Canceled my R1S order :-(

[mkg3]

Oh, speaking of software, I also forgot no SiriusXm and no CarPlay. It’s on cross-country 10 hour trips through the boonies where things like satellite radio are nice…do you *need* it, nope, but for a vehicle that purports to be able to do those things and take you to those places, it’s weird they would leave it out.

Satellite radio is a good option for remote places. I've had XM in couple of my vehicles in the past and is okay. I rather have Starlink option so one can always install that or have it handy to use.

No CarPlay is not a big deal to me at all. I can stream from my phone need be and check traffic on the phone and compare with Rivian map info.

These are all preferences that one values, and some not so much.

So now that you've vented and told us you've cancelled, do you feel better? Are responses to your opinions what you'd expected?

I do agree that Rivian can do much better and sooner people stop making excuses saying that its a startup, the better. Rivian vehicles have many flaws, just like every vehicle I've owned and know about. Such is life...

I hope your next targeted vehicle works out for you better.

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[Brewbud]

Our first test drive in the R1T was at our house. The acceleration brought a grin to my face but I was surprise the ride was so rough. I pulled over and had the Rivian employee show us how to change the settings. I was surprised the difference it made on our rough roads. When we got back I played with the Meridian system. It sounded way too flat. I got it to sound better but it was still just ok.

Funny thing is, our delivery was scheduled for the following week. This was in May of 22 so I knew we could easily flip the truck for a big profit. We took delivery (also at our house) and spent some time driving it on different roads. We loved the ride. I quickly realized the built in Spotify sounded so much much better than the Bluetooth connection that we were listening to on the test drive. Long story short, we decided to keep it instead of flipping it. It gets driven more than our 22 Range Rover and 20 Cummins. Smiles per mile all while not paying SoCal fuel costs.

Everyone prioritizes different things in a vehicle. No vehicle is a perfect fit. If it doesn't check the "main" checkboxes you will be unhappy with ownership. Trouble is, some will get focused on the small checkboxes and for them, that too can make for an unhappy ownership. To each their own. Move on to the next choice.

 

[dleepnw]

I 100% agree, but really it’s Rivian who missed out on a customer by not putting their best foot forward and bringing a car without an update that came out months ago….

it’s that lack of attention to detail for a new company, like making sure your customer knows you are going to meet some dude in a park for a test drive, that makes me worry.

I’m a tech nerd and am usually not afraid to be an early adopter, but as much as I’ve been drooling over the R1S in fan-boy mode for 18 months, the reality of the vehicle, for me, simply didn’t live up to the overall expectations I’ve been building up all that time.

i can understand the disappoint when expectations don't line up to reality. but usually that gap is big because our expectations are not ground in the reality of how things are actually.

i do think Rivian needs to improve in a lot of ways and see incrementally they are.

anywho, your post seems to be generating a lot of chatter. good luck with whatever you end up with and dont let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[Redline]

What a thread. What. A. Thread.

 

[LevelHeaded]

If Tesla is any indication of how long it will take another new manufacturer to reach the build quality/QC of established manufacturers (though I hope it’s not), it could be well over a decade before Rivian starts competing with BMW, Range Rover, or anyone else in that regard… unfortunately

it’s been what, 12 years since Tesla started delivering Model S, and QC across their entire product line is still trash.

For now, I’m willing to accept it on my R1T because no EV competition comes close to the features/capability of this rig. But when it comes time to replace it, I’ll have no problem ditching Rivian if their build quality and QC is on the same path as Tesla’s over time and if competition has narrowed the gap re: capability/features.

 

[drivetorun]

I'm disappointed in the folks on this thread criticizing the OP for sharing their negative experience -- basically saying that since the vehicle isn't right for the OP, there isn't a point in providing that perspective.

Have you told other people on this forum that they shouldn't post their positive experiences with their Rivian? They bought it, so of course they think it's good. Also, do you never read negative reviews on Amazon products/find them completely useless? While it may not be helpful to you, it may be helpful to others who are still considering their purchase.

He test drove, found out it confirmed some of his concerns, that the positives weren't enough to outweigh the negatives in his mind, and shared that perspective. The whole point of forums is to share experiences/information in the hope it may be useful to others (or even to Rivian)--just because it wasn't useful specifically for you, doesn't mean it's worthless. Don't click on a thread called "Canceled my R1S order" if you don't care to read about why someone may not like a Rivian.

 

[TexasBob]

I will say the really unpopular thing: if you are wealthy enough to buy a ~$100k vehicle like all of us Rivian owners are, you are in the extremely fortunate top few percent of income/wealth. You have a choice with how you spend your dollars: put another 22 mpg ICE on the road for the next couple decades (X7) or spend that money buying a vehicle that helps build a market and reduce the costs of sustainable transportation options (and in the case of Rivian, support an innovative US manufacturing startup). There are enough choices at the high end of the market to find an alternative that contributes to the solution rather than exacerbating the problem.

 

[Redline]

I'm disappointed in the folks on this thread criticizing the OP for sharing their negative experience -- basically saying that since the vehicle isn't right for the OP, there isn't a point in providing that perspective.

Have you told other people on this forum that they shouldn't post their positive experiences with their Rivian? They bought it, so of course they think it's good. Also, do you never read negative reviews on Amazon products/find them completely useless? While it may not be helpful to you, it may be helpful to others who are still considering their purchase.

He test drove, found out it confirmed some of his concerns, that the positives weren't enough to outweigh the negatives in his mind, and shared that perspective. The whole point of forums is to share experiences/information in the hope it may be useful to others (or even to Rivian)--just because it wasn't useful specifically for you, doesn't mean it's worthless. Don't click on a thread called "Canceled my R1S order" if you don't care to read about why someone may not like a Rivian.

I don't think that's what people are criticizing. Its his opinion and he's got a right to it.

The fact of the matter is, he went in with all of these negatives, he knew the Rivian didn't have certain things, and he's comparing it to a much different vehicle. I'm assuming the OP loves to be "wined an dinned" at his local BMW dealer as they bend over backwards for him, because hell, he spent the $100k on the X7 and he deserves it...

 

[daeHelkcunK]

I really wasn’t in a bad mood at all from meeting in a park in a bad neighborhood and I didn’t care that the guy was young (he was actually super nice) so you are misreading that there. I was simply pointing out that it’s surprising that a big corporation would not strive to provide a better test drive experience from the get-go; they should at least set someone’s expectations to know where to go, instead of sending them to an address that makes you feel like you must have gotten lost...

Inspite of the above I was like a kid in a candy store and super excited with a huge smile on my face the entire time. Keep in mind I’ve been in Rivian fan-boy mode for 18 months now. I’ve watched every YouTube video 2 or 3 times, I’ve read many of the forum posts here, good and bad and based on everything I saw and read had already made up my mind. We even got solar at home in anticipation of getting the Rivian or similar.

I’ve driven and ridden in many Tesla’s, so my expectations were already tempered via flat out luxury vs utility and doing something good for the environment etc.

And read, the deal breaker at the end was the ride quality not the other observations which I could have probably lived with if the car would have kept the smile on my face when it came to handling and performance, which sadly it didn’t.

At the end of the day though, spending $108k on a vehicle is no joke and I don’t think it’s unfair to compare it to other vehicles in the same price range.

Car and Driver said the R1T seemed pretty dialed in, so it’s surprising that the R1S seems to ride more truck-like than the actual truck Model.

Having put 50,000 miles on an X7 and 10,000 in a (less dependable) Range Rover I can tell you without a shadow of doubt that you were in the wrong drive mode. The Rivian is far superior to both in NVH and smoothness when set properly.

 

[R1Tom]

I concur with this statement. I am not happy with Meridian sound on my R1T. The sound is muddy and it's just loud with no depth or details.

Weird....mine sounds really good. Maybe people have amp issues or something.

 

[COdogman]

I'm disappointed in the folks on this thread criticizing the OP for sharing their negative experience -- basically saying that since the vehicle isn't right for the OP, there isn't a point in providing that perspective.

Have you told other people on this forum that they shouldn't post their positive experiences with their Rivian? They bought it, so of course they think it's good. Also, do you never read negative reviews on Amazon products/find them completely useless? While it may not be helpful to you, it may be helpful to others who are still considering their purchase.

He test drove, found out it confirmed some of his concerns, that the positives weren't enough to outweigh the negatives in his mind, and shared that perspective. The whole point of forums is to share experiences/information in the hope it may be useful to others (or even to Rivian)--just because it wasn't useful specifically for you, doesn't mean it's worthless. Don't click on a thread called "Canceled my R1S order" if you don't care to read about why someone may not like a Rivian.

There are TONS of negative experiences shared in this forum that don't come across like this. No one is criticizing OP for his opinion on the ride or the finish or any of that. But complaining about seeing homeless people and it not having massaging seats or CarPlay? It never had those things so why complain about it? If they were important to you then don't drive a vehicle without them. Also comparing it to a completely different vehicle that an S doesn't compete with... It's silly..

 

[Better Late than Never]

It sounds to me like you should stick to something in a lower price range. For me a Leaf or a Bolt would be a punishment. It's really dependent on budget and needs though and if you're happy with a much cheaper vehicle that's a no brainer. Same reason I don't have a Lamborghini. Sure I could buy one, but I'm really happy with the performance of my T why should I spend 4x as much.

Certainly fair assessment, $80K is a lot, not out of reach but more than I had thought I would be paying for my next car . I think this comes down to more my attitude towards cars and really any purchase. I've driven my last vehicle for almost 15 years and I'd like to do the same with my next one. So I want it to have everything right. It's probably not realistic with EVs right now considering they are advancing like cell phones and each year's model will have some advancement that I will wish I had.
I think it's interesting reading posts that are from people who regularly switches out cars every 3 or maybe 4 years. If that were how I operated then I would more easily disregard some of my complaints. And I haven't given up my reservation yet

 

[drivetorun]

There are TONS of negative experiences shared in this forum that don't come across like this. No one is criticizing OP for his opinion on the ride or the finish or any of that. But complaining about seeing homeless people and it not having massaging seats or CarPlay? It never had those things so why complain about it? If they were important to you then don't drive a vehicle without them. Also comparing it to a completely different vehicle that an S doesn't compete with... It's silly..

The "homeless people" critique was specific to the overall buying experience Rivian is offering. Quite honestly, I'm not a fan of that test drive location either and believe Rivian needs to find a better solution. As a shareholder and owner, they should improve on that part of the experience if they want to expand their market beyond early adopters/EV devotees. Granted, that is a critique specific to the San Jose location.

Do people NEVER repeat a complaint that they've heard someone else say/mention? If so, that's impressive. It's also not an unreasonable complaint. Plenty of cars have massaging seats and CarPlay. Did Rivian prioritize those features for the R1S? No, but that doesn't mean that someone can't express their disappointment about it. It isn't like he's complaining that the R1S doesn't turn water into wine, which no vehicle on the market does.

I don't agree that the X7 is a completely different vehicle that the S doesn't compete with. They're both 7-passenger large SUVs that cost ~$100k. Certainly they're closer to each other than the Leaf to Rivian cross-shopping that someone else on this thread mentioned. If you're in an X7 and are thinking that you want to move to an electric 3-row SUV, what else do you cross-shop? There's basically the MB EQS SUV, Model X, and R1S. Throw in a need to match the X7's towing capacity, and the R1S becomes your only option. I know people who have test driven 20+ cars before picking one, so to test drive/cross-shop the R1S seems pretty reasonable.

 

[Better Late than Never]

@Better Late than Never , I don’t understand how you got from the innocuous question “Just curious, why would you even look at a Rivian if a Nissan Leaf meets your needs?” asked by @SANZC02 to this:


Some people are truly puzzled by people comparing very different vehicles and are curious about the use case to better understand your perspective. If I’m shopping for a car, I generally have most of the major criteria refined and I’m comparing similar vehicles. If I’m NOT shopping for a car and I see something which really strikes me then all logic may go flying out the window.

Sorry, @SANZC02 I wasn't speaking to you directly but maybe more to the folks on some of the "Cross Shopping" posts. I did try to explain my use case which I think is a fair cross shop. Three car seats in a car without second row captains chairs (Model X) appears to be best handled by putting three straight across and not even using the third row. Once I accepted that fact, I opened up my search to anything electric really.
Honestly, running boards, 2nd row captains chairs, and a built in skylight cover that I can retract - heck I'll even do it manually - and I think I would be scheduling my delivery.

 

[PappaBolt]

Oh, speaking of software, I also forgot no SiriusXm and no CarPlay. It’s on cross-country 10 hour trips through the boonies where things like satellite radio are nice…do you *need* it, nope, but for a vehicle that purports to be able to do those things and take you to those places, it’s weird they would leave it out.

Surely you knew this before the test drive.

I’m a fan of CarPlay and would like to see it. Others disagree, Including RJ. But I knew this in advance.

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