing, both the Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck have a starting price below $40,000 in the US or around P2 million with the current exchange rates. That’s the base configuration – the range-topping models are wayward different, with the Tesla selling for up to $70,000 (P3.4 million) for the top-spec model while the Ford asks for up to $90,000 (P4.3 million) for the range-topper.
But those two are relatively cheap compared to the GMC Hummer EV, which has an asking price of $112,995 (P5.4 million) for the Edition 1 trim level that will arrive in the US next year. Cheaper models will be available in the Hummer range, but they will arrive at a much later date.
Note that these prices won’t necessarily be the same if these trucks ever find their way on Philippine shores. Yes, that’s a huge “if” at this point.
