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IT'S ELECTRIC
I took a tour of the second-fastest truck on the market – a hidden dashboard button reveals eight driving ‘modes’
Drivers may see Amazon trucks using similar tech
NATURAL light streamed through the Rivian model room's glass casing, feeding the potted monsteras and illuminating the natural-color woods.
Parked between the dashes of natural landscape in New York City's Meatpacking District are three Rivian trucks - I toured them on a recent trip downtown.
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The showroom's nature-based design aesthetic is a big part of the point.
Rivian trucks are full-sized electric vehicles.
They're a fast-growing company central to America's desire to decarbonize future transportation with culture-capturing fan-favorite vehicles.
As a new company with bold tech plans, Rivian trucks feature several different hidden buttons available on the car's dash.
One particular button can make the car faster, more efficient, or springier.
On the massive infotainment system placed in the center of the truck's cabin, drivers will find a decal of a car chassis in the bottom center of the screen.
In one click, the button will load a screen that drivers can flip through to optimize different operations in the 835-horsepower vehicle.
There are eight separate modes — four for pavement, and four for off-roading.
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Sport Mode makes the truck squat lower and stiffens the suspension while Off-Road Auto Mode lifts the truck and softens the impact of a ruck under the tires.
Another mode allows drivers to conserve energy if they must focus on the vehicle's 300-plus miles of range.
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The button is set to continue to updating the drivetrains for its vehicles in the future.
Rivian offers over-the-air updates to its vehicles to continue tuning driving systems past the car's initial purchase.
So, drivers can expect the vehicle to continue to optimize its driving modes in the future.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Rivian for comment and is awaiting a response.
INSIDE RIVIAN
So far, the company has produced two models for the American consumer market.
The R1S, the company's first consumer SUV, sold over 23,000 production models in 2023.
The R1T, the second-fastest pickup truck on the mass market with a 0 to 60 mph time right at 3 seconds, sold just under 20,000 iterations last year.
Customers have reported historically high satisfaction numbers with their Rivians.
Rivian scored the highest recorded satisfaction rate with customers, according to Consumer Reports.
However, the company has not been without its issues.
Rivian was one of the worst automakers with customer-reported quality issues, according to a study by the publication.
"This story is really one of growing pains," Jake Fisher, Consumer Report's senior director of auto testing told Fortune.
"It’s a story of just working out the bugs and the kinks of new technology."
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The company also produces a last-mile hauler that Amazon initially purchased for its new fleet.
However, the e-commerce giant released Rivian from the exclusive deal, allowing the production of the EV hauler to other retailers.