Rivian R1T Vs R1S: It's Time For An Off-Road Hill Climb Challenge

Rivian designed its EVs to be some of the best Overlanding vehicles. How do they differ as far as off-road performance is concerned?

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Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Nov 6, 2022 at 7:52am ET

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Out of Spec Overlanding's Kyle Conner, Alyssa, and Coleton head to the hills with the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric three-row SUV. We're not just talking about heading uphill on the pavement, but rather, they're in the Colorado mountains enjoying some rocky terrain.

The Out of Spec network is packed with channels that aim to highlight very different aspects of vehicle testing and ownership. For all the off-road aficionados out there, Out of Spec Overlanding is a solid place to spend some online time. Few other channels are investing so much time into hitting the mountain trails with plenty of electric vehicles to feature.

The Rivian R1T and R1S are very similar, which makes sense since they're built on the same platform. For practical purposes, the R1S is simply an R1T with a covered third row of seats instead of a pickup truck bed. That said, these vehicles have many other differences, but they're not so easy to see.

Just the simple fact that the R1T is a pickup truck and the R1S is a large family hauler should tip you off that the EVs were designed with different use cases in mind. Sure, today's pickup trucks are as luxurious and comfortable as they are solid workhorses with off-road-ready suspension setups and the ability to tow and haul heavy loads.

At the same time, many larger family-friendly SUVs fare quite well off the pavement, and it appears that's especially true if they're billed as Adventure vehicles designed to take the family Overlanding. They can also typically tow a decent amount of weight, and they're designed to haul many people at the same time, all with an emphasis on ride comfort and pleasant overall driving dynamics.

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With all of that in mind, Out of Spec Overlanding puts the R1T and R1S through similar test courses in a rocky off-road setting that has its fair share of impressive and challenging climbs. They explain in more detail how differently the two electric vehicles perform, discussing suspension, ride height, wheelbase, various related vehicle settings, and electric motor and powertrain calibration.