All Ford F-150 Lightnings will now do at least 240 miles on a charge... for a price

Good news! The Ford F-150 Lightning is back on sale again, after Ford closed reservations due to high demand and limited availability. And it’s coming back with an extra 10 miles of range, as a little sweetener for those who missed out to begin with.

Ford now also includes what it calls ‘Pro Trailer Hitch Assist’ – an active towing aid that automatically controls the steering, accelerator and brakes while hitched up to a trailer or caravan – across the range. As these things go, it’s an optional extra on base models and standard on the up-spec ones, but it’s there if F-150 Lightning owners feel they need it.

The bad news? Prices have shot up by thousands of dollars. The entry-level ‘Pro’ – meant for people who actually use their F-150s professionally, the madmen – has gone from a $40,000 proposition to $47,000, where the top-spec Platinum is now knocking on the door of $100,000.

Ford says the price hike is down to rising material costs – something quite a few manufacturers have found over the past few years, both within the EV space and without – and it’s hard to blame a company that’s trying to make a profit passing on at least some of the skyrocketing costs of doing business. But it’s also hard to see the good news in it...