The cat’s out of the bag, with the first Rivian R1T units getting in the hands of real customers, as they can now tell the world everything that was kept silent about the car. Recently, an R1T brought to a car detailing shop was thoroughly analyzed and the results show the build quality is impressive for a first product, but far from perfect.
Rivian is the talk of the town now, eclipsing even Tesla when it comes to people’s interest and media coverage. The American startup that makes the R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck delivered the first batch of cars to customers and even received the MotorTrend Truck of the Year award for the R1T. It’s not only journos that were impressed, but also the people who got a first-hand impression of the car.
Among them, we can now count the car detailing expert Jason Otterness from the Chicago Auto Pros. Jason got up-close and personal with an R1T after its owner brought it in the shop for a detailing job, comprising a ceramic coating, paint protection film, and window tint. Since it is one of the few R1Ts out there, Jason took the opportunity to analyze its build quality. It’s safe to assume his trained eye would spot more than a few imperfections.
Jason didn’t expect perfection to begin with, as this is the first product from a new automaker, so some teething problems are natural. On the other hand, the price of the car is in the luxury segment territory, and the clients tend to be a little unforgiving at this level. So, where does R1T’s quality land, considering these expectations?
Well, the exterior analysis revealed some minor quality issues with the body panel not fitting quite perfectly. The most obvious one concerned the driver’s door, which has some alignment issues. The gaps were not perfect, especially at the charging flap door, but most people would not even notice. Other minor imperfections are also visible if you are picky, but the body paint quality is top-notch.
Things are much better inside, and Jason praised the design, the materials, and the overall build quality. For a brand’s first product, this shows impressive attention to detail. Hopefully, Rivian will step up its game in regards to body panel fitting to match the aspirational price of the car.
After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions. Full profile
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