Rivian R1T: Review After 1 Month Of Ownership

The Rivian R1T is finally here, with the first few customers now able to give their thoughts on their trucks. One such owner, Utah-based Eugene, recently gave insight into his R1T experience. 

Eugene initially discussed build quality, stating it was better than he expected. While startups like Lucid Motors have struggled with panel gaps and fit and finish issues Rivian seems to be performing admirably in the area, perhaps due to Ford‘s influence over the firm. The various drive modes are useful, meanwhile performance is excellent.

The interior space is great. As it’s an EV, you get more interior room than most trucks in this segment. Eugene had a slight issue with his suspension, and found the service experience to be good. 

One frustrating thing was the price increase. His R1T went up by almost $20,000 however after much backlash Rivian decided to honor original prices. 

The purchase process was simple, although there was a slight delay – he received his car a few months later than initially promised. Interestingly, Eugene has never driven a Tesla and doesn’t have much experience with electric cars, unlike most Rivian customers.

The lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is frustrating, and Amazon’s large stake in Rivian means you have to use in-built Alexa to send voice messages. They also took their time with releasing updates to enable the charging times that were promised.

That said, the performance is nuts meanwhile the self-driving features work well. Plus the car will continue to evolve and get better with more and more software updates.