Scout Terra vs. Rivian R1T
The electric pickup that exists, against the one that’s coming.
The R1T has been on sale since 2021 and taught everyone what an electric pickup could be: quick, clever, comfortable, and expensive. The Terra is Scout’s answer, due in 2028: slower, simpler, cheaper, built like a truck and with a gas engine on board. They are aimed at different buyers, and here is how to tell which one you are.
- Choose the R1T if
- You want the electric truck now, you want the quickest and most refined one, and $73,000 and a 4.5-foot bed are fine.
- Wait for the Terra if
- You want lockers and a solid axle, a real bed, a gas backup for the places with no charger, and a lower price, and 2028 or later is fine.
Side by side
Where they differ
- How they’re built
- The R1T is a unibody on Rivian’s skateboard, with independent air suspension at all four corners and a motor per axle or per wheel. The Terra is body-on-frame with an independent front and a solid rear axle, the way every full-size and mid-size truck on a job site is built. The R1T rides better; the Terra should take a beating better and is simpler to lift and re-tire.
- The bed
- Terra 5.5 feet; R1T 4.5 feet. A foot of bed is the difference between a sheet of plywood flat with the tailgate down and a sheet of plywood at an angle. The R1T answers with the gear tunnel, a lockable pass-through behind the cab that holds a cooler or a pair of boards.
- Range
- Battery against battery, the R1T wins: 270, 329 or 420 miles depending on pack, against the Terra’s 350-mile target. Add the Harvester and the Terra wins outright, 500 or more, and keeps winning as long as there are gas stations. No R1T has a gasoline option.
- Off-road hardware
- The Terra has mechanical lockers at both ends and room for 35-inch tires from the factory. The R1T has no mechanical lockers; it uses brake-based torque control and, on the Quad, a motor per wheel, which works very well, and 14.6 inches of clearance with the suspension raised. Rock crawlers will prefer the Terra’s approach on paper; nobody has tested it.
- Speed
- Not close. The R1T Quad makes 1,025 horsepower and does 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds; even the Dual is about 4.5. Scout claims as low as 3.5 for the Terra and has not published horsepower.
- Price
- R1T from about $73,000 to about $122,000. Terra under $60,000 to start, target, with the Harvester premium unknown. Both are sold direct at a set price with no dealer.
- Towing
- R1T 7,700 pounds on the Dual, 11,000 on the Tri and Quad. Terra more than 10,000, target. Range while towing is the real number, and the Harvester is Scout’s answer to it.
- Timing
- R1T: on the lot. Terra: 2028 deliveries on Scout’s calendar, later on the forecasters’. See release date.
Questions
Questions people ask
Is the Scout Terra bigger than the Rivian R1T?
The bed is: 5.5 feet against the R1T’s 4.5. Overall length and wheelbase for the Terra have not been published, so the rest is unknown. Both seat five.
Which has more range?
On battery alone the R1T wins today: up to 420 miles with the Max pack against the Terra’s 350-mile target. With the Harvester the Terra wins: 500 or more miles, and a gas station resets it. The R1T has no gasoline option.
Which is better off-road?
On paper the Terra brings the hardware a rock crawler wants, a solid rear axle and mechanical lockers at both ends, with room for 35s. The R1T brings 14.6 inches of air-suspension clearance, four independent corners and very good torque control, and has proven itself on real trails since 2021. Nobody has driven a production Terra off-road yet.
Which is faster?
The R1T, by a lot: a Quad Max does 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds with 1,025 horsepower. Scout claims as low as 3.5 seconds for the Terra and has not published horsepower.
Which costs less?
The Terra, if Scout hits its target: under $60,000 against about $73,000 for the least expensive R1T. The Harvester premium is unknown.
Can I buy either one at a dealer?
No. Rivian sells direct and so will Scout. Rivian has studios and service centers; Scout is building the same.
Which one can I drive today?
The R1T, through Rivian’s demo drives. The Terra does not exist as a production truck. If what you want to feel is a body-on-frame, solid-axle, locker-equipped pickup off pavement, the Carolina Auto Program runs five-and-a-half-hour beach drives in a Jeep Gladiator on the Outer Banks.
Drive one · Open all year
Waiting on a Scout? Drive the trucks it was built to beat.
The Carolina Auto Program puts you in a Jeep Gladiator, a Ram 1500 Rebel or a Silverado Trail Boss for five and a half hours on the Carova 4x4 beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, no salesperson aboard, for $325. Then a no-haggle price in writing from a program dealer. If you want to know what a body-on-frame truck with lockers does in soft sand before the Terra ships, that is the closest thing there is.
Book a beach drive at carolinaautoprogram.comHear when a Scout reaches the beach. Scout sells direct, so a Terra drive would come through Scout, and nothing is arranged yet. Email bret@beach4x4.com with Scout Terra in the subject line and you will get one email the day it is possible. No list, no newsletter.