12-Month review: I can't recommend the R1S for most people

[ATLRivvy]

That's the key, most people buying a 3 row SUV are used to crossovers nowadays. For a truck with truck capabilities, it's phenomenal. For a crossover or a truck shaped minivan, it's not that great. Unfortunately, most will drive this like a Toyota Highlander and not so much a Toyota Sequoia.



This. I have an EV9 GT-Line and it is PHENOMENAL. It is THE vehicle I recommend for most people transitioning. Road tripping is a breeze, the 3rd row is comfortable with a 6' teen, the suspension is well sorted out, it's relatively fun to drive, plenty of luggage space, great efficiency and CarPlay.

Biggest con is the loss of the frunk.

On a 1000mi cold weather road trip, the Rivian (Quad/Large 135kWh/300mi real range on Conserve) was 2 DCFC+1 Overnight L2 charge. On that same trip in the EV9, it was a 4 DCFC+1 Overnight L2 charge (Dual/GT-Line 98kWh/220mi real range on Eco)

The Kia was more frustrating having to find chargers non-stop. It felt like we were looking longer than we were charging. The Rivian was frustrating having to stop for so long on each stop, often being bored while charging. That's unfortunately the trade off for an overall trip time difference that was negligible - within 10 min of each other.

Yep. Will likely consider the Ioniq 9/EV 9 as potential replacement. Issue at the time was that the EV9 did not Tesla network access, was rated for sub-300 mile range and several of our trips involve travel in states with few charging options (once you get west of Birmingham in the mid-south options get sparse and poor quality)

Sponsored

 

[Captain JB]

I use a garage opener device on the visor. Sometimes manual is better. No issue with the suspension in our R1S at all and I DO take it off road…not just this speed bumps in LA!. It does not break a sweat with its amazing performance. The A/C would be better with manual buttons…I concur. The phone wakes up the car with aplomb. I cant offer anything on the back seats as they are never used. If I had Apple Car Play (here we go!)) and a full size spare, this car would be perfect. I think you need a major overhaul at the service center with a very specific item list.

 

[mkhuffman]

Exactly this. Rivian isn’t even pretending they aren’t making a Luxury SUV - their spaces are almost exclusively in high-end shopping areas.

The CEO isn’t talking about tank turns anymore, he openly compares the R1S to Cadillac EVs and the Model X - not off-road vehicles. He compares the R2 to the Model Y, Chevy Equinox and the like.

it’s not at all an enthusiast vehicle - they are targetting mass market and should be evaluated as such in my opinion

I know I posted this before, but have you tried forcing the truck to stay in Standard height?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Exactly this. Rivian isn’t even pretending they aren’t making a Luxury SUV - their spaces are almost exclusively in high-end shopping areas.

The CEO isn’t talking about tank turns anymore, he openly compares the R1S to Cadillac EVs and the Model X - not off-road vehicles. He compares the R2 to the Model Y, Chevy Equinox and the like.

it’s not at all an enthusiast vehicle - they are targetting mass market and should be evaluated as such in my opinion

Sure, but tons of those people would be happy with the way Rivian handles. Things like the GMC Yukon or the Ford whatever on truck suspension, or the Grand Wagoneer all feel about the same but are worse overall than the Rivian. So we absolutely should compare it to mass-market vehicles in its class.

 

[CSPDune]

Rant warning.

I absolutely love my Gen2 R1S and until they fix both the software issues and service center issues I will not buy another Rivian, and look forward to not having this one anymore. So many issues, minor ones with climate control, cameras not working, driver assist functions not working, the 12V battery issue, the vehicle just deciding to not like my home charger anymore... The best was when I called about the charging issue and was told to drive around town and test it on other chargers. That's not my job! That wasted several hours of my time on a Sunday! This is a six-figure car. I shouldn't have to troubleshoot it. If my Canyon or EQE fritzes I call the dealership and they have me out within a couple of days and they certainly don't ask me to try to fix it myself beforehand. I'm still waiting on a 12V battery fix (this "urgent" issue is scheduled to be fixed in 5 weeks).
I have a degree in engineering and a doctorate - I'm not tech-naive. But what about the people who are? What if someone like my parents bought this (very expensive!) vehicle? They certainly couldn't troubleshoot it the way I've had to. Rivian's expectations of their customers is completely unreasonable. When I told the customer service rep on my most recent call that I straight up don't feel safe driving the vehicle until it's fixed, especially with my wife and small kids, he just asked "well what do you want us to do?"

Rant over. I hope Rivian can fix its issues. But this is the last one for me.

 

[JeffC]

Absolutely a possibility. But based on the distribution of where these cars are being sold in Atlanta - almost exclusively wealthy in-town Neighborhoods where some version of those 3 cars are ubiquitous and trucks/true full size SUVs are rare - I suspect many, many, many potential buyers will (or already have) make the same mistake.

I'm only 3 days into ownership of an R1T so I can't comment on most of these complaints but I definitely agree with this comment; Rivian differentiates itself as a brand for adventure seekers but so far they only offer vehicles that are too expensive for most people who have the free time to take advantage of all the truck's capabilities. I hope this truck will inspire me to make time in my life to pursue those backcountry trips I enjoyed so much in my 20s and 30s (in my 50s now). So far I can only say that, on the road, this truck drives way more smoothly than my 2006 Sprinter 118 and my Subaru Forester - but that is comparing apples to bananas.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Yep. Will likely consider the Ioniq 9/EV 9 as potential replacement. Issue at the time was that the EV9 did not Tesla network access, was rated for sub-300 mile range and several of our trips involve travel in states with few charging options (once you get west of Birmingham in the mid-south options get sparse and poor quality)

The Tesla access is good in a pinch, but it’s really slow. I avoid them if I can, often preferring to stop early and deep charge. At 85% I’m still charging at 135kW, at 90% is when I start seeing the speeds I see at superchargers on it.

We’ve taken ours in the South, TN/WV/SC but not along the Mississippi yet. The range is a bit of a hit, I can push 260-280 but it requires a high level of concentration. Keeping up with traffic 220 is easy, 240 is doable but it won’t realistically come close to 300 with 70-75mph speed limits.

Feel free to DM us you have any questions.

 

[DaveA]

Someday, I would love to ride in one of these "wonderful" R1T suspension everyone on here speaks of. lol. Mine is awfully clunky at slow speeds and turning and the SC says its normal. I've used several Rivian loaner trucks and they are just as bad. The 1 Gen2 R1T I drove was a little quieter, but as for this owner, I'm trading for the R2 asap and unloading this "error" suspension.

 

[shamoo]

Maybe this has been discussed enough already, but I have some time and figured I'd chime in as an R1S owner of just over 3 years and ~30K miles. Also had "luxury" sport SUVs like the X5M as well as normal vehicles, sport cars, and motorcycles.

• Overall - I just dont think the R1S is a very good car for the price right now

I can see where this can make sense if you're looking strictly as a 3-row SUV. There are plenty more options out there at nearly half the price.

However if you look at the specifics, what vehicle out there gives you 800-1000hp, off road capability, luxury-ish interior quality, sporty handling, and 3 rows with ample cargo room?

There's almost nothing out there except maybe:
- Mercedes G63: less cargo room, but more than double the price with ADMs.
- BMW X5M: I owned this prior and I loved it. More sporty, but can't do off road with huge brakes. No 3rd row option in the M variant. I was paying $400+/month in gas. Also more expensive.
- Audi RSQ8: Similar to X5M.
- Jeep 392: More off road worthy, less luxury, no 3rd row, basically folks aren't cross shopping these unless you're a weirdo like me.
- Range Rover SVR: Do they even make those anymore? I guess you could get a preowned one.

All of the above are significantly more expensive than the Rivian.

• Suspension / Ride: Absolutely abysmal - has to be worst in class. The active suspension does almost nothing to absorb bumps. Lots of being bounced around and people in the back seat complain about pain from even a moderate bump. This is the thing that pretty much disqualifies this car as one I would recommend to anyone.

As others have mentioned, because of its "skateboard" design, it will ride almost exactly like a body on frame truck/SUV. And if you have owned any, they drive....like a truck. You just have to accept that. My X5M was much more comfortable.

That said, the R1T is well known to be a better riding vehicle, likely due to its much longer wheelbase.

• A/C: Something ive never experience before - the A/C system performance is awful. I've never thought about the A/C in any of my other cars. Set a temp, put it on auto and go. The R1S struggles to keep up to the point of having people sweating in the 2nd and 3rd rows on road trips with 75 degree temps outside

I can agree that the HVAC system in the Rivian is definitely quirky. You have to have it on Auto for it to "make sense". It seems to compare your temperature setting with the outside temp to decide if you want hot or cold air. I've learned to deal with it, plus I live in SoCal where the temperature is pretty steady, so I don't mind as much. But I get it.

I learned if you turn on the 3rd row, it circulates the air a little better to get the 2nd row more comfortable faster.

• So. Many. Software Bugs: The "automated" stuff in the car is so unreliable that it might as well be manual.
  • 33% of the time I get in the car, start driving and then realize all the vents are randomly closed so im getting no a/c.
  • I still cant figure out how the car decides whether the 2nd row a/c should turn on or not - there are car seats always plugged in but A/C only starts automatically maybe 50% of the time
  • 25% of the time the car struggles to "wake" when I walk up to it or use the app so not uncommon to be stuck in the rain for 30 seconds holding a 6-month old and waiting for door handles to activate
  • Every other update my wife has to remove and reactivate her PAAK (Android phone)
  • Every once in a while the car loses the garage button despite having accurate GPS position - works when I manually go to the garage menu but the garage open/close button doesnt automatically appear

Definitely quirky. But I've been lucky that nothing really bad has happened. Only small things like my steering wheel being full forward when I get in the car in the morning. Or the 15 second podcast skip sometimes being 15 seconds and sometimes not.

• Interior space: The interior feels smaller than the exterior would lead you to believe. Cant have rear facing car seats in 2nd and 3rd row and still have a front row passenger. Something I should have tested so definitely my fault.
• 3rd row functionality: Baffling decisions on the 3rd row. The slide mechanism to access third row is terrible - doesnt move forward enough for easy entry/exit, 2nd row headrests dont auto-drop and no easy lift mechanism to get 3rd row back up when stored. Baffling oversights at this price range

I can't agree with this one. It is my understanding, it is one of the largest 3rd rows in the segment. I think the Palisade/Telluride is the other?

You can't compare this to a full sized Denali.

I've had a rear facing child seat in the second row for the first 2 years and it was fine. I had it behind the passenger side (my wife is about 5'7") and there was plenty of room for the seat and her in the front. I had the seat on the passenger side to allow for the 60% folding of the 2nd row on the driver's side.

I don't use the 3rd row often, but yes I can agree that it is difficult to get back up. I often have to help my wife heave it back up. Personally I don't mind, but I get it. I prefer not to have electronic components actuating it, as it is something that can break later.

• Self-driving / Autonomy: Despite the RJ hype, Rivian autonomy isnt very good right now. Its gotten better from when they started (it was unusable) but still lags what other players (not just Tesla) were capable of doing 2 years ago. I prefer my outdated Ford Bluecruise over Rivian by a mile.

I agree. I had a Tesla Model S prior to the Rivian and the Autopilot/self drive was miles better. That being said, I never used it. I prefer driving on my own so after a mile or two, I just cancel it. Same with the Rivian.

I know some folks use it all the time, so I can understand. As a Gen1 owner, I don't anticipate much improvement here. But again, I'm lucky I don't mind since I don't use it.

Tl;dr: Love Rivian styling and its a cool tech toy - but I dont think its a very good car. Ride quality is completely unacceptable for its price point, the interior isnt very well thought out and the software is buggy to the point of being unreliable.

Ehh, see my above comments.

 

[BTOR]

Context / Use Case: Leased the Gen 2 R1S max pack (making us a two EV household) about a year ago as we welcomed our 2nd child. Needed a 3-row SUV that would be good for both around the city and for the 3-4 longer road trips (~400 miles) we take each year. Other cars we were considering at the time were the Lucid Gravity and Volvo EX90.

Pros:

• Still love the styling
• Like the Rivian native UI/UX much better than Carplay in my other EV
• Interior is fairly comfortable and luxury-enough for us without feeling over the top
• Love the frunk and under trunk storage - great for packing in stuff with two kids under 3 years old
• Love the idea of frequent updates (though execution is lacking). My other EV hasnt had a real update in a year.
• The cameras and sensors work amazingly well for ADAS. The cameras are incredibly high resolution and very clear

Cons:

• Overall - I just dont think the R1S is a very good car for the price right now
• Suspension / Ride: Absolutely abysmal - has to be worst in class. The active suspension does almost nothing to absorb bumps. Lots of being bounced around and people in the back seat complain about pain from even a moderate bump. This is the thing that pretty much disqualifies this car as one I would recommend to anyone.
• A/C: Something ive never experience before - the A/C system performance is awful. I've never thought about the A/C in any of my other cars. Set a temp, put it on auto and go. The R1S struggles to keep up to the point of having people sweating in the 2nd and 3rd rows on road trips with 75 degree temps outside
• So. Many. Software Bugs: The "automated" stuff in the car is so unreliable that it might as well be manual.
  • 33% of the time I get in the car, start driving and then realize all the vents are randomly closed so im getting no a/c.
  • I still cant figure out how the car decides whether the 2nd row a/c should turn on or not - there are car seats always plugged in but A/C only starts automatically maybe 50% of the time
  • 25% of the time the car struggles to "wake" when I walk up to it or use the app so not uncommon to be stuck in the rain for 30 seconds holding a 6-month old and waiting for door handles to activate
  • Every other update my wife has to remove and reactivate her PAAK (Android phone)
  • Every once in a while the car loses the garage button despite having accurate GPS position - works when I manually go to the garage menu but the garage open/close button doesnt automatically appear
• Interior space: The interior feels smaller than the exterior would lead you to believe. Cant have rear facing car seats in 2nd and 3rd row and still have a front row passenger. Something I should have tested so definitely my fault.
• 3rd row functionality: Baffling decisions on the 3rd row. The slide mechanism to access third row is terrible - doesnt move forward enough for easy entry/exit, 2nd row headrests dont auto-drop and no easy lift mechanism to get 3rd row back up when stored. Baffling oversights at this price range
• Self-driving / Autonomy: Despite the RJ hype, Rivian autonomy isnt very good right now. Its gotten better from when they started (it was unusable) but still lags what other players (not just Tesla) were capable of doing 2 years ago. I prefer my outdated Ford Bluecruise over Rivian by a mile.

Tl;dr: Love Rivian styling and its a cool tech toy - but I dont think its a very good car. Ride quality is completely unacceptable for its price point, the interior isnt very well thought out and the software is buggy to the point of being unreliable.

This is why I never read or base a purchase on "owner" reviews... They are really just opinions and opinions vary vastly.

I've owned my R1S for 1 year and I couldn't disagree more with the OP's cons. I agree with @Donald Stanfield, it's a truck, not a car. It drives so much nicer than my old GMC truck and even our Acura MDX. I can't speak for the 3rd row functionality since I have no need for it and keep it stored. Interior space is ample for all my needs. And I like the fact that it feels more "homey" and not cavernous. My only complaint, and it is minor, is roof height. I have to lower the seat post on my bikes when I put them inside the R1S (front wheel removed). Another inch and I wouldn't. On my old vehicle the roof was high enough. My A/C works just fine. I have had a few quirky SW glitches. They seem to occur after an OTA update. Nothing major, just small inconveniences. And so far, they were resolved through a simple reset. The driver assist/autonomy features work good enough for me. Not sure what else you would want or need? But honestly, if I was driving with my family, I would only use the safety features of active cruise control and not trust a more "automated" system. The risks would be too high.

I also keep in mind that Rivian is a new auto manufacturer. You can't compare Rivian to Ford, GM, Toyota or any other manufacturer that has been around for over a century. Our Bolt EUV has been solid and is a great EV. It is equipped with Super Cruise but it requires a paid OnStar subscription so we don't use it. It has Apple Car Play which I like but the Rivian UI integrates with my iPhone just fine. Our ICE is a Toyota Prius. It's been a good car overall. But it has had its issues. It's had a myriad of water leaks since the day we bought it new. Some were addressed while in warranty. But the most recent, destroyed our HV battery which we had to replace at our expense.

I hope my second year of R1S ownership is just a repeat of year #1!

 

[fjn7]

Context / Use Case: Leased the Gen 2 R1S max pack (making us a two EV household) about a year ago as we welcomed our 2nd child. Needed a 3-row SUV that would be good for both around the city and for the 3-4 longer road trips (~400 miles) we take each year. Other cars we were considering at the time were the Lucid Gravity and Volvo EX90.

Pros:

• Still love the styling
• Like the Rivian native UI/UX much better than Carplay in my other EV
• Interior is fairly comfortable and luxury-enough for us without feeling over the top
• Love the frunk and under trunk storage - great for packing in stuff with two kids under 3 years old
• Love the idea of frequent updates (though execution is lacking). My other EV hasnt had a real update in a year.
• The cameras and sensors work amazingly well for ADAS. The cameras are incredibly high resolution and very clear

Cons:

• Overall - I just dont think the R1S is a very good car for the price right now
• Suspension / Ride: Absolutely abysmal - has to be worst in class. The active suspension does almost nothing to absorb bumps. Lots of being bounced around and people in the back seat complain about pain from even a moderate bump. This is the thing that pretty much disqualifies this car as one I would recommend to anyone.
• A/C: Something ive never experience before - the A/C system performance is awful. I've never thought about the A/C in any of my other cars. Set a temp, put it on auto and go. The R1S struggles to keep up to the point of having people sweating in the 2nd and 3rd rows on road trips with 75 degree temps outside
• So. Many. Software Bugs: The "automated" stuff in the car is so unreliable that it might as well be manual.
  • 33% of the time I get in the car, start driving and then realize all the vents are randomly closed so im getting no a/c.
  • I still cant figure out how the car decides whether the 2nd row a/c should turn on or not - there are car seats always plugged in but A/C only starts automatically maybe 50% of the time
  • 25% of the time the car struggles to "wake" when I walk up to it or use the app so not uncommon to be stuck in the rain for 30 seconds holding a 6-month old and waiting for door handles to activate
  • Every other update my wife has to remove and reactivate her PAAK (Android phone)
  • Every once in a while the car loses the garage button despite having accurate GPS position - works when I manually go to the garage menu but the garage open/close button doesnt automatically appear
• Interior space: The interior feels smaller than the exterior would lead you to believe. Cant have rear facing car seats in 2nd and 3rd row and still have a front row passenger. Something I should have tested so definitely my fault.
• 3rd row functionality: Baffling decisions on the 3rd row. The slide mechanism to access third row is terrible - doesnt move forward enough for easy entry/exit, 2nd row headrests dont auto-drop and no easy lift mechanism to get 3rd row back up when stored. Baffling oversights at this price range
• Self-driving / Autonomy: Despite the RJ hype, Rivian autonomy isnt very good right now. Its gotten better from when they started (it was unusable) but still lags what other players (not just Tesla) were capable of doing 2 years ago. I prefer my outdated Ford Bluecruise over Rivian by a mile.

Tl;dr: Love Rivian styling and its a cool tech toy - but I dont think its a very good car. Ride quality is completely unacceptable for its price point, the interior isnt very well thought out and the software is buggy to the point of being unreliable.

Sorry but I think the issues you are describing are specific to your car. I have a late Gen 1 R1S and, for the most part, I have not experienced any of the issues you are complaining about, other than self driving/autonomy, which I don't really care about. 3rd row functionality can be better and the software updates aren't perfect, but overall it's a great car and value for the money - for us who got in early before the price hikes in 2022. I have not had any issues with my R1S after 2 years and 20k miles - only rotated tires and went in recently to fix the rear compressor which failed, but I hardly ever use. Other than that it's a great truck, maybe not at $110k for the tri-motor, but depending on what you need and what you're looking for, it's definitely a great vehicle to get, especially if you can find a used one at a big discount.

 

[brandoncole]

I’m seeing a few things here.

1) The R1T crowd is heavily weighing in on a critique of the R1S.

2) Condescendingly saying “but my truck drives great” means nothing

3) Some of OP’s issues are fair criticisms of what is billed as a premium SUV, some are not.

4) As an early 40’s wealthy dude who has no interest in trucks but loves SUVs, I’m seeing Rivian see me as their target demographic for the S.

When my wife says “I saw “All Her Fault” and our R1S was featured and now X and Y are looking at buying one!”, that’s a good sign that Rivian are targeting our demographic.

Coastal high-income households, no previous interest in EVs but open to an R1S when billed as a Range alternative. No more outdoorsy than a white collar dude with kids who goes into an Orvis occasionally and has a Golden in back.

I had no idea Rivian was kickstarting cars or was billing the R1T differently before October 2026. So I 100% get what OP is saying about how he and his neighbors perceive Rivian and therefore how expectations for smooth riding SUVs would follow.

OP, I get you on the ride. 20” wheels and tires and turning off Auto on the suspension makes a world of difference. If it’s still choppy, I will ride around in Rally on High without issue.

I get you on the seats too, although one of ours is rear facing with no issue. Our car seats swivel and never had an issue. With them in, 3rd row is inaccessible but it’s just our dog back there.

This is getting too long, but I love our R1S faults and all. It’s half realizing what it is, half tweaking it to meet you halfway, but nothing else comes close to the overall package.

Hope one day Rivian can get you back in the driver’s seat. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[SwampNut]

Someday, I would love to ride in one of these "wonderful" R1T suspension everyone on here speaks of. lol. Mine is awfully clunky at slow speeds and turning and the SC says its normal. I've used several Rivian loaner trucks and they are just as bad. The 1 Gen2 R1T I drove was a little quieter, but as for this owner, I'm trading for the R2 asap and unloading this "error" suspension.

I do wonder what the variation is. All of the R1Ts I have driven were fairly early models. Mine is VIN 10,500 and the others were older. All were solid. I just spent a few days beating the shit out of it at 60+ MPH in washes in Anza-Borrego and it was solid, quiet, smooth, and SOOOOOOO fast. It crushes high end UTVs. And on the drive home, no new clunks or squeaks, unlike my Jeeps that I'd take out there.

 

[JeepEVer]

Context / Use Case: Leased the Gen 2 R1S max pack (making us a two EV household) about a year ago as we welcomed our 2nd child. Needed a 3-row SUV that would be good for both around the city and for the 3-4 longer road trips (~400 miles) we take each year. Other cars we were considering at the time were the Lucid Gravity and Volvo EX90.

Pros:

• Still love the styling
• Like the Rivian native UI/UX much better than Carplay in my other EV
• Interior is fairly comfortable and luxury-enough for us without feeling over the top
• Love the frunk and under trunk storage - great for packing in stuff with two kids under 3 years old
• Love the idea of frequent updates (though execution is lacking). My other EV hasnt had a real update in a year.
• The cameras and sensors work amazingly well for ADAS. The cameras are incredibly high resolution and very clear

Cons:

• Overall - I just dont think the R1S is a very good car for the price right now
• Suspension / Ride: Absolutely abysmal - has to be worst in class. The active suspension does almost nothing to absorb bumps. Lots of being bounced around and people in the back seat complain about pain from even a moderate bump. This is the thing that pretty much disqualifies this car as one I would recommend to anyone.
• A/C: Something ive never experience before - the A/C system performance is awful. I've never thought about the A/C in any of my other cars. Set a temp, put it on auto and go. The R1S struggles to keep up to the point of having people sweating in the 2nd and 3rd rows on road trips with 75 degree temps outside
• So. Many. Software Bugs: The "automated" stuff in the car is so unreliable that it might as well be manual.
  • 33% of the time I get in the car, start driving and then realize all the vents are randomly closed so im getting no a/c.
  • I still cant figure out how the car decides whether the 2nd row a/c should turn on or not - there are car seats always plugged in but A/C only starts automatically maybe 50% of the time
  • 25% of the time the car struggles to "wake" when I walk up to it or use the app so not uncommon to be stuck in the rain for 30 seconds holding a 6-month old and waiting for door handles to activate
  • Every other update my wife has to remove and reactivate her PAAK (Android phone)
  • Every once in a while the car loses the garage button despite having accurate GPS position - works when I manually go to the garage menu but the garage open/close button doesnt automatically appear
• Interior space: The interior feels smaller than the exterior would lead you to believe. Cant have rear facing car seats in 2nd and 3rd row and still have a front row passenger. Something I should have tested so definitely my fault.
• 3rd row functionality: Baffling decisions on the 3rd row. The slide mechanism to access third row is terrible - doesnt move forward enough for easy entry/exit, 2nd row headrests dont auto-drop and no easy lift mechanism to get 3rd row back up when stored. Baffling oversights at this price range
• Self-driving / Autonomy: Despite the RJ hype, Rivian autonomy isnt very good right now. Its gotten better from when they started (it was unusable) but still lags what other players (not just Tesla) were capable of doing 2 years ago. I prefer my outdated Ford Bluecruise over Rivian by a mile.

Tl;dr: Love Rivian styling and its a cool tech toy - but I dont think its a very good car. Ride quality is completely unacceptable for its price point, the interior isnt very well thought out and the software is buggy to the point of being unreliable.

Thanks, it is fair to expect near perfection in a vehicle that costs over $100,000!

 

[DaveA]

I do wonder what the variation is. All of the R1Ts I have driven were fairly early models. Mine is VIN 10,500 and the others were older. All were solid. I just spent a few days beating the shit out of it at 60+ MPH in washes in Anza-Borrego and it was solid, quiet, smooth, and SOOOOOOO fast. It crushes high end UTVs. And on the drive home, no new clunks or squeaks, unlike my Jeeps that I'd take out there.

Yes, off-road it shines at slow speed, but my 3600 vin is not quiet on washboard roads...feels like there's no suspension at all over anything but gravel.

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