Initial R1S impressions after driving Teslas for 6 years

[RivianPioneer]

I totaly agree with the door handle placement...it's an awkward reach. I do have to say that the alexa navigation is horrible. It takes me on really weird routes that I know are wrong. It told me to take an exit ramp, then get back on and cross 3 lanes of busy traffic to get me back on the hwy I was just on. I also just can't give it a name of a place and have it take me there, it always just guesses wrong and wants to take me to something else. The nav in the Tesla is way better.

I agree that the Alexa navigation is glitchy. It definitely needs some work. I am hoping and expecting Rivian will figure it out in consultation with Amazon. My early Tesla Model 3 experience was horrible, but it improved greatly over time so I expect the same great things from Rivian as it gets more experience under it's belt.

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[mkg3]

I’ve been driving Teslas since 2017, ...much more solidly built than any of my prior Teslas and the ride is smooth and the power is amazing, much more like a luxury sedan than a big truck....

Thanks for posting your impressions. I agree with many of your take on things to improve upon. It does read like you want what you're used to on Tesla though...

There is one thing I completely disagree with your statement and is the quote above. The R1S drives and behaves like a 7K lbs body on truck frame SUV.

Having gone through every drive mode settings and suspension combinations, I much prefer driving my Tesla than my R1S.

Perhaps one of the difference is the wheel/tire selection. I'm on 22's and wonder if you're on 20 AT's? That would make your ride much softer and smoother than the 22's. - though I still would not say its lux sedan like...

 

[iBang]

Thanks for the perspective. As a fellow Tesla owner (X and S) still looking forward to my R1S I'll second the need for Carplay and, preferably, Google Maps. Mapbox just isn't going to get it done. The blind spot cameras are a must in a nearly $100K vehicle and I'd also appreciate video streaming apps and a web browser to make use of that big screen while waiting for the kids or charging.

I can live without running boards and soft-close doors, in fact I prefer not having them in order to have less weight and complexity. I'd be happy without a power frunk or trunk as well if I could trade them off for another inch or two of second row legroom. The R1S is just a bit two tight in legroom compared to similar length competitors. Heck, my Model S feels like it has more second row legroom and it's just a sedan.

A power frunk is a must for me.

 

[RivianPioneer]

Thanks for posting your impressions. I agree with many of your take on things to improve upon. It does read like you want what you're used to on Tesla though...

There is one thing I completely disagree with your statement and is the quote above. The R1S drives and behaves like a 7K lbs body on truck frame SUV.

Having gone through every drive mode settings and suspension combinations, I much prefer driving my Tesla than my R1S.

Perhaps one of the difference is the wheel/tire selection. I'm on 22's and wonder if you're on 20 AT's? That would make your ride much softer and smoother than the 22's. - though I still would not say its lux sedan like...

Yes I have the 20" ATs. Maybe that's the difference. When you are behind the wheel there's no doubt you're driving a truck because you feel it's heft, but it drives so much smoother and feels so much more solid than my Model X. Tesla puts a lot of money into tech and cheaps out on everything else in my experience. That's the way they've been able to cut their cost of production.
I do not think Tesla has everything right, but it's probably fair to say that I've gotten used to some of the Tesla software features, and I'd like them in the Rivian as well. There are tons of things that the Tesla software and Tesla App can do that the Rivian cannot, but I only listed a few that I think are very useful. For example, Teslas have the ability to play Steam games in them. It's a pretty cool addition, but not at all necessary, and nothing I think Rivian, or any other company, should waste their time developing for their vehicles. There are other things that I could point to as well. Most of all, on the software end I hope Rivian works on Driver +, although probably some of my other suggestions are probably easier to implement and already in the pipeline, as I'm sure I'm not the first person to make these observations.

 

[ThisIsMyHandle]

You can’t win them all…

I haven't been in a Tesla in 10+ years. My Kia EV6 has the blind spot camera as long as the blinker is lit

 

[NineElectrics]

Rivian needs a cabin pre-conditioning schedule feature. A must when parking the car outdoors.

 

[carsly]

Rivian needs a cabin pre-conditioning schedule feature. A must when parking the car outdoors.

I used this 200 days/year (Mon-Fri, 10 months) in my Tesla when my morning schedule with kid dropoffs is highly predictable.

 

[Whale Blubber]

This blind spot camera view only exists because Teslas come without a Blind Spot Warning system. It took them quite a while to come up with this camera workaround. Personally, I'm not a big fan; it just doesn't make sense to have to look in the opposite direction when you're merging, right? It's a bit strange that Teslas don't come with this basic safety system, especially considering it's been standard in most cars for a decade!

It seems all Tesla drivers really want it in their Rivians too! Let's all give it a shot and maybe even re-learn how to use our trusty side view mirrors. The good news is, now there's a handy light that pops up if something's lurking in your blind spot, and it even gives you a friendly ding! No need to divert your attention from where it should be – on the road ahead and your merging spot!

Not a tesla driver, but I've had two instances now in the last two months when my side mirror and human neck-based blind spot detection system nearly failed me (because there were a couple different cars converging at once, and I assumed the outer one was the car responsible for the dinging), while a camera shot might have been a safer alternative. Since the technology is there, and it's just a software/UI implementation issue, they should do it.

 

[RivianPioneer]

Not a tesla driver, but I've had two instances now in the last two months when my side mirror and human neck-based blind spot detection system nearly failed me (because there were a couple different cars converging at once, and I assumed the outer one was the car responsible for the dinging), while a camera shot might have been a safer alternative. Since the technology is there, and it's just a software/UI implementation issue, they should do it.

As I experienced with my Tesla, things software-wise improved over time. Hopefully, the Rivian experience will be the same.

 

[jimmyb2]

Just for some perspective regarding the doors:
This vehicle is designed to ford up to 42.1" of water.

If you didn't have beefy seals in there, you'd get a bath whenever (for some people, *if*) you did that.

So, the doors, by nature, will be hard to close. In my experience, they do get 'easier' over time. But I'll take a hard-to-close door with the guarantee that I'll stay dry over bougie 'soft close' doors any day.

Just my .02

This is the exact reason the doors are hard to close, and if you notice it is always the last door to close that is difficult. The first three to close are easy.

If interested you can test this out by opening one of the windows a little then try opening/closing all the doors. You will find they all close and latch easily.

These Rivians are extremely tightly sealed which is not the case for most other vehicles on the road. So when closing the last door you are actually compressing the air inside the vehicle. There are no leaky door seals or open vents to allow the compressed air to escape.

 

[RivianPioneer]

That’s interesting. I never thought of that. You learned something new every day. Thank you.

 

[Silver9k]

You mention running boards, and something like those might be a nice factory option, however, have you used kneel mode? I mean you missed the cup holders, so maybe you missed this?

 

[RivianPioneer]

You mention running boards, and something like those might be a nice factory option, however, have you used kneel mode? I mean you missed the cup holders, so maybe you missed this?

I have used kneel mode. It drops the car a little lower, but not nearly enough to make it an easy hop into the car. Happy wife, happy life, and my wife is not happy with the effort she has to make to climb in, even in kneel mode

 

[Stevenml155]

I’ve been driving Teslas since 2017, first I started with one of the first Model 3s to hit the market and then later I graduated to a Model X. Before that I was driving PHEVs. First a Prius and then a Honda. So I’ve been in the electric car world for about 8 years and counting. I pre-ordered my R1S over a year ago and I finally got one last week. I wanted to share some of my initial impressions, comparisons to Tesla, and hopes for future Rivian features.



So far I love the R1S, it’s definitely lacking in so many ways compared to Tesla on the software end, but it’s a great looking car, much more solidly built than any of my prior Teslas and the ride is smooth and the power is amazing, much more like a luxury sedan than a big truck. I am really loving it, but that doesn’t mean that Rivian couldn’t improve on its design in some ways, so my initial observations on physical and software design are less criticisms and more hope for future design improvements in future Rivian trucks. Here are my suggestions/wish list: 1. Running Boards – I’m not exactly tall myself, but my wife and kids really struggle to get in. There are third party solutions yes, but Rivian should consider making them standard even if it means they need to have the car re-rated. 2. Soft close doors – the doors are heavy and I am finding that they don’t close often if not pulled or pushed forcefully, 3. USB C ports accessible in the front under the screen – yes, there are ones buried in the center console (one which the Gear Guard makes unusable for anything else) but that means a wire has to be run from the console out for it to have any real use., and 4. Better Door Handle Position - Door handles on the inside of the car are in an awkward spot, too low to easily grab and not intuitively located. They should be higher on the door, 5.. Better wireless charge pad design: the wireless charging pad in the front center consul could be designed better. Perhaps they can put magnets in the proper places to make them compatible with iPhones. The way they are now phones just slide around and aren’t always charging which is a problem and makes the charging pad pretty useless. I’m aware of some third-party solutions that fix this, but it shouldn’t require a third-party solution.

On the software end, Tesla is years ahead of Rivian and I guess that came as no surprise to me. I hope over time that they will be able to introduce updates that adapt the best of the Tesla OS features. Where I hope Rivian puts some effort into the software is the following: 1. Driver + needs much improvement – it is extremely limited in the places and the ways it works. That’s a big drawback for people coming from a smooth, effective driver assist system offered by Tesla (i.e. I’m not even talking about Tesla FSD, just their included basic driver assist), 2. Cameras Integrated with L/R Directionals: When activating the left or right directional, it would be great if the left/right cameras would activate so you could see on the screen the traffic situation to your left/right, depending upon which way you are signaling, 3. A “Stay Mode” to maintain the temperature in the car would be great – You can use the pet mode to accomplish that, I guess, but that mode does a little more so just a simple “stay mode” would be welcome, 4. A “Valet Mode” for locking down the menus and GPS data and limiting the speed on the car when leaving it in a garage or with a valet, 5. Apple Music integration, 6. Streaming video integration such as Netflix, Hulu, etc would be great as we all know we can be sitting charging the car for 30 or more minutes when on a trip and so video streaming right from the car is a great convenience feature, 7. Navigation System Improvements: The navigation system and how it locates EV charging options on the road needs work. While you can look at tons of EV charging options through multiple EV networks when you look at the map, when setting up for a trip you can only pick one, not all, of the networks that the Rivian could access , 8. Android and Apple Car Play integration – Tesla does not have this either, 9. Amazon Alexa “Wake Word”: Amazon Alexa integration is great, however, why can’t the wake word be changed? In fact, they should make a new wake word like “Rivian” or “Rivvy”. Makes no sense to me that I can change the wake word on my $20 Echo Dot but not on my 80k+ car with Amazon Alexa integration., finally 10. Needs “PIN to Drive”: This is a great extra security feature on the Tesla that Rivian should adopt. Using the PIN to drive you can’t drive even if you have a key or your phone without inputting a PIN first.


Despite the laundry list of suggestions/hopes that I have for future hardware and software improvements, I love my new Rivian and I’m looking forward to many new adventures in it!

Thank you for this over-view! Currently Tesla owner adding an R1S to our house - told delivery window is late December - early January! I expect there to be some differences, so appreciate your perspective. As my wife (who drives a Land Rover LR4) says “Tesla is just so easy to drive” lol. I expect some learning curve with Rivian and hope they boost the infotainment. That has proved to be a road trip charging life saver with our kids!

 

[RivianPioneer]

Thank you for this over-view! Currently Tesla owner adding an R1S to our house - told delivery window is late December - early January! I expect there to be some differences, so appreciate your perspective. As my wife (who drives a Land Rover LR4) says “Tesla is just so easy to drive” lol. I expect some learning curve with Rivian and hope they boost the infotainment. That has proved to be a road trip charging life saver with our kids!

Good luck with your R1S when you get it! I expect you will love your Rivian as I do. They will need time to develop their software and EV infrastructure to rival Tesla. Also, traveling requires much more planning to ensure EV charging options, unlike Tesla. This being said, it is a solid-built car, and the ride is comfortable. They have a good product built with a similar think-EV-from-the-ground-up philosophy to Tesla, so I expect that they will be flying high in a few years once they mature as a company.

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