Showdown: Ford F-150 Lightning Vs. Rivian R1T

When it comes to EV pickups, Ford and Rivian were the first ones out of the gate to make it to volume production.

While there are plenty of factories from General Motors, RAM, and Tesla ramping up to produce EV pickups, for this video, we’re looking at the two that have had their trucks on the road for many months now.

Before anyone asks “what about the Hummer EV pickup,” since I haven’t had an opportunity to personally experience it yet, we’ll save that one for another day.

Out of the gate, startup Rivian hit the ground running with a quad-motor setup and clean-sheet design while Ford has taken all the things that have made the gasoline F-series the best-selling vehicle in America and amped it up with an all-wheel-drive EV setup.

Towing

Our first matchup is towing, which Rivian wins on paper with a maximum capacity of 11,000 pounds, while the Ford maxes out at 10,000.

When it comes to real world towing, Ford has a neat trick up its sleeve. It uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning to automatically back up and align the truck’s hitch ball to a trailer coupler with a touch of a button.

Lightning owner Sergio Rodriguez is also a big fan of how the Lightning recalculates range on the fly based on the towing load as he describes in this video:

Both pickups come with integrated trailer-brake controllers.

Speaking of towing, depending on the load, weather, terrain, etc. you could see your range take a hit of 40% or more, meaning with either vehicle you may be charging as often as 100 miles or so if you’re really pushing them to the limit. Edmunds did a detailed test between the two, using the same identical 7,500-pound payloads.

Charging

That brings us to charging speed. Car and Driver recently did a charging showdown and found the R1T hit a peak speed of nearly 200 kW while the Lightning managed 163.

Perhaps more importantly, Rivian claims that eventually it will be able to charge at speeds of up to 300 kW via an over the air update.

However, Ford may have the real trump card when it comes to charging. It recently announced a deal with Tesla that will open up every US Supercharger station to Ford EV owners.

Ford will be mailing out adapters to existing Lightning owners in 2024 and adding a Tesla charging port to the next-gen Lighting.

At the time of this video’s posting the question was whether Rivian might follow suit with a similar deal to gain full access to Superchargers.

Storage

Both the Lightning and Rivian have massive frunks, putting them well ahead of gas pickups when it comes to storage.

The Rivian also offers a unique pass-through innovation which is one of the things that attracted R1T owner Jimmy McGovern to his Rivian, as you’ll see in this video:

Both trucks have some neat features in their cargo beds but the Ford runs away with the race when it comes to actual bed capacity with 52.8 cubic feet vs. The Rivian’s 22.6 cubic feet.

Features

Both trucks come in a variety of packages. The top tier Lightning delivers 580 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque from its 131 kWh battery pack with 320 miles of EPA-estimated range.

The fully loaded R1T has a 135 kWh battery with 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque, which explains its additional thousand pounds of towing capacity. The EPA rates the R1T at 314 miles of range.

Both Ford and Rivian do over-the-air software updates so it’s possible those figures might be tweaked a bit by the time you read or watch this EV Rider episode.

Tech

Moving inside, the Lightning and R1T are comfortable with large center stacks that boast plenty of tech, including a variety of driving modes.

But the Ford once again pulls in the lead, offering wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Neither is available in the Rivian and two different Rivian owners I spoke with complained about the Rivian’s native navigation.

When it comes to build quality, I interviewed one Lightning owner and two Rivian owners. Both Rivian owners had taken their EVs back to have some panel gap issues addressed but were otherwise happy with their cars.

All three owners were generally happy with their choices and I found the ride quality good in both pickups.

As for off-road chops, Motor Trend did extensive testing, concluding the Rivian is more capable thanks in part to its five off-road modes and height-adjustable suspension.

Looking at driver assist packages, Ford currently wins with Blue Cruise since it offers true hands-free driving on mapped interstates. The Rivian requires drivers to touch the wheel occasionally.

Both the Rivian and Ford can be used as a backup generator. They have plenty of power outlets, including traditional household 12-volt outlets that are capable of charging another EV. But Ford amps it up with an optional kit that allows you to power your entire house, including air conditioning and refrigerator by tying directly into your home’s circuit breaker box.

When it comes to price, the Lightning starts lower at around $60,000, compared to $73,000 for the R1T. That’s based on a June 11, 2023 price check. Those prices do not include additional fees, taxes or incentives.

Once you start checking all the boxes, their prices become very similar at roughly $98,000 for the Lightning and approximately $99,000 for the RT1.

Unless you luck out or are willing to pay big markups, both trucks will likely require months of waiting before they’re delivered.

When it comes to getting service, Ford pulls back in the lead in most parts of the country with more than 2,900 dealers, while Rivian had less than three dozen service centers across the country at last check, although it was planning a major expansion.

Rivian R1T Specs, Pricing & Equipment Packages