Does it feel like Rivian is less premium each model release/iteration. To me it seems like it’s headed in that direction as the company tries to be more profitable and making it more affordable. In the long run, can Rivian compete with Tesla (for example) if they are less premium. Personally, I will opt for Tesla - much much better navigation, software, mire service centers, and more chargers accessible to me.
That's interesting to hear your perspective because mine is pretty much the exact opposite. I'm a long-time Tesla owner (bought my Model S in 2013) and not a Rivian owner yet but am anxiously awaiting the R2. For me, personally, a big part of the reason that I'm looking forward to R2 is that Tesla feels to me like it's doing exactly what you're saying with each subsequent vehicle - making their vehicles less and less premium / appealing in order to make them more profitable and manufacturable.
That would be nice. I’ve never had that feature in any car I’ve ever had. And my wife likes to remind me that I park like hot garbage so maybe that would improve my ability. ;-)
As long as you don't care about your wheels. Source: someone who has had it.
My Model S is way wider than any other car I've ever had, and it definitely took me a while to understand that. Curb rash is a real thing to be sure...
I meant specifically for auto park. I've owned 7 Model S's now and learned that you park it yourself if you care about the edges of your wheels. Because auto park doesn't.
Ah. My Model S is OLD. I don't even have parking sensors, much less auto park. So all my curb rash is self-inflicted. ;-)
The devil is in the details. Nice catch!
I got nothing against campers or camping. I just don't wanna do it. ;-)
No I think they are differentiating models. The new Ascend trim is i7 nice IMO. Rivian wants to create a reason to buy the 110k and up vehicles.
We "camp" a ton when we road trip. Our "camping" though is nothing like when we actually go up in the mountains when we're back home to do real camping. These days, we use the Teslas for that too because it eliminates a lot of the negatives mentioned with traditional camping. The bulk of our use though is more similar to a scenario where you're driving and get tired and want to pull over to take a nap. Now imagine that "nap" is 8 hours overnight in a perfectly controlled climate situation with a comfortable mattress and real pillows and blankets. We take multi-week road trips and have found that we do this more often than AirBnB as it gives us far more flexibility on when and where we sleep. An added bonus is it saves a bunch of money too but the convenience factor is the primary reason for us.
Too bad it doesn't get the Bowers and Wilkins level of sound system the I7 has. To me...Ascend really needs a proper premium audio system to be added.
I agree they have to step that up. The rest is great but the sound is average at best.
