R2 Demo Drive Scheduling is LIVE! Anyone book test drive yet?

[amo2u]

I got to drive the Performance trim with 21" wheels in Catalina Cove this AM.
My takeaways from the brief 16 minute drive:

Coming from my Gen 1 R1S Quad, the seats immediately felt better in the R2, softer leather for sure. Ventilation was actually blowing out of the perorations... much better than the ventilated seats in the R1s. Back seat is roomier, albeit a bit of a cheaper bench seat vibe than the back of the R1. Overall, the interior doesn't feel smaller, but certainly the materials looks/feel a hair less premium than the R1.

With regard to driving, the ride was great. Immediately felt more precise and agile than my R1. I was surprised how different the driving experience was switching drive modes from All Terrain to Sport, given the more limited control over the suspension. That performance gap between AT and Sport felt even more significant in the R2 than it does in my R1 - so the "Standard" All Terrain drive mode is more significantly de-tuned from Sport Mode in the R2. I was in the rain, so I was able to turn down traction control and get the rear end to swing out a little... just shy of drifting because I was on public streets, but the 2000 pound weight reduction was far more noticeable that than the reduction in HP coming from the Quad -if that makes sense. It's absolutely more of a driver's car than the R1. It's really fun. Parking was much easier with the smaller size and better cameras.
The turn signal cam and 360 view cameras were so much better than my Gen1.
They certainly got the driving dynamics right and ergonomics right.

Audio- This is where I'm being super critical and it might not matter to most. I was an Audio Engineer for many years, so this is important to me. I'm not super impressed with the R1 Rivian Elevation audio, particularly for a $97k suv, but the R2's audio is clearly a step down from there. I logged into Apple Music and listened to material that I was familiar with. Where the R1 has a wide soundstage, the R2's is narrow and more mid-rangy. With the fader panned to the middle of the car, it still sounded like 80% of the audio was coming from the center of the dashboard, rather than surrounding me. I went to adjust the EQ only to find that it was already tweaked in to a big smiley face... so flattening it made the audio even more boxy sounding. I'd give the R2's Premium Audio a letter grade of "C" with maybe a "B-" if you spend a lot of time trying to dial it in on the EQ. Fading audio to the rear usually results in a deeper, warmer sound , but in the R2 it only reveals that the rear speakers are under powered and sound worse than the ones in on the dash and front doors.
The most deficient part of my R1S's audio is easily the subwoofer, which doesn't extend deep enough from a frequency band perspective and is significantly lacking in power to keep up with the rest of the speakers. This was where I was hoping the R2's dual opposed subwoofer design would shine, but I'd say that I couldn't even perceive that there was a subwoofer firing in the R2, the low end was that anemic. Personally, I would need to put an aftermarket sub into the R2 if I owned one. That's saying a lot, because I've never had an aftermarket sub in my car. I'm not a crazy basshead that needs to rattle mirrors, I'm just talking about clear, defined bass for normal to loud listening with pop, rock and alt rock material. It's just not there. I'd be really surprised if Rivian has enough headroom in their "premium audio" system to fix it over the air.

Edit: The Haptic Halos were cool... I wish I had more time to demo them. I did inadvertently bump into it and change my volume twice while making turns- that's something that's only happened to me once in the R1s in 2+ years of ownership.

Also, I think the Catalina Cove paint color is VERY dependent on lighting conditions. I've seen some stunning pictures that take me to a tropical reef and I would argue that Catalina Cove is going to be the the most popular R2 color upgrade, however on an overcast, rainy day it was just the deep end of a murky pool. I wish it had been a sunny day, but now I'm considering Esker Silver, based on how it was looking in all of the R2 reviews that came out yesterday.

Anyone else - first impressions?

Thanks for that review of the audio. Some people say it's fine and good enough but I appreciate that detail you were able to provide. Also, that's REALLY disappointing to hear. I'm currently driving a Tesla Model Y and the audio is probably the best I've ever experienced in a vehicle. It's really all one could expect out of a car audio system. With that said, Rivian should know that a lot of Tesla owners will be coming to Rivian and if the audio is as sub-par as you describe, it's going to be a big letdown. Looking forward to my test-drive so I can experience it for myself and hoping to come away with a different opinion.

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[godfodder0901]

Any slots available for test drive in and around Seattle? What time do slots open?

Ther were about 10 slots open for Seattle on the 11th, but they all closed within 10min. They open at random times.

 

[krockett]

Got one booked for tomorrow in Pasadena, CA. I went back a couple minutes after to see if I could modify the time and all the previously available slots were gone.

 

[macb00kemdanno]

First fish on the hook

 

[ewcanes]

Friday times just popped up, grabbed the first one at 10AM.

 

[srijanidutta9]

Ther were about 10 slots open for Seattle on the 11th, but they all closed within 10min. They open at random times.

What time did you see these slots?

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