First drive: Rivian’s Tri-Motor R1 is more of a good thing, available now
Rivian invited us to come up and drive its new tri-motor “R1 Tri” spec vehicle through the hills of Malibu. Here’s what we thought about the drive.
The event was out of Rivian’s Venice Space, which was showing off the R2 and R3X as part of its R2 tour. But it also hosted auto journalists for a drive of the R1 Tri up PCH and through the famously snaky roads in the hills above Malibu, CA, and a roundtable discussion with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe (which we’ve posted some insights from, about the VW/Rivian partnership and Rivian’s soon-to-be-open Adventure Network).
The new tri-motor Rivian, which Rivian is simply calling the R1 Tri, is a mid-spec addition to its post-refresh product line. It sits between the base model dual motor and the higher-spec quad motor (Rivian has had a quad-motor before, but cut that option when it brought motor development in-house, though it will return in 2025), occupying what one engineer told us is a “Goldilocks” position – not too much, not too little.
Although “not too much” is relative here, because the Tri still offers a whopping 850 horsepower – which is more than, well, just about anything. It may not be as much as the 1,025hp Quad Max, coming in 2025, which shattered records at Pike’s Peak, but 850 is still a lot of go-go-go.
That’s enough to bring you from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, along with the debut of Launch Mode to help drivers coax maximum performance out of their vehicle. Launch mode will track your times, top speed, g-forces, and even capture your launch with the vehicle’s cameras (since we were on public roads shared with traffic and cyclists, we didn’t test this). It also utilizes Rivian’s cute “Gear Guard” mascot for a fun animation.
The Tri works with 1 motor in front and 2 in the rear, which means you have more control at the rear with two motors that are able to work independently of each other. This could come up in off-road situations with difficult traction, and also offers performance benefits in terms of torque vectoring on the axle that does most of the work during acceleration.
We drove the R1T truck, and in our drive on those narrow roads above Malibu, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to really stretch out that 850hp, at least not in a legal or safe manner. But we never felt even the slightest bit starved for power, zipping up hills and carrying the ~7,000lb curb weight along with us.
For such a large and heavy truck, the R1T was nevertheless impressively nimble. When the truck was in my co-driver’s hands, the rear end did feel jumpy a few times when going over slightly bumpy parts of the road – perhaps a different suspension mode might have helped with this.
While we tried several of the modes available, there are so many permutations of drive mode, suspension stiffness, ride height, steering response, regen mode and so on that it would probably take some time to really dial in the car to make it feel exactly like you want. I’m generally not a huge fan of different drive modes, though for some things like suspension and ride height it makes sense.
In terms of battery, the Tri comes equipped with Rivian’s Max size battery pack, which gives it 371 miles of range. Rivian says you can push this to 405 miles in “conserve” mode, but as usual, your mileage may vary.
These range numbers are both predicated on using road tires. Rivian also offers all-terrain tires with more off-road versatility, but these come with a penalty to efficiency, lowering range to 329 miles.
The Tri comes alongside the debut of Rivian’s new “Ascend” trim level, an interior with premium materials throughout and some additional new features, over and above the hundreds of changes that Rivian made alongside this year’s Gen 2 refresh.
For now all Tris will come in Ascend trim, which includes Rivian Premium Audio, an upgraded 960 watt Dolby Atmos sound system, a darkout package that replaces chrome badges with darker-colored ones, a 150PSI air compressor with a hose that can reach all four tires, and Rivian’s dynamic glass roof which becomes electrochromically opaque at the tap of a button if you want to block the sun.
The interior felt plenty comfortable and obviously spacious for all the time we were in it, though it’s not as directly comfort-oriented as some of the other large EVs we’ve tried, like the Volvo EX90 and the Hyundai Ioniq 9 (the latter was a concept interior, though).
The Rivian still gets points for being exceptionally utilitarian though, with plenty of pockets and storage spaces throughout. This is one reason why Rivian excels in customer satisfaction, because it’s just such an easy vehicle to use.
In the end, the R1 Tri doesn’t revolutionize anything about what Rivian was already doing, but just adds another option for owners who want more power and capability… and are willing to pay extra for it.
The new R1 Tri-Motor is available now, with R1T starting at $99,900 and R1S starting at $105,900 at Rivian.com. Deliveries of inventory vehicles look to have a 1-6 week lead time currently, so should be available by the end of the year – but custom configurations are quoted with a 8-12 week lead time, and thus seem unlikely that they’ll deliver by the end of the year.
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Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
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Environment
Podcast: Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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Charging your EV in freezing weather could soon become dramatically faster, thanks to a big breakthrough from the University of Michigan engineers.
Neil Dasgupta, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering and corresponding author of a study published in Joule, and his team have developed an innovative battery structure and coating that can boost lithium-ion EV battery charging speeds by a whopping 500%, even at frigid temperatures as low as 14F (-10C). “Charging an EV battery takes 30 to 40 minutes even for aggressive fast charging, and that time increases to over an hour in the winter,” Dasgupta explained. “This is the pain point we want to address.”
Freezing weather has traditionally been harsh on EV batteries because it slows down the movement of lithium ions, resulting in slower charging speeds and reduced battery life. Automakers have tried thickening battery electrodes to extend driving range, but this makes some of the lithium hard to access, making charging even slower.
Previously, Dasgupta’s group sped up battery charging using lasers to carve pathways around 40 microns in size into the graphite anode. This allowed lithium ions to reach deeper into the battery more quickly. However, cold-weather performance still lagged because a chemical layer formed on the electrodes, blocking the ions. Dasgupta compares this barrier to “trying to cut cold butter,” making charging inefficient.
To solve this, the team coated the battery with a thin, glassy material made of lithium borate-carbonate—only 20 nanometers thick—which prevented the problematic chemical layer from forming. Combined with the microscopic channels, the results were groundbreaking: the modified batteries retained 97% of their capacity even after 100 fast-charging cycles in freezing temperatures.
“We envision this approach as something that EV battery manufacturers could adopt without major changes to existing factories,” Dasgupta noted. “For the first time, we’ve shown a pathway to simultaneously achieve extreme fast charging at low temperatures, without sacrificing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery.”
This innovation could tackle one of the biggest concerns holding potential EV buyers back.
The new battery tech is moving closer to commercialization, supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub. The research devices were built at U-M’s Battery Lab and studied with help from the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization.
U-M Innovation Partnerships assisted the team in applying for patents, and Arbor Battery Innovations has licensed the technology for market deployment. Dasgupta and the University of Michigan hold financial stakes in Arbor Battery Innovations.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
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