The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has shared its top safety picks for 2024, and its leader in the pickup category is 100% electric. The 2024 Rivian R1T pickup is the only BEV in the segment to earn Top Safety Pick+ honors as the best of the best in passenger safety.
Rivian ($RIVN) remains a relatively young but growing American EV automaker, gaining some serious momentum through 2024. Much of its recent success has come from sales of its two flagship models – the R1S SUV and R1T Pickup.
Both models recently saw the launch of 2nd-generation 2025 model-year BEVs, while Rivian continues to improve and upgrade its technology in all its models via over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Say what you will about EVs compared to ICE vehicles, but in addition to being some of the most uniquely designed and capable BEVs on the market, Rivian models are some of the safest. That is evident in the 2024 R1T pickup, which has been awarded a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS.
The IIHS’ top safety pick for a pickup is an EV
The times are changing, and some of the advantages of switching to an EV are apparent in the 2024 Rivian R1T. The pickup was not only the only fully electric model to make the IIHS’ 2024 top safety pick list but also the only one to be awarded higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ status.
No other pickup, large or small, received that award, and the R1T was one of only 31 vehicles selected as the safest on the market. The Rivian R1T continues its Top Safety Pick+ status trend for a third straight year, snagging the prestigious badge in 2022, 2023, and now 2024.
Per the IIHS, each vehicle must fit the following criteria in order top qualify for Top Safety Pick+:
- “Good” (G) ratings in the small overlap front test
- “Acceptable” or “Good” (A or G) in the updated moderate overlap front test
- “Good” rating in the updated side test
- “Acceptable” or “Good” headlights standard
- “Acceptable” or “Good” in the pedestrian front crash prevention test
As you can see in the IIHS image above, the Rivian R1T pickup more than qualified for the top safety award, scoring “Good” in all categories except its standard front crash prevention system for pedestrians, which scored “Acceptable.”
The 2024 and 2025 versions of the Rivian R1T are available for sale and lease now and start around $70,000. I’m thinking maybe I’m going to start saving up for one. How about you?