Finished R2 demo test drive? Share your review / impressions

[Jeremy3292]

anyone able to get more information about the semi active suspension on performance? are they frequency selective dampers or adaptive dampers, or something else? especially since all trims state the same thing:
"Drive modes adjust suspension, steering and accelerator behavior at the touch of a button." while performance states: "R2 Performance has semi-active suspension — a dynamic system that adapts to the road and your driving inputs for better performance. This means more responsive handling at high-speeds and a more comfortable ride, on-road and off."

this is the only thing that is making me decide between performance and premium

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[amo2u]

So happen to be visiting in SF and was given 30 mins. Well built, responsive drive. Zippy. Everything worked well. Spacious back seat. Small nitpick- sound system not comparable to the LE Meridians. And oh … the phone charger and MagSafe works very well!

So happen to be visiting in SF and was given 30 mins. Well built, responsive drive. Zippy. Everything worked well. Spacious back seat. Small nitpick- sound system not comparable to the LE Meridians. And oh … the phone charger and MagSafe works very well!

I'm still waiting for somebody to really dive deep into the R2 audio system. Coming from a Tesla MY, it will be difficult to give up the premium sound that car offers. I know that Rivian is doing their best and it's not a make or break for me BUT.... when you say "sound system not comparable to the LE Meridians", what do you mean?

 

[brystal42]

I was able to get a test drive in today at the Denver space. I had a drive scheduled for tomorrow, but had some time to spare so went to check out the one in the showroom, and they were able to squeeze me in for the drive, which was really great of them.

Wife and I have had several EVs, and I'm currently in a BMW i5 and my previous was an Audi Q8, so I've become accustomed to a comfortable ride. I didn't expect the R2 to match those as far as ride quality, but it was not that far off. And I would say it was better than my wife's GV60, and her previous Model Y and Mach E. So definitely on par, if not better than, its competition. The one I drove (different than pictured below) was a Launch Green with the off-road tires.

Overall very impressed with the R2. I had an early R1T and always figured we'd get into an R1S, but now that we're empty nesters, the R2 fits our needs better, so happy I waited. Not being in a rush, I will likely wait to try the iX3 and EX60.

Happy to share any additional details but I'll leave it there for now.

 

[VegasWeezy]

I was the first one to demo drive in Phoenix. But no line as they thought. i have an ID4 so the R2 was much higher and felt great so comfortable. I was somewhat disappointed in the HVAC. IT seemed underpowered and very loud on AUTO. My ID4 is super cold and not loud at all. I hope it is not an issue. I was SUPER impressed with the quality of the interior. Seeing all the videos of the interior it looked only ok. But it looked so great and felt so premium and upscale. It was beautiful. Overall a great test drive and car. Cannot wait for my invite.

I had the opposite reaction. Being in Vegas, I'm in a similar climate and it was a hot day yesterday. The air conditioning was functioning exceptionally. The cabin was very cold and I did not notice the air being unusually loud even at full blast.

For those that thought the sunroof was hot or not blocking the sun and heat well enough, this was not my experience. Again being in Vegas on a hot day, this would have been something I noticed instantly doing a test drive at 2pm. Instead, I never even gave it a thought.

 

[wesleyeff]

I did my test Drive in Salt Lake City this morning. It was a great experience. We got there a little early and the car was empty so he gave us the keys and let us explore, he also let my friend drive too. It was a Catalina Cove on the 21's, and that color looks so good in person. He said salt lake only has one R2 so far but I think they’re expecting another. The ride was nice on the 21’s but I’m still planning on getting the 20’s.

Interior: The haptic wheels are hard to use, I think I’ll get use to them but definitely not what I was expecting. Agree with others that the interior feels really nice. Better than my m3 for sure. Screens are great, personally no issues with the screens (except that I like my steering wheel low which will not work great with the driver screen). UI seems well thought out and I didn’t have any issue coming from tesla.

Audio: the audio was very mid, I logged in to my apple music in the car. I drive a ’23 model 3 rwd with the base audio and this was very similar, I bet you could get it sounding a little better with some tuning, but it’s definitely not as good as tesla premium audio.

Noise: it seemed very quiet, we didn’t specifically pay attention to noise on the drive but talking to my friend after we realized that (on the freeway going 75-80mph) we were talking in normal voices and the music was playing on low, we both drive cars with a lot of road/wind noise.

Size: the size is amazing, looks small on the outside and feels huge on the inside. I drove, road shotgun, and road in the back seat and all were great.

Autonomy: we both briefly used UHF on the freeway and surface streets and it was perfectly adequate. It will be great for me as someone coming from autopilot only (no fsd).

Overall for me 10/10, super excited to order.

 

[Zathras]

anyone able to get more information about the semi active suspension on performance? are they frequency selective dampers or adaptive dampers, or something else? especially since all trims state the same thing:
"Drive modes adjust suspension, steering and accelerator behavior at the touch of a button." while performance states: "R2 Performance has semi-active suspension — a dynamic system that adapts to the road and your driving inputs for better performance. This means more responsive handling at high-speeds and a more comfortable ride, on-road and off."

this is the only thing that is making me decide between performance and premium

I didn't go that deep into it, but I tried them all, and was as good as I could have hoped for. I'm no expert, but I could sure tell the difference based on what other settings were chosen. I had a really good ride-along. He played Steely Dan and Led Zeppelin to set the mood as we made our way out in the country.

 

[DaveA]

I'm still waiting for somebody to really dive deep into the R2 audio system. Coming from a Tesla MY, it will be difficult to give up the premium sound that car offers. I know that Rivian is doing their best and it's not a make or break for me BUT.... when you say "sound system not comparable to the LE Meridians", what do you mean?

The R1 LE Meridian system has more bass and clarity than R2. I signed into my Apple Music account and set the EQ to similar settings of my R1 and and turned on and off spatial audio, etc, and it just didn't have the punch or channel separation the Meridian has. I think they can improve it with OTAs, though.

 

[Zathras]

The R1 LE Meridian system has more bass and clarity than R2. I signed into my Apple Music account and set the EQ to similar settings of my R1 and and turned on and off spatial audio, etc, and it just didn't have the punch or channel separation the Meridian has. I think they can improve it with OTAs, though.

Meridian was a mixed bag. Great hardware in the 80s and later, but the whole snake oil MQA nonsense left me with a massive bad taste.

 

[RomanMF]

Going for another demo drive tomorrow. Hoping to get it on the highway for a hot sec.

 

[ribuck97]

Down to brass tacks. I tried all the ride levels, and all of the regenerative braking, and the autonomous driving, and came away being very impressed. Anyone dissing the sound system in the Performance R2 is being way too picky. The sound system is every bit as good as the Harman/Kardan premium system in my Subaru. All while not putting speakers in the door which means bigger water bottle in the door!

I drove a Lucid Air about 18 months ago, and was very impressed, but the R2 feels just as good, while sitting much higher and way more comfortably for me (I'm 6'2"). Lots of leg room in the back, even with the driver seat all the way back. The seats feel really nice. The cooling in the seats is way better than required.

And now that I've thought about it, and everybody at the store seems to think LIDAR is going to cost more, I think I'm switching my choice to the Performance package. Now I have to start moving money around to get ready, and to join the credit union to get the 4.5 percent interest. RIvians' is 5.4 percent if I remember correctly.

I don't care what the nay-sayers might think, this is one impressive vehicle and Rivian is going to sell a boat load of them.

And as much as I like the Catalina Cove, I have to say the white with all that black trim looks really great. And the dark interior is not that dark. And another surprise is the roof window is tinted very nicely. In the Southern California sunshine, I did not even notice any heat on my head.

I did the Vista SC drive and while I didn't notice heat from the roof, I noticed heat from the windshield/black dash which made the interior field "warm"

 

[Zathras]

I did the Vista SC drive and while I didn't notice heat from the roof, I noticed heat from the windshield/black dash which made the interior field "warm"

I have to admit, I was suffering major excitement input, so I might have not quite gotten things exactly correct.

I should add, acceleration of the Performance is nuts!

 

[ribuck97]

I have to admit, I was suffering major excitement input, so I might have not quite gotten things exactly correct.

I should add, acceleration of the Performance is nuts!

Agreed on the acceleration. I'd be interested to hear feedback from those that drove on the highway and managed something like a 60 to 80 mph pass acceleration.

 

[ForestGreen]

Not a single spot open around Seattle area. Might just stop by the Fife location and see if im lucky

 

[Zathras]

Agreed on the acceleration. I'd be interested to hear feedback from those that drove on the highway and managed something like a 60 to 80 mph pass acceleration.

The Rivian ride along guy with me said that the acceleration from 60 to 80 is even better than 0 to 60.

 

[Tikiman71]

Did a drive at the San Diego Miramar location this morning. Surprised how much smaller it was in real life. My wife would love the easier lower entry. Everything seemed so much tighter and dialed in compared to my 2025 Gen 2 R1S. Tight, solid, nimble, quick.

The rear window exterior controls were finicky, and I was not as impressed with the Halo wheels as I thought I would be. They felt too light and hollow. I had imagined them having a heavier, nicer feel-like a volume knob on a vintage Marantz or Pioneer receiver. They do spin as you click in or out, but I quickly found that I could use my thumbs on either side of them to push down on the steering wheel, with a slight nudge towards the Halo, I could easily click without spinning.

The acceleration was awesome, even on a brief, quick section going from 50 to 80 mph. It is a pretty incredible vehicle. I don't think I am ready to give up the size and range of my Max, but it is tempting. The audio seemed comparable to my "Premium Audio"-not great, not terrible, just not impressive. Forgot to try the ventilated seats. The smaller driver's display cracked me up--it's just so much smaller than what I'm used to, but glad it's there. Rivian did an impressive job, I just need a reason to get one. Reserved within the first 5 minutes of the presentation but I have not received the configuration email yet.

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