We Bought a 2022 Rivian R1T Launch Edition

• It's been four years since Rivian first opened its reservation books, and R1Ts are finally showing up in customer hands (case in point).
• We specced a R1T Launch Edition in "Launch Green," which comes fairly loaded, less the kitchen sink (no, really, there's a kitchen option).
• For those just tuning in, this electric truck has four motors that produce 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque — this is our world right now.

When Rivian pulled the wraps off its R1T all-electric pickup truck a few years back, we knew it would be something special. Rivian wasn't like some other startup vehicle companies promising their vaporware products to the world — their design and approach just felt smarter, more logical and more realistic.

Fast-forward to the end of 2021 when we got our first taste of what the R1T was all about. There were still some early build-quality issues and software glitches to iron out, but despite that, we liked it enough to present it the inaugural Edmunds Top Rated Editors' Choice award for 2022.

And now here we are, spending our own money on a 2022 Rivian R1T Launch Edition, and feeling pretty dang good about it.

What does the R1T Launch Edition come with?

Over the past few years, we've seen an emerging trend for brand-new vehicles — when a manufacturer introduces a model, it's pretty customary to offer some sort of First Edition or Launch Edition model. These models typically come with some exclusive features like a special exterior color, specific badging, and sometimes a bundle of options at a slight discount. The Rivian R1T Launch Edition checks all those boxes.

To start, our R1T comes with quad-electric-motor all-wheel drive, delivering a staggering 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque. We also get Rivian's Large battery pack (135 kilowatt-hours), which is actually the second largest of three planned batteries. It will eventually be joined by Standard (105 kWh) and Max (180 kWh) packs. That Large pack is said to deliver 314 miles of range on a single charge, according to EPA estimates. We verified that the R1T could meet that estimate in the real world, albeit by a small margin, traveling 317 miles on a single charge.

Those 317 miles were on a truck wearing the standard 21-inch wheels and all-season tires. With the Launch Edition we were able to select upgraded wheels and tires at no additional cost, but doing so would cost us some range (theoretically). We decided to go with the 20-inch wheels and chunkier, off-road-oriented all-terrain tires, which Rivian estimates would reduce our total range by 40 miles due to the higher rolling resistance of the AT tire tread. If we had chosen to upsize to the larger 22-inch wheels with all-season tires instead, our range penalty would only be 21 miles. (The added weight of the larger wheels are likely to blame here.)

The Launch Edition also comes standard with the Adventure package, which spruces up the interior with heated and cooled perforated leather seats made of vegan leather (also known as imitation leather), beautiful natural-grained ash wood trim and a premium audio system by Meridian. There's even an über-cool removable Bluetooth speaker that charges while it's stowed under the center console. Other included features worth mentioning are a full suite of advanced driver aids as well as an onboard automatic air compressor for airing up your tires whenever and wherever you feel like it.

The final touches of our Launch Edition truck include the aforementioned interior badging, which is actually pretty discreet and tasteful, and an exclusive Launch Green paint scheme. This green is on the paler side with a bit of brown mixed in, and although it's not quite as striking as the darker and deeper Forest Green on the R1T color swatch, we still dig it. If we had to call our green something more descriptive, we might go with Oxidized Guacamole.

The only options we checked outside of our prix fixe $73,000 Launch Edition were the reinforced underbody shield ($2,000) and the all-weather floor mats ($175). This brought our grand total, before taxes, licensing fees, federal incentives, and Rivian's recent price increases, to $76,250 (including $1,075 destination). That's not cheap, but considering a nearly identically specced R1T ordered today costs $95,525, we're relieved we got in early.

What would you do if you owned a Rivian R1T?

We have some plans cooking up for our OG Green truck, but we'd love to hear what you'd like to see us do with it. What kinds of tests should we subject it to? Crash tests aside, we're pretty game for anything. Consider our suggestion books open.

Edmunds says

We've been waiting years to get our hands on a 2022 Rivian R1T and that day has finally come. We don't want to squander away our time so let us know what you're dying to know and we'll do our best to answer everything on our long-term test page.