My impressions from driving an R1S

[richguess]

I was able to drive an R1S. My impression was it’s roomy, handles OK (for 7k pounds) and good looking in the flesh. My complaints would be more minor, the turn indicator drove me crazy, the glass roof has the potential to really heat up the inside and needs a sliding cover, like my old Touareg. The layout with 3rd and 2nd row seats down is great. Huge room. It’s 18” longer than our RAV4 Prime. One worrisome thing is Car and Driver’s recent range test at a steady 75 mph: 230 miles. That was a launch edition, not sure which tires, but even allowing for 10-15 more miles with the 21” wheels, 245 instead of 316 is a pretty dramatic drop, if you’re doing road trips. Also (personal preference) after seeing the Limestone in the flesh, we switched to El Cap Granite. Our delivery is 7/23-9/23.

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[Bee]

FWIW being somewhat of a BEV veteran now anything over 200-220 is more than you need provided you have decent charging speeds and a reliable infrastructure. Truth of the matter is 200-220 miles represents a bit over 3 hours of driving at those speeds and even if you didn't need to stop in that time, you should now.

My Bolt is the worst case scenario and I still take it on regional trips without even thinking about it. Non-tesla network, slow 50kW charging and in winter I get like 150 miles at highway speeds. Even in those worse case scenarios in both weather conditions and car as long as I'm only charging once or twice I'm not even thinking about how much it sucks.

Right now my 2 cars are the slowest charging on the market pretty much at 50kW and 75kW. I ran the Kona down to OBX, 9 hour drive each way, through the dreaded DE deadzone corridor, and still, was just fine.

 

[electruck]

Things that are different tend to grab our attention until they become familiar. I suspect you will get used to the turn indicator. My only complaint about it was that it was not as loud as I am used to.

The range reduction at speed is to be expected and not out of line with any other EV.

 

[lmr]

One worrisome thing is Car and Driver’s recent range test at a steady 75 mph: 230 miles. That was a launch edition, not sure which tires, but even allowing for 10-15 more miles with the 21” wheels, 245 instead of 316 is a pretty dramatic drop, if you’re doing road trips.

Assuming you are referring to this article: 2022 Rivian R1T, where Car and Driver stated the following regarding range

On our 75-mph real-world highway route, our test vehicle, which was wearing 20-inch all-terrain tires, only delivered 220 miles of range. We tested a second R1T, this one wearing 22-inch all-season street tires, and recorded a range of 280 miles.

With the R1S being slightly more efficient than the R1Ts tested by Car and Driver, due to shape, along with a set of 21" shoes, you should have no problems achieving the EPA Estimates for the R1S, given optimal weather conditions of course.

 

[mini2nut]

The turn signal indicator noise was designed to mimic a raindrop. You'll get used to it.

 

[freshpow]

Assuming you are referring to this article: 2022 Rivian R1T, where Car and Driver stated the following regarding range

With the R1S being slightly more efficient than the R1Ts tested by Car and Driver, due to shape, along with a set of 21" shoes, you should have no problems achieving the EPA Estimates for the R1S, given optimal weather conditions of course.

Worth noting that in addition to the difference in tires, the 220 miles they recorded in their range test was with an outdoor temp of 57 degrees and the cabin heater set to 72 degrees. Make of that what you will. See below for more details.

"We tested our first R1T in November 2021, where it went 220 miles in our 75-mph highway-range test. That was a Launch Edition and wearing 20-inch Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tires. Recently, we ran a second R1T, also a Launch Edition, shod with 22-inch Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Seasons, and were surprised when it went 280 miles, nearly 30-percent further. Of course there are always other variables, but the tires seem like the big one in this case. If anything, we would have thought the 85-degree temperature during this most recent test would hurt the range versus the 57-degree day for the earlier run. As always, we set the climate control to 72 degrees in its auto setting during every range test. This latest R1T was also 137 pounds lighter, at 7036 pounds total."

 

[richguess]

It wasn’t the noise, it was the turn indicator return that bothered me. And regards Car and Driver, it wasn’t an R1T, it was a very recent comparison between the R1S and the BMW iX M60.

 

[SlaterGS]

FWIW being somewhat of a BEV veteran now anything over 200-220 is more than you need provided you have decent charging speeds and a reliable infrastructure. Truth of the matter is 200-220 miles represents a bit over 3 hours of driving at those speeds and even if you didn't need to stop in that time, you should now.

If you are saying 200-220 miles in perfect conditions is more than needed at a 100% charge then I'm going to say you are waaaaay off.
Let's ignore the fact that this is meant to be an adventure vehicle for a second and take into account things like cold weather driving, speed, elevation change, bike racks, RTT, towing, etc.
Those miles will be slashed terribly and since there aren't decent charging speeds and reliable infrastructure in the majority of the US that is a big problem.

Now if you are saying 200-220 actual miles after many of those things are taken into account then I would agree with you for the most part. However infrastructure just isn't there in a lot of areas yet but it will get there.

 

[SASSquatch]

I was able to drive an R1S. My impression was it’s roomy, handles OK (for 7k pounds) and good looking in the flesh. My complaints would be more minor, the turn indicator drove me crazy, the glass roof has the potential to really heat up the inside and needs a sliding cover, like my old Touareg. The layout with 3rd and 2nd row seats down is great. Huge room. It’s 18” longer than our RAV4 Prime. One worrisome thing is Car and Driver’s recent range test at a steady 75 mph: 230 miles. That was a launch edition, not sure which tires, but even allowing for 10-15 more miles with the 21” wheels, 245 instead of 316 is a pretty dramatic drop, if you’re doing road trips. Also (personal preference) after seeing the Limestone in the flesh, we switched to El Cap Granite. Our delivery is 7/23-9/23.

Congrats on the test drive. I have been considering LImestone - can you share what made you switch to El Cap when you saw Limestone in person? I have yet to see it in person and every picture of it online looks completely different. I've dubbed Limestone Lyingstone™ for that reason...

 

[richguess]

it was a little plain vanilla. Just didn’t click with me. My wife didn’t like it either. I loved it in the pics.

 

[whyasky]

Congrats on the test drive. I have been considering LImestone - can you share what made you switch to El Cap when you saw Limestone in person? I have yet to see it in person and every picture of it online looks completely different. I've dubbed Limestone Lyingstone™ for that reason...

I ended up with launch green but after I saw the Limestone in person it was my second favorite. Would have pulled the trigger on one from the shop but my number was called with my exact config first. I thought the Limestone was in the nardo gray family. Not exactly that or the tacoma cement color, but in that zip code and a great color for a truck. Definitely not like the subaru cool khaki gray which has lots of blue that Limestone did not (to my eyes).

Including a gratuitous Limestone photo with sun and shade in case you're not confused enough!

 

[mini2nut]

it was a little plain vanilla. Just didn’t click with me. My wife didn’t like it either. I loved it in the pics.

Limestone was my first choice until one passed by me in the opposite direction. The color was bland and it didn’t stand out on the road. I decided to go with a classic, Glacier White.

 

[Thud]

I would agree on range in terms of how much distance you'd need on trips; but the key metric is how quickly can you charge for the next leg of your journey. Say you're driving 2.5-3 hours at a time, then 200 miles of range could handle that for a trip. But if that 200 miles is nearly your entire battery capacity, you're going to spend a lot longer charging since you'll have to go closer to 100% at every stop.

Rather than look at max range, for trips I care about how many miles I can drive from 80% to 15% capacity which is what I normally use for supercharging (above 80% it gets too slow).

On my 2018 model 3, with battery degradation (assuming 280miles max) that battery range will cover ~180 miles, which will be comfortably 2.5 highway hours in warmer weather. For winter road trips I'd rather have something closer to 400 miles max range, but in reality I'll just have to accept longer charging stops.

The R1T would give me more breathing room despite the lower actual efficiency; not sure I'd ever actually need the 400 mile max pack unless I'm towing or live somewhere where cold weather is more of an issue.

 

[Thud]

Also I have to wonder if Car and Driver tested the range in All-purpose mode, or in Conserve Mode. Aren't people easily beating the EPA range in Conserve mode?

And why can't Rivian dynamically engage/disengage two of the drive wheels depending on power requirements, like Tesla does? Why require a manual mode change to switch from "sipping elections" to "need passing power NOW"? Just floor the pedal. Computer should interpret that as "I'm gonna switch to Sport for a bit."

 

[kylealden]

Also I have to wonder if Car and Driver tested the range in All-purpose mode, or in Conserve Mode. Aren't people easily beating the EPA range in Conserve mode?

Yes, they are - but it's also pretty realistic (adjusted for tire choice) in All Purpose mode as well. Just not at 75mph on the highway - EPA test cycles don't go much over 60 and wind drag gets exponentially worse at higher speeds.

And why can't Rivian dynamically engage/disengage two of the drive wheels depending on power requirements, like Tesla does? Why require a manual mode change to switch from "sipping elections" to "need passing power NOW"? Just floor the pedal. Computer should interpret that as "I'm gonna switch to Sport for a bit."

To my (layperson, not an expert) knowledge Tesla can't do this? They simply use different motors that are optimized at different torque bands. I think all modern Teslas use permanent magnet motors, the the R1T.

It's possible to switch off induction motors (and I think older Teslas did this at highway speeds), but disengaging a permanent magnet motor requires mechanical linkage like Rivian has. Wearing that linkage with lots of automatic actuation at high torque seems like a recipe for accelerated failure.

It's also probably not desirable - two wheel drive is significantly worse for traction, driving dynamics, and tire wear, especially at the Rivian's weight. The compromises of Conserve mode are something you should opt into only when needed ("uh oh, I'm not gonna make that charger), not the other way around.

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