Driving the world's fastest electric pickup truck: My Rivian R1T review

Overall dimensions seem to be slightly larger than say the Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux but smaller than the Ford F-150.

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Last month when I was in the US, I had the Rivian R1T with me in California. Had the opportunity to film a video of the same.

This video covers a walkaround, driving experience & a discussion about its Indian entry.

Folk who prefer text may read on:

To those who don't know about this brand well, this is an American car company developing vehicles to explore the outdoors and the R1T is their 1st product. Speaking of 1sts, this is the 1st electric pickup truck ever, also with 835 BHP & 1230 Nm of torque & 0 - 60 mph time of 3 secs flat - it's the fastest pick-up truck in the world.

The car which I had with me was the "Launch Edition" finished in the shade of LA Silver (named after the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, the first public debut of the R1T.)

Front

The Rivian looks extremely futuristic & sci-fi from the front. The design is simple & clean but dominated by the LED bar which is a very bold yet distinctive design element. Overall dimensions seem to be slightly larger than say the Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux but smaller than the Ford F-150. The 2 integrated tow hooks on the front bumper are the biggest indicator of its true off-road capabilities & the Outdoorsy image.

Side

Coming to the side the truck looks very athletic from this angle and not muscular, to be honest however this is all good because the real-life proportions are very manageable as it has a good blend of presence and practicality. Gets flush door handles which contribute to making the Rivian look very clean from the side.

Thick 275/65 R20 A/T Tyres.

The front part of the side profile also gets the place where you'd plug in the charger.

Approx 300 miles of range on a full charge.

Rear

Just like the front the rear also gets a LED bar which is dominating the tailgate area.

Lots of storage and electric operation of this loading zone enhance the modernity of this truck.

Design & Functionality;

Rivian brand has kept its image of an expedition vehicle & the target audience is such too. This continues with elements such as the keys, which is designed like a biner (trekking & hiking enthusiasts will be able to relate to this design).

It gets a Frunk

& an open transmission tunnel storage compartment which has many accessories you can customise (more on the website).

Interior

The inside of this truck is well laid out and feels well put together. The material blend is also a very interesting mix of leather, metal and wood.

The screens are again the command centre and definitely some Tesla influence here & the same goes with the steering operation and the gear selector stalks. The front gets a portable Bluetooth speaker which can come out and be carried around, which is very cool. The car records video whenever it detects motion around it. The rear seats are also well laid out and they have some 7-inch screens mounted in front to get some control of the cabin features. Overall I found the Cabin to be really spacious but unfortunately the reviews (American magazines) I've read online think otherwise because the amount of space is equivalent to more cup holders.

Negatives in the Interior:

• The sunroof is large and panoramic but it's fixed and not openable.
• The A/C was not very efficient, this I experienced while driving the Nexon EV Max as well (Odd comparison but that was the last EV I drove)
• Doesn't offer Android Auto/Car Play.
• Lack Of Buttons.

Driving Experience

The highlight of this truck is the acceleration. Rivian claims the R1T can do the 0-100 sprint in 3 seconds flat and by the feel of it, it sounds believable. Now the important thing to note is the 3 secs. time is for the truck when it's on normal street tyres, were as I drove the launch edition which comes standard with A/T tyres, but still, the pickup, grip on tarmac is exceptional. With no wheel spin at all the truck keeps accelerating to crazy speeds.

The question is how is the Rivian so quick, the answer is easy but lengthy. The R1T gets a total of 4 permanent magnet motors, one for each wheel with a combined output of 835 HP & producing stupendous amounts of torque 1230 Nm to be precise and all at 0 RPM. Usually, an IC engined car will have a redline around 6000-7000 rpm, but in this, the torque seems to stay relentless up to the motor spinning limit which is 18,500 rpm.

Simply put, I have never driven anything like the Rivian before. The negative thing about the driving experience is the Brake Regenerative Feature even in the standard model is too strong and really takes away the momentum of the truck, which I particularly disliked.

It's important to note that the R1T gets a skateboard layout for the batteries which allows a completely flat underbody enabling great handling for this heavy truck. This truck also gets a chassis controller which constantly monitors driver inputs, road conditions, driving mode selection, and the various sensors that keep tabs on wheel position, vehicle load & more. Its got an independent suspension all around and gets Adjustable air springs which can raise or lower the chassis by up to 165mm on the fly. When maxed, this provides 381mm of clearance (In Off-Road Mode).

This video/review was filmed at the Angles crest highway which is a famous mountain road with a fair share of twists and challenging bends. The way this truck handled these roads was itself magical. A lot of suspension trickery is in common with the Mclaren 720S (a lot of ex-Mclaren engineers are now with Rivian) making this handle like a proper Sports Truck. Body Roll too was limited (do note we have a long travel suspension as in Off-road Mode can give clearance as high as 15" i.e. approx. 381mm). Coming back to the acceleration, there's no launch control so the best feel/time was in Sport mode by pressing hard on the brake, flooring the accelerator and releasing the brake. Overall the Truck felt Effortlessly powerful & incredibly comfortable too. Do Note, In Conserve (Eco) Mode, the R1T becomes FWD, whereas In Sport Mode the R1T is almost rear-biased AWD.

Final Thoughts & Indian Entry?

Rivian had launched this truck for around $84k by now they have increased prices and it costs well over 90k and its already back-ordered due to the low production capacity I have seen a few examples of the originals launch edition selling for 20 - 30% higher than the original sticker price even in the used car market hence that says a lot about how much love this brand has received so far.

The question is will we ever see it in India, well if not the pickup truck, then I personally believe the soon-to-launch R1S should definitely be considered for an eventual launch in India & Rivian should really capitalise on Tesla's ignorance to enter the Indian market. But considering the low production capacities (currently manufactured at Mitsubishi's old plant in Normal, Illinois) this brand may not see our shores anytime soon.

P.S: My views are based on driving the Rivian for about 320 km.

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