Never off-road? Let Rivian’s $120K R1s show you how easy it is.

Rivian introduced its top-of-the-line Gen 2 Quad Motor designed for its R1 pickup and sport utility vehicles.
The firm claims the quad produces over 1,000 horsepower along with 1,198 pound-feet of torque.
Business Insider evaluated the vehicle's performance during an event held atop a mountain in South Lake Tahoe, California.

Electric vehicles present significant challenges, yet they remain a promising field. Rivian is still around, attempting to enjoy himself.

A California-based electric vehicle manufacturer announced on Tuesday a four-motor option for its next-gen R1 pickup and sport utility vehicle .

The firm claims the vehicles provide an overall output of 1,025 horsepower along with 1,198 pound-feet of torsional force. The four-motor R1T pickup has a starting price of $115,990, whereas the R1S suv begins at $121,990.

Cushioned San Francisco residents Like me, they don't need that much power for their daily travel, let alone have extra money to spend $120K on a big vehicle.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe acknowledged during a recent roundtable discussion with Business Insider, "It benefits the brand, but it's somewhat a demonstration of excess ability."

"A redundant feature" is reasonable: The four-wheel-drive vehicle is an impressive machine that many individuals likely won't require.

The organization extended invitations to news organizations to attend an event at South Lake Tahoe, California, towards the close of June, where they showcased their quad R1T and R1S models prior to the official release.

I had the opportunity to take the driver's seat for both vehicles as we drove up to Tahoe's Donner Ski Ranch, located at an altitude exceeding 7,000 feet.

There, I grabbed the R1S and R1T adventure driving and boulder climbing R1T trail riding and rocky terrain navigation R1T rugged terrain exploration and obstacle negotiation R1T outdoor performance and challenging landscape traversal R1T all-terrain capability and mountainous route handling R1T extreme driving conditions and rough surface maneuvering R1T wilderness travel and difficult path navigating R1T heavy-duty off-road activities and steep incline management R1T deep mud and rock challenges R1T tough environment operation and uneven ground control - basically navigating over rugged terrain - to evaluate the vehicle's torque and a function Rivian refers to as "kick turn," allowing the car to perform a full 360-degree rotation in place.

I have never tried off-road driving or rock climbing. My modest Mazda 3, which has a low stance and 155 horsepower, isn't suitable for such situations, but it works well for my trips to the supermarket.

Rivian's four motors, nevertheless, turned driving over gravel paths and rocks into an easy task.

Rivian's climb

Top: Lloyd Lee from Business Insider tested the Rivian on what a company employee referred to as a medium-level rocky terrain drive.

Journalists were initially taken to two rugged hills at a Donner Ski Ranch summit for the rock climb. Rivian officials affectionately named one of the hills "Granny's Revenge" — a reference to the far more challenging path at "The Devil's Retribution" in Moab, Utah and a tribute to the granite stone at the Lake Tahoe peak.

As a novice rock crawler, I was somewhat concerned that I could roll Rivian's vehicles like a flatbread or damage the underside if I took even the smallest incorrect turn while navigating rocky terrain.

Thankfully, that didn't happen.

Observers stationed at all points around the hill were present to guide drivers on when to steer the vehicle, which undoubtedly made the rocky climbs significantly simpler.

However, beyond adhering to instructions, expanding the mounds was an easy task involving rotating the wheel and pushing the pedal.

The R1S and R1T both went over the hills without my having to push very hard.

Luke Lynch, Rivian's R1 lead engineer and former software engineer at McLaren, mentioned that this is one of the advantages of having four motors.

The level of control available through the pedal is remarkable; you begin to understand just how gentle you can be while the vehicle still responds accordingly," Lynch stated. "When the system identifies slippage, it communicates, 'This wheel isn’t maintaining sufficient grip, so I’ll reduce its speed using precise motor adjustments instead of applying the brakes,' an approach exclusive to four-motor systems.

As per Oren Birwadkar, another Rivian engineer, my drive was merely a glimpse into the quad's capabilities. He described "Granny's Revenge" as an intermediate rock climbing challenge.

In order for additional testing and verification, Birwadkar mentioned that the company evaluated the quad system at a location called Hell's Revenge, known for drawing more adventurous off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Tesla utilized the same song for promotion employed the identical melody for advertising relied on the same soundtrack for marketing used the same audio clip to promote itself leveraged the same tune for promotional purposes applied the same musical selection for advertisement made use of the same recording for commercial outreach adopted the same score for publicity efforts implemented the same music for endorsement activities deployed the same auditory element for marketing initiatives Cybertruck .

The 'kick turn'

Top: Rivian showcased a new feature for the quad-motor Gen 2 vehicles known as the "kick turn."

A particular move gave me the sensation of driving through an off-road video game: "kick turn."

The kick turn is a newer version of Rivian's "tank turn" That remained unreleased to the general public. Rivian explains that the purpose of the kick turn feature is to enable drivers to execute very sharp turns without having to perform a three-point turnaround.

The feature is enabled via the central control panel, after which the driver must press the two thumb-operated switches located on either side of the steering wheel at the same time. Depressing the left button causes a counter-clockwise rotation, while pressing the right one results in a clockwise movement. Upon detecting that both buttons have been engaged, the driver should step on the acceleration pedal to initiate the maneuver.

Rivian organize a training session on an earthy surface that guided us to maneuver in a rectangular pattern and navigate between obstacles in a zigzag route.

Reader: The kick turn is an incredible way to enjoy the ride. The driver can engage the kick turn while the Rivian is traveling in a straight line. It feels somewhat like drifting but with added stability.

In principle, the driver ought to finish the course designed by Rivian simply by using the buttons on the steering wheel, with the real steering wheel remaining fixed at the 12 o'clock position.

Certainly, many new drivers like myself weren't able to do that. Our natural response was to steer the wheel whenever we came to a curve, instead of just using the left and right buttons.

But Rivian Also led us along a narrow path to demonstrate where the kick turn might come in handy. In such cases, you'd proceed at a slow speed when nearing a sharp curve, come to a halt, and then engage the kick turn.

Wassym Bensaid, the lead software engineer at Rivian , mentioned that the kick turn was created for "scenarios requiring precise movement in off-road settings."

"it's astonishing how much control you can achieve over the vehicle with this capability," he remarked.

I struggle to picture a situation where I'd require a kick turn on the streets of San Francisco. Perhaps it might assist me in escaping a narrow parking spot, but that's acceptable—my modest Mazda handles it well enough.

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