Rivian is making more and more of its customers happy with the deliveries that started to happen more often. Now owners that waited two or three years for their all-electric trucks are trying to test them as they know best. Inspiration isn’t lacking, as we can see here. This guy went to the Bonneville Salt Flats!
This owner’s car is as new as they come. It even has some stickers left in some places. He decides it would be a good idea to see what his new EV is capable of, so a two-hour trip to the place where there are no speed restrictions enforced is planned quite fast.
Rivian’s infotainment system doesn’t allow the use of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay yet. But, as this guy proves, the proprietary software clients get with their new trucks does the job pretty well. It even includes Yelp ratings. The calculations made by the computer show that, on arrival, he’ll have 34 miles of range left after the journey of 118 miles is completed.
The driver doubted that the estimation was right, so he planned a stop along the way at a 350-kW charging station, where he discovered the R1T doesn’t have the capacity to charge this fast. The truck can extract power from the grid up to a maximum of 210 kW, but this value won’t be held for long. Accessories that keep the temperature of the battery at an optimum level will also require some power, which means that 184 kW is the rate at which most owners of these Rivians will charge their vehicles.
Furthermore, the charging rate will gradually decrease as the battery is charging over the 80% threshold. It has nothing to do with the batteries being new, as the owner says in the video down below. It protects the cells and their chemistry during their entire lifetime, not just for the first 5,000, 10,000, or 80,000 miles.
It is entirely possible that, at some point, Rivian will update the software and allow for the 300-kW charging rate. For now, customers of the R1T and R1S will have to wait a little longer at the charging points or stop more often during longer travels.
The speed test is done in Sport Mode with the suspension in its lowest setting. The driver accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96.5 kph) in 4 seconds, while the top speed reached on the Bonneville Salt Flats is 115 mph on full throttle. After this value has been hit, the truck doesn’t give you the full power anymore. It can still go to a maximum of 124.9 mph (210 kph), though.
Recent tests of the Rivian R1T done by owners show this truck is capable of delivering what the company promised. It's good to see it put to work and not disappoint.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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