Rivian setting a high bar for electric pickups

The most interesting part of the Rivian saga — for me — is the engineering and manufacturing of the R1T pickup, R1S SUV and Amazon delivery van.

Launching three new-from-the-wheels-up vehicles in close succession is a major challenge for an established automaker. It's far beyond difficult for a startup whose vehicles use proprietary technology and in-house-developed electronics, and when the tens of millions of lines of code for all the computers were written in-house, too.

This is the automotive equivalent of a moonshot. Yet Rivian, born in Florida within earshot of where Apollo rockets launched for the moon, just may pull it off.

I recently got a close look at Rivian's futuristic Amazon van at work in a suburban Detroit neighborhood. And last week, I spent around 45 minutes test driving an early-production R1T around the Detroit area.

Here's what I can tell you: Rivian has set the bar high for all competitors. The R1T I drove, and another one I examined, stand tire-to-tire with any truck from Detroit or elsewhere when it comes to quality of materials, fit and finish, thoughtful features and attention to detail.

Driving at speeds of around 45 mph, you hear the big Pirelli tires rolling over the pavement and a pleasing hum from the electric motors, but that's it. No wind or suspension noise, no rattles or squeaks. This level of refinement is really hard to achieve on a battery-electric vehicle. On traditional vehicles, the piston engine and exhaust mask many of these sounds. The R1T's flat, stable handling is more akin to a sports car than a pickup.

The pickup is furnished with a pair of comfortable and handsome bucket seats adorned with Rivian logos, a real wood dash and a large moonroof. The interface for the electronics is simple to use. Buttons and scrolling knobs on the left and right of the steering wheel can be programmed via the central screen to handle a multitude of tasks, such as tuning the radio or adjusting the mirrors.

Acceleration can be extremely brisk when the pedal is pressed hard. For normal driving, the R1T performs about like a beefy V-8-powered Ram 1500 or Ford F-150. Adjustable regenerative braking enables one-pedal driving most of the time in stop-and-go city traffic.

The chorus of online grumbling from customers grows louder by the day — the R1T will be about a year late — but Rivian will likely avoid some of the early quality issues that dogged Tesla's Model 3.

You might think after raising $10.5 billion, Rivian would have no excuse not to have outstanding quality from the start. But money can't buy everything in product development. It takes time, patience, passion and endless refinement to get it right. And, in my view, Rivian has it right.

What surprised me most about the R1T were the many thoughtful touches, such as the built-in flashlight in the driver's door that, of course, charges in its slot; the dual opening wind deflector built into the roof to reduce aerodynamic drag; the numerous storage bins; and the soft touch exterior switches that open the charging port door and lower the tailgate.

And, if a customer orders the optional camping equipment, the R1T even comes with the kitchen sink.