Rivian R1T review

Large pickups dominate the American car sales charts, so it's little surprise that plenty of firms are pushing to develop electric versions, despite the considerable challenges that come with powering already big, heavy machines with big, heavy batteries.

- James Attwood

Perhaps more surprising was that the first firm to launch a full-size pickup in the US market was EV startup Rivian. It launched the R1T in 2021, several months ahead of industry giant Ford's F-150 Lightning and when the Tesla Cybertruck seemed more the stuff of Elon Musk’s dystopian fever dreams than an actual production vehicle.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

Given that it's an American EV start-up, Rivian is often compared with Tesla. But you only need a cursory glimpse at their respective pickups to understand the vast differences between the firms. While the Cybertruck is unapologetically brash and confrontational, the R1T is far more conventional and infused with genuine warmth and charm.

Unlike the Cybertruck, the R1T follows clas-sic pickup design conventions, with a bluff front end, a long bonnet, a squared-off dou-ble-cab body and a long, practical loadbed. But Rivian has used the benefits of its electric architecture to give it a slightly futuristic style of its own.

The oval headlights have quickly become a distinctive design detail, while the lack of a chunky grille — a classic big pickup trope — is notable. Instead there's a clean front with a full-width light bar that tucks behind the head-lights at either end. Tow hooks poking out of the lower bumper panel hint at the practicality promised.

The R1T has relatively clean and simple lines but enough shape to give it presence. The front windscreen is quite steeply raked for a pickup, helping the aerodynamics, and chunky wheel arches add to the off-road vibes.

The R1T can be classed as a full-size US pickup: it’s 5,514mm long, 1,986mm high and 2,082mm wide (with the mirrors folded in). It has a 3,449mm wheelbase and, for off-road types, a departure angle of 29.9deg.