The brand new Rivian R1T pickup is the fabulous EV glamping truck you didn’t know you wanted. This distinctive EV truck has every kind of options you want, plus a couple of you by no means even considered. Come alongside on our take a look at drive of the Rivian R1T and determine for your self if that is your subsequent every day driver.

What makes the Rivian R1T particular?

Rivian has been engaged on their EV pickup vans and SUVs for a number of years now, nevertheless it’s lastly right here. The primary rollout of Rivian EV vans is underway, and we obtained to drive the R1T pickup. The engineers at Rivian instructed us this pickup has been totally over-engineered, they usually’re not kidding. From every day driver duties to off-roading, this factor does all of it.

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The R1T is a pickup truck, an EV, an off-roading weekend automotive and even a tenting automobile. This one-of-a-kind electrical pickup has a wide range of choices for street floor dealing with together with Preserve mode, Snow, Off-Street, Sport and Normal operation. This enables the automobile to regulate suspension stiffness, save the battery, aid you stick with slippery roads and even elevate or decrease the journey peak for varied functions. 

What we love in regards to the R1T proper off the bat is that it’s versatile. You should use this truck to drive down some fairly tough roads and stick with them. Nonetheless, should you wrestle to discover a truck you may get out and in of with out hoisting your self as much as the peak of a horse saddle, the R1T has you lined.

Moreover, ingress and egress are simple. The middle console has a floor that can cost your iPhone wirelessly, plus a cordless Bluetooth speaker that pulls out from underneath the console to take you to the seaside. 

What is really spectacular about this truck is that it has all of the comforts of a every day driver EV, together with a frunk (entrance trunk), electronically operated hood and rear gate and an air compressor constructed into the truck mattress to inflate your tires. It even has the well-known gear tunnel. 

Flip your R1T right into a tent camper

This gear tunnel is a gap that goes instantly via the middle of the automobile between the cab and the truck mattress. It comes with some commonplace and a few elective options together with human and pet first assist kits and a useful footstool or seat constructed into the door on both sides.

For an additional $6,000 (value topic to vary), you may get the tenting gear package that pulls a range, sink and prep counter out of the gear tunnel. This implies you can use your Rivian for a commuter EV or work truck even should you reside on tough roads, after which use it for tenting in addition to off-roading as a substitute of shopping for an RV or camper.

That’s the place the value begins to make sense. Rivian R1Ts vary from $60,000 to $95,000. Our version was tricked out to the tune of about $93,000, which isn’t any chump change. However take into account how a lot an RV prices ($100,000 to $300,000) or a tent camper pullout trailer ($60,000 to $100,000), now you see the truck does all of it. You may drive the R1T to the native seaside, take it off-roading, then arrange for tent tenting at evening together with your pets. This factor can do absolutely anything a regular pickup can do, after which some.

Extras in a Rivian R1T

As we talked about beforehand, the engineers assured us they totally over-engineered the R1T. We have been comfortable to find they did this within the nicest of how. Each element is assumed via. There’s a partial self-driving choice that helps with sustaining the next distance and lane steering. 

It’s important to drive a Rivian to understand how lux it’s. The flush door handles and facet mirrors open when your key fob approaches the automotive. A key card held over the driving force’s door or placing your foot on the brake whereas your key fob is within the automotive begins it mechanically. The journey is easy, however should you want a stiff, sporty efficiency, it’s out there on the contact of a button.

The automobile stops you from doing something foolish, comparable to after we tried off-road driving and sped up an excessive amount of. The automotive merely dropped us again into commonplace driving mode and adjusted all of the settings to make that best. 

The R1T comes with tons of additional options, so that you would possibly need to mess around constructing out your choices earlier than ordering to determine which automobile is best for you. The tonneau cowl for the truck mattress is finest understood in particular person because it suits collectively like a jigsaw puzzle however works nice. You do need to pay them a few thousand further {dollars} to color your automotive something aside from silver. It provides up. However should you construct out your best automotive first, what you’re stepping into.

Nonetheless, take one for a take a look at drive if it’s out there. You’re going to like this factor. We dragged ours everywhere to run errands, ship recycling, decide up groceries and different purchases. We additionally drove it on dust and pavement and thru rain, on pavement and tough again roads. It dealt with the whole lot seamlessly. 

The inside screens are designed after Tesla, however we like how there’s a separate display screen for the driving force show and the infotainment system. Loads of the expertise is made by Rivian only for this automobile line, so should you like tech, take a look at a take a look at drive to see all of the mapping and self-driving capabilities this automotive has, plus the fowl’s eye view digital camera that retains you out of hassle in visitors.

+ Rivian

Photos through Rivian

Editor’s Observe: This evaluate just isn’t sponsored by Rivian. All opinions on the automotive and firm are the creator’s personal.