The 2 things that will keep me from upgrading from OG Gen 1

[SoCal Rob]

Fair point. I'm giving the credit to the rear power bias of the tri but some of that could be switching from the T to the S.

No, I think you’re absolutely correct when the torque matters more than the horsepower. I went from a Gen1 Quad R1S on 20” AT tires to a Gen2 Tri R1S on 20” AT tires so the only thing that changed with the configuration was the drivetrain. I’ve had to dial back my throttle usage from a stop or low speeds since the 20” ATs will lose traction on the Tri in the same dry conditions and same locations where this didn’t happen on my Quad. This has me considering all season tires for my next set to get back some of the performance I’m missing.

edit: I should mention I only notice this in Sport mode.

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[lefkonj]

Gen1 Quad was an amazing steal but I absolutely love my Gen2 Tri. I don't miss anything about my Gen1. The Gen2 is so much better in multiple ways.

 

[2kwik4u]

Rivian sound has gotten progressively better in the year I’ve owned my gen 2. I had the Meridian in my gen 1, and I’d say the Rivian sound is 85% there from where that was. Rivian is supposed to release some tweaks this update so I’m hoping they can get the ball across the goal line.

With that said it’s still a solid sound system and I don’t feel it’s lacking enough to be worried about it. Plus the tri is much snappier than the Gen 1 quad so for me the trade off is worth it.

That's interesting.

I have the Gen 1 "premium" sound in my R1T. It's after they dropped Meridian, but (obviously) before the GEN 2 system. I had a Gen 1 R1S as a loaner last week. Didn't see the Meridian markers on the door cards. My R1T had noticeably better sound quality than the loaner R1S. The R1T had better depth, better clarity at higher volumes (think windows down, volume up), and just generally a more "robust" feel to the sound.

Not sure if that was a source difference. Spotify native in mine, and spotify streamed over BT in the loaner. Maybe also just the shape of the interior considering the difference between SUV and Pickup?

I'm always perplexed at how DIFFERENT the experience is between my truck and the loaner. Not just the stereo, but all around. I can't totally see, based on that experience, how one user could have an amazing product and another a hot pile of garbage. It's almost as if they are different manufacturers they're so different.

 

[2kwik4u]

My take is the door handles and door locks are the worst aspect of Rivian ownership. Proximity lock/unlock and phone as key just doesn’t do it for me. Just give me what was state of the art 20 years ago. Automobile door handles were not broken and did not need to be fixed/“improved”.

Single largest agitation with the vehicle, by a mile. Whoever thought the idea of connecting the presence of a key with the lock state of a vehicle is, well, just dumb. Not only is it a bad idea, lots of time I want to be near it without it locking/unlocking, but it's also poorly implemented and unreliable.

Beyond that, you have to wade through the BS of that system before you can experience any of the good stuff about the vehicle, so it taints EVERY.SINGLE.USE of the vehicle by starting off with a poor experience.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

That's interesting.

I have the Gen 1 "premium" sound in my R1T. It's after they dropped Meridian, but (obviously) before the GEN 2 system. I had a Gen 1 R1S as a loaner last week. Didn't see the Meridian markers on the door cards. My R1T had noticeably better sound quality than the loaner R1S. The R1T had better depth, better clarity at higher volumes (think windows down, volume up), and just generally a more "robust" feel to the sound.

Not sure if that was a source difference. Spotify native in mine, and spotify streamed over BT in the loaner. Maybe also just the shape of the interior considering the difference between SUV and Pickup?

I'm always perplexed at how DIFFERENT the experience is between my truck and the loaner. Not just the stereo, but all around. I can't totally see, based on that experience, how one user could have an amazing product and another a hot pile of garbage. It's almost as if they are different manufacturers they're so different.

I know why, it’s rhe difference between the native app and Bluetooth streaming. Bluetooth is substantially lower sound quality because of bit rate.

 

[mudito]

I have an OG gen 1 R1T, and I'm beginning to eye upgrades over the next 1-2 years, but two things that will absolutely keep me from it as non-starters (if you're seeing this Rivian!):

#1 Audio: No way I can give up the Meridian sound system for Rivian's current HW and sound capabilities. They gotta improve for the price points of these vehicles.

#2 Mechanical doors: Major safety issue (thoroughly discussed in other threads), and to be honest I much prefer the user experience/ feel of mechanical doors.

Here's hoping Rivian can consider these in future model years and/or the R2 lines!

FYI, I had a Gen2 loaner (Tri Motor, fully loaded) and honestly I got used to everything very quickly to the point that I now miss the doors and I barely notice an audio difference when I do my usual Playlists (not many Dolby tracks in my usual listening)

 

[Dark-Fx]

OP-I hear you. We probably all have our own unique "2 items or less." It's been two years and I've settled in, meaning I've accepted the glass roof and headlights. I'll probably keep it till the warranty runs out or something better comes along. Cheers.

Gen2 headlights are a huge upgrade if you do a lot of night driving in unlit areas, the enhanced auto-brights are amazing.

 

[2kwik4u]

No, I think you’re absolutely correct when the torque matters more than the horsepower. I went from a Gen1 Quad R1S on 20” AT tires to a Gen2 Tri R1S on 20” AT tires so the only thing that changed with the configuration was the drivetrain. I’ve had to dial back my throttle usage from a stop or low speeds since the 20” ATs will lose traction on the Tri in the same dry conditions and same locations where this didn’t happen on my Quad. This has me considering all season tires for my next set to get back some of the performance I’m missing.

edit: I should mention I only notice this in Sport mode.

I know why, it’s rhe difference between the native app and Bluetooth streaming. Bluetooth is substantially lower sound quality because of bit rate.

Wish I could have logged into Spotify on the loaner. I suppose I could have, but I hate having to logout of everything when I give it back, especially when I only have it for a day or two.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Wish I could have logged into Spotify on the loaner. I suppose I could have, but I hate having to logout of everything when I give it back, especially when I only have it for a day or two.

That's fair, but I had mine for a few hours and still logged into Apple Music for that time. It's two clicks to logout, and most apps have remote logout these days in case you forget.

 

[Jonger1150]

I have an OG gen 1 R1T, and I'm beginning to eye upgrades over the next 1-2 years, but two things that will absolutely keep me from it as non-starters (if you're seeing this Rivian!):

#1 Audio: No way I can give up the Meridian sound system for Rivian's current HW and sound capabilities. They gotta improve for the price points of these vehicles.

#2 Mechanical doors: Major safety issue (thoroughly discussed in other threads), and to be honest I much prefer the user experience/ feel of mechanical doors.

Here's hoping Rivian can consider these in future model years and/or the R2 lines!

I had a OG with Meridian loaner last week and I thought my 2024 Premium Sound was better. I played around with the setting a bit, but my initial opinion is that the 2024 Premium sound was better. I know everyone has a different ear though.

 

[2kwik4u]

That's fair, but I had mine for a few hours and still logged into Apple Music for that time. It's two clicks to logout, and most apps have remote logout these days in case you forget.

You're not wrong. I'm more lazy than annoyed by it. It's a me thing not a truck thing.

 

[iansriv]

I had a OG with Meridian loaner last week and I thought my 2024 Premium Sound was better. I played around with the setting a bit, but my initial opinion is that the 2024 Premium sound was better. I know everyone has a different ear though.

My commute to the office is 3 miles (it's up hill both ways). I bike on good weather days and drive the R1 on others. Don't have a lot of time to listen to music so I've never bothered pontificating on the quality of the system. When I had a 911, I just listened to the engine. My commute then was much harder-8 miles round trip.

 

[R1Thor]

Gen2 headlights are a huge upgrade if you do a lot of night driving in unlit areas, the enhanced auto-brights are amazing.

Yes but.
Moving the turn signal away from the stadium headlight halo is, in my opinion, a miss.
Plus I prefer having actual fog lights (for inclement weather and seeing critters along the side of the road).

This is one of my bigger gripes, despite it being a relatively 'minor' thing. Price aside, that's probably my silly reason I continue to prefer the Gen1

I would probably prefer a Gen 2 with some type of ascent trim if, in fact, they've actually improved the drivetrain (purportedly, as per service: with thicker half shafts, better toleranced splines, and ultimately no real concern about creating the backlash and clunking we get with gen1 that'll inevitably create half-shaft replacement a thing we want to do almost like a service item...)

 

[ddujnad]

Gen2 dual large+ here. No experience with Gen1's but I'd never go back to an ICE vehicle, opt for performance upgrade, tri or quad. Looking at replacing the zeros after 14k mikes aka fast enough the way it is. Only horrible audio issues I have are with FM radio (daily cannot connect error) considering its a computer on wheels makes zero sense. The updated cameras, & soon to be released EHA updates (Needs a cooler name like rivian cruise) is why i went with G2 over used G1.

I lived without FM radio for my first year and a half of ownership because of the same issue. During a SC visit to fix an annoying backseat rattle I asked them to check out the FM radio connect error as well. They replaced the remote tuner module and it works fine now.

 

[goldburger]

Issue #1. Valid point. I’m not into music so I don’t care but I recognize it is a valid point.

issue #2. Partially valid. The front doors have a fully functional mechanical option on the inside like Gen 1. Back seats, not so much.

My take is the door handles and door locks are the worst aspect of Rivian ownership. Proximity lock/unlock and phone as key just doesn’t do it for me. Just give me what was state of the art 20 years ago. Automobile door handles were not broken and did not need to be fixed/“improved”.

My Gen 1 was an absolute nightmare trying to get into it. My Gen 2 has proximity unlock off at home… and unlocks when I walk up to it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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