Introductions & Welcome Thread 👋

[salted]

We had a leased MY LR that ended in the Spring. I bought a used Gen 1 R1T quad (only 1 kid). So far it’s been great, and I got the service history before buying it, which gave me a sense of whether it had any significant issues. I caution going through a dealership the Mercedes-Benz dealer I purchased from mishandled almost every part of the transaction (including trying to charge me for ICE add on services). I’ve put close to 7k miles since purchase and the only real issue was the tonneau cover failing.

We have one other Tesla so I swapped out Tesla charger to the Universal charger which has been awesome.

The only drawback that I would take seriously is Tesla Autopilot even with its warts, is still light years better than Driver +. That said I don’t really miss it.

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[Erik+]

This looks like almost the same question someone asked a week or so ago and got tons of feedback on. Not sure how to link to other threads, but I'm sure someone will post it or you can search for it. Was almost an identical question with someone looking to swap to an R1S from a Tesla and was concerned about range and cold weather.

 

[ukyank]

I have both.

Rivian - better range, larger space, more hp (depending on option), Gen 2 has better cameras than Tesla, gen 1 worse.

Tesla - more refined tech, NACS is better, cheaper/faster to charge, much better stereo; more car like driving

Prefer the Y for daily commuting; Rivian for longer drives and/or needing the extra space

 

[mikehmb]

Never had a serious problem with my Gen 1, and I love the motor whine and performance of the Quad, but if I was starting from scratch today I'd lease a Gen2 performance dual and probably go Max battery.

That said, even with Max you'll be hard pressed to see 400+ miles in the winter due to it always being in AWD (or so I assume to the mountains) and cold (heat pump in Gen2 but still).

 

[TexasBob]

FWIW, I had a 18 model 3, wife currently has a model s lr (404 miles), I had a Gen 1 quad R1S (sold) and currently drive a gen 1.5 dual motor large R1T (352 miles) both on 21s.

my 2 cents: I love the R1 and ever since I got my A2Z I always drive the R1 on road trips. I miss the FSD but not enough to take my wife’s Model S instead on the R1T. My normal road trips are either 240 miles to Dallas or 580 miles to nw Arkansas.

i can make Dallas without a charge (driving 75 + much of the way), if I start at 90% but I rarely do that because I need to find a place to charge when I get there and it is more convenient to stop at the 2:30 or 3 hour mark and take a break and recharge.

If I were buying today I would get a dual motor (plenty of power), max pack because I can keep the road trips between 15% -75% which makes for fast charging and comfortable buffers. But I seriously love the Rivian and prefer almost everything about it over Tesla’s (still) flagship vehicle which is in our garage and available whenever I want it. I like the room the visibility the ride the comfort the practicality the interior etc.

Just one opinion

 

[DayTripping]

Do you really need the S? I personally was all set on it, but after driving the both the Gen 1 and 2 versions, I thought the R1T felt more composed. Just a thought.

At the end of the day, I bought a used quad motor Gen 1 R1T. It was super low miles. It was behind about 5 major SW updates so I got to live through each improvement. I have to say, they do a lot of things better than Tesla but some areas still behind. Most notably as other have mentioned, is their version of autopilot.

I have bought 5 Teslas over the last 3 years and still own 3 of them. The only Tesla that I find more fun to drive than my R1T is my S Plaid. For a daily driver the R1T is actually better than it, just not as brutally fast, but almost as quick as my new Model 3 Performance (2nd gen). The R1T is light years ahead of my Model Y.

Overall, the range is pretty close to advertised, unlike any Tesla I've owned other than possibly my Model 3 LR. It was fairly close compared to most Teslas.

As for issues, mine have been minor. I had an issue getting the SW to update initially. They had to push it out and then the next 4 went smoothly. My key cards don't work on the outside of the door but everywhere else, so likely a sensor. I have a driver's door gasket that is noisy above 75 mph. All should be easy fixes and they actually offer loaners unlike Tesla now. The downside was the service scheduling which was about 5-6 weeks out. In my area Tesla is typically 2 weeks out.

If someone told me tomorrow I could only keep on of my cars, it would be a hard choice between my Plaid and R1T. I like performance and the Plaid is phenomenal, fairly efficient, and great range. The R1T is still supercar quick but tapers off a bit more at 70 than how it feels to 60. It is THE best riding truck I've ever driven and rides better than the R1S. It is an incredibly versatile vehicle and handles quite well too. Put it in conserve mode and the efficiency is pretty good.

FYI - the Gen 1& 2 max pack batteries are about the same and not much bigger than a Gen 1 large pack. They did shrink the size on the Gen 2 large pack. So with my large pack, I am getting pretty close to 290-300 miles on a charge but most of the time I am NOT in conserve mode which basically turns it into a FWD vehicle.

Know what I know now, I'd likely go with a quad motor again, or possibly the new tri-motor. The individual motor control allows torque biasing which makes the truck feel amazing nimble. I am not sure I'd spend the extra $50-70k though that a Gen 2 would cost over my Gen 1. If I was more cost conscious, I might go with the Gen 2, dual motor performance max pack. Even then, I'd spend about 25k more than what I picked my used R1T for.

I've had no issues with using the Tesla charging network. The one thing to keep in mind at home is even on a Tesla wall charger, you are only going to gain about 24 mile of range per hour since the Rivian is less efficient and as a result you have a larger pack to fill. My large pack is about 40% bigger than the pack in my S. Thinking about it now, the answer popped into my head. I'd keep the Rivian over any Tesla I have even being behind on autonomous driving. I don't get any phantom breaking with my Rivian on the highway. I love the 360 camera view. The seats are more comfortable and just a more pleasant cockpit for me. It would be a touch choice but my R1T would nose out my Plaid but just a bit. Compared to my old Y, I wouldn't even think about it.

 

[PaythePiper]

I have model y as well as gen 1 r1s dual motor. Here are few differences from my perspective-
1. Space - this was my main reason to get r1s along with model y

2. Size, parking - for downtown and locations with limited parking, I tend to use model y

3. Efficiency and cost of commute - model y is cheaper to use. I use rivian only if I need that extra space and longer road trips. For daily commute, I prefer model y

If you are mostly using this for short trips and don't need extra space, I would not recommend swaping ur model y with r1s

It’s nuts how much cheaper the Y is to run, and how much faster it charges. Teslas spoil you, and you don’t realize the small things until you get into another EV brand

 

[Spaceball1]

Just some notes to add to the others. I had a Model Y Performance for 3 years and sold it about 6 months after I picked up my used R1T last year. I did love a lot of things about the Model Y (drove50k miles) and still am a Tesla fan (the Elon drama doesn’t bother me).

I’d like to counterpoint a few things about Autopilot vs Driver+. I do still think autopilot is better overall, but a few things I really like about Driver+…

• Capacitive touch wheel vs torque sensing that Tesla uses. This is a game changer for me on long trips, and I’ve done several with both vehicles now. It is tiresome learning to find the balance of torque needed to keep AP happy whereas with driver+ I just keep my hand gently on the wheel all day long
• I think I’ve had one true phantom braking event in the Rivian vs probably 30-40 in the Tesla.
• Rivian performs much better when in the right lane approaching on ramps and not veering over like AP does

Not as related but sort of, rain sensing wipers and auto high beams work way better on the Rivian. Ride quality and seat comfort is worlds better too.

As far as range goes, I definitely get more out of the Rivian (R1T quad large) than I did in my Tesla. I can frequently do round trip from Colorado Springs to Breckenridge for ski trips no problem (leaving home with 100%) versus rarely could I do it in the Tesla (with 18” snows). That’s pretty mountainous terrain and goes through some single digits to get there, so I’d say you’d be good with a large pack at least. I also have heavy off-road LT tires (Wildpeak) on my truck so it’s truly worst-case.

Off topic a bit but we actually replaced our Tesla with a Kia EV6 for my wife, and it rides even better than the Rivian TBH and overall is a much better car. Software and app are horrible on it, though ?

 

[TwelveVoltMan]

This looks like almost the same question someone asked a week or so ago and got tons of feedback on. Not sure how to link to other threads, but I'm sure someone will post it or you can search for it. Was almost an identical question with someone looking to swap to an R1S from a Tesla and was concerned about range and cold weather.

If you are referring to the thread from the guy in New York who was commuting 180 miles daily in a Model Y in the cold and snow and considering a Rivian, I have read that whole thread.

 

[TwelveVoltMan]

Do you really need the S? I personally was all set on it, but after driving the both the Gen 1 and 2 versions, I thought the R1T felt more composed. Just a thought.

Yes, I need the S. We have two kids and a large dog.

 

[TwelveVoltMan]

Just a quick update: I ordered a dual performance max R1S.

@doit82 I used your referral code. Thanks!

 

[doit82]

Just a quick update: I ordered a dual performance max R1S.

@doit82 I used your referral code. Thanks!

Congrats! and thanks so much! Enjoy it!

John

 

[Zoul]

hope I'm not a bother by continuing on this conversation, by all means if this needs to be posted elsewhere I understand. it amazes me that there are 40 posts in this thread, primarily within a couple days of my op. significantly better community here than ive been in with the ram, and reminds me of the early days of the avalanche forums. this is a good sign to me.

little update. the wife and i decided the best course of action is to test drive a used r1t with "high" mileage first. this gives us a chance to see how the vehicle ages as the mileage racks up. obviously a newer low mileage unit is the better buy, but in the past we have test driven vehicles that were practically new and found them to have no character. the newness tended to cloud our judgment of the actual car. leaving us disappointed on the few we have purchased once we had racked up the miles.

we have found a dealer "local" to us that has 3x 2022 r1t launch editions at various mileages. we have a testdrive scheduled for tomorrow on the highest mileage one. our plan is to not buy anything yet, especially since I am on a buisness trip next week. I will update when I get the chance.

 

[mudito]

hope I'm not a bother by continuing on this conversation, by all means if this needs to be posted elsewhere I understand. it amazes me that there are 40 posts in this thread, primarily within a couple days of my op. significantly better community here than ive been in with the ram, and reminds me of the early days of the avalanche forums. this is a good sign to me.

little update. the wife and i decided the best course of action is to test drive a used r1t with "high" mileage first. this gives us a chance to see how the vehicle ages as the mileage racks up. obviously a newer low mileage unit is the better buy, but in the past we have test driven vehicles that were practically new and found them to have no character. the newness tended to cloud our judgment of the actual car. leaving us disappointed on the few we have purchased once we had racked up the miles.

we have found a dealer "local" to us that has 3x 2022 r1t launch editions at various mileages. we have a testdrive scheduled for tomorrow on the highest mileage one. our plan is to not buy anything yet, especially since I am on a buisness trip next week. I will update when I get the chance.

That's a great plan.

Please do update us here on your perception of the 2022 Gen1 unit you'll be testing out!

 

[Laserboy1054]

That's a very reasonable plan--stay cool while making the decision. You need to make a purchase of this scale rationally. There _are_ cons (in addition to the price). I'm five months into my ownership of an R1T and don't regret the purchase at all, but each of us is different. (Also, I got a Compass Yellow truck. That's worth a bit of extra impetuousness!)

Keep us posted!

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