Finding Gen 2 Demo Vehicles

[mpshizzle]

I have a gen 2 R1T on order, but I've yet to see a gen 2 vehicle in person. I'd love to check one out, if nothing else to satiate my excitement.

I live fairly close to the Salt Lake City UT service center, but they just have a couple of gen 1 quads.

I know Denver (about an 9 hour drive) and Phoenix (about 10 hours) both have one, but I can't justify that kind of a trip just to look at a model and leave lol.

Does anyone know if there's a way to find out when SLC gets a gen 2 Demo (other than incessantly calling Rivian customer service and asking every week)?

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[Kylechoffman]

Orange County CA SC has one..I know that isnt close to you but if you happen to be in the area.

 

[jambaman84]

I was at the grand opening of Rivian Spaces in San Diego and they had a gen2 R1S there. It is nice, I do like the roof glass being able to get darker to shade out the sun and the cameras are super nice.

 

[dleepnw]

G2R1T? only one ive seen is the one they used for the Pikes Peak run. seen multiple G2R1S though.

 

[mpshizzle]

G2R1T? only one ive seen is the one they used for the Pikes Peak run. seen multiple G2R1S though.

I'd honestly even just be happy to see a G2 R1S given the T hasn't entered production

 

[dleepnw]

I'd honestly even just be happy to see a G2 R1S given the T hasn't entered production

yeah, theres only a handful out there so far but they are out there. i checked turo and not one 2025 R1S on there yet but im sure its coming.

 

[mpshizzle]

yeah, theres only a handful out there so far but they are out there. i checked turo and not one 2025 R1S on there yet but im sure its coming.

And I'm sure they'll price it according to scarcity - but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do ?

 

[shamoo]

As others have said, there are a few out there, but depending on your location you may not be close.

I live very close to Rivian HQ and a few of their service centers as well as their "Rivian Theater" in Laguna Beach. They often have events there and I've attended a few.

There's a 2nd gen R1S there. Quite frankly, there's not much to see that's significantly different. You're not missing much visually. Tech wise is another story.

- Front light bar has a darker section on the bottom. That's probably the easiest giveaway.
- Interior has some more options.
- Wheels are different.
- Door handles have that little divot for the touch sensor.
- Front blinkers light up from inside to out and are orange.
- Front bumper may be missing tow hooks, option now?
- Frunk is significantly smaller, and has this cool bottom panel you can flip upside down to be hard/rubber so you don't need one of those aftermarket trays/mats anymore.

There are more, but harder to spot.

 

[blueberrybeat]

I didn't realize that they weren't demoing Gen 2s everywhere. Anyone know if the Dallas center has a Gen 2 for demo drive? I have a demo drive coming up in a week and really want to test the Gen 2.

 

[mpshizzle]

As others have said, there are a few out there, but depending on your location you may not be close.

I live very close to Rivian HQ and a few of their service centers as well as their "Rivian Theater" in Laguna Beach. They often have events there and I've attended a few.

There's a 2nd gen R1S there. Quite frankly, there's not much to see that's significantly different. You're not missing much visually. Tech wise is another story.

- Front light bar has a darker section on the bottom. That's probably the easiest giveaway.
- Interior has some more options.
- Wheels are different.
- Door handles have that little divot for the touch sensor.
- Front blinkers light up from inside to out and are orange.
- Front bumper may be missing tow hooks, option now?
- Frunk is significantly smaller, and has this cool bottom panel you can flip upside down to be hard/rubber so you don't need one of those aftermarket trays/mats anymore.

There are more, but harder to spot.

Thanks for the write up on that! From what I've heard the tow hooks are absent on Standard models, but large and max pack get them? I don't recall where exactly I saw that...

A couple of things that I'm hoping to experience in person:

• The electronic door handles - I've heard a few people say they don't feel great (I have a feeling that's not something I'll mind though)
• The new light bar - I've been hearing the accent lighting is quite dim
• The smaller frunk - kind of hard to judge size based on photos, videos

 

[shamoo]

Thanks for the write up on that! From what I've heard the tow hooks are absent on Standard models, but large and max pack get them? I don't recall where exactly I saw that...

A couple of things that I'm hoping to experience in person:

• The electronic door handles - I've heard a few people say they don't feel great (I have a feeling that's not something I'll mind though)
• The new light bar - I've been hearing the accent lighting is quite dim
• The smaller frunk - kind of hard to judge size based on photos, videos

I know these are just words, but I'll comment...

The door handles felt exactly the same to me. Although the "noise" when they pop open was quieter. If you're talking about the inside button, it feels just like a Tesla door button if you've experienced that. I don't mind it. The original handle is a bit low/awkward sometimes.

New light bar seems to be the same as the old one in terms of brightness. The bottom row of new lights is slightly dimmer than the normal white light, just like the "green glow" is now. It has these rectangle green bars with a little animation while charging. Overall the bar is the same to me.

The frunk is significantly smaller both in width and depth. Length (long ways from left to right) is about the same. You could fit a somewhat large suitcase into a Gen1 frunk without issue. This one might not work. There are little pockets toward the window side with a mesh net which is mostly useless (personally). But yes, it is much smaller. Google images has a bunch you can see, although it is harder to judge size from a photo. Trust me, it is much smaller. I'd say that's one of the main downsides. Fortunately I almost never use my frunk.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Rivian SC employees in Madison Heights suggested they would be starting up demos of the R1S gen2 next week. I asked if that was all service centers and she seemed confident enough about it.

 

[mpshizzle]

I know these are just words, but I'll comment...

The door handles felt exactly the same to me. Although the "noise" when they pop open was quieter. If you're talking about the inside button, it feels just like a Tesla door button if you've experienced that. I don't mind it. The original handle is a bit low/awkward sometimes.

New light bar seems to be the same as the old one in terms of brightness. The bottom row of new lights is slightly dimmer than the normal white light, just like the "green glow" is now. It has these rectangle green bars with a little animation while charging. Overall the bar is the same to me.

The frunk is significantly smaller both in width and depth. Length (long ways from left to right) is about the same. You could fit a somewhat large suitcase into a Gen1 frunk without issue. This one might not work. There are little pockets toward the window side with a mesh net which is mostly useless (personally). But yes, it is much smaller. Google images has a bunch you can see, although it is harder to judge size from a photo. Trust me, it is much smaller. I'd say that's one of the main downsides. Fortunately I almost never use my frunk.

That's very helpful. Thank you! I do own a tesla so I figured it would be similar. It's the outside handle I was curious about the feel of.

Good to know about light bar - I'm curious if people's compaints about the handles and light bar are more of a unit to unit type of thing.

That is a bummer on the frunk size. Either way it'll probably be a nice upgrade from my current Model 3 and Mustang Mach E

Rivian SC employees in Madison Heights suggested they would be starting up demos of the R1S gen2 next week. I asked if that was all service centers and she seemed confident enough about it.

I sure hope that she's right! That would be amazing

 

[C12farmer]

Best way to find out when your SC is getting a Gen2 is to contact them through text. I'm not sure how someone is supposed to get their local service center number other than after they contact you. Setting up a demo drive was how I got my local SC number.

Gen2 R1S seem to shipping out to many more SC now. I have no idea why they haven't allocated more Gen2 R1S to the demo fleet before they started delivering to customers.
Good news is that Rivian finally feels confident enough to release Gen2 to the wider demo fleet. Hopefully that means they got all the early build hardware bugs ironed out.

 

[mpshizzle]

Best way to find out when your SC is getting a Gen2 is to contact them through text. I'm not sure how someone is supposed to get their local service center number other than after they contact you. Setting up a demo drive was how I got my local SC number.

Gen2 R1S seem to shipping out to many more SC now. I have no idea why they haven't allocated more Gen2 R1S to the demo fleet before they started delivering to customers.
Good news is that Rivian finally feels confident enough to release Gen2 to the wider demo fleet. Hopefully that means they got all the early build hardware bugs ironed out.

Where did you see that phone number? I didn't get any kind of contact information with my demo drive appt

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