The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the Rivian R1T its highest rating. The electric pickup earned the institute’s Top Safety Pick+ title for the 2022 and 2023 model years, which is no easy feat.
New models must meet strict parameters to earn the highest marks, which do more than protect occupants. The Rivian R1T earned a “Good” rating in all six institute crashworthiness tests, including the challenging small front overlap test. The IIHS also tests front and side impact adequacy, along with the strength of the roof and head restraints.
The Top Safety Pick+ award also requires that the model be available with a frontal collision prevention system. IIHS tested its effectiveness in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. The Rivian earned a “Superior” rating for both. The final piece for this award is the headlights. Not only must they earn a “Good” or “Acceptable” rating, but they must also be standard equipment on all trims. Rivian gets a “Good” rating.
The Rivian R1T is the first electric pickup truck to hit the market, beating out the glorified F-150 Lightning. The segment is getting crowded. GMC is offering the Hummer EV, and Chevrolet will begin production of the Silverado EV next spring.
Powering the Rivian is a quad-motor setup. A 135.0 kilowatt-hour battery gives the pickup up to 328 miles after pushing free updates vehicle this month. It does offer up to 314 miles. It also offers plenty of power, producing 838 horsepower (614 kilowatts) and 908 pound-feet (1,231 Newton-meters) of torque. The electric powertrain can send the truck to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. The truck can also tow up to 11,000 pounds with a maximum payload rating of 1,760-lb.
Rivian is now producing the R1S SUV, and we’d be surprised if Rivian also didn’t get the Top Safety Pick+ from IIHS during its evaluation. The company is already planning its second-generation product, but has to push the platform’s launch back to 2026. Demand for the R1T and R1S is strong, with the automaker having 114,000 preorders as of November 7th.
