As Rivian starts accepting orders for its 2026 Quad Motor pickup truck and SUV, customers may initially be enticed by the power and tricks the four motors in these rebooted EVs can unleash.
After all, four motors delivering a combined 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 pound-feet of torque — and the ability to accelerate from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in less than 2.5 seconds — is hard to ignore.
But they should also pay attention to the software.
“The Quad is really the pinnacle of everything that Rivian has done so far,” Wassym Bensaid, the company’s head of software, told TechCrunch, quickly providing a punch list on acceleration, speed, torque, and an estimated 374-mile range. “Now that we have full in-house motors, we have full control on the stack, hardware and software.”
That control has allowed Rivian to introduce several new features, which will roll out via software updates in the quad-motor this September. (Customers can order the quad-motor trim starting today with deliveries beginning as early as next week, according to the company.)
The feature that will likely inspire the most TikTok videos and Instagram reels is “kick turn,” a feature that adjusts the power to the inside wheels and lets the vehicle spin about its center — even as it’s moving. Kick turn, which TechCrunch tested during a press drive in June, allows a vehicle traveling under 20 mph on dirt to kick out its back end and swing it to the right or left without moving the steering wheel. The idea is to give off-roaders the ability to make tight turns on trails by pushing a button and without going through the tedious task of a three-point turn.
Image Credits:Kirsten Korosec
Rivian fans and followers might recall a promoted, but never released, feature called “tank turn.” Kick turn, which controls power and tire grip, is the real-world and toned down version of tank turn. Rivian told TechCrunch that tank turn was never released because its founder and CEO RJ Scaringe and others worried that tank turn would ruin trails. Not the best look for a company that has made outdoor activities and preserving the environment a big part of its brand.
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Kick turn could still be abused if the driver stayed in the same spot and continued to spin the vehicle in a circle. However, Rivian has placed some software-powered guardrails on the feature, including limiting the speed and only allowing it to spin only in dirt.
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