Rivian R1T

I've had the Rivian R1T about two weeks now and put on about 800 miles. Several have asked me to post a review, so here goes. I'll do it in bullet point format so it is not a bunch of text....

- Preordered: November 28, 2018 (I think I was number 925 on the list)
- Delivered: March 28, 2022
- Model: R1T Launch Edition, LA Silver Exterior, Black Mountain Interior
- MSRP: $73,000 before $7,500 tax credit
- Reason for Ordering: Intrigued by the performance (only performance information available at the time was 0-60 time of 3.0 seconds). I have daily driven a truck for the last 25 years, so wanted to consider this, and placed a $1,000 refundable deposit on 11/28/18, two days after it was introduced at the LA Auto show
- First time EV owner
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- Overall: very happy with it so far, good first vehicle from a new manufacturer. It is literally several vehicles in one: truck, sports car, drag racer, tow rig. Much more fun to drive than any other truck I have owned (1st generation Raptor was the nearest on the fun scale)
- Performance: incredible for a 7,000 lb vehicle, truck or not. Every bit a quick as my F12 (hits much harder from a dig due to the instant torque). Excellent handling even compared to a sports car, would destroy all other stock trucks on a road course.
- Build Quality: So far, good for a first attempt. Fit and finish does not compare to world class manufacturers, however, all who have the Rivian and Tesla all say the Rivian is better. Panel gaps are not terrible, but general panel alignment could be better (I believe their panel stampings will need redesign to accomplish this)
-Styling: this is subjective, so I will not address this. I will say it looks "sportier" in person versus the pictures, there is more styling there than I thought.
- Bugs: yes, there are some. The UI will need updating over time (which will be done via OTA updates), nothing severe enough to prevent driving or using it. Some owners have had worse problems, however.
- Towing: I have not towed yet, but it is rated at 12,000 lbs max
- Electricity / Gas usage: seems to be on par with EPA estimates for my usage, I am using between 40-45 KW over 100 miles driven. At around 10 cents per KW, it is costing me $4-4.50 per charge at home for 100 miles driven. Same 100 miles in my 2020 Ram Limited Hemi 4x4 uses 6 gallons of regular gasoline. Assuming $4 a gallon for regular gas, that is $24 per 100 miles driven.

- If you want one, I believe there are about 80k preorders right now. They are only building 15K R1T/R1S this year, so your wait will be a while unless you buy preowned. Additionally, base prices went up about 20% on 03/01/22, so a truck like mine is pushing $90k now before tax credit.

If you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them.

 

EPA rated at 314 miles. I am only charging to 70% (suggested for daily use by Rivian), but the math supports that range is obtainable. Yes, it automatically adjusts range for the given mode and how you are using it. I am charging on a 50A circuit at home (so pulling 40A), it charges at 9-10 KW per hour, so it usually takes 5ish hours to gain 100 miles of range. I have not used a DC fast charger yet.

 

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About 1,400 miles now, gets lots of attention, fast as stink, corners really well (the McLaren suspension engineers they hired did a great job with ride quality and handling dynamics). Thought about flipping it, decided to keep it.

 

I'm only charging to 70% (best for battery life) since I am charging daily (drive about 100 miles a day), gets me between 200-225 miles depending on the drive mode used. Full charge would get me over 300 miles.

 

Yes, either 70% (max battery life), 85%, or 100%. I charge daily, so use 70%.

 

Sure, no problem.

Still really happy with the truck. Have about 7k miles on it now. My truck was part of the passenger seat recall, they sent a tech to my house at did it at my convenience, very easy. The software updates have been easy and each one has made improvements. Screens have become less glitchy with software updates. No real issues to report with my particular truck.