Finished R2 demo test drive? Share your review / impressions

[Jeremy3292]

Huzzah!! Scored a test drive for tomorrow.

A 2nd one? Since they're only 15 minutes I planned on booking 2 on 2 separate days. Probably have to complete the first one before they allow you to book another one.

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[Mos Eisley]

A 2nd one? Since they're only 15 minutes I planned on booking 2 on 2 separate days. Probably have to complete the first one before they allow you to book another one.

first visit wasn’t a test drive, just sitting in the car(s) - primarily the car in the showroom and playing with all the tech.

 

[Gravy Donkey]

FYI - They just released demo drive slots for tomorrow in Denver. (9:42 a.m.)

 

[Zathras]

Interesting point, I saw a video interview with the chief engineer of the R2 and in it he said that the roof window has an aluminum coating which filters out most of the UV coming in. I believe it considering how my drive felt.

Which reminds me of a scene in Star Trek The Voyage Home, where Scotty "invents" transparent aluminum.

 

[Alan in Tempe]

Playing around with the center display, under the media tab, there were tabs for FM and AM. It was playing a local FM station. The manual says it uses iHeartRadio. Not familiar with iHeart radio so not sure if its subscription base or not. From the manual:

Radio
1. Choose Media on the menu from the center display.
2. Open the Media Source Selector.
3. Choose Radio to listen to Rivian Digital Radio powered by iHeartRadio.
4. Choose from available stations with the tuner or station list. You can save stations by tapping the heart icon on the media player.

Couple points regarding the (lack of) radio. iHeart is a free (now) streaming service that lets you select stations nationwide which show up as vertical bars on the FM "dial" in the main screen. Tap the bar at the frequency of the station you have pre-set, and that station starts playing.

However:

1) It may not stay free, and very likely will move to a paid subscription. I did not listen to it long, but suspect it injects its own ads for income currently. Those would be on top of the ads on the commercial radio stations, and possibly may be quite interrupting to normal programming.

2) I will not work where cellular reception is unavailable (or spotty).

3) It cannot get all commercial and public radio stations.

4) The audio quality is less than what I believe I get from over-the-air HD FM stations. I didn't do a comparison to high quality music I have on my iPhone that I could have connected and played, but the iHeart station that was playing when I took a test drive was not very good.

I spend half the year at my mountain home where cell service is in and out whichever direction I drive. There is a local public FM radio station that I listen to (and support) almost exclusively when I am there, and that station is not found on iHeart.

CarPlay I can forgo without too great of pain, but I am not sure I want a car with no HD FM radio, and I can't stand the poor quality of satellite radio. My last three cars all had satellite radio and I tried hard to learn to like it during the free initial subscription that came with the car, but hated the mediocre at best quality and poor selections played in any of the genres I like. Three honest tries in three cars separated by a few years each was more than enough for me. I think iHeart may be a downgrade from satelite.

With all that said, I still loved nearly everything else about the R2. If price were the same as the R1S, I would likely still pick the R2, as it certainly drives more responsively, and more fun, and feels more solid, and is a better size for my needs. I don't like barely fitting into my garage as is the case with the R1S, and I don't like climbing up and in as needed in the R1S. The lack of radio is not a deal breaker for me, but it sure does make me look more carefully at the car for other issues. Since I have a near zero chance of securing a Launch Edition, I will have lots of time to more carefully examine the car. My Mach-e First Edition will take good care of me until I get the opportunity to decide, and the salesperson at Rivian said that will likely be in early 2027. My R2 reservation was placed early this year.

 

[tivoboy]

Interesting point, I saw a video interview with the chief engineer of the R2 and in it he said that the roof window has an aluminum coating which filters out most of the UV coming in. I believe it considering how my drive felt.

Which reminds me of a scene in Star Trek The Voyage Home, where Scotty "invents" transparent aluminum.

I had a test drive yesterday..It was 88 here, car said 93 (outside and affected by vehicle temp heat absorption, but still most likely an ”in the shade” measurement.

While UV is important, blocking the IR that heats it up is too, and I can tell you that glass roof GETS HOT. We’re going to need some roof liner for sure to block more heat from heating up the cabin. I had to put one in my TM3, and it helped A TON to reduce cabin heat and effort needed by the compressor.

Yesterday we already struggled to get the internal temp to comfortable, on LO, on AUTO and with vents blowing straight at us. I hope this was an individual vehicle issue, having tried the AC in the showroom, it got VERY cold as did the seats.

But the in car experience was not as comfortable as I would have expected. As least me personally we’re going to need a roof heat shield. Fortunately, there is a lot of lip there between the roof liner and the glass, so having a third party make a quality stable insert shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Zathras]

I had a test drive yesterday..It was 88 here, car said 93 (outside and affected by vehicle temp heat absorption, but still most likely an ”in the shade” measurement.

While UV is important, blocking the IR that heats it up is too, and I can tell you that glass roof GETS HOT. We’re going to need some roof liner for sure to block more heat from heating up the cabin. I had to put one in my TM3, and it helped A TON to reduce cabin heat and effort needed by the compressor.

Yesterday we already struggled to get the internal temp to comfortable, on LO, on AUTO and with vents blowing straight at us. I hope this was an individual vehicle issue, having tried the AC in the showroom, it got VERY cold as did the seats.

But the in car experience was not as comfortable as I would have expected. As least me personally we’re going to need a roof heat shield. Fortunately, there is a lot of lip there between the roof liner and the glass, so having a third party make a quality stable insert shouldn’t be a problem.

Good point. IR is the culprit, but UV filtering is good too. I have seen after market shades for up there coming. Hope they arrive soon.

 

[morph860]

If you’re looking for an FM Station that isn’t on iHeartRadio, it might be on TuneIn. I believe that was one of the other music apps that I saw on the vehicle during my demo.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Interesting point, I saw a video interview with the chief engineer of the R2 and in it he said that the roof window has an aluminum coating which filters out most of the UV coming in. I believe it considering how my drive felt.

Which reminds me of a scene in Star Trek The Voyage Home, where Scotty "invents" transparent aluminum.

R1 roofs are all UV filtering too. UV is what burns skin, IR is what feels hot. They aren't blocking nearly as much of the IR as they are the UV.

 

[JWreck]

R1 roofs are all UV filtering too. UV is what burns skin, IR is what feels hot. They aren't blocking nearly as much of the IR as they are the UV.

With all the discussion around the glass roof lately it’s shocking how confused people are about this…

I have just seen a ton of anecdotal conversation, but no one has definitively shown that the R2 glass is any different than the R1 (at least the gen1 or non diffusing glass).

 

[Zathras]

With all the discussion around the glass roof lately it’s shocking how confused people are about this…

I have just seen a ton of anecdotal conversation, but no one has definitively shown that the R2 glass is any different than the R1 (at least the gen1 or non diffusing glass).

I'm just saying that compared to anything I owned before I was expecting it to be much worse, and it wasn't. I haven't spent enough time in an R1 to make a comparison.

 

[Alan in Tempe]

If you’re looking for an FM Station that isn’t on iHeartRadio, it might be on TuneIn. I believe that was one of the other music apps that I saw on the vehicle during my demo.

I just checked Tunein and found my KPUP-LP station! Can anyone verify that Tunein is part of the R2 audio options?

While iHeart cannot find KPUP, iHeart itself (and only iHeart) is a top-level option on the Tunein homepage as though there is a close relationship between the two streaming radio apps. Tunein is not so linked from the iHeart main page. I am still very skeptical about the source of revenue streams to support streaming radio. My guess is that they are building towards a paid subscription model for long term growth, or will have pop-over ads that will interfere with the streamed radio stations programming and will necessarily avoid the stations own ads to avoid legal issues streaming those stations.

 

[Dark-Fx]

With all the discussion around the glass roof lately it’s shocking how confused people are about this…

I have just seen a ton of anecdotal conversation, but no one has definitively shown that the R2 glass is any different than the R1 (at least the gen1 or non diffusing glass).

It was raining for most of my R2 test drive.

I do know that my GMC struggles a little less than my Rivians if it's an exceptionally hot day here and I get into a non-preconditioned vehicle. I think the Rivians might have gotten worse over time here because of the complaints about noise. But I'd rather be comfortable.

 

[morph860]

I just checked Tunein and found my KPUP-LP station! Can anyone verify that Tunein is part of the R2 audio options?

While iHeart cannot find KPUP, iHeart itself (and only iHeart) is a top-level option on the Tunein homepage as though there is a close relationship between the two streaming radio apps. Tunein is not so linked from the iHeart main page. I am still very skeptical about the source of revenue streams to support streaming radio. My guess is that they are building towards a paid subscription model for long term growth, or will have pop-over ads that will interfere with the streamed radio stations programming and will necessarily avoid the stations own ads to avoid legal issues streaming those stations.

iHeartMedia and Audacy own a majority of the radio stations in the USA. iHeartMedia is a re-brand of the old Clear Channel. Audacy is a re-brand of the Infinity/CBS company.

Pretty sure all of the iHeart channels can be streamed on iHeartRadio now. And a lot of the Audacy channels are on TuneIn. They both have paid options that also give you access to ad-free on-demand catalogs of music, podcasts, etc. I'd think the free options would remain free because they are increasing the coverage of their channel and can show that their local ads reach a wider market. Lets them sell advertising for more money because they have more listeners. iHeart's free plan has been free for a long time now. Some of the other radio station aggregators also use TuneIn. Audacy does have their own streaming app now too. Some Audacy channels are also on iHeart - so there is some kind of partnership there as well. It's confusing - but I think you are safe to keep listening to your local channel on TuneIn without any additional commercials. Just what you'd hear if you tuned in from an FM radio.

Found this on Rivian's site and I'm 99% sure I saw it on the screen during my R2 demo:

 

[morph860]

One thing I didn't notice on my R2 demo drive that I noticed in my R1S demo drive - the ability to add your garage door openers. Can anyone confirm that R2 also works with HomeLink?

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