Crossed 2000 miles and nearly 100 hours in the R2... all I can say is I am happy with my purchase

[starbux]

The low bit in the beggining was when it started tracking me while I was in Tahuya. The middle where nothing was being tracked was a combo of being in service for the subwoofer dying and being at the detail shop for tint and ceramic coating for a few days along with PDR from bouncing it off a tree. This thing just floats on the road in a good way. Coming from 2 R1T into more of a small suv/cuv and mild all terrains I feel like I can drive around town so much easier now.

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[rvnxyz001]

I'm surprised how owners of luxury r1 easily switch to mainstream r2. Are those really similar in terms of interior materials and features? What makes r1* twice more expensive (excluding internals)?

I didn't drive any of them, just took a quick look at an R1 interior once. I haven't spent much time with it, but my first impression was that it felt way better than the R2.

 

[CrazyOne]

I'm surprised how owners of luxury r1 easily switch to mainstream r2. Are those really similar in terms of interior materials and features? What makes r1* twice more expensive (excluding internals)?

I didn't drive any of them, just took a quick look at an R1 interior once. I haven't spent much time with it, but my first impression was that it felt way better than the R2.

I read that G1 Quad had 4 x $5000 motors from Bosch. That's $20,000. And the air suspension + hydraulic dampers.

 

[rvnxyz001]

I read that G1 Quad had 4 x $5000 motors from Bosch. That's $20,000. And the air suspension + hydraulic dampers.

I mean interior should be way better

 

[strykerwsu]

I'm surprised how owners of luxury r1 easily switch to mainstream r2. Are those really similar in terms of interior materials and features? What makes r1* twice more expensive (excluding internals)?

I didn't drive any of them, just took a quick look at an R1 interior once. I haven't spent much time with it, but my first impression was that it felt way better than the R2.

R1's aren't luxury, they are a Swiss army knife (Comfortable, Super Fast, Very Trailworthy) with very nice interiors/features. Overall nicer than R2, but R2 is very similar for interior overall. Luxury was not the selling point for them at all. Many posts over the years about Luxury discussion.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I'm surprised how owners of luxury r1 easily switch to mainstream r2. Are those really similar in terms of interior materials and features? What makes r1* twice more expensive (excluding internals)?

I didn't drive any of them, just took a quick look at an R1 interior once. I haven't spent much time with it, but my first impression was that it felt way better than the R2.

My R1 interior is definitely nicer, but I'm in a car to drive it, not to look at the interior.

Occasionally when I drive my wife's Gen1 R1S, the suspension decides to take forever to come out of kneel mode. It's awful when that happens, the dampers practically lock up to prevent you from bottoming them out repeatedly and potentially damaging them.

I think the issue is a result of the car coming out of kneel, and going right back into it, then out of it again. The compressor tank isn't big enough to do that twice without having to run the compressor to keep up with it. Might be possible for Rivian to somewhat reduce the likelihood of it happening if they are more aggressive at keeping the tank topped up here, but I haven't investigated it enough to care.

I'm enjoying the greatly reduced complexity for this situation. R2's seating is around the same height as an R1 in kneel. Maybe even slightly lower (I haven't measured). Suspension travel is still great for the summer time condition of our gravel roads. I might hate it come fall/winter when they tend to have much larger holes and worse washboard.

 

[rvnxyz001]

R1's aren't luxury, they are a Swiss army knife (Comfortable, Super Fast, Very Trailworthy) with very nice interiors/features. Overall nicer than R2, but R2 is very similar for interior overall. Luxury was not the selling point for them at all. Many posts over the years about Luxury discussion.

I don't know, it felt like a very luxurious car when I saw the R1 interior right after the R2. Huge difference in all components. That's why I'm surprised how many people traded their R1 for an R2.

 

[ksurfier]

I'm surprised how owners of luxury r1 easily switch to mainstream r2. Are those really similar in terms of interior materials and features? What makes r1* twice more expensive (excluding internals)?

I didn't drive any of them, just took a quick look at an R1 interior once. I haven't spent much time with it, but my first impression was that it felt way better than the R2.

For anyone with 2022/2023 R1, many are starting to worry about the maintenance/upkeep when the warranty is up…they can almost upgrade for free to the R2, for many that simply don’t need the size/capabilities it prob. makes a lot of sense…

 

[rvnxyz001]

Okay, so switching from R1 to R2 does not feel like going from a Lexus GX550 Overtrail Plus to a 4Runner, it seems. Good to know.

 

[Millbarge]

Rivian reduced the manufacturing cost of the R2 by over 50% compared to the R1 series through extensive structural redesigns, consolidated electronics, and optimized manufacturing processes. Key changes include shifting to a unibody structure where the battery pack forms the floor, utilizing large high-pressure die castings, and streamlining electrical architecture and drive units. [1, 2, 3, 4]



Structural & Body Innovations

• Unibody & Structural Battery: Switched to a unibody design where the battery pack doubles as the vehicle floor pan, saving space and eliminating redundant materials.
• Large Die Castings: Utilizes massive high-pressure die castings in the underbody, reducing the total part count in that area by over 90% and cutting chassis costs by 30%.
• In-House Components: Molded the front apron panel and front-end module in-house (saving $316 per vehicle) and built custom microprocessors/controllers rather than buying expensive supplier units. [3]

Mechanical & Suspension Changes

• MacPherson Strut Suspension: Replaced the expensive double-wishbone front setup from the R1 with a MacPherson strut configuration, generating a 70% cost reduction in the suspension module.
• Maximus Drive Units: Developed a new drive unit featuring 41% to 43% fewer parts than previous Enduro units, with an integrated side-mounted inverter that shares coolant routing.
• Optimized Doors & Glass: Redesigned rear doors to decrease part counts by 65%, and lowered windshield expenses significantly through direct sourcing leverage. [4, 6]

Electrical & Wiring Reductions

• Zonal Architecture: Consolidated computers and electrical zones, cutting total wiring harness length by 2.3 miles and reducing inline connectors by over 60%.
• Power Conversion Consolidation: Combined a five-unit high-voltage power conversion setup into a single integrated module, achieving a 70% reduction in expensive high-voltage cabling. [1, 5]

Would you like to explore how these cost-saving measures impact the R2's off-road performance compared to the R1, or look into the production timeline and trim pricing?
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq7H4b85ueM
[2] https://gagadget.com/en/708380-rivian-cut-r2-manufacturing-costs-in-half-heres-how/
[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/edgarsten/2026/07/16/rivian-uses-creative-subtraction-to-add-features-to-the-new-r2/
[4] https://www.rivianforums.com/r2-production-costs-less-than-half-of-r1-heres-how/
[5] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marinamhoffmann_heres-how-rivian-made-the-r2-cost-half-as-activity-7458571828945592320-1vJ0
[6] https://autos.yahoo.com/ev-and-future-tech/articles/rivian-r2-costs-half-much-191312684.html

 

[iamnid]

Okay, so switching from R1 to R2 does not feel like going from a Lexus GX550 Overtrail Plus to a 4Runner, it seems. Good to know.

I have an R1S (albeit the base model). I came away from my R2 test drive with the impression that it was just as nice, and in many ways nicer, as compared to my R1S. I will be one of those people switching to an R2 as soon as I'm allowed to order coastal cloud. The air suspension, while complex, is clunky, slow, and noisy. The interior of the R1S looks nice but touch the door handles (on the inside) and you can feel how cheap and creaky they are (on the outside the door handles are loud and squeaky). The R2 felt, overall, much better put together than the R1S.

 

[dcdttu]

Either I've seen the sub break on multiple vehicles, or it's the same 1 or 2 people who's articles I'm reading.

Did they tell you what was wrong with it?

 

[CrazyOne]

I mean interior should be way better

Different people, different strokes. I would prefer something with Android Auto and a civic interior, if it meant that I can have a quad for the price of a dual. I still want it to be quiet and comfortable.Rivian is clearly not a luxury first vehicle.

Also, how did you arrive at twice the price? Most expensive R1?

 

[Rade]

These are the BEST pancakes!

 

[rvnxyz001]

Also, how did you arrive at twice the price? Most expensive R1?

R2 is 45k level vehicle , this is what rivian said , and r1 starts from ~80k , so almost twice

And rj in interview with motortrend confirms this

"The interior on the R2 is a much cheaper interior than what we have on R1. It’s less than half the cost, but it still feels really premium"

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