You absolutely do not, under any circumstances, need a Rivian R1 with the new quad-motor setup. With all four motors combined, you get 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 pound-feet of torque, which is enough to shoot to R1S to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, while the R1T is ever so slightly quicker, coming in with a 0-to-60 time of 2.5 seconds. Whether you choose the truck or the SUV, though, you get the same 10.5-second quarter-mile time.
No one on earth needs a vehicle that quick, and you definitely don’t need a truck or SUV that quick. Then again, even if you somehow convinced yourself that you did need one, good luck paying for it. The quad-motor R1T starts at $117,885 if you include the $1,895 destination charge, with the R1S starting at $123,885. If you want one of the Launch Editions, you’ll pay an extra $4,000 on top of that.
You could also argue no one needs an electric pickup truck in the first place, but at least the dual-motor R1T starts at a far more affordable $71,795, including destination. It also comes with 553 hp and a 0-to-60 time of 4.5 seconds, while still getting 270 miles of range. I assume a lot of people go ahead and pay the extra $8,000 to get the version with 329 miles of range, but it probably isn’t necessary unless you go on a lot of road trips or plan to tow or haul heavy loads.
But just because you don’t need a particular car doesn’t mean you won’t still want it, and after spending a few hours with the quad-motor R1T and R1S, I promise you it’s the kind of EV that will have you trying to convince yourself that maybe a 96-month loan wouldn’t be so bad.
Full Disclosure: Rivian wanted me to drive the new R1 quads so badly, it flew me to Lake Tahoe, put me up in a hotel, paid for my food and drinks and let me drive both the truck and SUV. Then they very rudely took away the keys and made me go back home to Georgia, which isn’t nearly as pretty as Lake Tahoe.
