The Rivian R1T is the publication’s 2022 ‘truck of the year’ which was declared on Monday. It beats out the other famous company’s truck-like Hyundai Motor, Ford Motor, and General Motors.
The prestigious title and accompanying “Golden Caliper” award are highly sought by automakers globally every year. They are used to promote vehicles in advertising and are viewed as third-party validation of a new vehicle.
While MotorTrend called the R1T is one of the first mass-produced electric trucks in the U.S “the most remarkable pickup truck we’ve ever driven,” in a release announcing the award.
“Rivian re-examined what a modern pickup could be and the result is the most remarkable truck MotorTrend has ever driven, making it arguably the worthiest recipient of the ‘Golden Calipers’ in recent history,” the release said.
MotorTrend said the Rivian R1T excelled in each of its six key criteria: safety, efficiency, value, advancement in design, engineering excellence, and performance of the intended function.
Other finalists for MotorTrend’s truck of the year were the Ford Maverick, GMC Hummer EV, and Hyundai Santa Cruz.
MotorTrend’s truck of the year follows the publication naming the Lucid Air its car of the year and the Genesis GV70 as its SUV of the year.
“As the first all-electric pickup truck to market, the R1T manages to achieve all of this without offending historic truck-buyer sensibilities. For these reasons and more, MotorTrend is honored to name the Rivian R1T our 2022 Truck of the Year,” Ed Loh, MotorTrend group head of editorial, said in a statement.
