Rivian R1T vs Kia Tasman

What's the difference?

Tesla started from nothing to become one of the most recognisable brands across the automotive industry in less than two decades. Rivian is hoping to do the same.

If you haven't heard of Rivian that's okay, it's currently only available in the US market. It shares a lot in common with Tesla, though - a charismatic founder and CEO, a focus on electric vehicles and plenty of hype around the brand.

To find out if the hype is justified, CarsGuide.com.au was able to organise an exclusive preview drive of the brand's R1T electric pick-up in Los Angeles recently. The R1T is one of two models Rivian has entered the market with, the other is the R1S large SUV.

This is a far cry from company founder RJ Scaringe's original vision, the R1 - a mid-engined hybrid coupe sports car. Instead, Scaringe switched focus to the pick-up and SUV markets, which provided a much larger audience and helped attract investment from the Ford Motor Company and Amazon to get the company up and running on an industrial scale.

Rivian is still a few years from making it to Australia, but make no mistake, the company has been committed to global expansion for years. As far back as April 2019 a company representative told CarsGuide it believes there's a good opportunity for the R1T and R1S to find an audience in Australia.

So, with that in mind, we drove the R1T to find out if it has what it takes to make its mark with Australian ute buyers.

Kia expects its all-new Tasman to be a key player in Australia’s highly competitive ute segment. And to its credit, the Korean manufacturer has created its contender from scratch, rather than taking the easier platform-sharing route favoured by some rivals.

However, judging by feedback from numerous locals during our test, the jury is out on whether Aussies will warm 'en masse' to its bold styling and confronting appearance, which tends to distract from the capable vehicle beneath.

So, given our tradie focus, we recently spent a week in the lowest-priced entry point for Tasman dual-cab ute ownership, to see how it measures up as a tool-of-trade for tradies, farmers or fleets wanting a back-to-basics workhorse.