They look essentially the same, but lots of tweaks and improvements should make for better EV truck and SUV experiences.
There’s a sweet spot for when, exactly, to update the look of a vehicle. Tesla’s on one end of the spectrum, with an aging lineup that’s lost some of the zest it had when those vehicles were basically the only premium EV game in town. Rivian , meanwhile, is a fresh face with a unique aesthetic that is basically the fever dream of a car-interested REI super-fan. Its signature ovoid headlight lamps trisecting a thin monolamp still give the R1S and R1T a defining, instantly recognizable visage.
The R1S and R1T are not lightweight vehicles, but they are EVs, and that means pulling mass out creates benefits all around. And sometimes, less weight also equates to less outlay., so while the various reductions in component weight and production complexity aren’t necessarily interesting to potential buyers, they’re of existential importance to this young automaker.
More trimming occurred at the battery pack enclosures—massive trays, essentially, that house the battery modules and are a structural component of the chassis. Instead of an expensive extrusion-heavy enclosure, Rivian’s reached the scale and maturity to invest in high-pressure die-casting for part of the enclosure. This shaved 55 pounds off the regular pack enclosure, and a whopping 154 pounds off the off-road pack, and reduced costs. Those are big numbers.
With data gleaned from the old Quad-Motor, Rivian rebalanced the power delivery a bit, determining the front drive unit didn’t need to be so powerful to provide the requisite performance. The juiced twin e-motors from the Quad out back also utilize integrated mechanical disconnects, so when they’re not needed, the second-gen R1 Tri-Motors are essentially front-wheel-drive vehicles, with serious efficiency benefits. Rivian estimates that,—the Tri-Motor could eke out a full 410 miles of range.
To whet our appetite, Rivian put a pre-pro R1T and R1S Quad-Motor on a quaint drag strip south of Seattle— and it’d been saturated the night before, and the track had barely warmed up and dried out. Even with a prepped surface and electric tire blankets, both vehicles scrambled for grip as the Michelins bled out heat in the early morning air.
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