If you have not watched Edmunds’s latest test with the Rivian R1T, it is one you should not miss. Not only because of the competent review Alistair Weaver and his team shares, but mainly due to what their test reveals: the Rivian R1T is the least efficient EV Edmunds has ever tested. Predictably, we must say.
The electric pickup truck is a tall vehicle with a considerable frontal area. Beating air resistance with those characteristics is not an easy task. Above all, it is not something a pickup truck will manage to do without having a larger battery pack than most EVs to offer a good range. Aerodynamics and weight punish this electric pickup truck. More than that: they should give a hard time to all such vehicles about to be presented.
Think about the GMC Hummer, which will weigh precisely 9,046 pounds (4,103 kg). Being a Hummer forced it to be massive, with a larger frontal area than the R1T presents. The F-150 Lightning will be smaller than the GMC but still larger than Rivian’s pickup truck. We suspect the R1T will only be the least efficient EVEdmunds ever tested until these other contenders are put for sale.
Despite that, Edmunds put the R1T to the same range test that showed most Tesla vehicles do not meet their EPA ranges. In the Rivian electric pickup truck’s case, it ran 317 miles instead of the EPA number of 314 miles. That’s about 1% longer. Although it means the R1T can beat its official range, it is by so little that would consider that as within the test's margin of error.
As Weaver reminds his viewers, spending 48 kWh per 100 miles makes the R1T an electron-devourer. However, it is still a much cheaper vehicle to run than its combustion-engined counterparts. That’s not due solely to electricity being more affordable than gas or diesel, but also to electric cars being incredibly efficient machines – even large ones such as the Rivian R1T.
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