Rivian R1T delivers on this EV feature that Tesla forgot

Yahoo

07-03-2025

I'm exhausted by Elon. And I'm not talking about his politics. It's his philosophy on building cars.
You see, he envisions a future where you and I are passengers, chauffeured by robots. But, that's not a future I can get excited about. I'm a driver. I want to be in control. I want a partner. Help me. Don't replace me.
I've owned a Tesla since 2019. It's a Model 3 Performance, and it's a good, versatile car. I've raced it, I've carved Colorado canyons with it, I've road-tripped it out of state, and I've done daily errands with it. I have no complaints.
But it's an iPhone on wheels.The thing is, with each update, I can see how the car is transitioning me to be a passenger. Features that used to be easy to find get buried deeper in sub menus and I seem to spend too much time looking at the screen and less on the road.
Recent models even lack basic controls like the turn signal stalk and gear lever.
Want to turn left? Hit a button on the steering wheel to activate the left turn signal. There are two of them, but I don't have the muscle memory to know which is left and which is right! Neither could anyone else, so I hear Tesla is adding the turn signal stalk back for now.
The drive controls have moved to the center screen and are counterintuitive. You slide an icon up to go forward and down to reverse. This is the opposite of every other automatic you or I have ever driven.
So yeah. I'm exhausted by Elon. I'm a driver. Let me drive.
The anti-EV crowd would have you believe that this is inevitable. They believe that EVs will never have soul and will never be engaging to drive, but they're wrong.If you've ever driven a Rivian, then you know the truth.
Rivian was kind enough to lend me a 2025 R1T for the week and I did nothing but abuse it.
And why wouldn't I? It was a tri-motor version with the Max battery, All-Terrain, and Ascend packages. That's 850 hp at my disposal with chunky tires, and it was snowing too. I live at the base of the Rockies with miles of dirt roads at my disposal. You'd have done the same.
What I found was EV nirvana—a truck that could do it all. The Rivian doesn't want to replace you. It's your partner in crime, and it urges you to have fun.
It does that by offering eight different drive modes that combine suspension, brake regen, and stability control settings. Armed with these options and 850hp under your right foot, you're sure to find a mode that suits your mood.
Feeling chill? Select All-Purpose or Conserve. Depending on the version of R1T you're driving, you can get up to 420 miles of range. Even Elon should approve. On an easy highway drive around Denver, I saw approximately 2.31 mi/kWh. That would be good for over 320 miles in 50-degree temperatures.
Feeling the need for speed? Sport mode turns the truck into a two-and-a-half-ton sports car. It's more nimble and capable than you'd imagine, and I had fun ripping it up a twisty canyon road. It's no 911, but when you can only have one car, it'll do.Feeling like a day on the slopes? Snow mode optimizes the truck's settings for the slippery stuff. Brake regen gets turned down, and both power delivery and suspension are set to be more relaxed. It worked great on the snowy night I drove out to visit friends.
Then, there are the five off-road modes: All-Terrain, Rock Crawl, Soft Sand, Rally, and Drift. Rivian asked me to keep it on the road, so I didn't test its true off-road capabilities. However, plenty of videos show how capable the vehicle is in rough terrain.
In the Rally and Drift modes, the truck becomes something unique.
In Rally, the height drops, and stability control is reduced. Ride feel goes to soft while Regen is set to high. In other words, the truck is set up to rotate, letting you live out your dreams of piloting a Lancia Stratos in Group B rally competition.
Drift mode should just be called Party mode. In a snowy parking lot at the top of a mountain, I did enough donuts to satisfy Homer Simpson, whose gastronomic rapacity knows no satiety.Maybe the comparison to Tesla isn't fair. After all, I've never driven a Cybertruck. Perhaps it's just as capable as a Rivian, but I've never seen a Cybertruck in slippery conditions. And Colorado's ski area parking lots have plenty of Rivians.
My impression, however, is that the Cybertruck is like that guy who spends a lot of time at the gym to get buff but doesn't play any sports.
The Rivian, meanwhile, is that guy who never goes to the gym but excels at all sports AND buys the first round.
In the end, it's all about character. A Rivian is like a Patagonia wardrobe. Functional, warm, and even a little stylish. After all, Patagonia is considered haute couture in Colorado and the interior of a Rivian looks like it was styled by the outdoor clothing company's design team. If it's true that there's no bad weather, only the wrong clothing, then the Rivian truly is the right clothing for any condition.
And it looks even better when it's full of mud. I turned it into an art car!
View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article
Tesla, on the other hand, has a vision for the future that involves robots, and you can feel it in their cars. A Tesla robot has the potential to make your life easier; just don't expect that it will be warm and comforting. Rather, it will exude no-nonsense efficiency, except for when it makes fart noises.
So yeah, I'm exhausted by Elon. But I've got mad respect for Rivian.
Ferry Porsche once said that 'the 911 is the only car you could drive on an African safari or at Le Mans, to the theatre or through New York City traffic.' In 2025, the 911 has competition and its name is Rivian.
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