Two days later I went to Death Valley, California, for a test run of the Rivian R1T, a sandstorm passed. Not quite biblical, more than that Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. The weather was too extreme, the cell towers stopped working, and no one could open their eyes long enough to find the slate general store that was providing shelter. Worse still, we couldn’t find the only pub. It turned out that these were the perfect conditions to test out a solid EV from a new brand looking to make a mark.
Not long after my tour of California, I was cruising around the lush forests of upstate New York in the R1S, the SUV version of Rivian’s truck. This model has been noticed by Range Rover customers and it will reach customers before the British brand launches its first legal hybrid model.
R1T starts at $67,500 and R1S starts at $72,000, and options add up quickly. The loaner R1T I drove cost a great $90,000, but in reality the $22,500 options are just gravy on an already excellent truck. You can buy the entry-level model without any options or upgrades and you still get all the best parts of the R1T.
I covered 1,300 miles on the R1T in all conditions — from rush hour traffic in Los Angeles to clear highways, frigid mountain roads to desert trails. Then I drove another 100 miles in an R1T and an R1S through rural New York, ending up on a muddy off-road just to be sure. Here’s why it’s, by far, the highest-rated EV I’ve reviewed.
House From Home
It was clear that tent camping wouldn’t happen the first night the sandstorm hit. Going over the last 30 miles of juice in Rivian’s 300-mile battery range, I found Death Valley’s only charging stations — four slow chargers powered by a series of solar panels — and plugged in bowing in the night.
I never slept well in the car, but with the driver’s seat reclined all the way back and the charging station working sluggishly when recharging the Rivian, I nodded vigorously. Automakers have gotten very good at creating synthetic leather that can be mistaken for real leather. The R1T’s faux-leather seats could fool anyone, and even after a few days and 12 hours of driving (and sleeping in) the Rivian, I never once felt uncomfortable.
I didn’t spend a lot of time in the backseat, but with the touchscreen for the rear climate control and a comfortable folding armrest, the second row of both the R1T and R1S are comfortable. like the front seats. The R1S has a third row of seats for a total of seven passengers. There is no option for a second-row captain’s seat (two individual seats) instead of a three-man bench. Both rows of seats fold flat, as is typical, and would be expected in an SUV these days.
As part of the $5,500 Adventure package, you get ash wood interior panels. They come in three colors: brown, brown and black. What impressed me the most was that they weren’t coated with a thick layer of varnish, like the wood trim of most cars. The stain used on the wood is just enough to give color, when running your finger across the surface you can feel the wood grain. The floor mats on the Adventure Trim are equally tactile and include woven rugs from Chilewich. They offer a nice, distinctive design detail, while most floor coverings are old carpet or plain rubber.
You can store whatever you like in the oversea gear tunnel that runs across the bottom front of the truck bed. It serves as a second lockable trunk, in addition to the front trunk under what we commonly call the hood in an internal combustion engine (ICE) truck. There’s plenty of room for a bunch of groceries in the house, and I carry a couple of large duffel bags and a backpack in there for backup. There’s even a handy dedicated Bluetooth speaker with a subwoofer, tweeter, and two mid-range speakers located under the center console and can be completely detached from the cabin. If only car manufacturers had such attention to detail.
Exemplary interior
Photo: Elliot Ross / Rivian
The rectangular 15.6-inch touchscreen’s user interface is the best of any full-screen infotainment center I’ve seen. All the more impressive because a tow truck, haulage, off-road, commuter like the R1T has a lot more drive configurations, such as Polestar 2, has the same intuitive and industry-leading user interface, but isn’t aesthetically pleasing or packed with multiple screens and drive settings. Touchscreen interfaces are a weak point for many car companies, and it’s surprising they don’t look to systems like this for valuable lessons. Behind the center console, rear-seat passengers get their own 6.8-inch touchscreen to control the heating and air-conditioning vents.
