2 days in new R1S, initial thoughts for new EV owners

[Donald Stanfield]

Thanks for the review! Don't mind the lack of pics, I know what the R1S looks like.

Sounds like you already have a great kid-hauler (and decent off-roader) in the Tahoe, and an awesome trackster in the Corvette. I can see how adding one car that does each of those 80-90% could be disappointing. Albeit, both those cars get 20mpg. It all depends what you care about. For example, you want a comfy ride, don't put it in Sport mode on lowest .

And yeah, at the end of the day, it's a car.

Yup the in one car thing is what got me. Sure I could get better examples of what I love about the Rivian in two cars if I wanted to but then I'd be dealing with two cars. I couldn't have both at the same time and I personally do not like having multiple vehicles that I now have to divide time between in order to get the feeling that I like.

I would drive a sports car exclusively if my lifestyle allowed for it but it doesn't, I have far too many errands to run that require the functionality of a truck. I personally would rather have a truck that gives me that sporty feel so that no matter what I'm doing I can feel sporty even if it's only 90% there or 80% there.

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[moosetags]

We are now 2 months/3,000 miles in with our R1T. Still love it at this point. She has performed flawlessly. We have the 21" road tires. The ride is very good. This is our first EV. No complaints so far.

Brian

 

[the_mace]

Yesterday Rivian dropped off the Ms's new R1S. Black on black on black. Here are my thoughts, in the tint shop today (70% windshield, 20% front windows, 30% rear and 45% sunroof) then she will take over primary duties.

Delivery and purchase:
Pro: Simple, easy, fast and good communication.
Cons: When they delivered it they took a microfiber towel to make it shine and put micro scratches in the black paint. The charger also shipped to our old house (original address when the order was created) and can't seem to resolve that after a week.

Last two days
+ Build quality seems great. I visibly saw no issues with panel gap etc. I also have gotten use to our Tahoe. The germans (BMW) are just better which is what the R1S will replace.
+ I really like the exterior styling. Clean and unique
+ Headlight beam length and quality was way better than I imagined.
+ Fast af. I'm averaging 2.4kWh per mile.
+ Steering wheel and seat adaptability. Steering wheel has a nice feel/thickness.
+ I like the interface. Somethings are a little complicated to find but nothing was as bad as the initial BMW iDrive

- Seats are not comfortable for me, 6-5. The upper seat hits my back between my shoulder bones awkwardly. They look cool though.
- Damping. It's not a German car or even as good as our airshocked Tahoe. When you hit a bump you know it. And its not just stiff. They haven't gotten the elasticity of bushings correct throughout the car - something here will get refined.
- So much glass. I was sitting in the back seat as they ran my wife through setup. Car registered 104 outside and it felt like I needed sunscreen as I was sweating in the back.
- Sport mode on lowest setting feels like your running on bump stops (and Nascar fans?) Clearly some more programming needed. Standard ride is ok though. Not offensive at all.
- Wife and son want running boards, they said the leap out was too much. I changed to kneel mode this AM.

> I jumped in the Tahoe to get the kids this afternoon and said, I don't ever need to drive the Rivian again. This is more comfortable, has HUD, rides better and is as quiet. Also, I have a new second car with 670hp so that probably changes what I need in a primary vehicle. I wanted to be blown away with my first EV but am not.

Overall, for $80k, yeah sure. Hopefully she likes it. I can see a great SUV living under the skin.

No factory option for running boards but 1EV makes good ones that helps for height challenged people. Made a big different to my wife and parents.

Experience very much depends on what you want in a vehicle etc, thanks for sharing.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

FWIW- people who own both and or have driven both have said the R1T rides better than the R1S. Just saying....

This was very similar when I got my Xterra, and my buddy got his Frontier. Both had the same Bilstein suspension setup, but the longer wheel base of the Frontier made it ride smoother all around. I think this is going to be the norm for the T vs the S. Longer wheel bases give the vehicle more time to settle between hits, and the shorter wheel base will tend to feel twitchy no matter what.

 

[MidnightRivian]

I am slowly falling in love with the R1S. Especially after driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland loaner. It has much nicer massaging seats and McIntosh speaker system along with roof shade but thats it.

As Rivian works the kinks out and improves QC. I’m slowly tripling down and quadrupling down on their stock at these levels.

There is not one other SUV out there as capable (quad motor) and powerful (800 HP / 900 lb tq) under $92,000 that can be fueled using solar power.

Eventually I want to use vehicle to home ability to use the vehicle battery as a power backup for the house.

 

[Zybane]

Yesterday Rivian dropped off the Ms's new R1S. Black on black on black. Here are my thoughts, in the tint shop today (70% windshield, 20% front windows, 30% rear and 45% sunroof) then she will take over primary duties.

Delivery and purchase:
Pro: Simple, easy, fast and good communication.
Cons: When they delivered it they took a microfiber towel to make it shine and put micro scratches in the black paint. The charger also shipped to our old house (original address when the order was created) and can't seem to resolve that after a week.

Last two days
+ Build quality seems great. I visibly saw no issues with panel gap etc. I also have gotten use to our Tahoe. The germans (BMW) are just better which is what the R1S will replace.
+ I really like the exterior styling. Clean and unique
+ Headlight beam length and quality was way better than I imagined.
+ Fast af. I'm averaging 2.4kWh per mile.
+ Steering wheel and seat adaptability. Steering wheel has a nice feel/thickness.
+ I like the interface. Somethings are a little complicated to find but nothing was as bad as the initial BMW iDrive

- Seats are not comfortable for me, 6-5. The upper seat hits my back between my shoulder bones awkwardly. They look cool though.
- Damping. It's not a German car or even as good as our airshocked Tahoe. When you hit a bump you know it. And its not just stiff. They haven't gotten the elasticity of bushings correct throughout the car - something here will get refined.
- So much glass. I was sitting in the back seat as they ran my wife through setup. Car registered 104 outside and it felt like I needed sunscreen as I was sweating in the back.
- Sport mode on lowest setting feels like your running on bump stops (and Nascar fans?) Clearly some more programming needed. Standard ride is ok though. Not offensive at all.
- Wife and son want running boards, they said the leap out was too much. I changed to kneel mode this AM.

> I jumped in the Tahoe to get the kids this afternoon and said, I don't ever need to drive the Rivian again. This is more comfortable, has HUD, rides better and is as quiet. Also, I have a new second car with 670hp so that probably changes what I need in a primary vehicle. I wanted to be blown away with my first EV but am not.

Overall, for $80k, yeah sure. Hopefully she likes it. I can see a great SUV living under the skin.

I had almost the same experience as you. I hopped out of the R1S and into my new F150 raptor and the Raptor felt and rode way more comfortable/refined. Granted the Raptor is known to have one of the best vehicle rides for obvious reasons. And the Raptor seats absolutely destroy the Rivians.

 

[cardad]

I heard the review of R1T has better ride than R1S. So I switched my order. No regret.

I think it’s just a matter of time before they get an update out that improves these things. The R1T was pretty bad before the early January or late December 2023 update and something magically changed. Hopefully they are just gathering data for improvements.

 

[1T2022]

Now it makes sense, something indeed happened in December.

 

[Nullogy]

Thanks for sharing! What would you all say or recommend of a large electric SUV that's available in the market that has a comfortable/luxury ride associated with it?

The Model X is more expensive but doesn't necessarily scream luxury either, standard interior and you wouldn't know you're in a $100K+ car, the BMW iX is somewhat luxurious on the inside but the costs are prohibitive in nature, especially with having pre- March 2022 prices locked in for the R1S.

 

[NanshengL]

Already 5000+ miles on my R1S, couple of issues my R1S have:
1. Steering wheel start wobbling around 60+ mph.

2.If I parked R1S more than ~8 hours, the suspension has squeaking sounds when apply brake

3. With 22 rim, the ride quality is way poor compared to my X5 45e.

Switching from X5 45e, to be honest, from a non-offroad user, the only advantage R1S to me are second row leg room and Frunk space.

 

[MidnightRivian]

Already 5000+ miles on my R1S, couple of issues my R1S have:
1. Steering wheel start wobbling around 60+ mph.

2.If I parked R1S more than ~8 hours, the suspension has squeaking sounds when apply brake

3. With 22 rim, the ride quality is way poor compared to my X5 45e.

Switching from X5 45e, to be honest, from a non-offroad user, the only advantage R1S to me are second row leg room and Frunk space.

I would recommend everyone try the 20" All Terrains in sport mode with low setting and stiff suspension. The ride is amazing and handles like its on rails. I come from a sport sedan world and this is a setting / tire combination I get on board with and use 99% of the time.

I normally run UHP AS Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my cars.

The ride quality on the Rivian with 20" AT is amazing. I have tried the 22" and its crap in all settings. I still haven't had a chance to try the 21" but the options available for tires is a major turnoff for 21"

So I always end up back at 20" for 99% of my use.

On track days when it's time to race for pink slips, maybe the 22" have a place in this battle.

 

[SomervilleR1T]

Yeah, my R1T as well.... the ride is "nicer" than our Model 3.

My only small criticism is not regarding ride quality but it's tendency to dive it's front corners down into turns. I guess that could be corrected with some suspension tuning, but at this point it's probably a result of all that weight changing direction from a straight line.

It’s easy to forget that I’m driving (T) a 7,000lb truck until I start pulling 2,700lb Porsche moves. It’s completely stunning when I treat it like a Shelby Cobra though.

 

[SomervilleR1T]

I would recommend everyone try the 20" All Terrains in sport mode with low setting and stiff suspension. The ride is amazing and handles like its on rails. I come from a sport sedan world and this is a setting / tire combination I get on board with and use 99% of the time.

I normally run UHP AS Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my cars.

The ride quality on the Rivian with 20" AT is amazing. I have tried the 22" and its crap in all settings. I still haven't had a chance to try the 21" but the options available for tires is a major turnoff for 21"

So I always end up back at 20" for 99% of my use.

On track days when it's time to race for pink slips, maybe the 22" have a place in this battle.

AT’s are definitely stickier but they will get eaten by a 7,000 beast with 800+ hp and you should have a massive smile on your face even when putting new tires on it.
For reference, a friend took his t with 20’s on a 12k road trip right after purchase. He ran conserve and high regen and ate his front tires (only fronts) in 10k! It’s also a lot louder, 6 db to be exact. He’s contemplating a second set of rims with the 21’s for the noise reduction and ease of switching summer to winter himself. But I agree that 20’s have more tire options.

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