2022 Rivian R1T First Drive Review: The Electric Pickup Revolution Is Real, and It’s Here

Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads

My drive in the R1T took me above 12,000 feet—not that elevation really matters to an electric vehicle—on a rock-crawling trail that I’m confident even some terrific late-model off-road trucks couldn’t tackle (we’re talking Rubicon territory). There, I tested the R1T’s off-road driving modes, which optimize its ride height, damping, stability control, power distribution, and pedal map. According to Rivian, these let the R1T creep up slopes as steep as 45 degrees, and wade up to 42.7 inches of water, while approach, breakover, and departure angles of 34, 25.7, and 29.3 degrees with up to 14.9 inches of ground clearance enable uninhibited travel over broken ground.

That kind of capability eased the R1T up wet, rocky creek beds and down dusty trails, its torque-vectoring four-wheel drive digging itself out of everything. Though heavy, its low center of gravity made it stable on unnerving camber as it straddled ruts, sparing my attention to keep the truck pointed away from roots and rocks that’d scratch its paint. And not only was this off-roading easy, but it was also downright comfortable, not to mention as quiet as any hike. The only sounds were those of tires on rocks, creeks as we passed them, and the surprised yelps of wildlife that didn’t hear us coming.

I mentioned the Raptor before; it’s an obvious comparison when you look at the power, but Rivian’s focus on approachable, all-around off-roading is more reminiscent of the Wrangler or the Toyota Tacoma or even the Land Rover Defender. I hate to call it a lifestyle vehicle, but that’s kind of what it is—Rivian’s billing it as a fancy, dependable tool to take you off into the wild, not a supertruck built to crush all comers.

Still, it must be said that the R1T’s off-road arsenal isn’t complete. Its four-corner camera setup wasn’t as useful as the full 360-degree views I’ve used in other, far older trucks, though a Rivian engineer tells me such a feature could be added at a later date; it was merely a matter of programming the image processing. Also, there’s no dedicated hill-descent mode, though setting regenerative braking to maximum filled in the gap almost completely.

Ultra-Heavyweight Champion

Trucks as unstoppable as the R1T was off-road are rarely pleasant on it, but the Rivian is the exception to the rule. Hunkering down on its air suspension to reduce drag and lower its center of gravity, the R1T rode smoothly and quietly, its noise cancellation suppressing wind at highway speeds. There’s a range-extending Conserve mode, which disconnects the rear axle, but I spent most of my time in Sport, with stiffer damping and sharper pedal response.

Not that response matters much when you flatten the R1T’s accelerator, unleashing a sound like the Millennium Falcon as it dumps 835 horsepower and 908 pound-feet of torque, almost lifting you out of your seat as 7,000 pounds (give or take) recoil under supercar-like acceleration. Six-piston front brake calipers, single-piston rears, and dual-axle regenerative braking slow the R1T in time for corners, where the Rivian basically doesn’t roll at all thanks to the electro-hydraulic anti-roll system. 

It may have been on all-terrain tires, but the R1T was still hungrier for hairpins than some actual race cars I’ve driven. Approximately 50-50 weight distribution meant it stayed predictable near the limit, too, as I determined while messing with oversteer on unpaved turnouts.

Of course, the limits of grip aren’t infinite, and between its immense curb weight (the exact number hasn’t been released, but Rivian told us the trucks it used for EPA testing were around 7,000 lbs) and minimal steering feel, it’s not something you’d want to approach at speed anyway. Doubly so when you get a pop-up notification that regenerative braking has been disabled like I did while cruising along a mountain road—Rivian said this was due to battery temperature controls being set too low on the prototype, and regen came back online within moments anyway.

I didn’t get to test its Rally, Drift, or Tow modes, though I was told the range penalty for towing is minimal. Depending on how aerodynamically draggy your trailer is, Rivian spokespeople say you can expect a range penalty of 20 to 40 percent on the truck’s 314-mile EPA-estimated range. This is also only achievable on the standard 21-inch wheels and road tires, as both the all-terrain and sport options reduce range some. When charge does run low, the infotainment can direct you to an unoccupied charging station, with current options being Electrify America, EVgo, and the Rivian’s growing in-house network (more networks will be integrated in the future). At peak charge rates of 200 kW DC, the R1T can recharge up to 140 miles of range in 20 minutes.

Leading the Charge

The R1T sets a mighty high bar for the electric pickups that will follow it, namely the 2022 GMC Hummer EV and 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, anticipated later this year and Spring of next respectively. The Tesla Cybertruck… well, who knows. Rivian’s truck lands in the middle as far as price—it starts at $67,500, with no dealer fees or markups on top of that—power, weight, and range go, though it will eventually offer a 400-mile battery option that’ll put it in the lead. It’s also the best at towing with some caveats; its 11,000-pound rating beats the lighting’s 10,000, and the Hummer’s hasn’t yet been announced, though it will come with impressive hands-free highway towing capability.

Being shorter than the Ford and a couple of inches narrower than either has advantages on tight trails, as does the forthcoming Tank Turn feature, which the Hummer’s crab-walk can’t really match. The Lightning might also only be adapted into an off-roader at best, with a potential FX4 package, whereas the R1T and Hummer were purpose-built for the job. It bears saying, though, that on its tippy-toes, the Rivian doesn’t lift quite as high as the GMC, which will top out at 15.9 inches to the R1T’s 14.9.

Rivian’s Ready to Rumble

There are teething problems and some questionable design elements to be found in the Rivian R1T, but they’re far fewer in number than they could be, and overshadowed by how many areas that Rivian absolutely aced. There isn’t (yet) another truck out there that’s both this capable, easy, and tranquil off-road and so good on it, be it for raising or easing your heart rate. Its styling is outstanding, the thoughtful design of its storage and accessories will be catnip to adventurers, and its build quality inspires confidence.

In the end, this was a limited drive of a pre-production vehicle, but it still showed more than enough promise to deeply impress. My time with the R1T excites me for both the future short- and long-range version of the truck, not to mention the three-row R1S. It’s not far behind the R1T and should have any company that builds electric SUVs at DEFCON 1.

Have any curiosities about the Rivian R1T that I didn’t satisfy? Email me: james@thedrive.com