[hedora]

I really like their cars, but they’re not practical replacements for a full size pickup truck (as the F-150 Lightning is).

Anyway, they’re competing more with range rover and jeep than trucks, which is fine (and also a mostly-unaddressed segment).

[mbgerring]

> they’re not practical replacements for a full size pickup truck (as the F-150 Lightning is).

Why not? I’ve done “truck stuff” in a Rivian, like towing a 5 ton car trailer over the Sierra Nevadas. They have the same towing capacity and the Rivian has better battery range. They also cost the same similarly equipped. What’s the issue?

[gwbas1c]

Probably bed size.

[jonstewart]

Bed size on contemporary F150s is also a joke. They're mostly just suburban mini-vans for the macho set.

[gwbas1c]

The Rivan's bed size is similar to the Maverick.

[alistairSH]

Bed lengths for reference... 54" Rivian R1T 54" Ford Maverick 64" Honda Ridgeline 66" F150 Lightning

I own a Ridgeline. The bed is fine for chucking some camping gear, but it's nowhere near long enough for lumber, sheetrock, etc. Mountain bikes don't fit upright, even with the front wheel off.

The Rivian is 17" longer overall than a Maverick and 7" longer than the Honda. It's bed is really small - fine for casual use, but hardly suitable for "working truck stuff". And that's not the market Rivian is targeting, so that's fine.

[lockhouse]

Even the F-150 Lightning isn’t a good replacement for any pickup truck use cases that require towing or going far off the beaten path outside the reach of charging stations. There’s still no EV equivalent of just throwing a couple gas cans in the bed to extend the range.

It’s good for typical suburban pickup truck uses though and could be a good farm truck since you could just charge it at home.

[aaomidi]

Electricity is everywhere. Like. Everywhere. It’s only a matter of time before the charging network expands.

[lockhouse]

Electricity assuredly is NOT everywhere. There are large swaths of the US where you will be very far from a plug. Also, it takes an impractical amount of time to charge an EV pickup truck on anything other than a fast charger.

We are not anywhere near where the infrastructure is ready for EV pickup trucks to be practical for a large number of people that currently need them. We may get there some day, but not for decades without a huge breakthrough in battery charging technology or manhattan project level investment in charging infrastructure.

[aaomidi]

220V 50 amps electricity is effectively everywhere. Those large swaths of the country with nothing in them are also places where there’s generally far less traffic.

[lockhouse]

> Those large swaths of the country with nothing in them are also places where there’s generally far less traffic.

Don't those sound like places you'd want to drive something like a pickup truck?

Also, the grid isn't ready for everyone to have electric vehicles using fast chargers. A heat wave takes down the grids of entire states.

[piva00]

Where do most pickup trucks get driven in the USA? I'd guess it's not in the middle of nowhere, at least that wasn't my impression when visiting the USA.

[alistairSH]

LOL. No it isn't.

I camp in the Appalachians regularly, from DC. There a quite a few spots I can't get to without a 3 hour charging detour (2 hours charge time, 1 hour road detour to get to EV station) on the return leg. And that's for areas that are only 3-4 hours away (one direction). [this was using ABRP and a mid-range Riviant R1T]

[aaomidi]

I think y’all are mixing up “electricity is everywhere” which is what I stated with “charging stations are everywhere”

These are different problems.

[PragmaticPulp]

Likely a smart move.

The F-150 Lightning is also a very good truck, and it gets to capitalize on the F-150 brand and customer base.

They addressed a gap in the market (smaller electric truck) rather than trying to go head-to-head with the biggest full-size truck brand in the industry.

Smart move.

[mbgerring]

The Rivian is a full-size truck and performs as good or better than the Lightning for similar tasks.

[majormajor]

That bed length disadvantage is pretty significant if you're coming to it from the "truck user" market vs the "weekend camper" or "soccer mom" market.

I was interested in a Rivian until I saw one in person and saw how short that bed was. It wasn't the first spec I'd looked at on paper, but jumped out in-person. In that size I'd probably go cheap with a Maverick hybrid for now until there are more full-EV competitors.

[tstrimple]

Just looked it up and realized it isn't even close to passing the sheet good test. I suppose the expectation is to drive with the tailgate down? My minivan seems to be a more competent hauler of material (for my admittedly limited needs) than the Rivian.

[jonstewart]

The Rivian's marketed towards the "adventure" segment. It's definitely not intended as a work truck.

[slaw]

I wouldn't count on Maverick to be available. All 2023 Mavericks were ordered in September 2022. I'll probably wait until 2025 to get one.

[majormajor]

I've seen some on dealer lots in the past month. YMMV on options/colors of course.

[slaw]

I just asked local dealer. The answer was. What you see on the lot is sold.

[frumper]

Rivian's aren't exactly available either.

[alexb_]

What's the price comparison?

[lh7777]

Ford has been rapidly raising their prices (so it’s hard to keep track) but last I saw starting prices were $73k for the Rivian and $56k for the Lightning.

[mbgerring]

If you equip the $56k F150 to the level of the base model Rivian they’re about the same price.