Rivian R1T Dual-Motor Review

Rivian rebuilt this truck rather than facelifting it. The second generation uses motors designed in house, a zonal wiring architecture that removed well over a mile of harness, and new dampers that finally give the R1T a settled ride on a bad road. Everything that made the first one special survived. The gear tunnel between the cab and the bed is still the cleverest storage idea on any pickup. The frunk is enormous. The air suspension will lift it high enough to embarrass things with low range gearboxes, and the software is second only to Tesla's, with genuinely good route planning and an interface that does not fight you.

The costs are as honest as the prices. Twenty two inch tyres are expensive, insurance is high, the service network is still thin outside coastal cities, and first generation cars lost a great deal of value the moment this one appeared. Efficiency is the real weakness, because two and a half tonnes of aluminium and glass costs energy no matter how good the motors are.