Finished R2 demo test drive? Share your review / impressions

[mellowthecat]

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.

Many people on Reddit commenting about the AC not being adequate to cool cabin

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[emroch]

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

The problem with that response is that we can't expect the whole Android/iOS app ecosystem to be ported to Rivian OS. The indie developers who make niche apps on the phone are not ever going to have native car apps. So yeah, we can carve away bits of the population by adding the heavy hitters like Google Maps/Waze, or Apple Music, but there will always be reason to want the phone ecosystems.

I'm not sure exactly how the vehicle integration works, but CarPlay and Android Auto do have a way for the car to present stats to the phone, and Apple and Google Maps do support EV routing. So although you don't need it currently, it's possible that much of the native navigation experience could be replaced by Apple Maps/Google Maps (maybe Waze at some point?).

Which also makes it feel a lot more anti-competitive and defensive to not offer CP/AA. It projects insecurity that people will abandon the 1st party option, but that's really should just motivate them to implement compelling experiences without blocking others from doing the same.

 

[Thebandit]

So I checked one out in person today, though they didn't have a demo available to drive.

I think I might be a convert that Carplay/Android Auto is not necessary. The maps UI is so much better and faster than what Android Auto offers I think I get it. You just can't do that with AA.

I'll just have to do a magsafe phone mount and use Bluetooth for my audiobooks and maybe podcasts.

 

[emroch]

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 clock and weather are both shown on the top left of the main screen, just below the profile circle.

I only spent a few minutes playing with the seat and steering wheel, so might not have gotten it dialed in perfectly, but I'm 5'11" and the steering wheel still clipped the top corners of the drivers screen for me. I'm less concerned about the time because it's on the main screen, but it seems the left side has warning/status icons. The overall area that's clipped is honestly not that significant, and slight movement of my head or the wheel reveals the hidden area, so I'm not really worried about 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.

I agree that the weight of the wheels could be better. They don't feel like they look. As for the haptics and response, they will continue to be tuned and get better. There were definitely glitches in the vehicle I was in, but it's all software defined so they can improve over time.

If Rivian's OS were better people wouldn't care about its lack of carplay.

The argument for or against CarPlay/Android Auto should not be the quality of Rivian OS. I've mentioned this in other replies, but even if Rivian OS was the most beautiful, functional, and feature rich infotainment system you could imagine, there will always be something I want my phone to handle. An indie app only available from my phone, a service that doesn't sync between phone and car (imagine if your audiobook or podcast didn't know where you were), or an AI assistant with specific context. Our phones are the centerpiece of our lives and we shouldn't have to choose the services we use based on what integrates with the car we have when there's a system that could let us use our phones directly.

 

[DuoRivian]

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.

Amazed you are “enthusiastically” still planning to buy an R3 with such a litany of issues, some of which are self described big deals.

 

[JediKnight]

Just came back from a R2 demo drive from the Rivian showroom at Santana Row in San Jose.

For the test drive, this Rivian location outlined a pre-defined route that took about 20 minutes. It consisted of some freeway driving (880 N and then 280 S) and then some city driving. It was a Half Moon Grey R2 with 21" all-season tires

My impressions were:

• Ride quality was very comfortable (All-Purpose mode). Didn't have a chance to try Conserve or Sport mode
• Acceleration (as others have noted) is really impressive
• Being able to roll down the rear window is really nice
• Build quality seemed good. Didn't notice any glaring issues
• OS is very quick and responsive
• I did listen to Apple Music streaming and it was fine. The music that played was a mixture of some pop, country and hip-hop. Not an audiophile, so more discerning listeners may feel otherwise

Some drawbacks:

• Opening the frunk is really loud. It startled a few folks in the showroom
• The sound when having the turn signal on is extremely loud and annoying
• Sometimes trying roll-down the rear window pressing the "hamburger" icon didn't always roll down the window
• Couple of times pressing the "hamburger" icon to open the frunk didn't always work
• The haptic wheels feel "plasticky" - most likely cost savings
• Clicking the haptic wheels "inside out" worked and felt normal. I then tried clicking the haptic wheels "outside in" didn't work (or maybe I wasn't doing the right thing) - need to spend more time on that

Forgot to try adjusting the AC and try the seat cooling feature. The temperature was about 85 degrees in San Jose.

Really liked the car and got some thinking to do

 

[Motinda]

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.

Same thing happened to me.

 

[mkhuffman]

The problem with that response is that we can't expect the whole Android/iOS app ecosystem to be ported to Rivian OS. The indie developers who make niche apps on the phone are not ever going to have native car apps. So yeah, we can carve away bits of the population by adding the heavy hitters like Google Maps/Waze, or Apple Music, but there will always be reason to want the phone ecosystems.

I'm not sure exactly how the vehicle integration works, but CarPlay and Android Auto do have a way for the car to present stats to the phone, and Apple and Google Maps do support EV routing. So although you don't need it currently, it's possible that much of the native navigation experience could be replaced by Apple Maps/Google Maps (maybe Waze at some point?).

Which also makes it feel a lot more anti-competitive and defensive to not offer CP/AA. It projects insecurity that people will abandon the 1st party option, but that's really should just motivate them to implement compelling experiences without blocking others from doing the same.

My Mach-e had industry leading AA integration. AA Google maps in the Mach-e are able to predict what the SoC will be at arrival. And using AA also initiates preconditioning when approaching the charging location.

So I know how good it can be. And I don't care that Rivian has rejected that integration.

Rivian has done an excellent job providing everything I really need in their infotainment system, and it uses Google maps for navigating. The one thing I miss is the ability to report speed traps and road hazards.

Meh. I just run the navigation on my phone at the same time. I like having my phone up in front of me anyway.

If AA/CP integration is a big deal to you, don't buy a Rivian. Move on and shut your pie hole. It is a waste of breath to complain about it.

 

[Husky]

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.

That looks like the SC in Hudson, NH. We must be fairly close

 

[emroch]

If AA/CP integration is a big deal to you, don't buy a Rivian. Move on and shut your pie hole. It is a waste of breath to complain about it

Whoa, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I never said it was a deal breaker. I am an enthusiastic R2 reservation holder and am ready to give Rivian money the minute my reservation gets called.

Am I disappointed in the fact I'll have to work around the lack of CarPlay? Absolutely.

Did I also say I understand that they should be focusing on 1st party software quality during this growth phase? Sure did.

Does that mean I can't continue to advocate for the future where they might add support, and criticize the "not now, not ever" mentality? Man, I hope not.

If you're happy never having the option of CP/AA in a vehicle from Rivian, then I love that for you. But that doesn't mean I and others can't maintain hope that one day we might get the option.

 

[narmstrong79]

That looks like the SC in Hudson, NH. We must be fairly close

Yes! this was Hudson, in I'm Hampstead area about 30 mins down 111

 

[one44]

Went for a test drive earlier this morning at KOP. They asked that you only take 15 minutes, and as I arrived a bit late, I tried to keep to that time slot. It was tough to get a good feel for everything within the time you had, but this is the second time I explored the R2 in person after attending one of the events in May.

For context I have a R1T and my wife has a R1S. Previously I had a Model 3 and my wife had a Model Y. I’ve been driving electric since 18’.

A couple of things did stick out to me though.

Good:

• Opening all windows and driving for a bit was fun and something I can see myself doing even though I rarely drive with windows down today.
• Regen felt a tad stronger than R1…nice.
• The R2 felt more responsive and agile than the R1s, closer in feel to a Tesla I think. Limited time of course, but it felt like I could throw it around a bit more without caring for the size of the car.
• That back seat still amazes me as a tall person. I’ve never had that much space in a car when placing the driver seat in my seating position.

Questionable, leaning toward bad:

• I logged into Apple Music for a bit and played a couple of songs. It got decently loud - perhaps louder than the Gen 2 R1S we have - but the music felt…shrouded in fog. I think I saw someone else on here or on Reddit say something similar - that the audio quality felt like it was listening to your music covered by a plastic bowl or something. It just felt off. I’d need to listen to it more and really hope this is software, but man…as someone who needs quality speakers (R1T Gen 1 is at least decent if not as good as the Model 3 was) and prioritizes music…this worries me.
• The driver seat felt off. I’m tall (6‘ 4”) and love the R1 seats. I sat in a couple R2s in May and thought the seats felt the same. These were pre-production models though. Today…it felt wrong to the point where it felt uncomfortable while driving. The section where the seats break towards your shoulder hit my upper back. It seems Rivian bolstered this area more in this seat where it pushes into my upper back a bit, making my upper shoulder area push forward and not as relaxed as on R1. This also worries me - before ordering I need to sit in a production version R2 again to see if there was something off here. I tried messing with recline even after parking and the lumbar support, etc and it still felt off. Not horrible, but also not great. May be able to live with it, but didn’t expect this at all.

Overall, the test drive made me question things more than I thought it would. There’s parts that I love but also parts that concern me. May be considering buying out the R1T or exploring a new R1T after all, but I’ll still consider the R2 if I hear audio improvements are being made and if I get to figure out what’s going on with the driver’s seat.

 

[NinjaWrap]

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.

This is the only review I’ve read (or watched) that was very negative aside from the common criticisms of the sound system and AC. As someone who has only owned Teslas for the past 8 years I’m actually surprised at some of these comments.

 

[Jeremy3292]

It’s been 95-99 here in SC the last few days and I don’t think my Highland Model 3 AC is that great tbh. You gotta let that thing run on high for awhile before it gets it adequate. Can’t wait to test drive the R2 and see. Unfortunately it won’t be for another 2 weeks as there isn’t one around me. Have to wait til I get to Richmond visiting family to go!

 

[Apprunner]

I had a test drive this afternoon and a couple things stood out. It had a couple rattles and the car was pretty quiet until you hit the highway around 80mph then it got pretty noisy (21 inch wheels).

In terms of performance, it was actually pretty meh until it hit 45mph then it hit pretty good. It almost felt like a turbo boost. If you are coming from a Model 3 Performance (Highland) or Ioniq 5N, the speed won't be that impressive. I wish they released the tri-motor. I launched the car repeatedly to 80mph too.

In terms of handling...it was actually pretty damn good for something so tall and big. Tires really restricted the limits. They got the handling and ride quality balance perfectly. The visibility was also really great. I hit the onramp really hard and started accelerating rapidly to 80mph and saw a highway patrol a couple cars back and let off immediately. Really easy to see cars (and cops!) through the rear window.

The interior was really nice and the haptics were pretty fun to play with but its kinda clunky in its current iteration. Software iterations should help immensely though so I wouldn't be worried. When they get those haptics perfect, it will be the best interface on the market.

Overall, I'm tempted to get a launch edition but ultimately, it feels kinda beta and I went through the beta phase with Tesla before. I think I'll wait and see if they release an R2X before pulling the trigger. I think those that get the LE will really enjoy the exciting times ahead. The car itself is much more interesting than a Model Y IMO.

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