Geared for excitement, assessment is derived from ten categories, split between two headings.
Personable Drive
With his opening catchphrase, 'THIS...,' over four million YouTube subscribers know Doug DeMuro as the enthusiastic and personable reviewer of new and exotic vehicles. More than just commentary on a test drive, DeMuro qualifies his observations, ranking each vehicle according to his critical, but fair, 'DougScore' system. So, to quote DeMuro, “THIS..., is the new 2022, Ford F-150 Lightning”
Photos courtesy of Doug DeMuro
Daily Weekend
DeMuro gave the all-electric Lightning a DougScore of 65, out of a possible 100. To put that number in context, 77 is the highest mark handed out to date. That grade understandably went to the completely ridiculous but amazing 2020 McLaren Speedtail hypercar. DeMuro makes his overall assessment using ten categories, which are evenly split under the two headings 'Weekend' and 'Daily.'
Absolute Relative
The DougScore is comprehensive. Each vehicle is ranked according to the fixed categories, and then, against all the other five hundred-plus vehicles DeMuro has test driven. He qualifies on his website, “Each car is judged against all other cars and not only its segment. That’s an important point because it means these categories aren’t relative, but rather absolute.”
Livable Rationale
DeMuro has an economics degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Not surprisingly, consumer satisfaction seems to be a fundamental pillar of the DougScore. He explains the rationale behind the two broad headings. “The car with the highest 'Weekend' score is the best enthusiast car I’ve driven—the car with the highest 'Daily' score is the most practical and livable car I’ve driven.”
Exciting Bias
The five Weekend categories are: Styling, Acceleration, Handling, Fun Factor, and Cool Factor. Daily includes Features, Comfort, Quality, Practicality and Value. DeMuro does admit that the DougScore is a bit biased. He states, “I primarily review performance cars and special cars—and since my personal opinion is that performance cars and special cars are the best cars—the DougScore is designed to be geared towards exciting cars.”
McLaren Tank
Bias or not, the DougScore enables viewers to form comparisons between disparate vehicles, but it can be quirky. For example, a 1969 BMW Isetta is the lowest scoring car when ranked against the McLaren F1, but both can be compared to a 1975 Ferret armored scout car. Incidentally, the British army vehicle earns a DougScore of 32, making it only slightly more enjoyable than a Yugo.
High Profile
A number of key factors contribute to the Lightning's relatively high DougScore. Practicality and Features are tops under the Daily heading, followed by Comfort and Value. In the Weekend column, Acceleration gives the biggest thrills, although handling scores the lowest. That criticism is understandable as the Lightning is a tall, high profile, truck—no different than any other F-150.
Reasonable Review
DeMuro does his homework. He points out that 50% of Lightning orders are from those new to trucks and 75% of all buyers are new to Ford. This is partly due to the Lightning's appearance, which is very similar to a regular F-150, but also its reasonable MSRP when compared to other EV trucks. For all twenty-nine minutes of DeMuro's Lightning review, check out the full review on YouTube.
>>Join the conversation about the F-150 Lightning right here in the forum.
For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section of Ford-trucks.com.
