One by one, electric vehicles like the Rivian R1T are dismantling the reasons for us not to buy them. Criticisms of meagre driving range and lengthy charging times might have been valid five or 10 years ago, but they’re not today, and as for performance, we all know how slow EVs can make ICE machines look.
But what about off-road performance? In the case of the quad-motor Rivian R1T it should be even better than a traditional ICE off-roader because having a motor for each wheel allows the truck to apportion torque in exactly the right amount at the right time. And that’s what we see happening in this video shot at the Diablo Drop-Off in Southern California’s Anza Borrego State Park.
The narrator explains that, as its name suggests, the Diablo Drop-Off is normally driven down, rather than up. And watching a 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser 100-Series make a meal of the ascent before the Rivian has a crack, we can see why.
Although the 1999 Land Cruiser does have a lockable rear differential it doesn’t have the more sophisticated ABS-based ATRAC traction system fitted to later Land Cruisers. It struggles to find purchase on the loose surface, but after trying a couple of slightly different routes, finally makes it to the top.
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Then it’s the $70,000 Rivian’s turn. Blink and you’ll miss it, though, because the R1T romps up the grade with absolutely zero dramas, and almost zero noise from its 835-hp electric powertrain, eliciting cries of “I’m getting one!” and “take my money” from the bystanders watching the feat.
But just to prove that ICE trucks haven’t totally had their day (and that they’ve come a long way in the 20-odd years since the ’99 Land Cruiser was built), the video closes with a modern Toyota Tacoma also making light work of the climb.