2022 Rivian R1T, R1S Range Revealed – Managing MPGe Expectations on Cars vs. Trucks
By Edward A. Sanchez – Sept. 3, 2021
Range figures for the 2022 Rivian R1T and R1S were just posted on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s official fuel economy site, fueleconomy.gov. If you’ve followed this blog or the podcast for long, you know Phil Royle and I have our issues with the “MPGe” rating applied to electric cars and PHEVs, although the more “official” ratings of kWh/100 miles or miles/kWh are perhaps less easy to understand to those used to the ICE paradigm.
It doesn’t take a PhD in physics to wrap your head around the fact that a midsize sedan would be more efficient than a large truck or SUV. This applies whether you’re talking about internal-combustion, hybrid, PHEV, or BEV. You can’t escape the laws of physics. Weight, aerodynamics, and rolling resistance all play a determining factor in vehicle efficiency and range. So since the Rivian R1T and R1S are among the first premium electric trucks and SUVs to hit the market, they are left without fair peers for comparison.
This will change once the F-150 Lightning, the GMC Hummer SUT, and the Tesla Cybertruck hit the road, but for now, Rivian is the benchmark in the class.
The figures, in case you’re wondering, are 74 MPGe city and 66 MPGe highway (70 MPGe combined) for the R1T and 73 MPGe city and 65 MPGe highway (69 MPGe combined) for the R1S.
The range rating for the R1T is 314 and 316 for the R1S.
Rivian’s R1S SUV will be marginally less efficient than the company’s pickup.
Why the R1S achieved two miles more range than the R1T with supposedly the identical battery pack has the EV blogosphere abuzz with various theories. I’m going to sidestep the speculation, but only bring up the efficiency relative to what’s now officially the best-selling EV to date, the Tesla Model 3. The most virtuous 3, from an efficiency standpoint, the SR+, ekes out an impressive 150 MPGe city and 133 MPGe highway (142 MPGe combined), while the hot-rod Dual Motor Performance model gets 118 MPGe highway, 107 MPGe highway, and 113 MPGe combined.
In case you’re wondering, the Model S Plaid earned a rating of 102 MPGe city, 99 MPGe highway, and 101 MPGe combined.
No matter which way you cut it, BEVs on average are three times as efficient on an energy equivalency basis as ICE vehicles. A conventional ICE pickup truck that got 70 miles per gallon would be mind-blowing. The fact that we have full-size (ICE) pickups that are capable of more than 30 MPG highway is impressive in its own right. With fuel fluctuating between $2-5 per gallon over the last decade, depending on the year, fuel grade, state, and region, commiserating, bellyaching, and obsession over fuel prices has become a bit of a national pastime.
But with the nationwide electricity rate hovering around 13.3¢/kWh, and even assuming a battery pack size of 140 kWh on the F-150 Lightning, will anyone think twice about a $18 fill-up? A similar fill-up on a conventional F-150 with a 36-gallon tank would run between $108 and $144 when paying $3 or $4 per gallon.
Being first to market, Rivian’s R1T will, at least initially, set the standard for EV pickups.
If you’re a regular reader of The Watt Car blog, or listener to the podcast, then you’re one of a small handful who might care about the relative efficiency of the Rivians relative to a Model 3 SR+, Mustang Mach-E, or other EVs. But if you’re a pickup truck-driving middle-America Joe Six Pack, the prospect of an $18 “fill-up” over a $100+ one is mighty enticing, regardless of the nuances and technicalities of MPGe or kWh/100 miles.
(Images courtesy Rivian)
- Podcast - Facebook - Google News - Twitter -
