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Originally Posted by CNET
But man, never in my life have I been so concerned about conservation. I sacrifice a bit of ride quality and comfort for the sake of overall range, keeping the 34-inch Pirelli Scorpion tires at 38 psi for less rolling resistance in the hard-packed dirt, even though lower pressure would be easier on my spine. I also choose to leave the climate control turned off, simply to keep all of the available electrons focused on pushing me forward. I even put up with this during some days where the temperature crests 100 degrees Fahrenheit. By the end of the trip, let's just say I'm not the freshest of flowers.
Fortunately, there are times when I can use gravity to my advantage. On a number of downhill sections, I put the truck in Neutral and allow it to coast -- free range, baby. Once the truck gets up to higher speeds I can drop it into Drive and tap the brakes to put some regenerative energy back into the battery. On one instance, I'm able to feed 19 miles worth of range back into the 135-kWh battery. On another stint, I recapture 10 miles. Going over the 17-mile-long Monitor Pass in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains only ends up costing me 8.6 miles of actual range. Sweet.
The R1T has five different ride heights with a maximum of 14.5 inches of ground clearance. That means it has an approach angle of 34.8 degrees, a departure angle of 29.3 degrees and a breakover angle of 25.7 degrees. That's better off-road geometry than a Ford F-150 Raptor or even the new Ram 1500 TRX. Heck, the breakover and departure angles are even better than the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. That in mind, even at the Level 4 height, it's rare that I actually hit any rocks or damage the underbody protection -- which, thanks to the flat-pack powertrain, is like a skateboard deck under the truck....
If you've never had 826 lb.-ft. of instant, electric torque under your right foot, I can solidly say that you haven't lived. The R1T might not have locking differentials, a two-speed transfer case or any kind of tough-guy wizardry you'd associate with off-road prowess, but none of that matters when you've got an absolute ton of torque. I can slowly pick my line up a steep, rocky hill, never worrying about keeping momentum. The sophisticated traction control system moves the torque where it's needed most, and before I know it, the R1T hits the top of a peak while the Jeeps behind me are still switching into low gear.
Of course, that torque is only useful if you've got the traction to put it to the pavement -- or, in my case, the dirt. It's super easy to spin the tires, meaning it's also super easy to get dug in and stuck in the softer, hotter sand of Glamis, California, home to North America's largest dunes....
The truck's suspension gets a lot of credit, too. The bottom of the hill is plagued with whoops, and I have to carry speed to ensure I stay on top of the sand. However, it's a balance: Go too slow and I'll likely dig myself in once I really hit the throttle, but go too fast and I might break something. In Level 4, the air suspension is programmed to have great compression, keeping the truck from bottoming out on those whoops. I'd like a little less rebound to keep the R1T from kicking up just a bit, but it's still good enough to keep on top of the sand over the initial whoops, allowing me to speed up to the top of the hill once the sand smooths out...
Another cool thing: The Rivian R1T can be tow charged. You'll never be out in the desert wheeling alone, right? If the truck runs out of juice, you can pull it behind another vehicle and pump some energy back into the battery.
Rivian notes there's still some work to be done before the R1T hits the road next year, and my truck is not without its preproduction foibles. (Ask my co-pilot about when her seat heater randomly turned on in the middle of a 100-degree day.) But this thing easily survived eight days of intense off-roading, through tough dirt and dunes. Even when running at 38 psi over rocks, the stock Pirelli Scorpion tires never let me down, and I never once got a flat.
The Rivian R1T has some mighty strong bones. And if it's this good through the toughest terrain, the fully fleshed-out production model should be nothing short of a game-changer.
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