With Rivian’s “Large Pack” battery, the R1T electric pickup truck had an EPA-estimated 314 miles of range. Meanwhile, the R1S three-row electric SUV could travel 316 miles on a single charge. While a larger battery pack option does exist, Rivian is already pushing through free over-the-air software updates to give its vehicles more range, among other updates.
If you head to Rivian’s website now, it shows the R1T with a range of 328 miles. This is for the quad-motor all-wheel-drive variant with the Large Pack and 21-inch wheels. It’s only a 14-mile increase, but that’s arguably notable, especially for a software update. Interestingly, the R1S, which had slightly more range than its sibling prior to the update, now has 321 miles of range, a 5 mile increase.
We will take this time to say that Rivian’s various battery packs and configurations can cause some confusion, and the company made major changes to the variants and pricing, which will all kick in later.
There are three battery pack options: Standard, Large, and Max. The Standard Pack isn’t available with quad-motor AWD, but any of the three packs can be had with dual-motor AWD, which isn’t yet available. Essentially, depending on which version you choose, you may be able to get an R1T or R1S in the “near” future, or perhaps in a few years.
With all of that said, all we know right now is that the Rivian software update boosted the range on the very specific quad-motor, Large Pack models we mentioned. We don’t know if the software update or any other subsequent updates will improve the range across the lineup or on other specific configurations.
According to ElectrekRivian owners shared the following information last month related to a software update:
“Improved battery longevity, battery durability, and regenerative braking performance. Also enhanced regen availability, and you can use regen for longer durations.”
The publication requested more specifics from Rivian about the range increases. The automaker provided a detailed response. In summary, Rivian shared that over-the-air software updates have improved vehicle efficiency. It also explained that on its website, the range shown is specific to a single wheel and tire combination, and no longer shows range changes for larger or smaller wheel/tire options.
As far as the dual motor variants are concerned, they’re still undergoing testing, so there are not yet new range estimates published. Rivian plans to provide those figures as production draws near.
