Overnight Demo - Takeaways from a Model 3 owner

[do_ob]

Hi everyone. After having an initial short test drive, Rivian offered an overnight demo. My 1st drive was with a R1T dual large with the AT package. The overnight was a R1T dual max performance on 22” wheels. Not new to EVs. I’ve owned a Model 3 for almost 6 years. I’ve had full, mid, and compact size trucks and SUVs previously but would like a EV version since my role within my company requires daily travel usually within the 120mi-200mi range. I’d like something more all terrain capable since I’ve moved to a rural mountainous area. Great vehicle overall with some quirks I’m not willing to deal with yet. Don’t think the R1 is right for me so I’ll watch from the sidelines and wait for my R2 and Scout reservations. Thanks for everyone on the forums for providing useful intel!

Pros
-Max battery pack is great! Even in 10f-36f weather, range was fine. I drove it 133 miles home from the service center and used 24%. Another 50ish miles around town and another 133 miles back the next day to average 1.97 kWh/mi.
-The UI is very responsive comparable to Tesla.
-Once I found my ride/height/drive settings, the ride was compliant and comfortable.
-The gear tunnel is a neat, useful feature.
-Adaptive headlights were great.

Cons
-Not a big fan of the suggested navigation routes. It seemed to prioritize efficiency above everything else. I’m fairly new to NOVA/DMV area and know where I am but am not familiar with all roads if that makes sense. For example, the GPS gave me 2 options to get home. The quickest route had an ETA of 2hrs 45mins while I know I can make it home in 2hrs flat.
-Rivian offered me the option to charge at any RAN charger since I have a NACS wall connector at home. Really cool but the charging curve was horrendous. I started at 39% with a charging speed of 130kwh; however, it slowed to 40-50kwh once the SOC was 45%. I eventually gave up at 70% which was roughly 45mins.
-The upgraded sound system didn’t work properly. All of the driver’s side front speakers would crackle and cut off intermittently.
-Highway assist. Or lack there of. I was only able to have it work once the entire time. All other attempts would pop up either an error message (system fault) or an unavailable prompt.
-Maybe not really a callout but more of a preference, R1 is complex which makes DYI a challenge. I’ve been able historically to lightly wrench on all my vehicles but R1 seems fairly proprietary. Is this a correct opinion?

*please excuse any grammatical/spelling errors as I’ve typed this from the phone.

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[KBabione]

Nice to hear that they gave you the overnight experience...We had a 10-minute drive around Brooklyn in an R1S (with a guide) about 7 months before we picked ours up. To your cons:

• The nav works pretty well - It's not Waze, but it will get you where you want to go. It does integrate traffic so it may have been incorporating that into the estimate...Did you see it get better as you got closer to your destination?
• There might have been charger issues - we've found RAN chargers (especially) to charge really quickly up to the 80% mark before they slow down. We've also had EA chargers that peaked at 80 kwh and immediately dropped to 20-30. Don't judge the Rivian based on one charging experience.
• Sound was obviously particular to that demo truck - some people love it, others are disappointed. We're happy with using it for music and audiobooks.
• You don't describe what DIY you're looking at - search this forum and you'll find people who have done all kinds of amazing things. They require virtually no maintenance so things that you might have traditionally done with an ICE (oil change, brakes, coolant flush, etc.) simply aren't relevant (but you know that from your Tesla experiences).

We've been really happy with our R1S - sorry this won't work for you, but at least you got to try it in a real-life experience.

 

[mudito]

Cons
-Not a big fan of the suggested navigation routes. It seemed to prioritize efficiency above everything else. I’m fairly new to NOVA/DMV area and know where I am but am not familiar with all roads if that makes sense. For example, the GPS gave me 2 options to get home. The quickest route had an ETA of 2hrs 45mins while I know I can make it home in 2hrs flat.
-Rivian offered me the option to charge at any RAN charger since I have a NACS wall connector at home. Really cool but the charging curve was horrendous. I started at 39% with a charging speed of 130kwh; however, it slowed to 40-50kwh once the SOC was 45%. I eventually gave up at 70% which was roughly 45mins.
-The upgraded sound system didn’t work properly. All of the driver’s side front speakers would crackle and cut off intermittently.
-Highway assist. Or lack there of. I was only able to have it work once the entire time. All other attempts would pop up either an error message (system fault) or an unavailable prompt.
-Maybe not really a callout but more of a preference, R1 is complex which makes DYI a challenge. I’ve been able historically to lightly wrench on all my vehicles but R1 seems fairly proprietary. Is this a correct opinion?

- NAV: I saw this in my road trip to FL last month. But it wasn't major, I've corrected it only a couple of times in the 18 days we traveled. Might be dependent of the area of the country, of course.

- The Charging curve isn't the best, but is FAR BETTER than what you described Probably an issue with the RAN charger. After the over 56 (registered in my electraFi account) DC Fast Charges, only ONCE I had a 'derating' issue and it was at a Tesla Supercharger that derated to ~130kW. Every other time I had ~200kW+ up to about 39% (depending on temperature, sometimes 35, sometimes 45%)and only above 74%ish is where it drops below 90kW

- Sound I can't give you my opinion as I have a Gen1, but I've heard Gen2 sound improved drastically after the latest update.

- DIY.... mhmhmh I wouldn't even try it "yet" unless you're VERY adventurous

 

[NeedSumCoffee]

Interesting to see a Tesla owner complaining a Rivian isn’t very DIY-able.

 

[R1Thor]

I didn't see you mention it, but FYI: If you set the Rivian charger as your destination (or any DCFC on the map, for that matter) by clicking on the lightning bolt bubble and setting the charger as your destination, your vehicle will pre-condition the batteries for peak fast charging.

You may have been de-rated at your charger due to not having the battery conditioned for it.
Just FYI.

I've only had to DCFC about 6 times total between my R1T and my wife's R1S, but I think the absolute worst we got was still ~160 kW/h when we were below 70% SoC (and most of the time we were hitting around 185-210 until getting well over 60%). We made sure to pre-condition every time. Over 70% the rate definitely drops off, but I don't believe that's unique to Rivian.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Software is in constant state of development so don’t take what you experience as a long term constant. There have been OTA practically every month. There are multiple sites tracking and documenting OTAs. You can visit them and see for yourself. Nav is already vastly improved since late ‘21 when deliveries began. Why expect like for like parity? the two platforms obviously did not have the same start date and gestation. Folks coming from Teslas need to keep that in mind, but often do not. I’m tired of the “my Tesla does this, but Rivian doesn’t” mentality. Well, it’s not a Tesla is it? Objectivity and open mind…

DIY ability is not happening until market share (and ownership numbers) increase and the aftermarket matures (and with increasing consumer demand to drive that aftermarket). Again, how many years have Teslas been on the market? and Rivian?

Where was Tesla at year 3 or 4 of deliveries? Any of these things?

 

[SwampNut]

I only have a Rivian because we need a truck, and the Cybertruck is such a joke. Otherwise I'd still have a Tesla for sure. The Rivian is so far behind on so many things in comparison. As you noted with driver assist; Tesla AP makes the Rivian look a 60s Chevy stepside. Rivian has no hope of catching up in any reasonable timeframe.

 

[DayTripping]

I only have a Rivian because we need a truck, and the Cybertruck is such a joke. Otherwise I'd still have a Tesla for sure. The Rivian is so far behind on so many things in comparison. As you noted with driver assist; Tesla AP makes the Rivian look a 60s Chevy stepside. Rivian has no hope of catching up in any reasonable timeframe.

Do you mean like this? My '61 Stepside and R1T. The Jimmy helps keep me grounded whenever I want to complain about the tech in the Rivian. I like they both have a roof spoiler.

So while the tech may lag my Teslas, I am still pretty happy with the overall package. If the CT wasn't a joke, I probably would have followed through on my reservation.

 

[SwampNut]

If the CT wasn't a joke, I probably would have followed through on my reservation.

I would have 100%, I really miss the ADAS and more polished software. And I really wanted those turn signal buttons and less stalks. The rear steering was amazing.

 

[NY_Rob]

I’ve been able historically to lightly wrench on all my vehicles but R1 seems fairly proprietary. Is this a correct opinion?

Yes, you are correct, Rivian is tightly controlling parts availability currently. We hope they will loosen up in the future or it's going to get very, um.. "interesting" with lots of early production vehicles exceeding warranty limitations on mileage at this time.

There are some very capable people here who have the tools and the expertise to perform minor repairs on their Rivian's... they just need access to parts and tech docs.

 

[PaythePiper]

I would have 100%, I really miss the ADAS and more polished software. And I really wanted those turn signal buttons and less stalks. The rear steering was amazing.

Was it strictly an exterior thing on why you call it a ‘joke’? The drive and tech look pretty awesome on the CT. I wanted one, but wife shut it down for a R1S.

 

[johnj2803]

OP those are all fair points.

Maybe in a few months test drive it again. Or when your needs change maybe these Cons will be better. All of them are software and they are bound to get better. Compromises are always there with any decision you make.

I didn't know they allow you to do overnight test drives. I know Teslas do that. It would have been nice to be able to test drive overnight before my purchase. I did with a model X before purchasing the Rivan. I did do 2 test drives with the Rivian before purchasing a few months ago

 

[SwampNut]

Was it strictly an exterior thing

The looks didn't factor at all, or maybe only a very tiny amount. There was just a lot wrong even on the demo, like loose and ill-fitting pieces both inside and out. The interior was pretty awful. Everything felt like it would fall off any time. And people keep breaking things that should not break (outside of the abusive bullshit that some idiot Youtubers did). Then there's the months-long wait for parts on a recall.

 

[NeverFollow]

-Not a big fan of the suggested navigation routes.
It seemed to prioritize efficiency above everything else.
I’m fairly new to NOVA/DMV area and know where I am
but am not familiar with all roads if that makes sense.
For example, the GPS gave me 2 options to get home.
The quickest route had an ETA of 2hrs 45mins while I know I can make it home in 2hrs flat.

The nav works pretty well - It's not Waze, but it will get you where you want to go.
It does integrate traffic so it may have been incorporating that into the estimate...
Did you see it get better as you got closer to your destination?

I was think that the Navigation would be a good component as I believe
this is based on A Better Route Planner (ABRP) who is a great application
providing a useful way to prepare in advance a road trip when you want
to compare making few long charing stops versus short but many stops.
In real time, you can also integrate traffic and weather conditions.

 

[PaythePiper]

The looks didn't factor at all, or maybe only a very tiny amount. There was just a lot wrong even on the demo, like loose and ill-fitting pieces both inside and out. The interior was pretty awful. Everything felt like it would fall off any time. And people keep breaking things that should not break (outside of the abusive bullshit that some idiot Youtubers did). Then there's the months-long wait for parts on a recall.

Ooof. Sounds not fun

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