2nd week owning...new R1S owner review

[zor]

did a weekend trip from inland empire to santa barbara - a 290 mile roundtrip. we have an R1S with 22" wheels. When in all-purpose (AP) mode the ride does feel great, albeit, with the slate of negative issues that come along with riding on 22" wheels vs the chubby 20" wheels/tires. in conserve mode you will feel a rough ride...this is most noticeable going over any bumps. there IS a difference in efficiency between AP mode and Conserve mode that requires you to use BOTH. on city streets or in stop and go traffic you must use AP mode to ensure you have 4 wheels moving your heavy ass R1s. if you are in Conserve mode- which only uses the 2 front wheels - you will be moving 8500 lbs from a dead stop using your 2 front wheels and those tires will wear bad. if you have a heavy foot, i believe this is a major issue. so you will find yourself using AP mode most of the time inside a city and once you get onto a highway or freeway you need to move to Conserve mode. The car will lower, you can go to lowest height for max efficiency but also a rougher ride- that's the rub. While I added 80 miles in Santa Barbara before heading back home I'm CERTAIN I could have made it home with about 8-10 miles left. I left home with a full charge and had 320 miles in Conserve mode when I left home. I had the A/C on in the front, the middle and the back and I had the seats blasting air in front and middle seats. We also own a Tesla Y Long Range and I can attest to the fact that Rivian does a much better job representing its mileage and efficiency. Yes, Tesla Y, only has 75kwh vs Rivian's 135 and it is much more efficient than the Rivian but our Tesla has always done a horrible job with estimating miles. It felt great seeing mileage being treated more like normal mileage with the R1S. So I was very happy with the efficiency given its impressive weight on about 9:1 freeway to city streets on 22" wheels. One thing though.....Rivian needs to figure out how to automate the switch from AP mode to Conserve so it happens automatically with an option to disable this function.

The car handles great...very responsive but not as responsive as Tesla Y. Not sure you want it more responsive, though... Not sure you want the SUV handling like a go-kart although it starts kind of feeling like it when you drop it to its lowest height and go Sport mode.

Getting into and out of the R1S was kind of a pain. There's something about its entry that isn't made for typical entry. Cannot be fixed. I enter head first now and kind of jump/slide onto the seat. It's not graceful at all...I'm 6'0 and 290...so I'm a big boy anyway but I don't have this issue with Tesla Y or Honda Pilot. Once inside I am way comfortable. Also, I don't think the weight has anything to do with it...I think the issue would present itself to anyone 5'10 or above. The R1S is pretty high up in Standard for my wife to get in easily. She's about 5'4" and she struggled a bit to get in when the R1S was in High or Standard...but found it was much easier in Low and/or Lowest.

Bummer the mirror doesn't save its position along with seat, mirrors and steering wheel!
The 80 miles I added was at an Electrify America. I expected crap service but actually found the UI quick and the charging very fast. It was a 150kwh+ station.

The infotainment UI left MUCH to be desired. I'm sorry...perhaps for those new to EVs it is great but coming from Tesla the infotainment experience lags behind Tesla. Granted, Musk and his group have had over 10 years to refine the UI but I feel Rivian should have made a lot more progress given they have an inhouse team of developers and aren't using Apple's Carplay. Rivian has/had a chance to blow Tesla out of the water and I can say it fell short. I now the excuses will pour in...."Rivian is new", "They are pumping out a lot of updates", etc. Perhaps it bit off more than it could chew with doing most of everything inhouse. The Spotify experience on Tesla was already kind of crappy...but with Rivian it's just a little more crappier. I am not familiar with what APIs Spotify offers developers but perhaps it's very limited. Rivian and everyone else should pressure Spotify, in this case, to open up the API to be more functional for the good of Spotify subscribers. The Map.... hmmm.....love and hate. I definitely like the map MUCH MORE than the Tesla version. I love the layout. It is very functional. There was a moment where it couldn't retrive the route. I love ALEXA and its integration with R1S infotainment....Rivian must expand compatibility! Maps need to be able to label favorites, need to be faster, need to be able to add stops along the way.

Not sure how but there were 2 times when the R1S was slowly rolling back and I had to hit the brake.

The infotainment screen blacked out and apparently restarted once.

When pulling into a charging station the R1S should probably open charge port automatically with popup to close it as an option (or auto close after 1 min).
INFOTAINMENT NO STREAMING APPS! no netflix, no youtube, no hulu!

INFOTAINMENT no web browser, no searching for something on web browser, can't ask alexa to search for lyrics while listening to a song because of no browser!

Visibility is great inside car....great job Rivian.

NO PC connectivity to car? Tesla does have this.

This is it for now...getting sleepy/ zzz

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[Zoidz]

...
I love ALEXA and its integration with R1S infotainment....Rivian must expand compatibility! Maps need to be able to label favorites, need to be faster, need to be able to add stops along the way.
Not sure how but there were 2 times when the R1S was slowly rolling back and I had to hit the brake.
...

This is it for now...getting sleepy/ zzz

Thanks for the detailed write up.

I agree, I would like to see Alexa get smarter. I don't recall specifics, but there have been several reasonable requests I have made to Alexa and got the response "That function is not available on your vehicle" or something like. I might have asked Alexa to change the wiper speed, I think?

Rolling backwards? That's concerning. I don't recall hearing that complaint before. My driveway entrance at the road is a 7% grade. I stop there to get the mail. I sure don't want it rolling backwards!

 

[AxelR]

Ours rolls backward or forward as well.
I've taken it to service for it. No changes.
Just get used to apply the brakes until they figure out a fix/update.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Hey look, another "the infotainment isn't as good as Tesla comment". When was Tesla founded? How long have they been improving their infotainment? To declare that Rivian should be where Tesla is simply ignores the massive head start Tesla has over everyone else. IMO the Rivian software stack is better than ALL legacy auto and most other manufacturers as well. It's not that Rivian is new so they get a pass, it's that Rivian is better than most of the other manufacturers now just not better than the leader in that entire industry and it's not very realistic to expect them to be.

 

[zor]

Hey look, another "the infotainment isn't as good as Tesla comment". When was Tesla founded? How long have they been improving their infotainment? To declare that Rivian should be where Tesla is simply ignores the massive head start Tesla has over everyone else. IMO the Rivian software stack is better than ALL legacy auto and most other manufacturers as well. It's not that Rivian is new so they get a pass, it's that Rivian is better than most of the other manufacturers now just not better than the leader in that entire industry and it's not very realistic to expect them to be.

you don't need to take the position to defend Rivian no matter what. it is valid feedback and I added the disclaimer, anyway, that Tesla had many years ahead of Rivian. That doesn't mean Rivian is going to stay 10 years behind Tesla permanently. Rivian was in a position to evaluate how to build out their UI and they had to choose what to copy from Tesla and others and where to go on its own. It's a question of timing and money because if you're going to go at it alone then you better have a refined UI by the time you're delivering your vehicles. Rivian has a good UI but it's not great...this is fact. They did some great things like the 360 birds eye view...great. They did a number of things that only make sense on an R1....all the driving modes. OK. How do they compare to everyone else in the things we, as drivers, use every day? GPS and maps...audio....communications and entertainment? Using the screen to control AC, lights, hood and liftgate? Is it intuitive? Is it the best we can hope for? As I said before, Rivian was in a position to choose HOW to invest their time and money in the UI, where to go all native and where to license and where to copy others..... It's my opinion they bit off more than they can chew because they chose to not license any apps or platforms (well they are using Android Automotive, right?). As a result, they're now delivering R1T and R1S EVs and the UI is behind in many respects to the only other EV standard out there. Rivian COULD have copied and improved on what Tesla has and, while I admire the fact they chose to try to go at it from scratch here were are with what UI we have today. No web browser, no video streaming, no entertainment and mediocre audio apps. The video is also subpar to Tesla's as well as the cameras. Again, this is what they chose to go with. If they had bigger plans and didn't deliver then let's accept that...they bit off more than they can chew. Software isn't easy - I was in software development for over 2 decades and it's very difficult to build from scratch and rely on 3rd party APIs as well. No one gets into ANY industry to do less than the competition....that's like the #1 rule...if you're going to disrupt any industry you better come with something better...not subpar, not equal - better. The "Rivian software stack"?? What exactly do you mean by this? How are you even quantifying that it is better than the competition? It is, in fact, only in competition against one other infotainment...Tesla's. It is the standard to beat and it missed the mark. I'll defend Rivian where it deserves it...I love this f'n car....and I love the brand...but let's be honest with each other.

If Rivian is listening: you need to do better. Your infotainment developers need to code faster, your software team needs to adopt what users want much faster, and these features need to be rolled out asap. You're letting all these new R1 owners experience something subpar with infotainment and spoil future sales because of the high expectations we have vs the mediocre reality. You have the industry standard to compare with...beat it!


***UPDATE*** the f'n Polestar 2 comes with Vivaldi....a browser for Android Automative. Looks like they beat Rivian on this.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

you don't need to take the position to defend Rivian no matter what. it is valid feedback and I added the disclaimer, anyway, that Tesla had many years ahead of Rivian. That doesn't mean Rivian is going to stay 10 years behind Tesla permanently. Rivian was in a position to evaluate how to build out their UI and they had to choose what to copy from Tesla and others and where to go on its own. It's a question of timing and money because if you're going to go at it alone then you better have a refined UI by the time you're delivering your vehicles. Rivian has a good UI but it's not great...this is fact. They did some great things like the 360 birds eye view...great. They did a number of things that only make sense on an R1....all the driving modes. OK. How do they compare to everyone else in the things we, as drivers, use every day? GPS and maps...audio....communications and entertainment? Using the screen to control AC, lights, hood and liftgate? Is it intuitive? Is it the best we can hope for? As I said before, Rivian was in a position to choose HOW to invest their time and money in the UI, where to go all native and where to license and where to copy others..... It's my opinion they bit off more than they can chew because they chose to not license any apps or platforms (well they are using Android Automotive, right?). As a result, they're now delivering R1T and R1S EVs and the UI is behind in many respects to the only other EV standard out there. Rivian COULD have copied and improved on what Tesla has and, while I admire the fact they chose to try to go at it from scratch here were are with what UI we have today. No web browser, no video streaming, no entertainment and mediocre audio apps. The video is also subpar to Tesla's as well as the cameras. Again, this is what they chose to go with. If they had bigger plans and didn't deliver then let's accept that...they bit off more than they can chew. Software isn't easy - I was in software development for over 2 decades and it's very difficult to build from scratch and rely on 3rd party APIs as well. No one gets into ANY industry to do less than the competition....that's like the #1 rule...if you're going to disrupt any industry you better come with something better...not subpar, not equal - better. The "Rivian software stack"?? What exactly do you mean by this? How are you even quantifying that it is better than the competition? It is, in fact, only in competition against one other infotainment...Tesla's. It is the standard to beat and it missed the mark. I'll defend Rivian where it deserves it...I love this f'n car....and I love the brand...but let's be honest with each other.

If Rivian is listening: you need to do better. Your infotainment developers need to code faster, your software team needs to adopt what users want much faster, and these features need to be rolled out asap. You're letting all these new R1 owners experience something subpar with infotainment and spoil future sales because of the high expectations we have vs the mediocre reality. You have the industry standard to compare with...beat it!


***UPDATE*** the f'n Polestar 2 comes with Vivaldi....a browser for Android Automative. Looks like they beat Rivian on this.

Tesla, the standard which you are comparing the Rivian to, did the exact same thing development wise as Rivian is doing now. Since, by your own admission, that turned out pretty well it makes sense for Rivian to do so as well. I'm not defending Rivian no matter what, I'm just being realistic and not acting like their software is some unusable piece of shit when that's far from an accurate description.

 

[darren1f]

Love this overview. We are going into our 3rd week with our R1S, and I feel as if this could have been written by me.

On day 3, I did a 500 mile round trip from NYC to DC and back. It was quite an initiation. I completely get what you're saying about going back and forth between All Purpose and Conserve. Around town in Conserve, I was constantly chirping the front tires no matter how delicate I was with the go pedal. But on my return drive back to NY, Conserve mode netted me a 2.9 mile/kWh in mixed I95 traffic, which is pretty astonishing. No matter how much I tried, I've never been able to hit the rated range in any Tesla when highway miles were involved. Maybe 90-95%, but never 100%-plus efficiency. Kudos to Rivian for that.

We sold our Model Y to make room for our R1S, and we still have our beloved '22 Model X. Both Teslas feel more planted and nimble than the R1S. Even though the R1S is quicker, the throttle programming is less aggressive. That makes it more pleasant for passengers. Like having the Model X in "chill" mode... until you bury your foot, then the R1S is a rocket. After years of driving Teslas, Audis and BMW's with stiff suspension tuning that feels like it is intended for a Nuremberg ring chicane, there's something that I really enjoy about driving a taller truck with a long hood and real suspension travel that could do some serious off-roading. Or at least tackle our gravel driveway after a hurricane.

I'm constantly hitting my head on the A pillar. I don't know what it is about the R1, but I have to be careful when getting in and out.

I'm super disappointed with the whole public charging experience. I've already whined on and on about that in another thread. So I won't go into it here too.

I don't have a huge issue with the Infotainment system. Yeah, there are functions I would move around and features that could easily be added. The trip planner and charger availability is atrocious, which we should expect to be greatly improved with ABRP. For the most part I find the UX to be solid. I'm no fan of CarPlay, and get why Rivian and Tesla want to own the customer experience and data and not be inextricably linked to Apple. I could go for some streaming video capabilities. But as long as Rivian has a regular cadence of updates, I won't get cranky about it.

The bigger problem that does make me cranky and should be addressed immediately IMHO, is with the app. Which is, for the lack of better words, amateurish AF. Rivian should simply reskin Teslas app design and functionality. Maybe add an extra bell or whistle. There isn't much competitive research needed beyond that.

I appreciate Alexa integration, but would like the voice of the nav prompts to match. I switch the voice of every Alexa device in my homes to an Aussie accent. I find it to be much more pleasant and less nagging than the standard voice. I have a visceral reaction to the navigation voice every time she speaks. I'm sure Freud would have a word to say about that.

It is a bug magnet. Seriously, bugs get sucked onto the blunt front of this thing more than any other vehicle I've ever owned. PPF, ceramic coating and detail spray on the front after every wash is a must so that the little corpses don't get baked into the paint!

In DC, MD and VA, you don't see any Rivians, and certainly no R1S's yet. I must have had five people ask about the R1S each day. As in, full length conversations, questions and walkarounds. It was exhausting. Rivians are much more common in my area of NY, where I mostly just get compliments every couple days.

Other than a trim piece and some dashboard scratches I discovered on delivery day, and a dashboard squeak that has appeared now the weather got colder this week, the R1S has been rock solid. Those are scheduled to be addressed by a home visit next week.

Overall, I love this beast!

 

[EVfanboy]

Love this overview. We are going into our 3rd week with our R1S, and I feel as if this could have been written by me.

On day 3, I did a 500 mile round trip from NYC to DC and back. It was quite an initiation. I completely get what you're saying about going back and forth between All Purpose and Conserve. Around town in Conserve, I was constantly chirping the front tires no matter how delicate I was with the go pedal. But on my return drive back to NY, Conserve mode netted me a 2.9 mile/kWh in mixed I95 traffic, which is pretty astonishing. No matter how much I tried, I've never been able to hit the rated range in any Tesla when highway miles were involved. Maybe 90-95%, but never 100%-plus efficiency. Kudos to Rivian for that.

We sold our Model Y to make room for our R1S, and we still have our beloved '22 Model X. Both Teslas feel more planted and nimble than the R1S. Even though the R1S is quicker, the throttle programming is less aggressive. That makes it more pleasant for passengers. Like having the Model X in "chill" mode... until you bury your foot, then the R1S is a rocket. After years of driving Teslas, Audis and BMW's with stiff suspension tuning that feels like it is intended for a Nuremberg ring chicane, there's something that I really enjoy about driving a taller truck with a long hood and real suspension travel that could do some serious off-roading. Or at least tackle our gravel driveway after a hurricane.

I'm constantly hitting my head on the A pillar. I don't know what it is about the R1, but I have to be careful when getting in and out.

I'm super disappointed with the whole public charging experience. I've already whined on and on about that in another thread. So I won't go into it here too.

I don't have a huge issue with the Infotainment system. Yeah, there are functions I would move around and features that could easily be added. The trip planner and charger availability is atrocious, which we should expect to be greatly improved with ABRP. For the most part I find the UX to be solid. I'm no fan of CarPlay, and get why Rivian and Tesla want to own the customer experience and data and not be inextricably linked to Apple. I could go for some streaming video capabilities. But as long as Rivian has a regular cadence of updates, I won't get cranky about it.

The bigger problem that does make me cranky and should be addressed immediately IMHO, is with the app. Which is, for the lack of better words, amateurish AF. Rivian should simply reskin Teslas app design and functionality. Maybe add an extra bell or whistle. There isn't much competitive research needed beyond that.

I appreciate Alexa integration, but would like the voice of the nav prompts to match. I switch the voice of every Alexa device in my homes to an Aussie accent. I find it to be much more pleasant and less nagging than the standard voice. I have a visceral reaction to the navigation voice every time she speaks. I'm sure Freud would have a word to say about that.

It is a bug magnet. Seriously, bugs get sucked onto the blunt front of this thing more than any other vehicle I've ever owned. PPF, ceramic coating and detail spray on the front after every wash is a must so that the little corpses don't get baked into the paint!

In DC, MD and VA, you don't see any Rivians, and certainly no R1S's yet. I must have had five people ask about the R1S each day. As in, full length conversations, questions and walkarounds. It was exhausting. Rivians are much more common in my area of NY, where I mostly just get compliments every couple days.

Other than a trim piece and some dashboard scratches I discovered on delivery day, and a dashboard squeak that has appeared now the weather got colder this week, the R1S has been rock solid. Those are scheduled to be addressed by a home visit next week.

Overall, I love this beast!

What tires do you have? How does the ride comfort compare to Model X. By that I mean bounciness and head toss. Thanks!!

 

[darren1f]

What tires do you have? How does the ride comfort compare to Model X. By that I mean bounciness and head toss. Thanks!!

I have the 21” wheels to maximize range. 90% of the time it drives wonderfully smooth. On some poorly maintained concrete roads, the undulating is there, and I’ve gotten complaints from people in the 2nd row on one particular stretch. Lowering the suspension helps control that a little. Overall though, I’m happy with it. Much better than I was expecting, given the online comments.

The adaptable suspension in the newest Model X definitely offers a more luxurious ride. But it’s crossover and not an off-road vehicle. So that makes sense.

 

[Stevenml155]

did a weekend trip from inland empire to santa barbara - a 290 mile roundtrip. we have an R1S with 22" wheels. When in all-purpose (AP) mode the ride does feel great, albeit, with the slate of negative issues that come along with riding on 22" wheels vs the chubby 20" wheels/tires. in conserve mode you will feel a rough ride...this is most noticeable going over any bumps. there IS a difference in efficiency between AP mode and Conserve mode that requires you to use BOTH. on city streets or in stop and go traffic you must use AP mode to ensure you have 4 wheels moving your heavy ass R1s. if you are in Conserve mode- which only uses the 2 front wheels - you will be moving 8500 lbs from a dead stop using your 2 front wheels and those tires will wear bad. if you have a heavy foot, i believe this is a major issue. so you will find yourself using AP mode most of the time inside a city and once you get onto a highway or freeway you need to move to Conserve mode. The car will lower, you can go to lowest height for max efficiency but also a rougher ride- that's the rub. While I added 80 miles in Santa Barbara before heading back home I'm CERTAIN I could have made it home with about 8-10 miles left. I left home with a full charge and had 320 miles in Conserve mode when I left home. I had the A/C on in the front, the middle and the back and I had the seats blasting air in front and middle seats. We also own a Tesla Y Long Range and I can attest to the fact that Rivian does a much better job representing its mileage and efficiency. Yes, Tesla Y, only has 75kwh vs Rivian's 135 and it is much more efficient than the Rivian but our Tesla has always done a horrible job with estimating miles. It felt great seeing mileage being treated more like normal mileage with the R1S. So I was very happy with the efficiency given its impressive weight on about 9:1 freeway to city streets on 22" wheels. One thing though.....Rivian needs to figure out how to automate the switch from AP mode to Conserve so it happens automatically with an option to disable this function.

The car handles great...very responsive but not as responsive as Tesla Y. Not sure you want it more responsive, though... Not sure you want the SUV handling like a go-kart although it starts kind of feeling like it when you drop it to its lowest height and go Sport mode.

Getting into and out of the R1S was kind of a pain. There's something about its entry that isn't made for typical entry. Cannot be fixed. I enter head first now and kind of jump/slide onto the seat. It's not graceful at all...I'm 6'0 and 290...so I'm a big boy anyway but I don't have this issue with Tesla Y or Honda Pilot. Once inside I am way comfortable. Also, I don't think the weight has anything to do with it...I think the issue would present itself to anyone 5'10 or above. The R1S is pretty high up in Standard for my wife to get in easily. She's about 5'4" and she struggled a bit to get in when the R1S was in High or Standard...but found it was much easier in Low and/or Lowest.

Bummer the mirror doesn't save its position along with seat, mirrors and steering wheel!
The 80 miles I added was at an Electrify America. I expected crap service but actually found the UI quick and the charging very fast. It was a 150kwh+ station.

The infotainment UI left MUCH to be desired. I'm sorry...perhaps for those new to EVs it is great but coming from Tesla the infotainment experience lags behind Tesla. Granted, Musk and his group have had over 10 years to refine the UI but I feel Rivian should have made a lot more progress given they have an inhouse team of developers and aren't using Apple's Carplay. Rivian has/had a chance to blow Tesla out of the water and I can say it fell short. I now the excuses will pour in...."Rivian is new", "They are pumping out a lot of updates", etc. Perhaps it bit off more than it could chew with doing most of everything inhouse. The Spotify experience on Tesla was already kind of crappy...but with Rivian it's just a little more crappier. I am not familiar with what APIs Spotify offers developers but perhaps it's very limited. Rivian and everyone else should pressure Spotify, in this case, to open up the API to be more functional for the good of Spotify subscribers. The Map.... hmmm.....love and hate. I definitely like the map MUCH MORE than the Tesla version. I love the layout. It is very functional. There was a moment where it couldn't retrive the route. I love ALEXA and its integration with R1S infotainment....Rivian must expand compatibility! Maps need to be able to label favorites, need to be faster, need to be able to add stops along the way.

Not sure how but there were 2 times when the R1S was slowly rolling back and I had to hit the brake.

The infotainment screen blacked out and apparently restarted once.

When pulling into a charging station the R1S should probably open charge port automatically with popup to close it as an option (or auto close after 1 min).
INFOTAINMENT NO STREAMING APPS! no netflix, no youtube, no hulu!

INFOTAINMENT no web browser, no searching for something on web browser, can't ask alexa to search for lyrics while listening to a song because of no browser!

Visibility is great inside car....great job Rivian.

NO PC connectivity to car? Tesla does have this.

This is it for now...getting sleepy/ zzz

Great over-view. As a current long term Tesla owner and soon to be R1S owner I’m excited that we have more options for EV’s. I noticed during the demo that the infotainment was lacking and my wife and I wished it was there versus non-existent. I get it they are working on making adjustments to the vehicle and I don’t feel you are in anyway bashing Rivian - just pointing out that it is a competitive marketplace and they need to add some of those items to their list to offer a more complete vehicle. It’s a minor thing - but sure is nice to watch a show or browse the web when charging! It’s not a deal breaker for us but with the cost of these vehicles they do need to step it up as that is an industry benchmark Tesla set for that side of it anyhow. Thank you for the write up!

 

[PNW Rivian]

Great write up. Any regrets on the 21s? I leaning that way.

 

[tate16t]

I’m leaning toward the 22s and I’m wondering if there are any regrets.

 

[NineElectrics]

Great write up. Any regrets on the 21s? I leaning that way.

I have a regret: there is no winter tire option for the 21s. Not a good luck for an outdoor adventure vehicle. Or even an on-road snow adventure vehicle.

 

[irvineboy]

I’m still in my first week with the R1S. Had a disappointing delivery experience which I posted but they will address it.

Overall, the vehicle is quick but I am surprised how much of a boat it feels like. I wonder if I put it in sport mode with the tightened suspension, if that will alleviate the truck-like feeling?

I also read reviews where drivers gave the nod to BMW iX saying the handling is better and the braking is tight. Although it’s a bigger vehicle, the brakes are disappointing. It’s very squishy and takes more effort to stop. I love the space but for some reason also keep hitting my head on the A pillar. I wish they had stock running boards as it’s difficult to get in even at the lowest setting. I don’t mind the lack of tech like not having browser and such, those things can be loaded later on as the brand progresses.

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