t1000mb
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Two weeks ago I took delivery of an R1T - LS, DPM, LP, 22" Sport tires. I'll give my initial impressions on the vehicle (coming from a high performance ICE) and how the leasing process went from start to finish
Leasing Process
I wrote a very frustrated thread on this while I was in the middle of the process and thought that I should conclude it here. In summary, I felt it was a very backward and unconventional experience with Rivian. Whether it was the order of operations / sequence and/or important pieces of information not provided until later in the process, nothing about it was normal. There's no need to re-invent the wheel with a process that's fairly standardized across the automotive industry.
- First of all, a non-refundable deposit is required prior to receiving all the details such as all fees, lease terms, lease agreement, etc. By way of comparison, Lucid provides a very detailed fee and price breakdown up front and your $300 deposit is refundable
- Rivian fees are crazy high. $1,800 for destination, $895 for acquisition, $347 for documentation and $375 for title & registration (neither disclosed upfront). That's $3,417 just in fees. Compare to $995 for destination from BMW that ships cars from Germany vs Illinois for Rivian. Or Lucid with $1,500 destination, $995 acquisition, and $75 doc fee, all that are disclosed up front.
- The insurance process is weird. Rivian wants you to provide an active insurance policy for the Rivian before you even sign anything other than the deposit. The workaround here is to have your Guide override this and just hold your current vehicle policy in place. You'll still need to provide insurance for the Rivian prior to delivery. Also, Rivian's insurance quote was very competitive, about $500 lower / 6 months, but I couldn't accept it due to an umbrella policy with my existing provider.
- Lease options: the lowest mileage / yr is 10,000, which is way more than I need. Lucid offers 5,000 and 7,500 annually for comparison
- Vehicle selections: at the time I went through this, when you select order now of available configurations it would require you to enter your zip to see available vehicles. Then select color and the available vehicles would populate. At that time, it only showed a limited number of available vehicles but didn't give an indication there was more to see. It was only when I toggled the filters that more configurations were shown, such as the Dual Performance Motor. I think this has since been fixed so all available configurations are shown and you can narrow them down by toggling the filter.
- Getting lease agreement answers: this was a bit of a wild goose chase. Once I had the lease agreement there were a few sections that I needed clarification on. Between Chase and Rivian I was told several times only the other party could handle it. After a lot of time spent, I was finally able to track down someone who could answer my questions.
- Terms: 24m, 10K mi/yr, 0.00221 money factor (830 credit score), 69% residual. Funny enough, the Quad Motor I originally selected had a higher price but a lower monthly payment because it had a higher residual value than the DPM I ultimately went with.
- Final thoughts: there is A LOT of room for improvement in the process and information disclosure. Everyone I spoke to was very nice, professional, and tried to be as helpful as possible. This program will be important for Rivian's growth, they just need to fine tune the process.
Delivery
I picked the vehicle up at a local service center. They had an earlier appointment come up and asked me if I wanted it but I needed to keep my original time. Pretty straightforward process, in and out. The person who walked me through the vehicle and answered all of my questions was great. Compared to other vehicle buying experiences where it feels like a hostage situation despite how much you had completed before arriving at the dealer, this was a stress free process. And no begging for a 5 star review from the Rivian person who handled my delivery. 30 minutes tops, mostly because of my questions running us longer.
Vehicle Experience
I'm coming from a 2021 BMW M550i (Twin turbo V8, 523 hp, 553 lb-ft torque, 0-60 3.6 sec) so trying to compare the two vehicles isn't really worthwhile. That said, I really miss the growl of the engine, sound of the exhaust, the pull when the RPMs are higher, and the feeling of the car shifting through the gears. The way I can describe driving an EV is that it's fairly emotionless unless you stomp on it off the line. No sound (whir doesn't count), no pull, no shifting. I guess it feels more like you're being pushed than with a high performance ICE car feeling like you're being pulled, especially when you have RPMs in the higher range and there's always that tug.
Driving: surprisingly very easy to drive. I'm still getting used to backing up and the regen braking (some of my stops are a little abrupt) but overall it doesn't feel laborious for a vehicle of its size. Pretty nimble so far but I haven't pushed it yet on curvy roads at speed.
Ride: ok, the suspension is rough. It's like I can feel every little imperfection in the road. Even going back and forth from my BMW before I sold it, the BMW was a much smoother ride. So is my wife's SUV. Really weird how confident the suspension feels when cornering but then how rough it is on its own and relative to my prior car.
Visibility: visibility is incredible. Trying to avoid comparisons, but driving my BMW amidst much larger SUVs and trucks, my visibility was always compromised. The Rivian's field of vision is really great. Haven't had issues yet with weird blind spots and the tech certainly is helpful
Comfort and Ergonomics: Everything I need feels like it's easy to reach, even all of the controls on the primary touch screen. Seats are comfortable so far too, plenty of space for everyone. We have two kids in front facing car seats and they fit perfectly fine in the back
Storage: so much storage. The frunk is great for groceries or hiding your wife and kids' Christmas presents, the gear tunnel at one point had my golf clubs and snowboard in it with room to spare, and I'm sure I'll use the bed for something. Need to get a tonneau cover.
U/I: I really like it. It doesn't have corny icons like a Tesla I rode in the other day. Everything is laid out nicely and easy to see / easy on the eyes. So far mostly intuitive to use and aesthetically pleasing. Coming from a Google Maps loyalist, I've found the navigation really easy to use and quite good. The ability to send a route to the vehicle from the Rivian app or even Google Maps is a huge plus. The vehicle receives it in the blink of an eye.
Fit / Finish: this feels and looks like a $90K+ vehicle, unlike some of the competitor's cars. The interior is gorgeous and not gimmicky, and there's so much functionality and thought put into it. Is it perfect? No, but they absolutely crushed it here. It's far better than most. The integration of the primary screen, rather than it being bolted on like a foreign appendage, is brilliant.
Battery Drain: I just returned from being out of town for 7 days. Vehicle went from 46% to 36% when I returned. I didn't have Gear Guard on, had suspension on low, and the outside temps were in the 50s. That's more of a drop than I expected. When I picked up the vehicle it showed about 285 miles of range. I drove maybe 100-115 miles, mostly city driving, and the range prior to charging again was at 70-75. It will take getting used to the dynamics of all of this.
Alignment: Unfortunately, after paying very high fees for "vehicle prep" my vehicle was delivered with the steering out of alignment. The next morning I made an appointment and when they called to discuss the issues, they suggested because most of the weight is on the right side that it could drift that way. Buddy, I've been driving cars for a long time, all types of cars, and I know when the alignment is off.
The service appointment was easy to schedule but the service itself took longer than we expected (~4 hours). They gave me UBER credits (also offered a rental car) to go home during the service and gave me notice when it was time to head back. As I knew, they confirmed the steering was out of alignment and balanced the wheels for me. Even though I shouldn't have to take a brand new vehicle in for an issue easily identifiable with a 5 minute drive, especially when paying fees that are used to prep the vehicle for delivery, the whole process was smooth. Everyone at the service center was great to interact with.
Misc:
- It would be awesome to be able to customize the right side steering wheel controls. Something like drive mode (right and left buttons) and ride height (thumb wheel) would be great
- I don't understand the thought behind putting the door locks in the touch screen. If you have physical controls for window controls, why not add one more physical control for door locks? At first, I thought the door lock symbols were to lock the screen, which would be helpful when you have curious kids playing in the car while you're parked.
- I'm not an audiophile but do like my sound nicely tuned. The controls are greek to me. Would be nice to have treble, bass, mid controls instead of the current setup that's made for an expert. Maybe a toggle that switches from audiophile to noob would do?
- Is there a way to have the sound system shut off when I park the car and get out? It's weird having whatever I was listening to still play while I'm getting out of the car, getting items, and then walking away far enough for the car to lock and the systems to shut down.
- Cup holders: I like that they are retractable but the support doesn't give a lot of confidence. When my wife plops down her giant Stanley thermos I worry the bottom cup holder support is going to give out. It's a little flimsy. No issues with cups getting loose yet.
- Vehicle app: very functional, very easy to use.
That should do it. I am excited to be part of this experience, even if I'll miss that wonderful piece of German engineering.
Leasing Process
I wrote a very frustrated thread on this while I was in the middle of the process and thought that I should conclude it here. In summary, I felt it was a very backward and unconventional experience with Rivian. Whether it was the order of operations / sequence and/or important pieces of information not provided until later in the process, nothing about it was normal. There's no need to re-invent the wheel with a process that's fairly standardized across the automotive industry.
- First of all, a non-refundable deposit is required prior to receiving all the details such as all fees, lease terms, lease agreement, etc. By way of comparison, Lucid provides a very detailed fee and price breakdown up front and your $300 deposit is refundable
- Rivian fees are crazy high. $1,800 for destination, $895 for acquisition, $347 for documentation and $375 for title & registration (neither disclosed upfront). That's $3,417 just in fees. Compare to $995 for destination from BMW that ships cars from Germany vs Illinois for Rivian. Or Lucid with $1,500 destination, $995 acquisition, and $75 doc fee, all that are disclosed up front.
- The insurance process is weird. Rivian wants you to provide an active insurance policy for the Rivian before you even sign anything other than the deposit. The workaround here is to have your Guide override this and just hold your current vehicle policy in place. You'll still need to provide insurance for the Rivian prior to delivery. Also, Rivian's insurance quote was very competitive, about $500 lower / 6 months, but I couldn't accept it due to an umbrella policy with my existing provider.
- Lease options: the lowest mileage / yr is 10,000, which is way more than I need. Lucid offers 5,000 and 7,500 annually for comparison
- Vehicle selections: at the time I went through this, when you select order now of available configurations it would require you to enter your zip to see available vehicles. Then select color and the available vehicles would populate. At that time, it only showed a limited number of available vehicles but didn't give an indication there was more to see. It was only when I toggled the filters that more configurations were shown, such as the Dual Performance Motor. I think this has since been fixed so all available configurations are shown and you can narrow them down by toggling the filter.
- Getting lease agreement answers: this was a bit of a wild goose chase. Once I had the lease agreement there were a few sections that I needed clarification on. Between Chase and Rivian I was told several times only the other party could handle it. After a lot of time spent, I was finally able to track down someone who could answer my questions.
- Terms: 24m, 10K mi/yr, 0.00221 money factor (830 credit score), 69% residual. Funny enough, the Quad Motor I originally selected had a higher price but a lower monthly payment because it had a higher residual value than the DPM I ultimately went with.
- Final thoughts: there is A LOT of room for improvement in the process and information disclosure. Everyone I spoke to was very nice, professional, and tried to be as helpful as possible. This program will be important for Rivian's growth, they just need to fine tune the process.
Delivery
I picked the vehicle up at a local service center. They had an earlier appointment come up and asked me if I wanted it but I needed to keep my original time. Pretty straightforward process, in and out. The person who walked me through the vehicle and answered all of my questions was great. Compared to other vehicle buying experiences where it feels like a hostage situation despite how much you had completed before arriving at the dealer, this was a stress free process. And no begging for a 5 star review from the Rivian person who handled my delivery. 30 minutes tops, mostly because of my questions running us longer.
Vehicle Experience
I'm coming from a 2021 BMW M550i (Twin turbo V8, 523 hp, 553 lb-ft torque, 0-60 3.6 sec) so trying to compare the two vehicles isn't really worthwhile. That said, I really miss the growl of the engine, sound of the exhaust, the pull when the RPMs are higher, and the feeling of the car shifting through the gears. The way I can describe driving an EV is that it's fairly emotionless unless you stomp on it off the line. No sound (whir doesn't count), no pull, no shifting. I guess it feels more like you're being pushed than with a high performance ICE car feeling like you're being pulled, especially when you have RPMs in the higher range and there's always that tug.
Driving: surprisingly very easy to drive. I'm still getting used to backing up and the regen braking (some of my stops are a little abrupt) but overall it doesn't feel laborious for a vehicle of its size. Pretty nimble so far but I haven't pushed it yet on curvy roads at speed.
Ride: ok, the suspension is rough. It's like I can feel every little imperfection in the road. Even going back and forth from my BMW before I sold it, the BMW was a much smoother ride. So is my wife's SUV. Really weird how confident the suspension feels when cornering but then how rough it is on its own and relative to my prior car.
Visibility: visibility is incredible. Trying to avoid comparisons, but driving my BMW amidst much larger SUVs and trucks, my visibility was always compromised. The Rivian's field of vision is really great. Haven't had issues yet with weird blind spots and the tech certainly is helpful
Comfort and Ergonomics: Everything I need feels like it's easy to reach, even all of the controls on the primary touch screen. Seats are comfortable so far too, plenty of space for everyone. We have two kids in front facing car seats and they fit perfectly fine in the back
Storage: so much storage. The frunk is great for groceries or hiding your wife and kids' Christmas presents, the gear tunnel at one point had my golf clubs and snowboard in it with room to spare, and I'm sure I'll use the bed for something. Need to get a tonneau cover.
U/I: I really like it. It doesn't have corny icons like a Tesla I rode in the other day. Everything is laid out nicely and easy to see / easy on the eyes. So far mostly intuitive to use and aesthetically pleasing. Coming from a Google Maps loyalist, I've found the navigation really easy to use and quite good. The ability to send a route to the vehicle from the Rivian app or even Google Maps is a huge plus. The vehicle receives it in the blink of an eye.
Fit / Finish: this feels and looks like a $90K+ vehicle, unlike some of the competitor's cars. The interior is gorgeous and not gimmicky, and there's so much functionality and thought put into it. Is it perfect? No, but they absolutely crushed it here. It's far better than most. The integration of the primary screen, rather than it being bolted on like a foreign appendage, is brilliant.
Battery Drain: I just returned from being out of town for 7 days. Vehicle went from 46% to 36% when I returned. I didn't have Gear Guard on, had suspension on low, and the outside temps were in the 50s. That's more of a drop than I expected. When I picked up the vehicle it showed about 285 miles of range. I drove maybe 100-115 miles, mostly city driving, and the range prior to charging again was at 70-75. It will take getting used to the dynamics of all of this.
Alignment: Unfortunately, after paying very high fees for "vehicle prep" my vehicle was delivered with the steering out of alignment. The next morning I made an appointment and when they called to discuss the issues, they suggested because most of the weight is on the right side that it could drift that way. Buddy, I've been driving cars for a long time, all types of cars, and I know when the alignment is off.
The service appointment was easy to schedule but the service itself took longer than we expected (~4 hours). They gave me UBER credits (also offered a rental car) to go home during the service and gave me notice when it was time to head back. As I knew, they confirmed the steering was out of alignment and balanced the wheels for me. Even though I shouldn't have to take a brand new vehicle in for an issue easily identifiable with a 5 minute drive, especially when paying fees that are used to prep the vehicle for delivery, the whole process was smooth. Everyone at the service center was great to interact with.
Misc:
- It would be awesome to be able to customize the right side steering wheel controls. Something like drive mode (right and left buttons) and ride height (thumb wheel) would be great
- I don't understand the thought behind putting the door locks in the touch screen. If you have physical controls for window controls, why not add one more physical control for door locks? At first, I thought the door lock symbols were to lock the screen, which would be helpful when you have curious kids playing in the car while you're parked.
- I'm not an audiophile but do like my sound nicely tuned. The controls are greek to me. Would be nice to have treble, bass, mid controls instead of the current setup that's made for an expert. Maybe a toggle that switches from audiophile to noob would do?
- Is there a way to have the sound system shut off when I park the car and get out? It's weird having whatever I was listening to still play while I'm getting out of the car, getting items, and then walking away far enough for the car to lock and the systems to shut down.
- Cup holders: I like that they are retractable but the support doesn't give a lot of confidence. When my wife plops down her giant Stanley thermos I worry the bottom cup holder support is going to give out. It's a little flimsy. No issues with cups getting loose yet.
- Vehicle app: very functional, very easy to use.
That should do it. I am excited to be part of this experience, even if I'll miss that wonderful piece of German engineering.
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