Moreover, Rivian worked with rack maker Yakima on uniquely designed crossbars and other toys like a rooftop tent to anchor larger pieces of gear to the roof. These are ultra-low-profile and extremely aero, plus they plug into the vehicle’s rails with a simple snap, and detach just as quickly, so you can remove them painlessly when not in use. Rivian’s offering its own bike, SUP/surfboard, and ski rack integration through Yakima for all of this.
The obvious expectation is that they’ll do more like that—especially since Rivian showed a recovery version of its R1T with onboard jack and compressor, and a power tools dock with recharge station for a handyman’s garage worth of shop tools. Why not? You have enough rolling electricity to run your own backyard big screen movie night. (Which, in fact, Rivian set up, just to show it was possible, complete with Sonos speakers for audio.)
Courtesy Image
A Bump in the Road?
If Rivian has one fine tune to make, it might be in on-highway ride quality. Even in the “softest” setting, the default cushioning is a bit bony. That’s probably fine for California drivers who don’t endure frost heaves, but in the Northeast where we were testing, it would likely jar out the baby teeth of tykes in the second and third rows.
Cue the OTA update (yes, of course it’s all controllable with software) they’ll no doubt drop in due time—which we hope you have, because Rivian can’t keep up with demand, even at a $90,000 door to entry.
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!