2022 Rivian R1T

This EV pickup proves to be E-Z to live with.

- Austin Irwin

THE SOUND OF A COUPLE ARGUING filled the campground at Michigan's Copper Harbor. Amid the clanging of tent poles and jingling from the collar on their dog, their relationship withered. The tent they'd battled to set up through a downpour didn't have a rain fly. We, on the other hand, felt snug and smug as we watched the show from under the awning of a tent mounted above the bed of the Rivian RIT. This was the truck's last big road trip before the end of its long-term test. The slickness of our camp setup largely mirrored the smoothness of our RIT experience over 40,000 miles.

The trials and tribulations of our long-term tests often reveal problems that shorter encounters cannot. It was certainly true of our last 40,000-mile EV experience, with a 2019 Tesla Model 3, which left us stranded on Christmas with a dead rear inverter. Gas-powered cars have also stumbled: A Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing experienced engine failure, we replaced a leaking oil-pan gasket and the transmission in a Kia Sorento, and a Jeep Gladiator Mojave needed a new rear-axle assembly before 25,000 miles. Rivian might lack the age and experience of longstanding automakers, but outside of a few squeaks and creaks, our RIT had a mostly trouble-free 40,000 miles.

When we did need service, however, the sparse Rivian dealer network meant we had to wait. It took three months before we could get an appointment to free the Bluetooth camp speaker that wouldn't budge from its home at the base of the center console and to silence a phantom "door open" alert for the gear tunnel's right hatch. But none of it cost a dime. Conveniently, the only maintenance requirements over the length of our test were tire rotations and cabin air-filter replacements, with the first significant service-changing the oil in the drive units-not called for until 112,500 miles, well beyond our test period.