The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup will have a lot to prove when sales begin next spring.

But you can rest easy about its acceleration, towing and ability to protect delicate batteries and motors in rugged terrain.

I rode shotgun last week as Ford engineers put the electric F-150 through its paces at the company’s wooded proving ground in Romeo, north of Detroit. I’d rather be at the wheel, but the only person outside Ford Motor Co. who’s driven an electric F-150 Lightning so far was President Joe Biden when he visited the assembly plant in Dearborn on Tuesday.

That puts a whole new face on “above my pay grade,” doesn’t it?

Good on paper, and the road

Ford hasn’t revealed detailed specs for the Lightning yet, but the headline is clear: 563 horsepower, 775 pound-feet of torque, electronically controlled full-time four-wheel drive, 0-60 mph times in the mid 4-second range, 230- or 300-mile range, depending on which battery pack you pay for. Ford hasn’t said how big the packs are yet, but around 90 kWh seems likely for extended range.

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The power and torque figures both top the most powerful 2021 F-150, the 430-hp/570 pound-feet hybrid. Ford doesn’t talk about the hybrid's 0-60 times, but you can rest assured the Lightning beats that easily, too.

The big open questions are curb weight, which should significantly affect the Lightning’s ability to navigate mud, and charging time, important to its practicality for long drives and uptime as a fleet vehicle.

Smart, quiet, capable

My demos included towing 6,000 pounds up a 25% grade, standstill and passing acceleration and bumping over a jarring off-road course. They showcased key Lightning attributes including power, quiet operation, smooth ride and advanced features.

The Lightning was smooth and quiet while towing and on Ford’s high-speed oval.

The quiet was almost eerie pulling three tons up a 25% grade. In addition to the electric motor's instant power and quiet operation, the drivetrain’s single-speed direct drive dispenses with an automatic transmission’s noticeable shifts, and the sound of an engine revving up and down as it moves through the gears.

Other towing-friendly Lightning features include a tow mode that increases the regenerative braking on downhill slopes. It’s not quite as much regeneration as the one-pedal driving mode selectable during normal driving, but enough to reduce downhill speed and boost battery charging to offset the extra drain towing uphill.

The Lightning’s trip computer adjusts range to reflect towing load and changes recommended charging stops to reflect that.

A planned update will allow the Lightning to use cloud-based data to modify range projections according to the topography — long uphill grades, for instance — temperature, altitude and other factors along a programmed route.

Lightning's towing capacity was tested to more rigorous standards, and over the same routes as a conventional F-150, including the 11.4-mile, 3,000-foot Davis Dam climb in Arizona and Nevada.

Fast, smooth, tough

Acceleration and handling on Ford’s banked high-speed track was equally impressive. Again notably smooth and quiet, the Lightning zoomed past 60 mph from a standing start and quickly surpassed 90.

At least as important as 0-60 in real-life driving, the Lightning’s highway-speed passing acceleration from around 50 mph pushed me back into my seat, again reaching 90 quickly on the closed course.

The independent rear suspension and Lightning’s low center of gravity — because its heavy battery is located beneath the cabin floor — kept the pickup flat and stable in quick lane changes. The suspension also delivered a smooth ride, with relatively little tendency to "squat" back on its rear wheels in hard acceleration.

The Lightning’s selectable sport mode affects steering, handling and accelerator pedal response, but has no effect on 0-60 speed.

The Lightning’s standard equipment will include full underbody steel skid plates to protect the battery pack, and an electronically controlled rear differential. The off-road mode changes programming for the pickup's stability control, antilock brakes and pedal response.

The Lightning bottomed out repeatedly during my ride, and the drivetrain’s ability to meter power precisely to each wheel allowed it to go up and down steep slopes and pull through muddy ruts.

I look forward to learning more about the F-150 Lightning’s performance, comfort and range when people who aren’t president get to drive them.

Follow Detroit Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan on Twitter @mark_phelan.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup showcases power, new features