Inside Rivian: the start-up teaching VW how to make better EVs

It was launched in 2021, ahead of the Ford F-150 Lightning and when the Cybertruck seemed more the stuff of Musk’s dystopian fever dreams than an actual production vehicle.

Still, the R1T that awaits me outside the Rivian Service Center, located in a nondescript industrial district of Las Vegas’s drab, sprawling suburbs, looks positively fresh in terms of design. It’s softer than most big US trucks, and distinctive oval-shaped headlights, a full-width light bar and a blanked-off front end give it a slightly futuristic feel, but it’s recognisably a pick-up.

Parked next to ‘my’ R1T is an R1S SUV and seeing them together reinforces just how similar they are. They’re essentially the same machine: you just choose whether you want a flatbed or a big boot and more space in the back.

The R1T’s flatbed features a mechanically closing cover and there’s a huge storage tunnel behind the rear seats, which is accessed via hatches on each side of the truck’s body. The hatches fold down and can be used as seats, or a step to make it easier to reach into the flatbed. And, of course, there’s a really chunky frunk.

The R1T in front of me may look the same as when it was launched, but Rivian made enough changes late last year to label this a second-generation model. There are new built-in-house motors, reworked air suspension and new battery packs. It’s offered with two, three or four motors, all providing four-wheel drive.

Dual-motor models have 526bhp and the quad-motor set-up produces a bonkers 1011bhp, enough to give this three-tonne pick-up a Porsche 911 GT3-beating claimed 0-60mph time of less than 2.5sec. I’ll be making do with the tri-motor version (two motors on the rear axle, one up front), which has a mere 838bhp.

Probably enough. For the record, that’s nearly identical to the tri-motor Tesla Cyberbeast. A range of battery sizes is offered for the various powertrains: this R1T Tri uses a 141.5kWh unit for a range of 371 miles.

Part of the reason Rivian hasn’t altered the styling for this new model is because it’s really the only constant. The firm regularly improves cars already on the roads through over-the-air updates. For example, the second-gen model features a new infotainment interface, which will eventually be rolled out to existing cars.

“The defining feature of our cars is how they improve over time,” says Bensaid. “We have highly engaged owners and they are very vocal in wanting more features. If a month passes by and our customers don’t receive an update, I’ll get messages asking what’s happened.”

Those updates – and much of the work on the second-generation R1T hardware – was based on customer data. Updates have included everything from new locking sounds and a car wash mode to more tangible changes.

“One of the most successful updates we had was to the suspension,” says Bensaid. Real-world testing convinced Rivian’s engineers that the ride wasn’t performing as they had intended, so they reprogrammed how the adjustable air suspension balanced the ride over bumps.

“Customers could not believe we could change that through software,” says Bensaid. “It was mind-boggling. With a traditional car, when you drive it out of the dealership, that’s the ride quality that you have, but we can change suspension through software. That’s the magic we can bring.”

Inside the R1T

So is an R1T magic to drive? I’m keen to find out, but first I need to get into it. Rivian’s press car uses digital guest keys provided through the Rivian app, except it isn’t available in the Apple UK app store. Thankfully, the Rivian Service Center staff trust me with the actual credit card-style key.

There is a Tesla-esque feel to the interior, with minimal physical controls and a big, 15.6in touchscreen, although in Rivian’s case it sits horizontally. There are multifunction toggles on the steering wheel and a row of fixed buttons at the bottom of the screen gives access to essential functions.

The interior isn’t as stark as a Tesla’s: there’s a warmth to the materials, especially the ash wood-effect dashboard and deep plaid carpeting that, depending on your view, echoes either a Volkswagen Golf GTI or a 1970s chain hotel.

Overall, it’s light and bright, helped by a panoramic glass roof that features adjustable opacity. The rear seats are a bit upright, but then this is a pick-up and there’s plenty of room, as well as a rear touchscreen that gives access to the ventilation and infotainment controls.

Still, the experience is dominated by the touchscreen, which is used for everything from the infotainment to the steering wheel adjuster (then done using the steering wheel toggles) and drive modes.

It’s truly among the slickest systems you’ll find, both in terms of functionality and visual splendour, with stylised comic-book-style graphics. There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto but it’s so good you don’t miss them.

Most key features require just a press or two, but there’s no skimping on information: the off-road mode page shows off a mind-boggling amount of data. There’s fun too: Gear Guard security mode originally introduced a friendly bear to watch over your belongings and he now appears on several other function screens.

“We’re extremely intentional in what we put on the screen,” says Bensaid. “We want it to be a very intuitive experience, because we know touchscreens can be a barrier. We want our drivers to have fun and we have internal debates about every single pixel that goes on the screen.”

Driving the future of pick-ups

With an R1T for a day, the question is where to head. From the Service Center, I can see the gaudy skyline of the Las Vegas strip a few miles south, but that doesn’t feel like the R1T’s natural home. Too brash, too showy. Cybertruck territory, basically. So with the Rivian’s outdoorsy vibes, I head north-west towards the tranquillity of Nevada’s Spring Mountains.

On the urban roads and interstates that I traverse to get there, the R1T is pleasingly amiable, especially because its hefty size isn’t an issue in this wide, open space. Like many pick-ups, the high ride height, chunky tyres and raised suspension – not to mention my test car’s 22in tyres – mean it’s not the most planted of vehicles, but standard air suspension soaks up bumps and it’s really very comfortable.

It’s predictably quick too: a three-tonne kerb weight is no match for three electric motors. Once I’ve escaped the city limits and found a straight and empty road, I have a play with the launch control, egged on by the Gear Guard bear on screen (clearly a bad influence).

The novelty of a fast-accelerating EV has long worn off, but there’s still amusement in experiencing such astounding pick-up in a pick-up.

But launch control is a distracting party piece. The R1T’s core skills are the genuine multi-terrain and towing capability it offers. It’s a car for the great outdoors. Once I’ve escaped the Vegas valley, the road starts rising and winding.

Up here, the R1T is no slouch and it’s able to power out of hairpins with aplomb. It’s fun rather than thrilling in corners but you wouldn’t really expect a heavy pick-up to offer much more.

It’s a cold winter day in Nevada and a bracing wind makes it truly bitter in the mountains. Not ideal conditions for an EV, and on the outbound trip I’ve used more of the R1T’s charge than I expected.

But after playing with the regen and drive modes, and learning how best to use the truck’s weight, it fares far better on the return leg and I arrive back at the Service Center having averaged around 2mpkWh. Not impressive in isolation but reasonable for this size of vehicle.

The Volkswagen tie-up

The R1T is an impressive thing. It certainly doesn’t feel like the first product from an EV start-up. It’s well conceived and well built, with a real maturity to the driving experience and powertrain. I’ve yet to drive a Cybertruck, but when editor Mark Tisshaw tried one recently, he found himself liking it in spite of the thing. 

By contrast, the R1T is so endearing that you want to like it. I fear I’d have upset the Gear Guard bear if I didn’t.

It echoes Bensaid’s comments about Rivian’s relationship with its customers. “They now have very different expectations of what they want,” he says. “They don’t want a traditional car that has an electric powertrain. They want a different type of end-to-end product. That’s the big difference between traditional car firms and us.”

And that, ironically, is why the Volkswagen Group is so interested – and now invested – in Rivian. Legacy car firms have spent vast sums of money trying to master the art of making software-defined vehicles and they’re still struggling. After its own struggles, the VW Group has clearly decided the best way to get that knowledge is to work with a firm that has it.

“It’s great recognition for everything that the team has achieved,” says Bensaid, who performs his role as co-CEO of the new joint venture alongside the Volkswagen Group’s Carsten Helbing. And he notes that the deal isn’t a one-way street.