More specifically, Motor Trend and Rivian took two R1T pickup trucks through the Trans-America Trail, a 5,000 mile route stretching from Nags Head, North Carolina to Port Orford, Oregon. It goes through the Appalachian mountains, over the Rocky Mountains, and through endless mud-covered, rain-drenched, rock-filled trails. The occasional paved road gave them a break but, otherwise, it was a brutal 5,000 mile stretch.

According to MT, the Rivian R1T handled it all with ease. Looking at its spec sheet, it’s not hard to see why. Four electric motors; two at each axle, giving it real-time torque vectoring all-wheel drive in a way no other drivetrain configuration can; give the big EV pickup truck 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque. A 133-kWh battery pack provides around 300 miles of range, which is impressive considering its power and the fact that it weighs over 6,500 lbs. Thanks to all of that torque, solid construction, and heavy curb weight, the R1T can tow up to 11,000 lbs.

There are also tons of clever features. Being an EV, there’s tons of interior space, despite the R1T being smaller on the outside than most other full-size pickups. There’s also a very neat storage area between the cab and the bed, hidden by a little door. From there, you can add some interesting options, including a full kitchen that slides out, which makes camping far nicer. That’s also Rivian’s goal — make exploring the outdoors fun with electric vehicles.

The second part of the story is coming soon, so stay tuned to Motor Trend to find out more, but the Rivian R1T seems like an incredibly impressive truck. It packs all of the benefits off a fast, sporty EV, with a all of the benefits of an off-road truck with seemingly none of the drawbacks of either.

[Source: Motor Trend]

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The Rivian R1T outputs up to 800 horsepower and has a claimed 0-to-60-mph time of 3.0 seconds. Adjustable air suspension will be standard at launch and can adjust the clearance height from eight to 14 inches. It features a 135-kWh battery pack with a driving range of 300 miles. A larger 180-kWh pack will become optional in 2022 with around 400 miles per charge. Being a truck, the towing capacity and payload are extremely important. The R1T can tow more than 11,000 pounds with a payload capacity of 1760 pounds.

Price wise, the R1T Launch Edition starts at $73,000. The more expensive model will follow in 2022.

As far as the Motor Trend review, the U.S. magazine came back impressed with its on-road performance, especially when riding in Sport mode and taking on some tight curves. The power delivery to each wheel was one of the positive things. But since this is a truck, the off-road performance is equally important. The review raves about R1T’s drive over a rough terrain and claims to be even better than the Jeep Wrangler.

Check out the full review below.

Very few journalists have thus far been given the chance to drive the very exciting new Rivian R1T electric pickup truck, one of the year’s most anticipated new EVs. Deliveries are set to kick off soon (after having been postponed), but right now there’s still a lot of mystery shrouding this model because it has yet to be driven by journalists who specialize in electric vehicles for in-depth testing.

But even as non-specialists in the field of electric vehicles, the guys from MotorTrend, who were given privileged access to the R1T, were left very impressed by the experience. T

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