Harvest
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2020
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 120
- Reaction score
- 303
- Location
- Columbia, MO
- Vehicles
- Honda Pilot, Rivian R1T Adventure Forest Green
- Occupation
- agriculture
- Thread starter
- #1
I had meant to post this closer to Thanksgiving Day, but it's still Thanksgiving weekend, so here goes.
I've had my Rivian R1T for a little over a year now and driven it a little over 10,000 miles, including a road trip from the Midwest to Virginia and some overnight trips in the Midwest. I guess I've been lucky, absolutely no issues with my vehicle other than the automatic frunk mode not working once (switched to manual closing and then a mobile service technician fixed a very minor problem with it).
For context, I'm in my early 60s, have owned and driven a wide range of vehicles, including several pickups for my work in agriculture education and research. Most recently my daily driver was a Honda Pilot before buying the R1T.
Specific things I'm thankful for with the R1T:
- Smooth ride, especially for a pickup. My current office work truck is a 2023 Chevy Silverado crew cab and it rides way rougher than the R1T. At my age with some back issues, I really appreciate the smoother ride.
- Quiet operation - again, compared to the Silverado, a much quieter vehicle, which I appreciate not only for myself but anyone I am driving past who is walking down the sidewalk, jogging, biking, etc.
- Efficiency. At the equivalent of 70 miles per gallon, vs about 17 mpg for my office work truck, obviously a very big difference.
- No emissions from the vehicle. As someone who is a daily walker, when a couple of my neighbors roll by with their standard pickups, you definitely smell the exhaust, but of course none of that with the Rivian. I know some will argue that the power plant generating electricity the Rivian is charged on is emitting, but not as much as ICE vehicles and not with the same localized impact for those near the vehicle. I do hope to install solar soon to further address emissions and energy efficiency.
- Comfortable seats. I've always had fabric seats in my vehicles and wasn't sure how I'd like the R1T vegan leather, but they are comfortable, including for days I've driven up to 11 hours.
- Navigation system and map images. I know the maps have been the subject of complaints, but I've found 99% of the time the R1T navigation agrees with my Apple Maps and I LOVE the huge maps on the screen, including the Google earth type aerial images. It feels like you're flying over the landscape while driving (of course avoiding staring at the maps!). I'm frequently noticing things on the maps not visible from the road, like lakes, forests, rivers, etc. When driving through the Blue Ridge mountains it was really cool to see the terrain that way.
- Wide variety of storage options. Like many others, I make frequent use of the gear tunnel. When I was out east, I was gathering soil samples and needed a place to put them (they are kept in paper bags). I couldn't put them in the bed (no cover), and didn't want them in the cabin due to slight smell issues, but the gear tunnel was perfect. I could have put them in the frunk but I had it full of other gear, including camera gear I didn't want visible in the cabin. I've used the gear tunnel for a wide range of things, including power tools that don't roll around in there compared to a truck bed.
- Acceleration. Top end speed doesn't matter to me, but it is really nice to be able to accelerate away from erratic drivers or quickly merge into traffic from an on-ramp. I drive pretty moderately and stick close to speed limits, but it has been fun to take first time Rivian passengers out in the country away from all other traffic and do the standing start "rocket launch" up to 55 mph or so. They always get a kick out of that.
- Regenerative braking. I wasn't sure how I would like that, but I adjusted to it after a day and within a few days was loving that feature. I often go several days in a row without even using the manual brake pedal. Nice to know I won't have to replace brake pads very often.
- Speaking of maintenance, it was a revelation to me recently, having normally had 4 vehicles to maintain simultaneously (wife, mine, and two daughters), that there is virtually ZERO maintenance I need to do on the Rivian. Of course I'll rotate the tires periodically, but what a difference in not having to take time to go into a service center for all the usual fluid changes and other service.
- I love not having to go to gas stations. My home charger in my garage is situated about 3 feet from where the charging port is. Once a week, as I'm getting out of the truck and walking in the house, I grab the charger handle and plug it in. Takes about 5 seconds to plug in, even less time to unplug. Yes, charging on long trips is a whole different story, but I'm only doing fast chargers on road trips every couple of months, so not a big deal.
- The software updates make me feel like I am getting a new vehicle periodically, given the new features that keep rolling out. I managed to avoid the recent problem with updates and will be careful in the future to not immediately update, but so far it's all been flawless on the software front.
- Power for towing. I have towed a couple of different trailers and it's hard to tell anything is even hooked up, the power and torque of the truck is just amazing. The weight of the vehicle also adds to the stability for towing. Other than range, it's an excellent towing vehicle.
- The compact size. One reason I didn't consider the Ford Lightning was that it would have been an extremely tight fit to get the Ford in my garage, whereas with the R1T it fits comfortably and I can even walk around behind it with the garage door shut, which is nice when it's raining and I need to get something from the other side.
- Stylish but simple and attractive truck interior and exterior. I've had many compliments on the trucks outside and inside appearance, but mostly I just enjoy for myself the way it looks, including the wood trim. Current big 3 truck companies have really cluttered the truck dashes.
- Truck driving dynamics. Overall, the truck is fun to drive, and given I have to do a fair amount of driving for work, it's nice to have the driving be more enjoyable than just a chore. I also like the driver plus experience on highways. Yes, it would be great if it worked on more roads, but on long interstate highway drives it does make me feel less tired to have the assistance of driver plus.
Is there anything I would change on the truck? Certainly, starting with improving HVAC functionality and noise at higher fan speeds. But overall, I am extremely happy with my R1T and it's my favorite vehicle I've ever owned, which is a good thing since it's also the most expensive I've ever owned! I do think after gas savings and maintenance savings I will end up having a cost competitive vehicle with other trucks over a multi-year ownership period (100,000 miles or more). When people ask me what it's like to drive, I say it's like driving the future, between the whirring motors and amazing performance and technology with the vehicle.
Thanks, Rivian, for hitting a home run with your very first vehicle!
I've had my Rivian R1T for a little over a year now and driven it a little over 10,000 miles, including a road trip from the Midwest to Virginia and some overnight trips in the Midwest. I guess I've been lucky, absolutely no issues with my vehicle other than the automatic frunk mode not working once (switched to manual closing and then a mobile service technician fixed a very minor problem with it).
For context, I'm in my early 60s, have owned and driven a wide range of vehicles, including several pickups for my work in agriculture education and research. Most recently my daily driver was a Honda Pilot before buying the R1T.
Specific things I'm thankful for with the R1T:
- Smooth ride, especially for a pickup. My current office work truck is a 2023 Chevy Silverado crew cab and it rides way rougher than the R1T. At my age with some back issues, I really appreciate the smoother ride.
- Quiet operation - again, compared to the Silverado, a much quieter vehicle, which I appreciate not only for myself but anyone I am driving past who is walking down the sidewalk, jogging, biking, etc.
- Efficiency. At the equivalent of 70 miles per gallon, vs about 17 mpg for my office work truck, obviously a very big difference.
- No emissions from the vehicle. As someone who is a daily walker, when a couple of my neighbors roll by with their standard pickups, you definitely smell the exhaust, but of course none of that with the Rivian. I know some will argue that the power plant generating electricity the Rivian is charged on is emitting, but not as much as ICE vehicles and not with the same localized impact for those near the vehicle. I do hope to install solar soon to further address emissions and energy efficiency.
- Comfortable seats. I've always had fabric seats in my vehicles and wasn't sure how I'd like the R1T vegan leather, but they are comfortable, including for days I've driven up to 11 hours.
- Navigation system and map images. I know the maps have been the subject of complaints, but I've found 99% of the time the R1T navigation agrees with my Apple Maps and I LOVE the huge maps on the screen, including the Google earth type aerial images. It feels like you're flying over the landscape while driving (of course avoiding staring at the maps!). I'm frequently noticing things on the maps not visible from the road, like lakes, forests, rivers, etc. When driving through the Blue Ridge mountains it was really cool to see the terrain that way.
- Wide variety of storage options. Like many others, I make frequent use of the gear tunnel. When I was out east, I was gathering soil samples and needed a place to put them (they are kept in paper bags). I couldn't put them in the bed (no cover), and didn't want them in the cabin due to slight smell issues, but the gear tunnel was perfect. I could have put them in the frunk but I had it full of other gear, including camera gear I didn't want visible in the cabin. I've used the gear tunnel for a wide range of things, including power tools that don't roll around in there compared to a truck bed.
- Acceleration. Top end speed doesn't matter to me, but it is really nice to be able to accelerate away from erratic drivers or quickly merge into traffic from an on-ramp. I drive pretty moderately and stick close to speed limits, but it has been fun to take first time Rivian passengers out in the country away from all other traffic and do the standing start "rocket launch" up to 55 mph or so. They always get a kick out of that.
- Regenerative braking. I wasn't sure how I would like that, but I adjusted to it after a day and within a few days was loving that feature. I often go several days in a row without even using the manual brake pedal. Nice to know I won't have to replace brake pads very often.
- Speaking of maintenance, it was a revelation to me recently, having normally had 4 vehicles to maintain simultaneously (wife, mine, and two daughters), that there is virtually ZERO maintenance I need to do on the Rivian. Of course I'll rotate the tires periodically, but what a difference in not having to take time to go into a service center for all the usual fluid changes and other service.
- I love not having to go to gas stations. My home charger in my garage is situated about 3 feet from where the charging port is. Once a week, as I'm getting out of the truck and walking in the house, I grab the charger handle and plug it in. Takes about 5 seconds to plug in, even less time to unplug. Yes, charging on long trips is a whole different story, but I'm only doing fast chargers on road trips every couple of months, so not a big deal.
- The software updates make me feel like I am getting a new vehicle periodically, given the new features that keep rolling out. I managed to avoid the recent problem with updates and will be careful in the future to not immediately update, but so far it's all been flawless on the software front.
- Power for towing. I have towed a couple of different trailers and it's hard to tell anything is even hooked up, the power and torque of the truck is just amazing. The weight of the vehicle also adds to the stability for towing. Other than range, it's an excellent towing vehicle.
- The compact size. One reason I didn't consider the Ford Lightning was that it would have been an extremely tight fit to get the Ford in my garage, whereas with the R1T it fits comfortably and I can even walk around behind it with the garage door shut, which is nice when it's raining and I need to get something from the other side.
- Stylish but simple and attractive truck interior and exterior. I've had many compliments on the trucks outside and inside appearance, but mostly I just enjoy for myself the way it looks, including the wood trim. Current big 3 truck companies have really cluttered the truck dashes.
- Truck driving dynamics. Overall, the truck is fun to drive, and given I have to do a fair amount of driving for work, it's nice to have the driving be more enjoyable than just a chore. I also like the driver plus experience on highways. Yes, it would be great if it worked on more roads, but on long interstate highway drives it does make me feel less tired to have the assistance of driver plus.
Is there anything I would change on the truck? Certainly, starting with improving HVAC functionality and noise at higher fan speeds. But overall, I am extremely happy with my R1T and it's my favorite vehicle I've ever owned, which is a good thing since it's also the most expensive I've ever owned! I do think after gas savings and maintenance savings I will end up having a cost competitive vehicle with other trucks over a multi-year ownership period (100,000 miles or more). When people ask me what it's like to drive, I say it's like driving the future, between the whirring motors and amazing performance and technology with the vehicle.
Thanks, Rivian, for hitting a home run with your very first vehicle!
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