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Randall Reed Family Owned & Operated Since 1992
Electric vehicles such as the Ford F-150 Lightning full-size pickup truck and the midsize Rivian R1T truck are taking the world by storm. Both these vehicles have modern features any enthusiast will appreciate. Which one is right for you? The team at Planet Ford Dallas has put together this guide so you can explore the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T and see which of these electric pickup trucks suits your unique driving needs.
While both of these vehicles are pickup trucks, the F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T look quite different from the outside.
The F-150 looks like a Ford gasoline truck with contemporary features such as stacked LED headlights, a large front grille, and unique LED lighting around the hood. All trims of the F-150 Lightning come with four doors, two rows of seats that can fit up to six people comfortably, a crew cab, and a 5.5-foot cargo bed. Select trims come with the versatile Pro Power Onboard generating system, which is ideal for the job site when you need to use power tools.
You can choose from four trims, and the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the Ford F-150 Lightning starts at $59,974 for the Pro trim and ranges up to $98,074 for the top-tier Platinum trim.
The Rivian R1T comes with futuristic oval-shaped headlights that bracket a minimalistic front area where the grille would normally be placed. This all-electric pickup truck is a bit shorter than the F-150 and comes only as a four-door crew cab with two rows of seats for up to five people with a cargo bed length of 4.5 feet. The MSRP for the Rivian R1T starts at $73,000, and when you add the Adventure Package to the base trim, the price increases to $87,000.
Both of these pickup trucks excel in power and performance.
All trims of the F-150 Lightning come standard with two electric motors and four-wheel drive. With the standard range battery pack, the F-150 gets 452 horsepower with 775 pound-feet of torque and an estimated driving range of 240 miles. If you want more power, choose the optional extended-range battery pack, which has an output of 580 horsepower with the same torque specs. With the extended-range battery pack, you can get an estimated 320 miles of driving range.
Ford builds all their pickup trucks for tough work and towing capability. When properly equipped, the F-150 Lightning can tow up to 10,000 pounds with a payload capacity of 1,800 to 2,000 depending on the battery pack.
Rivian gives the R1T three all-wheel-drive systems: dual-motor, performance dual-motor, and quad-motor. The dual-motor version has an output of 600 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque; the performance dual-motor jumps 700 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque; and the quad-motor has an impressive output of 835 horsepower and 908 pound-feet of torque.
The two lower options get an estimated driving range of 260 to 400 miles, while the quad-motor gets about 328 miles, depending on the battery pack. With the right equipment, the Rivian R1T can haul up to 11,000 pounds and has a payload capacity of 1,760 pounds.
Ford equips the F-150 Lightning with impressive technology, but the Rivian R1T lacks some features most drivers today expect to find in a pickup truck.
Ford doesn't skimp on upscale features for the F-150 Lightning. The interior of this electric truck is roomy and comfortable and, depending on which trim you have, comes with heated, ventilated, and supple leather front seats.
You can use the interior work surface of the Lightning as an office; it's perfect for setting up a laptop, maps, or blueprints. Without a motor under the hood of the truck, you'll have room to store items in the front trunk, affectionately called a frunk. You get up to 14.1 cubic feet of space in the frunk with plenty of places to hold personal items, such as cell phones, water bottles, and coffee mugs.
Ford gives the F-150 Lightning an infotainment system that helps you stay connected. The upper two trims come standard with a 15.5-inch touchscreen with its SYNC 4A system. All trims come standard with Apple Car and Android Auto smartphone integration, ambient interior lighting, and a wireless charging pad.
You'll notice the well-appointed features found inside the cabin of the Rivian R1T. This electric truck has leather seats and trim and wood decor, with plenty of room for up to five people. The front trunk space of this vehicle is 11.1 cubic feet, which is smaller than the F-150 Lightning.
Rivian has decked out the R1T with a 16-inch infotainment system along with a secondary digital readout for easy configuration. You may be disappointed to find that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto don't come with Rivian's infotainment system.
Both of these innovative electric pickup trucks come with a myriad of advanced safety and driver-assist features.
Whether you're towing a boat to the lake or hauling supplies to the job site, you'll appreciate the safety and driver-assist features Ford gives the F-150 Lightning. All trims come standard with Ford Co-Pilot360 technology, including BlueCruise hands-free driving and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert with trailer coverage. This truck also gets intelligent adaptive cruise control, a pre-collision mitigation system with emergency braking, hill-descent control, and evasive steering assist.
Rivian equips the R1T with its Driver+ driver-assist technology. Key features of this system include adaptive cruise control, lane mitigation, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. You'll also appreciate having a forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and dynamic braking support.
While both of these electric vehicles have innovative technology, striking interior and exterior designs, and amazing off-road capabilities, the tried-and-true Ford F-150 Lightning stands out as the more popular full-size truck. To learn more about this leading-edge electric pickup truck, stop by our dealership at Planet Ford Dallas today. Our professional team looks forward to showing you all the features of this and other new vehicles and letting you take one for a test drive.
Images via fordpro.com and Car and Driver
