First, it was sedans, then it was SUVs. Now, EV
technology is finally making its way into trucks. 2022 will be a watershed moment for electric trucks, with the Ford F-150 Lightning
and Rivian R1T making their long-awaited debuts. While many car journalists are weighing up how the Ford EV truck will compare against the Rivian startup, we wanted to take another approach: how will Rivian stack up against a traditional combustion truck? For that reason, we decided to pit the 2022 Rivian R1T vs. 2022 Ram 1500. Of course, any new car will have higher insurance rates
, but we'll ignore that for this comparison. Economics between the 2022 Rivian R1T vs. 2022 Ram 1500
There is a lot to digest when weighing the MSRPs of the 2022 Rivian R1T vs. 2022 Ram 1500. The Rivian is a little easier to calculate as there are only two trims to choose from. The base trim, Explore, goes for $79,500, and the more expensive Adventure will set you back $85,000.
Rivian’s prices will give you a sticker shock after looking at the price range of the new Ram 1500. While the 2022 Ram 1500 has eight different trims to choose from, the most expensive Limited trim costs $63,290. That's a significant price difference, even when compared to the cheapest Rivian R1T.
However, one of the most popular reasons to buy an EV is to save money on gas. According to The Ardmoreite
, a Rivian R1T will raise your utility bills by $950 a year if you're an average driver. Conversely, a 2022 Ram 1500 will cost the average driver $6,250 in gasoline expenses. While the Rivian will have a higher sticker price, the fuel savings will cover the more expensive price tag around the third year—assuming you don't opt for the cheaper Tradesman Ram 1500 which sells for $37,695.
2022 Rivian R1T vs. 2022 Ram 1500: how do they perform?
One of the big fears about electric trucks is that they will have inferior performance against their combustion engine rivals. In reality, it's a tough competition in terms of performance when comparing the 2022 Rivian R1T vs. 2022 Ram 1500.
The Rivian R1T has 4 electric engines that can produce a jaw-dropping 835 hp and can go 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Those are sports car numbers, folks.
The Ram 1500 TRX, a sporty offshoot of the normal 1500 line, has a supercharged V8 engine. This beast can produce an impressive 702 hp and has a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds. While that's phenomenal for a truck, it still can't beat the Rivian R1T.
However, the Ram does have superior towing capacity. The best 1500 can handle 12,750 pounds versus the R1T's max of 11,000 pounds.
Availability of these Ram and Rivian trucks
While both of these trucks are quite impressive, buying one may be a challenge. Both companies were hit particularly hard by the COVID-induced chip shortage. Rivian fell behind its targeted delivery date of March, but first deliveries are expected to start going out this summer. By current estimations, Rivian won't have all pre-orders fulfilled until the Fall.
Ram, on the other hand, has seemed to have navigated its way out of the chip shortage. While production on the 1500 was halted last year, it appears that buying one today should be much easier.
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