Rivian’s first product, the R1T presents well as a fully-fledged, comfortable and capable production vehicle.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Despite Tesla’s eventual success, it’s easy to dismiss small electric automakers that pop-up out of nowhere and suddenly have a valuation that challenges the giants. But that would be a mistake.
After a blockbuster initial public offering last month, Rivian’s valuation has hovered close to $100-billion. Shares plummeted to a new low Friday after the startup cut its 2021 production target of 1,200 vehicles. Chief Executive RJ Scaringe cited supply-chain constraints and likened increasing production to “a really complex orchestra.”
But even its current value of just over $80-billion tops Ford and GM by a few billion and Ford sold 4.2 million vehicles in 2020 compared to Rivian’s current total of a few hundred.
That all said, Rivian’s first product, the R1T (which starts at $90,000), is real. We drove one and it deserves to be taken seriously.
As we arrive for our first-drive rendezvous, the olive-green truck that awaits is smaller than expected. At 5.5 metres length, it’s closer to a mid-size pickup like the Ford Ranger than the full-size F-150 (which will be available as an electric next year). I’m struck too by the R1T’s friendly “face” – Rivian isn’t trying to attract Ram-bo bullies in their coal-rolling duallies.
Also quickly obvious is that this truck presents as a fully-fledged production vehicle (Rivian’s rep says it was an “early saleable” unit). There’s little evidence of cottage-industry amateurism, or the poor build quality that has long tainted Tesla.
the Rivian has lots of hardware, and none of it rudimentary.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Climbing aboard, I’m able to tailor a just-so seating position while noting the minimal blind spots created by the A-pillar and the door mirror. Fine-tuning my self-installation, however, is more tiresome: to adjust the power steering column, or the door mirrors, I must first use the 16-inch centre horizontal touchscreen to select what I want to do, then use multi-function thumb controls on the steering-wheel spokes to move the wheel or adjust the mirrors. In the absence of dashboard knobs and buttons, numerous other functions involve the same process.
Like in some other EVs, there’s no stop-start button. The vehicle detects a driver aboard, and I just toggle the right stalk down for Drive. The throttle pedal has a long travel and gentle tip-in – understandably so, given that the four motors, one for each wheel, together generate more than 800 horsepower and 900-plus lb.-ft. of torque.
On the subject of hardware, the Rivian has lots of it, and none of it rudimentary. Besides the power and traction provided by its democratic “one-wheel, one-motor” drive, it has all-independent height-adjustable air suspension, active variable damping, and electro-hydraulic roll control in place of conventional stabilizer bars. All that adjustability is appropriately mixed-and-matched through five drive modes: All-Purpose, Sport, Conserve, Tow and Off-road. Depending on the mode, ride height can range from 8.7 to 15 inches.
Our first acquaintance didn’t include any towing or off-roading, but it revealed the R1T to be shockingly complete and, well, mature as a daily driver.
Dig deep into the accelerator and the thrust comes close to the gut-wrench feel of a launch-control departure in, say, a Porsche Turbo. Yet it’s so linear, and deathly quiet, that you really have to watch the speedometer to fully understand how rapidly you’ve just gone from stopped to a stunt-driving ticket. Rivian claims 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 3 seconds.
In stark contrast, acceleration in Conserve mode, which uses only the front motors, feels even slower than “half as fast.”
Ride and handling are not priority assets in a pickup truck, but here too the test truck – even on off-road oriented all-terrain tires – proved better than it needed to be. The steering is accurate and nicely weighted and the truck feels confident and balanced in expressive cornering. Our test route in and around Port Huron, Mich., failed to encounter any surfaces that disrupted the ride comfort. As for brakes, we barely used them: for my driving style, at least, the regenerative braking seamlessly provided the right level of deceleration almost every time.
At the wheel, the turn-signal stalk on the left also controls lighting and wipers; the stalk on the right does PRND plus cruise control and the Driver+ suite of semi-autonomous drive features. The “gauge cluster” is another screen, but better-integrated into the dashboard, and bigger, than the similar arrangements in some other EVs. We did note a couple of wrinkles, though: no trip odometer that we could find; limited trip-computer information; and no Resume function for cruise control (though adaptive cruise is standard).
The R1T boasts an under-bed storage that fits a full-size spare tire, top, and a gear tunnel, bottom, for extra storage.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
The R1T is rich in practical utility features: the storage well below the bed floor that alternatively stores the full-size spare where required; the flashlight that docks in the driver’s door; the fully enclosed Gear Tunnel compartment extending across the truck behind the cab. The latter can be accessed from inside, or from a fold-down exterior door each side that can double as a seat or a step.
The bed itself is 51 inches wide and 54 long and has a volume of 29 cu.ft. The under-bed storage, gear tunnel and an under-hood frunk combine to add another 37 cu.ft. Tow capacity is up to 11,000 pounds, Rivian says.
When you’re not towing, Rivian predicts 480-km-plus range on the standard battery pack and 640+ on the optional bigger one. Our afternoon drive starting from a less-than-full state of charge didn’t allow scientific testing of range, but we used 172 km of predicted range over an actual 156-kilometre drive (during which we might have indulged in warp-speed acceleration more than once).
Canadian deliveries are scheduled for next July, but you can already configure one online starting at $90,000 and the $1,500 deposit is refundable. Rivian still has a lot to prove as a manufacturer and as a company. Reliability issues or recalls may lie in store. What we can say for now is that the R1T we drove is comfortable and capable, looks well-built, and drives terrifically well. Don’t dismiss it yet.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
With a file from Reuters
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