Finished R2 demo test drive? Share your review / impressions

[Husky]

I've seen in video's that the steering column does telescope. That's strange... wonder if that was a software issue.

I didn't think it was working until I tried moving the wheel the other way and found that the wheel was already all the way out.

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[Husky]

I was the first one to demo drive in Phoenix. But no line as they thought. i have an ID4 so the R2 was much higher and felt great so comfortable. I was somewhat disappointed in the HVAC. IT seemed underpowered and very loud on AUTO. My ID4 is super cold and not loud at all. I hope it is not an issue. I was SUPER impressed with the quality of the interior. Seeing all the videos of the interior it looked only ok. But it looked so great and felt so premium and upscale. It was beautiful. Overall a great test drive and car. Cannot wait for my invite.

I have the same concern regarding the AC. My R2 test drive was on a sunny 90F day in NH (NOT AZ!) and we had the AC temp set all the way down and it was barely able to keep up with the solar heat gain from that giant glass roof. I'm really surprised/disappointed that there's no shade, or a darker more reflective tint. I'm equally puzzled that I haven't read more complaints about that from the many customers and testers in the Southwest. Maybe our demo's AC wasn't up to par?? I will definitely look for a shade that can be installed, or consider some sort of aftermarket tinting.

 

[Husky]

Agreed on the acceleration. I'd be interested to hear feedback from those that drove on the highway and managed something like a 60 to 80 mph pass acceleration.

I didn't get to try that, but I've read/seen some R2 reviews where they comment on how unusually strong the acceleration still is at highest speeds.

 

[Husky]

OK - here're my thoughts after spending a little more than an hour in the R2 playing with the tech, poking and prodding. This was not a test drive.

Quick background: I don't own a Rivian. I've test-driven the R1S in various guises five times. I had high hopes for the R2 and made a reservation last Winter. The last few days, I've been experiencing cold feet, which is not normal for me. I'm a tech-forward guy, always run the beta's on my iPhones and research to a fault.

But for some reason, I was beginning to fear that buying a $60k vehicle that is launching with some features that are barely alpha, let alone beta would be a bad idea. Then there's the drumbeat in forums and social media of "everything that is wrong with Rivians"... I'm well aware that forums collect enthusiasts and the gripers; regardless, I've been seriously doubting my choice of an R2 the last few days.

Over the past few weeks, I retested or drove for the first time an Ioniq5, a GV60, the Lyriq, Volvo EX30 and today, the car that was supposdely cancelled in the US then showed up at a dealer this week, the 2026 KIA EV6. The EV6 was the car I almost bought in 2022.

I stopped in at the Rivian Space today hoping to fenagle a test drive but no luck. However, the guys were incredibly accommodating and let me play around in them for an hour, including giving me almost 15 minutes in one of the testers in the parking lot while they waited for the reservation driver. He told me to crank up the volume as loud as I wanted Frankly - I was smitten with the R2 as soon as I saw it.

Dimensions: After all of the "it's smaller than I thought it would be's" - it wasn't. Bigger actually. Rivian got every single proportion exactly right as far as I want. I'm 6'2". Roomy! Every button, screen and nob is right where I'd want it with very little adjustment once I had the seat set. The vehicle height is ideal. Easy to get in and out. If hand-washing, reaching the roof and across it will be easy. The width: R2 sits wide on it's haunches and it just looks right.

Storage: I'll never use all the storage the R2 offers. The space beneath the back floor is cavernous. Even with a spare, there's substantial room beneath that. With the storage in the armrest, the nicely fitted pullout drawer, the two glove boxes, the door pockets (which I'll never use).... there's a clown-car's worth of storage capacity in R2.

The Seats: VERY comfy. Again, I was in one for most of an hour and never noticed any discomfort.

Interior Materials/Fit & Finish: VERY polished. Tactilely, everything felt good to the touch and under hand. It's got a very buttoned-up, Scandi minimalism and it's done to a high degree. Every bit as well done and generally much better than every other EV I've driven the past few weeks. I like the Coastal Cloud - but I really likely the cozy comfort of this dark scheme.

The Haptic Halo Wheels: Love them. They didn't feel "chintzy" as a couple of reviewers described them. Sure, they're not knurled aluminum billet, but they felt solid and intuitive. Long-term, for all of the work Rivian is asking of them, will be interesting to see how they hold up. If the mechanism will "loosen up with age" they could get to be a little fiddly as I mentioned earlier. New though? Loved them. One other "concern" that I'll want to explore when I get to drive it, how easy will it be to hit them while turning the steering wheel. They're right where I tend to rest my palms in my current vehicle.

Sound System: Let me preface this buy saying I was a symphony musician, broadcaster and audio producer for about 25 years. So I have experience - and strong opinions. And when It comes to car enthusiasts... I'm well aware that every listener has very strong and often opposing opinions on what sounds good to them.

I connected my phone and had a "Test Drive" playlist of exceptionally-produced examples across several genres including Contemporary Pop, Dance/Electronic/House, Classic Rock, Orchestral, Acapella Choral, Solo Cello. All artists/recordings with wide, well-captured sound spaces, broad dynamic range etc. Yes, the obvious and enormous caveat: streaming over Bluetooth. But that's what R2 and just about every other vehicle has... and unless somebody devises a way to install a file system, playback and DAC... that's what we get.

After a recent revisit of an R1S. I get the complaints - the system struggles a bit the properly fill that enormous interior space. That said, after some concerted fiddling with the EQ, the current R1S is/can be really quite good. The R2? It's very good. Miles better than R1. And better than every other EV I drove recently including EV6's Meridian . But it REALLY gets good AFTER you get to know the -thankfully- very granular EQ settings. And 98% of the public really has no idea how to properly EQ audio. The out of the box presets are actually better than most and, with some patient tuning, I was able to get each category sounding quite good, even exceptional to my tastes. If a car can give a rich, honest and transparent playback of groups like Voces 8, HUGE WIN. Rivian always says, "it will get better over time." They are starting with the bar set very high. I'd be happy with it as is and will be excited for how it could be improved. Yup- I said it. A week or so ago in this forum I said you can't software your way around the physical limitations of an audio design. Rivian might prove me wrong, at least in this use case. It's not a Linn turntable and McKintosh tube amp through viintage Magnepans... but this system is very good.

The Frunk: Spacious enough for my needs though I now agree with the discussion that the lack of power opener might be a miss. The hood is heavy/wide and the gas shock does not provide enough assistance. If you're short or more slight, the frunk lid is a bit burdensome. Also, the opening hood height is too low. I'm certain I'll hit my head on it at some point. I could wish for it to open at least another 6-12". Neither are deal breakers for me but room to improve.

The Frunk is fully gasketed and feels very durable inside. Well lit.

Overall- the R2 is a complete homerun... and I haven't even driven it. I went in wanting to be convinced it was the wrong choice, and within minutes was convinced I have to have one.

For what it's worth, the Rivian spaces thought my number probably wouldn't come up until... next Spring.

Thanks for the detailed R2 review! I loved it as well and plan on making it our second EV (we presently own the under-rated EV6 and love it!).

 

[Nicko]

Overall impressed but mixed feelings after my test drive today. For background, I'm coming from owning almost exclusively VW/ Audi vehicles, most recently my precious 6-speed AWD Alltrack wagon. I've previously done 4 or 5 test drives of Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1S/ R1T but ultimately decided they were just too big and expensive for my needs.

Pros

-Form factor and size are near perfect for my me. Back trunk space would comfortably fit my 80 lb German Shepherd. Way more usable size for city driving and parking compared to the R1S/R1T.
-Very premium fit and finish and comfortable seating and driving position. Wish the seats had more side bolster. No rattles/ squeaks while driving around downtown Denver or I-70.
-suspension felt way more composed than gen1/2 R1S, no doubt due to the significant weight reduction. Soaked up the bumps and potholes around downtown Denver very well in standard and even sport mode.
-1 pedal driving is exemplary and just as good as R1S. Steering feel was not as light as some had claimed although there is very little road feedback
-Acceleration felt very similar to a quad gen1 R1S and was very impressive at highway speed. Way more than any sane person would need.

Cons

-Air conditioning and seat cooling noise were quite noticeable at lower speeds. Highway cabin noise was ok, but I was surprised using a db measuring app on my phone that the reading (66.5 db) was exactly the same as my VW Alltrack at highway speeds.

-Found the UI and steering wheel controls to be a bit unintuitive, although I'm sure I would get used to it in time. Noticed quite a few bugs during the test drive and when I was sitting in the showroom R2 (couldn't get the navigation audio to play, "radio" was stuck on accpeting iheartradio terms of service and wouldn't play).

-Audio system was extremely dissapointing. Similar to what I remember listing to in a gen 2 R1S with a sense of distance and lack of immediacy to the sound and noticable lack of bass. Depressingly worse that my ($35k) 2019 VW Allrack Fender sound system, which could generously be described as mid-tier at best. I would definetely want to spend more time with the system prior to a purchase to see if it could be tweaked (or wait for an OTA update).

Ultimately not sure if I want to proceed with my day 1 reservation at this point. Would defintely want to test drive the IX3 first and wait for Rivian to make some OTA improvements before comitting to an R2 purchase.

 

[Husky]

I had a test drive yesterday..It was 88 here, car said 93 (outside and affected by vehicle temp heat absorption, but still most likely an ”in the shade” measurement.

While UV is important, blocking the IR that heats it up is too, and I can tell you that glass roof GETS HOT. We’re going to need some roof liner for sure to block more heat from heating up the cabin. I had to put one in my TM3, and it helped A TON to reduce cabin heat and effort needed by the compressor.

Yesterday we already struggled to get the internal temp to comfortable, on LO, on AUTO and with vents blowing straight at us. I hope this was an individual vehicle issue, having tried the AC in the showroom, it got VERY cold as did the seats.

But the in car experience was not as comfortable as I would have expected. As least me personally we’re going to need a roof heat shield. Fortunately, there is a lot of lip there between the roof liner and the glass, so having a third party make a quality stable insert shouldn’t be a problem.

I had the same experience.

 

[rivordel]

I have the same concern regarding the AC. My R2 test drive was on a sunny 90F day in NH (NOT AZ!) and we had the AC temp set all the way down and it was barely able to keep up with the solar heat gain from that giant glass roof. I'm really surprised/disappointed that there's no shade, or a darker more reflective tint. I'm equally puzzled that I haven't read more complaints about that from the many customers and testers in the Southwest. Maybe our demo's AC wasn't up to par?? I will definitely look for a shade that can be installed, or consider some sort of aftermarket tinting.

Same issue in IL. AC was extremely loud, and not very cold. Was only mid-80s. Clearly, given the multiple reports, they have work to do on getting the climate function working properly.

 

[Husky]

These two about seat cooling, and the seat cooling fans I concur.. it was odd. I’m used to Benz, Jeep with seat cooling and not used to really HEARING the cooling fans. Also, the AC seemed underpowered. At first I thought it was the vents adjustment, so did that, then I thought it was the high/mid/low setting, so put it at just MID, then I thought maybe it was fan speed so I just put it on auto. None of it really helped, and while it was 88 here yesterday that’s not really HOT at all, for here or certainly for SoCal or AZ, or FL.. so it COULD have been the car, but that too is problematic. The car in the showroom got VERY cold, but sure it was inside (in not a climate controlled room).

AS for the scroll wheels, I practiced on the one in the showroom, to do the mirrors, wheel telescoping and elevating, and a few other things. worked great, especially LEFT AND RIGHT toggles of both wheels.

But in the actual demo TEST CAR, the LEFT wheel just wouldn’t respond to me trying to articulate the left mirror, I could pull it IN, but not OUT.. so the haptic logic control was not working, or the wheel control was not functional OR the way the actual physical buttons are installed or built can have some variance. If I got a car like that, I would take it back and tell them to fix it.

I second your thoughts on the AC being underpowered. I think a shade is needed.

 

[Husky]

Took a second drive… this time I had the spouse with me. Drove from DelMar CA in their CatalinaCove with 20” Taking route on 56 east 4 miles then some twisty back roads west.

Wife liked it much better than my Tesla Model 3 DM AWD LR. She seriously dislikes regen brake driving and did not like it at all… but liked the way the car drove/handled. Said it is much larger than her Volvo XC60 which is roughly the same exterior dimensions.

The running efficiency numbers on it were sitting at 2.7 mi/kwh (I think). I tried to find it/reset quickly but no dice. If so that means the testers were averaging ~240 miles range. This is if I pulled up the correct screen.

The CatalineCove looked much better on the car but seemed “flat” in the CA sun (or it was just dirty).

Wife said to save the $40k and get the R2…. The one sticking point I have is the car camper capabilities. Love to hear if any 6’ people went and climbed in with the seats down.

Oh, can you turn down the interior chimes for turn signals, etc???

I hear you on the signal chime volume!

 

[RPM R2]

Just back from my demo drive. Same concerns with A/C, it was 91 degrees outside here. I didn’t feel uncomfortable but it wasn’t ice cold either. Ventilated seat worked great.

Sound system was blahhhhhhhh. I connected my phone via Bluetooth and played music from my Spotify on my phone. I didn’t have any time to mess with the sound settings and I noticed it was set to “Rock” mode, not sure what all the modes/presets are. Probably could tweak things to make it better. Did not notice the surround sound capabilities at all. Also, wondering if the sound quality is better if streamed directly from Spotify in the R2 and not via Bluetooth??

Was very impressed with quiet cabin and it rode very comfortably on the roads.

Did it feel like a $63k vehicle, eh not quite, but I still see and understand the value with the launch edition inclusions.

 

[emroch]

- Software was very good; more complex than Tesla but glad they are not giving in to CarPlay/Android Auto

I find the animosity to phone projection baffling. The only argument I'm willing to accept, and just barely, is that their engineering team is pedal to the floor on 1st party experiences and they don't have time to integrate, validate, and maintain a 3rd party system. Fair enough.

But as consumers, we should not acquiesce. Supporting CarPlay (not ultra) and Android Auto has only upsides for customers (assuming no core features are deferred due to staffing/timelines). Many manufacturers support phone projection in windows within the main UI, and Rivian could easily add a tab along the bottom bar for CP/AA right alongside the Nav, Audio, and Vehicle tabs. If I want to start a route using Rivian's map, I would click the standard Nav button. If I want to play audio through the car's integrations, I'd hit the Music icon. But if I want to use Apple Maps, or Overcast (iOS podcast player), or Amazon Music (pending Rivian OS integration), or any other app that I have configured the way I like on my phone, then I'd click the CP/AA icon.

I understand Rivian wants to provide the best 1st party experience possible, and I agree that the software should be good without needing a connected phone, so I'm willing to give them some leeway during their growth phase.

But to say they should never support CP/AA is promoting anticompetitive behavior. Allowing phone projection could allow Rivian to punt on their built in solutions, but that's a leadership decision. They should strive to compete on merits and make their built in options as good or better than the projection system. And if there is something that they are unable or unwilling to provide (like an independent podcast app available only on iPhone), then CarPlay is there to fill the gap.

 

[Utah-Jay]

I find the animosity to phone projection baffling. The only argument I'm willing to accept, and just barely, is that their engineering team is pedal to the floor on 1st party experiences and they don't have time to integrate, validate, and maintain a 3rd party system. Fair enough.

But as consumers, we should not acquiesce. Supporting CarPlay (not ultra) and Android Auto has only upsides for customers (assuming no core features are deferred due to staffing/timelines). Many manufacturers support phone projection in windows within the main UI, and Rivian could easily add a tab along the bottom bar for CP/AA right alongside the Nav, Audio, and Vehicle tabs. If I want to start a route using Rivian's map, I would click the standard Nav button. If I want to play audio through the car's integrations, I'd hit the Music icon. But if I want to use Apple Maps, or Overcast (iOS podcast player), or Amazon Music (pending Rivian OS integration), or any other app that I have configured the way I like on my phone, then I'd click the CP/AA icon.

I understand Rivian wants to provide the best 1st party experience possible, and I agree that the software should be good without needing a connected phone, so I'm willing to give them some leeway during their growth phase.

But to say they should never support CP/AA is promoting anticompetitive behavior. Allowing phone projection could allow Rivian to punt on their built in solutions, but that's a leadership decision. They should strive to compete on merits and make their built in options as good or better than the projection system. And if there is something that they are unable or unwilling to provide (like an independent podcast app available only on iPhone), then CarPlay is there to fill the gap.

I really like WAZE, I can forego CarPlay if I can have WAZE. Seldom will I need trip planning to include enroute charging so a non-EV navigation app is perfect for me

 

[Just Passing By]

So yesterday I had a chance to drive an R2 with 21’s and 20’s back to back. Wow I was disappointed in the ride quality of the R2 on 20’s. Those AT tires gave an audible hum at highway speed and you could feel very road imperfection. I am really disappointed as I planned to go 20’s due to tire options. Now though the ride quality was so differ that I cannot sacrifice the daily comfort.

Ref the bolded part, did you check what the tire pressures were set at as that seems untypical feedback for the 20's? I've read on other forums that vehicles are sometimes handed over to customers with tire pressures set very high because that is how the vehicles are shipped on the car transporters and the dealer didn't reset pressures afterwards. Don't know what Rivian's shipping policy is but maybe worth checking on test drives.

 

[foofoo]

I've got a Model Y and a Gen 1 R1T. My experience based on a test drive of R2:

It's a great vehicle, better than my Tesla. Seems like they should be able to sell as many as they can make. I'm a day 1 reservation holder but am going to wait until the Gen 3 hardware lands to complete the purchase. The second Gen 3 hardware lands, though, I'm going to be fighting to get my R2 asap.

In the meantime, I hope Rivian can fix a bunch of little issues:

• Software still has a long way to go. Rivan's OS still feels behind where Tesla was 4+ years ago, which should shame and embarrass Rivian, given the SDV world where Rivian sits. From a UI perspective, it's awkward. There are three different settings icons: a gear, a chassis, and a car. Admittedly, I'm an idiot, but those all kind of signal the same thing to me. And none of those icons are for adjusting mirrors and seats. For that, you click on your name (duh!). The R1T is predominately my wife's car, so I only drive it a few times a month, but I'm constantly baffled trying to adjust settings because the menu system is confusing.
• More on the software: I haven't charged with OS v2.0, but on my R1T I can't find charging speed represented in kWh, only in miles added per hour, which isn't a universal standard. To see kWh I have to open the app on my phone. Again, I'm an idiot, but at least I'm smart enough to see charging rates in my Tesla.
• Rivian assistant is, IMO, still worse than where Tesla was four or more years ago. The lag is noticeably longer than Tesla's, and for me, the voice-to-text is ok but not great. And Rivian wants to charge $15/mo for it. Tesla's is free, faster, more accurate, and more useful to me because it handles the basics, like navigation, really well.
• I'm not a tall guy, but I can't read the clock on the driver's screen in the R2 because it's blocked by the steering wheel. You know who else likes to see the time? Passengers. Put the clock on the main screen so anyone can see it.
• The haptic wheels are a miss. Great idea, poor execution. The wheels are super sensitive, making it hard to make small adjustments to volume or temperature for instance. And there's an uncomfortable lag. I'd spin the wheel down to take the audio volume to zero, but it would take a second or two for the sound to actually go to zero. It's a weird, uncomfortable lag. And the wheels could have felt premium for a few more bucks. Instead, to me they felt like cheap plastic.
• Speaking of lags, why does it take a 1-2 seconds for the frunk to release after hitting the frunk button? That should be instant.
• Wind and road noise were great until the car hit 75-80 mph. At that point the outside noise became pretty intrusive. If you've ever had a luxury car that nailed NVH, you know what's possible. Man, I would pay serious money for better noise isolation at highway speed.
• Audio quality is the weakest feature of the car, IMO. I'd rate it comparable to an entry-level vehicle, worse than any car I've owned in the past decade. Honestly, I think Rivian trimmed too much here.
• Speaking of audio, the lack of radio is a big deal for many, including myself. Others won't care. I do. Please don't judge me, internet, for my preferences.
• Speaking of noise, the car's HVAC fan was crazy loud. And I'm concerned about the reports that it doesn't cool well enough.
• I tried hands-free driving in the R2, and it put me almost on the shoulder lane line rather than centered in the lane. Not sure if that was a fluke. My Gen 1 R1T centers well on the few roads where it's operable, so maybe it was just a fluke.
• If Rivian's OS were better people wouldn't care about its lack of carplay. @Rivian, I don't know why you're obstinately ignoring customer demand, but I think you at least need to acknowledge customer demand. It exists.

I'm still going to enthusiastically buy an R2. It's a great vehicle, and I appreciate the company is not owned and run by a Bond villian. I just wish Rivian cared more about these things. Despite being a maniacal sociopath, I appreciate that Steve Jobs obsessed about tiny details to get hardware and software dialed in. I think Rivian needs a curmudgeon in charge of these things. Instead of spokespeople touting the virtues of the car, I want someone who complains it's not good enough, that these things bug them too, and that they're going to honestly address these issues.

 

[narmstrong79]

Just finished a test drive. Performance half Moon gray. Hit the highway at 80mph.

In no way did it feel cheap. I take liked the seats, very comfortable. Ride hight was great. Didn't feel small in any way. Ride quality was great. Road noise, was excellent. Music quality was decent.

All that said, I wouldn't "downgrade" from my R1S for an R2, but vs everything in is price class. Much better then the Mach-E I used to own, and unless you're a Tesla person, I would take this over model Y anyway.

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