2024 Rivian R1T Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Love it or loathe it, the Rivian R1T certainly stands out thanks to its boxy design and sheer scale. Stretching 217 inches long and 78 inches high, the R1T is large, but it doesn’t look (or feel) unwieldy. Thanks to its 135.8-inch wheelbase, the R1T has a nicely balanced look and a planted stance. The front wheels are pushed about as far forward as possible, and the wheel wells are nicely filled out by several choices of alloys ranging from 20 to 22 inches in diameter. The smaller 20-inch alloys come as part of the All-Terrain package that adds underbody skid plates and a full-size spare tire.

In total, the R1T is available in a choice of eight exterior colors. Only one, LA Silver, comes at no additional cost. The remaining hues add $1,750 or $2,500 to the bottom line, depending on which catches your eye. Our particular test vehicle was finished in aptly named Rivian Blue—a $2,500 option—and rode on 22-inch Sport Bright alloy wheels. Styling is subjective, but during our week-long test, the color alone was unanimously praised by onlookers who were intrigued by this big blue beastie.

The same wasn’t always true about the overall design itself. This proved especially true regarding the grille-less front end which features two illuminated ovals that house the headlights. Spanning the width of the front is a similarly illuminated light bar. If you’re old enough to remember, it conjures up misty memories of Mercury-branded vehicles in the 1980s that sported the same design flourish.

The taillights mimic the style of the front light bar, though these didn’t stir up anywhere near the same level of design controversy. Plastic body cladding runs around the entire lower half of the R1T, and a small black spoiler is subtly perched at the rear of the cabin’s roof. It’s not conventionally pretty, though the R1T has a definite visual impact that turns heads wherever it roams.

Quick, smooth, and whisper quiet. We could probably stop right there in our summation of the R1T’s performance, but you’d feel a little short-changed in terms of enjoying an all-encompassing review. Rivian offers the R1T in one trim that’s dubbed “Adventure.” There are three battery sizes, though not all of them are available with the two choices of powertrain that Rivian labels as the Dual-Motor AWD and Quad-Motor AWD. Rivian states all versions of the R1T can tow a maximum of 11,000 pounds and that payload capacity stands at 1,760 pounds. Rivian has also noted towing generally leads to a range reduction of around 50 percent.

As for the entry-level dual-motor powertrain, it delivers 533 horsepower to all four wheels courtesy of this electric pickup’s standard all-wheel drive. Moving up to the Performance version of the dual-motor setup bumps out the standard battery pack and adds the large battery pack.

This nudges output to 665 hp and drops the zero to 60 mph time from 4.5 seconds to only 3.5 seconds. Range is an EPA-rated 341 miles with this configuration. There is also the option to add the Max Pack, which delivers an even more impressive 400+ miles of range. Unfortunately, the Max Pack lives up to its name in terms of cost, too. This stand-alone option rings in at a whopping $16,000.

Our tester came with the Quad-Motor powertrain with the Large battery and those aforementioned 22-inch alloy wheels. With a total of 835 horsepower, courtesy of four electric motors, and 341 miles of range, Rivian estimates this 7,100-pound pickup scorches from zero to 60 mph in only 3.0 seconds. From our perspective, we have no reason to doubt it.

While it’s perfectly easy to accelerate in a calm and mannerly way, the R1T is ready to rocket down the road whenever you want. Highway passing power was grin-inducing fun, at least from our perspective, and the suspension is extremely comfortable. Granted, the ride is on the firm side, but that’s fine considering the R1T is meant to be rugged enough for off-road adventuring.

With this in mind, the R1T has 15 inches of ground clearance, multiple drive modes, and an adaptive suspension. We didn’t test Rivian’s claimed wading depth of 3 feet, though it's nice to know it’s there if needed.

On the paved roads that constituted our test drives, the R1T’s handling proved smooth and linear. It’s easy to place on the road and inspires confidence in the driver. A substantial amount of our driving time was spent on narrow two-lane country roads closely hemmed in by trees on either side. In this environment, many full-size trucks would feel akin to piloting a Star Wars X-Wing into the bowels of the menacing Death Star—in other words, mildly terrifying and not a lot of fun. Not so the R1T, thankfully.

Our most awkward moments came when simply trying to position the Rivian in a perpendicular parking spot. Its turning diameter of 45 feet isn’t bad compared to other full-size trucks, though you need to gently arch your way into spots to avoid leaving the R1T at an embarrassingly crooked angle. After a few days, we started to aim for the empty last rows of any given parking lot and chalk it up to wanting to get more cardio steps in.

This is a case of good news and bad news. Starting with the good stuff, the R1T has a number of clever touches when it comes to towing, hauling, or getting you and four others from Point A to Point B. Starting with the cargo bed, it stretches 4 feet 5 inches in length. This is definitely on the small side for a large pickup, and about the same as what’s offered in the compact Ford Maverick pickup. But wait, there’s more… at least in terms of cargo solutions.

An air compressor and 120-volt outlet are both integrated into the sides of the cargo bed itself. When opened, the driver’s door reveals a small LED flashlight positioned within it. Simply give it a gentle push and it pops out, voila!

Then there’s what Rivian calls the Gear Tunnel. It’s located directly behind the passenger cabin and ahead of the cargo bed. Hatches on either side open to reveal an empty space that runs across the entire truck. These hatches are also strong enough to support the weight of an adult, a useful touch when loading cargo into the bed or potentially atop the roof. They also double as seats for those times when, say, you might want to kick off muddy or snow-covered gear before getting inside your electric truck.

The cargo bed also has hidden storage that’s accessed via a plastic panel that manually swings upward. To be honest, it feels a little clunky to open, though its practicality makes up for it. This space is filled by a spare tire when the R1T is specced with the All-Terrain package.

At the front, you’ll find a “frunk” (front trunk in EV speak). There’s about 11 cubic feet of space, and drain holes in the floor allow it to serve as a mobile cooler for camping or tailgate parties. One drawback is that getting stuff in there requires a workout. Unlike the yawing frunk found in the electric-powered F-150 Lightning, the R1T’s trunk lid (frunk lid?) does not include any of the front grille area. This means you have to hoist items over the fairly tall—and firmly fixed—front end.

Another demerit is the fact that the R1T is available only with one choice of cabin size and cargo bed. Whether they’re looking at GMCs or Toyotas, truck shoppers often have several choices of each when optioning a vehicle. The lack of customization could deter EV shoppers who have very specific tasks required from their vehicle.

For lovers of tech in their trucks, the Rivian could be a dream come true. Standard on every R1T is a 12-inch digital instrument display and 16-inch touchscreen mounted in the center of the dashboard. For fans of buttons and dials, please look away because there are none to be found. We’ll admit the touchscreen-intensive nature of the cabin is intimidating at first. Yet it proved adaptable and user-friendly thanks to large icons and clear graphics.

Befitting the startup vibe of Rivian itself, it’s no surprise there are numerous tech touches fitted to the R1T. These include navigation, a trial subscription to Sirius/XM satellite radio, navigation, wireless device charging, HD radio, six USB ports, Amazon Alexa, over-the-air (OTA) software updates, and a 19-speaker Meridian stereo.

One thing is missing, and that would be any form of smartphone connectivity. Neither Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto is available; it’s a strange oversight in our opinion and a potential deal-breaker for smartphone-loving EV consumers.

In terms of charging tech, the R1T has an 11.5-kilowatt onboard charger and a peak DC fast-charge rate of 220 kilowatts. Rivian offers its own home charging station that can fully juice the larger, 135-kWh battery pack in about 13 hours. The charging unit costs a reasonable $750, though it requires professional installation. At its recharging best (when using a Level 3 DC fast-charger), the R1T can add 140 miles of range in about 20 minutes.

Oh, and in case you were curious about where exactly the charge port is located, take a peek at the front driver’s side corner. This touch-sensitive flap swings outward and upward simply by pressing a row of tiny raised bumps along its upper edge.

Despite being a new automaker, Rivian makes sure you don’t have to worry about picking and choosing which safety features you want on the R1T. That’s because any that are available are all fitted as standard across every variant, regardless of drivetrain spec. These include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, automatic high-beam headlights, front and rear parking sensors, and a surround-view parking camera. To put it mildly, the R1T isn’t left wanting when it comes to active safety aids.

This point is driven home by the fact that the 2023 Rivian R1T earned Top Safety Pick+ status from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Among full-size trucks, only the gas-fed Toyota Tundra also earned the IIHS’ highest accolade.

The R1T not only earned the highest rating of “Good” in all six crash tests, but it also scored a “Superior” rating in the effectiveness of its front crash prevention tech in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian situations. This only ticked down to “Advanced” in a simulated night-time test of the same vehicle-to-pedestrian avoidance scenario.

Since the 2024 model year R1T has the same level of safety features, it reasons this strong score will continue. Due to its relative rarity and price, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has not conducted its own crash tests on either the R1T or R1S SUV.

A Rivian R1T Adventure with the Dual-Motor powertrain and Standard battery pack has a starting price of $73,000. That’s about $20,000 more than the entry-level Pro version of the Ford F-150 Lightning, though this direct comparison isn’t exactly fair. When optioned within the same degree of the R1T, this price gap narrows to almost nothing. It also falls in line with the price tag affixed to the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the all-wheel-drive version of the Tesla Cybertruck.

Fitted with the Quad-Motor arrangement and large battery, our test vehicle totaled an eye-widening $94,000. During many curbside conversations with curious onlookers, mentioning this out-the-door price is when their look of excitement turned to, shall we say, EV-fueled disappointment. Granted, a full-size, gas-powered version of the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, and Ram 1500 can cost this much bedecked in their most opulent trims.

Yet, considering Rivian remains relatively unknown and the idea of an electric truck remains something of a novelty, the steep price is both a mental and fiscal hurdle to many would-be EV truck buyers.