Doug DeMuro’s car of the year for 2021 isn’t even a car. Okay, technically it is an automobile. Now, with the EV truck war’s set to commence in a big way, one of the most highly anticipated trucks of them all lived up to all the hype. I am of course talking about the Rivian R1T, that won the 2021 Doug Car Of The Year.}

When Doug first showcased the GMC Hummer EV on his channel (not his recent first drive) the EV truck he’d mentioned that the R1T was shown time and again but its launch was being delayed time and again. Now Rivian took its time in bringing the R1T to the market, but boy did they nail it the first time around.

To showcase what the R1T is made of, Rivian even sent out two early prototypes down to Argentina where they joined Hollywood stars Evan McGregor and Charley Boorman on modified Harley Davidson Livewires on their Long Way Up expedition driving back all the way to LA. If you’ve watched all 11 episodes, you really know the kind of conditions the Rivians had to endure.

Fast forward to 2021, and since the first media drives, most if not every review of the truck has been positive. And Doug’s review of the Rivian R1T was no exception. He was blown away by how the tech, the performance, the capabilities all at a compelling price add up.

He was in fact so impressed by the R1T, that a few weeks later, I was surprised to see him put out a second video go up. Now being a long-time Doug fan, you don’t see that happen very often, except in cases of Doug’s own cars like the E63 Wagon, Ford GT, or Land Rover Defender and his blue Audi RS2 wagon.

In the video, Doug and his buddies took on what looked like a fairly steep rocky trail on a mountain. Considering that the R1T doesn't have any heavy-duty off-road hardware like differential lockers etc, Doug was surprised with how the R1T in fact managed to conquer such a steep slope and that too on street tires. But wasn't just Doug, here's another video of the Rivian taking on the Diablo Drop along with a Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Rivian R1T truly is a fantastic effort for the first attempt for a startup and it was well worth the wait. There are some true innovations on this vehicle that will soon make it to other products in the industry. It also in a way showcases what the future of off-roading will look like.

The only features that Doug found that were missing on his little off-road excursion were a hill-hold assist, hill descent control, a tire-pressure monitoring system, and a better camera system for times when you don’t have a spotter. These are aspects that I’m sure Rivian will address soon.

With so many amazing facets to boast about, the Rivian blazed past many strong contenders including the likes of the Lucid Air, the Tesla Model S Plaid, and to go on to win Doug’s Car Of The Year.

You watch all the amazing cars that impressed Doug Demuro in 2021 in the video below;