2026 Rivian R1T And R1S Quad-Motor Make More Than 1,000 HP, But Their Off-Road Capabilities Are The Bigger Story

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3 days ago

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.
Read more: Buy One Of These Electric Pickup Trucks Instead Of Humiliating Yourself With A Tesla Cybertruck
Rivian also knows nobody needs an electric truck or crossover with more than 1,000 hp and a six-figure price tag. CEO RJ Scaringe will tell you himself that these are halo vehicles, meant to show off what Rivian can do, even if it goes beyond what anyone could actually use on a day-to-day basis. The R2 and eventually the R3 will be the ones that more people can afford, with the R1 sitting at the top of the range and the R1 Quad at the top of the R1 range.
In that sense, it's supposed to be too much for daily driving, although you could absolutely daily drive either car. You get an EPA-estimated range of 374 miles, although Rivian claims 400 miles is possible in Conserve mode, and they're both plenty comfortable enough for the occasional road trip, as well as all that weekly commuting and errand-running.
Then again, that isn't much of a surprise, since we already drove the Gen 2 R1T and R1S about a year ago. Sadly, this time around, we didn't get to spend any time at the drag strip. I can, however, confirm the R1 Quads are truly, ridiculously quick. As in, I punched it in an R1S and immediately felt guilty for not warning my drive partner, because the acceleration was just that absurd. And we're both auto journalists who drive incredibly quick cars regularly enough that you'd think we would be numb to a mere 1,000 hp. Turns out, that's not the case, at least not yet.
Still, even that description probably doesn't do justice to just how quick the R1 Quad is. And since it's an EV, there's no shifting involved. You just put your foot down, and you're immediately pinned to the seat as the R1 launches its way to a top speed of 130 mph. Other cars that are similarly quick exist, but there aren't many, and basically all of them cost a lot more than $120,000.
Instead of a driving day that focused more on how quick the R1 Quads are, Rivian instead had us spend the majority of our time off-roading. They may be EVs, but we're still talking about an adventure-focused truck and SUV, so it makes sense. Plus, Rivian already established the R1's off-road credentials the first time around.
The thing about a lot of off-road media drives is that the automaker wants to make their vehicle look good, so they typically set them up to ensure you won't struggle. They also know they'll be dealing with varying levels of off-road experience on these drives, so they make sure even an idiot like me can't mess anything up too badly, which does make sense. A journalist who drives off a cliff can't write a review from beyond the grave, and they don't want to spend all that money on a press trip to not get a review.
So even though you're unlikely to find the limits of what an off-roader can do on a media drive, you can definitely get a sense for how confident the automaker is in its truck or SUV's capabilities based on how serious the off-road portion of the drive ends up being. And let me tell you, I don't think a media drive has ever included anything as serious as what we did with these R1s.
We didn't just drive over obstacles that I'm pretty sure a stock Subaru Forester could handle. We straight-up rock crawled. Rivian had spotters along the route, which did take some of the challenge out of it, but climbing that rock face without them would have been beyond reckless. I'm also pretty sure a Forester would've been out before the rock-crawling section even began, because the climb was just that steep.
Since there's a motor for each wheel and a bunch of fancy computers monitoring everything, you might assume that would eliminate wheelspin on the trail, but apparently some wheelspin is actually good, since it helps reduce wear on the drivetrain. Sudden shocks to the suspension and other components can cause problems down the line, and letting the wheels that lose traction continue spinning is better overall.
Other than a little wheelspin in a few sections, though, both R1s sailed through the rock-crawling portion. And when the incline was too steep to see the spotter, the front-facing camera proved sharp enough that I could still see their hand signals without having to guess, which only added to my confidence in the R1. The spotter who told me I had "excellent throttle control" certainly didn't hurt that confidence or my ego, either.
After lunch, it was time to try out a feature exclusive to the R1 Quad that Rivian calls Kick Turn. Basically, it spins the driver's side wheels one direction and the passenger-side wheels the opposite direction, allowing you to do an extremely tight turn on a trail. Technically, you could probably do it in a gravel parking lot, too, but you also probably shouldn't, since it's a great way to shoot gravel everywhere and make a whole lot of people mad.
Once you activate Kick Turn on the center screen, as long as you're driving below the top speed — for now Rivian demonstrated it with a 15-mph speed limit but said that limit may get raised in the future — you can push the directional buttons on the steering wheel to initiate a turn in that direction. Push both buttons left, and you'll go left. Push both buttons right, and you'll go right, no steering input required. In fact, if you try to turn the steering wheel while performing a Kick Turn, it cancels the maneuver.
Since you usually turn a car with the steering wheel, it isn't the most intuitive thing in the world. Everything in you wants to turn the wheel, but you can't do that. Instead, you have to almost treat it like you're driving in a video game. At least, that's what worked for me. And once I got it, oh my is it fun. Maybe too much fun.
It's also one of the few practical features exclusive to the Quad. Sure, there's the whole "1,000 horsepower" thing, but even the slowest Rivian is pretty darn quick. The Quad is just quicker. Kick Turn, though? That's something you can't do without four motors, and while it probably has some uses in Rallycross, the main benefit is on trails with the kinds of tight sections where you would otherwise make a multi-point turn. It's like a more refined version of what other off-roaders accomplish by dragging an inside wheel.
Surprisingly, at least for me, Rivian didn't just set up cones on a dirt lot and let us play with its new trick feature. That part was just practice before we set out on a trail that included multiple spots where we could use Kick Turn. Having never used it on a trail before (and also having just gotten out of an R1S one of the PR folks nearly crashed into a pole twice), I was pretty nervous to try it out, but it just worked.
Obviously, much of that can be attributed to my incredible Xbox skills, but I'm also not going to pretend I wasn't impressed by just how easy it was to control with just a short introduction on a dirt lot. I very much do not recommend trying it for the first time on a trail, but once you get the hang of it, I guarantee you'll be looking for any opportunity you can find to use it. That would mean actually off-roading your brand-new, $120,000 EV and potentially scratching the paint, but at least you know it's an option.
Once we were done, it was time to head back to the hotel in far more comfort than you'd get from a Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep is probably still the better off-roader, but it isn't nearly as refined on the road. Granted, the Rivian isn't quite as luxurious as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but in addition to never feeling like a passing truck is going to knock it off the road, the interior is still ridiculously nice.
It's also a cabin that takes some time to truly appreciate. Initially, when you hop in you'll notice everything is nice and well-designed, but the more you poke around, the more you see the stuff that isn't obvious at first. For example, a lot of the lower sections that would be bare plastic, even in a lot of luxury cars, are instead covered in leather. There are little bits of plaid cloth hidden throughout the cabin, even in the grab handles on the ceiling and door storage. Those are the kinds of details Rivian probably could have skipped without anyone even thinking to complain, but it did it anyway.
Ultimately, unless you want the R1 Quad to be a completely different vehicle, there isn't much to complain about. It isn't as agile or eager to turn in as a proper sports car, and it doesn't have a V8 or a manual transmission, but of course it doesn't. It's an electric truck/SUV. That said, it would still be nice if Rivian offered Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, as well as at least giving customers the option to add a head-up display.
Both would add to the R1's cost and complexity, which Rivian probably can't afford to do right now, but regular people love CarPlay and Android users exist, too, even if we only exist in small numbers. My wish for a head-up display, on the other hand, is less about the price point and more about how useful it would be while using Kick Turn. It's easy to go faster than 15 mph, even on a trail, so putting your speed right in your line of sight would make it both easier and safer to use.
Still, those are pretty minor gripes. The quad-motor Rivian R1T and R1S look great, go like hell, and can handle some serious off-roading. And when you need them to be a regular, old daily driver, they're still quiet, comfortable and composed. Heck, unless you demonstrated just how quick it was, your passengers would probably have no idea they were in a vehicle that could launch to 60 mph in well under three seconds. As you have the money and are interested in an electric truck or SUV, it's hard to see how you wouldn't fall for the R1 Quad's charms. I certainly did. It's just too bad I don't have any money.
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