2024 Rivian R1T Only Pickup Truck to Qualify for Highest Safety Rating

Earlier this month, the 2024 Rivian R1T electric pickup truck continued its safety record.

A battery-powered truck from US-based EV was again the only pickup truck (and the only electric truck) to earn a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The award recognizes vehicles that perform well in a series of safety tests, which have been updated with stricter criteria for 2024.

In an email about the nomination last week, Rivian wrote that the company is “proud” to be the only pickup truck to receive the highest score so far this year. It earned the award in 2022 and 2023. The only other truck that qualifies for the lower Top Safety Pick level (no Plus) is the 2024 Toyota Tundra. Other Top Safety Pick+ winners in other categories include EVs such as the Tesla Model Y of 2024, 2024 Genesis GV60, 2024 Genesis Electrified G80 and 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6.

An IIHS spokesperson said in an email this week, “As a new automaker, it’s encouraging to see that Rivian clearly prioritizes good performance in IIHS safety tests.”

To qualify for the Top Safety Pick designation, a vehicle must achieve a rating of “good” in the small frontal interaction test, “acceptable” or “good” in the updated frontal interaction test, “good” in the updated side interaction test, “acceptable” ” or “good” in an attempt to prevent a frontal pedestrian accident and have “acceptable” or “good” lights.

The updated median interaction test now has a dummy in the rear seat to encourage second-row safety. The R1T earned a “good” rating in this test for sensors that determine the least risk of head, neck and chest injury in a crash. The seat belts sat comfortably and the dummy’s head stayed away from the front seat.

Hardest Test

On Wednesday night, the IIHS released the results from the 2024 frontal crash test. Preliminary results concluded that many small SUVs fail the updated vehicle-to-vehicle tests, which examine high-speed crashes and those involving motorcycles or large trucks. . The more stringent frontal crash test puts cars at 31, 37 and 43 mph instead of the previous 12 and 25 mph.

Of the first 10 small SUVs that underwent the updated tests, only one received a “good” score: the Subaru Forester. The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 were rated “acceptable.” The Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson and Jeep Compass scored “marginal,” while the Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander and Volkswagen Taos all rated “poor.”

The R1T hasn’t undergone this new test, but in its frontal pedestrian crash prevention test it earned a 2024 Acceptable rating.

Another US testing agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has yet to rate the 2024 Rivian R1T. Most pickups have a weak safety rating.