Compare the2026 Ford F-150 LightningVS 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford F-150 Lightning have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Silverado EV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The F-150 Lightning has standard Post-Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Silverado EV doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the F-150 Lightning’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Silverado EV doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The F-150 Lightning’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Silverado EV’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 3 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

The F-150 Lightning’s electric motors produces 70 more horsepower (580 vs. 510) and 285 lbs.-ft. more torque (775 vs. 490) than the Silverado EV W/T’s standard electric motors. The F-150 Lightning’s electric motors produces 70 more horsepower (580 vs. 510) and 195 lbs.-ft. more torque (775 vs. 580) than the Silverado EV W/T Extended/Max Range/LT Standard Range’s standard electric motors.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford F-150 Lightning is faster than the Silverado EV Trail Boss Max Range:

The F-150 Lightning can travel longer on a full charge than the Silverado EV on a full charge:

The F-150 Lightning stops much shorter than the Silverado EV:

For better traction, the F-150 Lightning has larger tires than the Silverado EV (275/65R18 vs. 265/70R18).

The F-150 Lightning’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Silverado EV Trail Boss’ standard 75 series tires.

All F-150 Lightning’s offer an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your work or a trip. A full size spare is not available on the Silverado EV Trail Boss Without it you must depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The F-150 Lightning Short Bed Platinum handles at .77 G’s, while the Silverado EV pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The F-150 Lightning Short Bed Platinum executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Silverado EV (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the F-150 Lightning has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Silverado EV W/T (8.4 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the F-150 Lightning to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Ford F-150 Lightning may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1400 to 1550 pounds less than the Chevrolet Silverado EV.

The F-150 Lightning is 5.4 inches narrower on average than the Silverado EV, making the F-150 Lightning easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The F-150 Lightning has 4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Silverado EV (124 vs. 120).

The F-150 Lightning has .5 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom, 1.2 inches more rear hip room and 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Silverado EV.

The Ford F-150 Lightning has a standard Tailgate Lift Assist, which prevents the heavy tailgate from falling with a crash and causing injury. It allows adults and children to easily open and close the tailgate with one hand to better facilitate loading and unloading. Tailgate assist costs extra on the Chevrolet Silverado EV.

The Ford F-150 Lightning offers an optional Tailgate Step, which folds out and allows for much easier access to the cargo area. The Chevrolet Silverado EV doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The F-150 Lightning’s front power windows open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Silverado EV’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the F-150 Lightning’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Silverado EV doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its OnStar® can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The F-150 Lightning’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Silverado EV’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the F-150 Lightning has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Silverado EV doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The F-150 Lightning Platinum has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Silverado EV.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the F-150 Lightning as the 2023 North American Truck of the Year. The Silverado EV has never been chosen.

The Ford F-Series outsold the Chevrolet Silverado by 43% during 2025.