The big push for all-electric trucks has seen a significant race from major auto manufacturers to produce vehicles that not only occupy the roles and functions that many shoppers have come to expect from a full-size, light-duty pickup, but they also have to occupy the functions expected from a petrol-free, all-electric vehicle. This creates quite a conundrum for engineers to work around as they attempt to deliver the best of all worlds when it comes to an all-electric pickup. For those interested in owning one, the options are few, but what is there is definitely noteworthy, whether it’s the Hummer EV Pickup, the Rivian R1T, or the Ford F-150 Lightning.

If you were looking for a more manageable truck of the light-duty variety, then the Hummer likely isn’t going to be on the list. However, for those curious about what the differences are between the F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T and whether shopping for a Ford F-150 Lightning for sale is the better option over Rivian’s offerings, this list will roll out some important features and reasons why the F-150 Lightning might be the better option for you. It involves the following four reasons.

#4. You Get More Payload With the 2024 F-150 Lightning

In the world of electric vehicles, weight distribution, and utility work is vastly different compared to gas-powered vehicles or hybrids. This is because a large amount of the weight considerations have to be made for the battery packs, which can lessen the overall payload capacity. On the upside, however, electric vehicles have much smaller motors that weigh far less than typical diesel or V8 engines.

So, there is a fine balance in terms of how much and how efficiently electric trucks can manage their payload. In that regard, Ford has been tweaking and refining its formula for segment-defining payload capacity for light-duty pickups for years on end, and it has attempted to adapt this knowledge to the electric pickup space, and it did so with extreme efficiency.

You can clearly see the difference in the overall payload capacity between the 2024 F-150 Lightning and the 2024 Rivian R1T. Since Rivian is new to the space, they definitely have some ways to go to match longstanding nameplates in the trucking space, but they still managed some impressive payload for their light-duty pickup, topping out at 1,760 lbs. While this works well for the Rivian, those figures are only slightly higher than what most compact or midsize pickups manage in the gas-powered space.

For the F-150 Lightning, you have up to 2,235 lbs worth of total payload capacity with the standard range battery pack and up to 1,952 lbs worth of payload capacity with the extended range battery pack. So basically, no matter which version of the F-150 Lightning you go with, the 2024 model year all-electric Ford truck still manages better overall payload capacity over the Rivian. This also works well when you consider that even though both trucks have short beds, you still get a 5.6-inch bed with the F-150 Lightning compared to a 4.5-inch bed for the Rivian R1T. So you have better overall payload efficiency and utility space when it comes to the F-150 Lightning.

#2. You Get Onboard Scales With the 2024 F-150 Lightning

There is a really cool feature with the 2024 F-150 Lightning that you just don’t get on other trucks and it’s the On-Board Scales feature. This gives you a visual breakdown and diegetic feedback on how much weight the truck is carrying, measuring passenger and cargo mass to give you a breakdown of what you’re carrying. This is extremely useful for those who do a lot of payload hauls with their truck. Having an electric truck that tells you exactly what you’re carrying with numerical and visual feedback on your cargo makes it easy to determine what you can carry without having to manually run the numbers yourself.

The Rivian R1T, sadly, does not have an equivalent feature to the F-150 Lightning’s Onboard Scales. So, you lose a lot of functionality when it comes to the payload utility of the Rivian R1T compared to the F-150 Lightning. If that’s not a big deal to you, that’s fine, but if you regularly find yourself hauling cargo with your truck, this will make for a big game changer in measuring and gauging what you can haul using the built-in infotainment suite.

What’s more is that the Onboard Scales work in conjunction with other features, such as Ford’s Smart Hitch, which utilizes sensors to measure the tongue weight of your trailer, so you have an idea of just how much you’re approximately towing and whether you’re at the limits. This gives you great feedback on the utility capabilities of the F-150 Lightning, and it does so from the very easy-to-use infotainment setup thanks to the Ford SYNC suite. This gives you a serious advantage over the R1T in that regard.

#3. Lots of Features Are Available Thanks to FordPass Accessibility

Both Ford and Rivian have companion apps for their electric trucks. The Rivian utilizes the Rivian app for the R1T. And yes, it’s simply called the Rivian app. It gives you access to remote access, such as remote start, remote door unlock, remote tailgate open, and remote hood opening for access to the frunk. There is also route planning with consideration for charge locations, charge session management, and home charging scheduling. You even have access to features for scheduling maintenance and tuning.

While the Rivian app for the R1T is fantastic for what it offers, there are a few more features that you have access to out of Ford’s competing app, known as FordPass. You have all of the exact same functionality out of the FordPass app when it comes to accessibility for the F-150 Lightning, such as remote start, remote access, remote locks, and features like the seek-and-find functionality for when you forget where you park. You also have easy access to features like remote frunk access, charge status, route planning with applicable charge stations, and maintenance scheduling, like the R1T. You might be thinking, “How does the FordPass improve on what the Rivian app offers?” Well, there are some really neat owner-friendly functions.

One of the main benefits of the FordPass is being able to schedule payments on your vehicle and pay for vehicle-related services remotely. This is great for securely paying bills or financing related to the F-150 Lightning without dealing with physical paperwork. Additionally, you have direct access to roadside assistance through the FordPass app, including repairing flats, getting a charge, or other deliveries associated with emergency help or services.

Additionally, the FordPass app enables you to access, modify, tune, or alter features related to the Pro Power Onboard functionality in case you’re using your F-150 Lightning as a mobile generator. Another added benefit is the FordPass Rewards that you earn by using the app and other related Ford services. These rewards can then be redeemed to reduce the cost of maintenance or other purchases related to your F-150 Lightning.

#4. Better Hands-Free Driving Features With BlueCruise

The Ford BlueCruise hands-free driving feature is constantly being updated and upgraded to compete with the best available services out there. Rivian is also trying hard to stay at the forefront of semi-autonomous driving, as it’s a feature that many electric vehicles are starting to offer more regularly and as a big selling point for newer model year vehicles. In Rivian’s case, it uses the Drive+ system for driver assistance traversal. This includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Steering, Automatic Emergency Braking, Automatic Acceleration, Lane Change Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross-Traffic Warning, and Forward Collision Mitigation.

The Ford BlueCruise 1.2 for the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning offers hundreds of thousands of miles of hands-free semi-autonomous driving. This includes North America and Canada, featuring all of the safety assists and driver aids of the R1T but with added functionality not found on the R1T, such as a driver-facing camera, which can help with features like gauging when certain alerts are triggered or monitoring the driver’s state thanks to the driver attention system. The BlueCruise functionality also has lane-change on demand, which is not available on the Drive+ system, and provides you with more access to more roads for hands-free driving.

This certainly adds a lot of appeal to the F-150 Lightning for those who want a truck that can do a lot of the stress-filled driving for them. With the latest in BlueCruise technology, you have that access, much more so than what you get with the R1T’s Drive+. This is just an added benefit to the overall value that the F-150 Lightning provides compared to the R1T in terms of utility and technological functionality. So it’s certainly worth considering if you were gauging between shopping for a Rivian R1T or a Ford F-150 Lightning for sale.