bdwalters
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Brian
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2024
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 65
- Reaction score
- 121
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Vehicles
- R1S, Model 3, Model Y
- Occupation
- Hardware Engineer
- Thread starter
- #1
I've now driven my R1S for 1800 miles or so, so I thought I would write a review for the benefit of people considering a Rivian. Most of my observations are similar to others I have read, so this probably won't be particularly novel to most, but maybe I'll provide some new nuance and another datapoint.
Delivery: This went great. I arrived for my appointment, signed a couple of forms, took a quick tour of the car, and was off. Everybody was nice and professional, and nobody tried to sell me extended warranties, fabric protectors, and all those other dealer rip-offs. Nice!
Build Quality: Mine appears to be really, really well put together. The paint looks good. The panel alignment is good. All the doors open and close cleanly. Everything works. There is a slight wrinkle in the headliner above the third row, but I struggle to find anything else to complain about. I haven't had to take it in for any reason.
Navigation and Voice Commands: The navigation sometimes struggles to find places that my Tesla has no problem with, and the voice commands are also behind what Tesla supports. Rivian has made good progress on software since I've owned the vehicle, so I imagine this will improve soon.
Software: Outside of the navigation and voice commands, I think the rest of the software is pretty solid. The menus work well and make sense, and the operation is quick. The graphics are good. I use Spotify for music and podcasts, and that works fine, even better than with my Tesla. Basic functionality is good, comparable to Tesla. They added scheduled departure recently, which I love. The new menus they added in the last release are convenient. In general, the software is solid and getting better rapidly. Voice calls work well, and I like being able to ask Alexa questions. I also really like the garage door opener that I can operate with one click on the steering wheel and the 3D parking feature.
Ride and Handling: I have the 22s. The ride quality in Sport is really rough, particularly if the tires are even slightly overinflated. I generally ride in All-Purpose with the ride height in the middle and the stiffness in moderate. In that setting, I think the ride is perfectly acceptable even over bad roads, but certainly not plush. It's better than the ride in our Model 3 or Model Y for sure. The handling is incredible for such a big vehicle. It really corners flat and can hustle around corners nearly as well as my Model 3. It's fun to drive.
Steering, Braking, and Acceleration: Rivian really nailed the regenerative breaking. It's much stronger than what Tesla has, which makes one-pedal driving much easier to me. I basically never use the brakes except in an emergency. The pads are going to literally last forever. The acceleration is amazing. You can leave the vast majority of sports cars in your wake. I didn't like the throttle mapping when I got the car, but a recent software release really improved it. It feels much better now and makes controlling the car much easier. To me the steering is a little looser than I prefer, but I'm used to driving small, sporty cars (think Miatas). I have no trouble placing the car precisely, so this isn't a functional issue, just a feel preference.
Insurance: I got a quote from Rivian that was absolutely horror show. I ended up getting insurance through USAA for a fraction of the price, similar to what we pay for our Teslas. If you get a bad insurance quote, be sure to shop around. It's amazing how much the quotes can differ.
Charging: I charge with the included charger through a 50-amp appliance plug in my garage that I paid an electrician $250 to install. I get about 14 mph of range out of this, which means it needs to charge 2-3 hours a night on average to get me back to "full" each morning. I don' t personally see any need for a fixed wall charger, as this is plenty of speed. (I've been charging my Model 3 through a standard 20-amp wall socket for 2 years now and haven't needed more than that.) We haven't taken it on a trip yet, but we should be getting the Tesla network adapters soon, which should make road tripping fairly easy.
Styling: I love how it looks. My wife thinks it looks like a Rolls Royce in silver. It's futuristic without looking stupid. (Cybertruck, I'm looking at you.) I think the design will age really well. The interior in Ocean Coast is lovely. I think it has enough style to be interesting without being overdone. My Tesla looks really spartan and boring inside in comparison. I have 2 young children, so I worried about the white interior in my wife's Tesla, but it has held up fine. I'm guessing the Rivian interior will also hold up well, particularly since the materials seem much more rugged and better quality. The lighter color should keep the car cooler during the Texas summers.
Comfort and Convenience: I find the front seats comfortable. They heat up nicely, along with the steering wheel. I'm guessing I'm going to like the cooled seats once summer hits. My son likes being able to control the rear heated seats through the rear screen. The latch anchors are readily accessible for car seats. The 3rd row is fine for a couple of kids or small adults, which is who 3rd rows are made for. Even with all of the seats up, there is plenty of storage space in the back and in the huge frunk. If you drop the back seats, you've got a ton of room for moving big items.
All in all, I think this is an amazing vehicle. It's as fast as a sports car, can off road better than anything this side of a modded Wrangler, and can tow a boat, all while being comfortable for 6 passengers. It's hard to believe that's even possible. I think this is probably the single most capable production vehicle ever built. I'm an engineer, so I can appreciate all of the great work that went into developing this vehicle. Nice work, Rivian! I'm looking forward to what they do next. The future is here, and it's great!
Delivery: This went great. I arrived for my appointment, signed a couple of forms, took a quick tour of the car, and was off. Everybody was nice and professional, and nobody tried to sell me extended warranties, fabric protectors, and all those other dealer rip-offs. Nice!
Build Quality: Mine appears to be really, really well put together. The paint looks good. The panel alignment is good. All the doors open and close cleanly. Everything works. There is a slight wrinkle in the headliner above the third row, but I struggle to find anything else to complain about. I haven't had to take it in for any reason.
Navigation and Voice Commands: The navigation sometimes struggles to find places that my Tesla has no problem with, and the voice commands are also behind what Tesla supports. Rivian has made good progress on software since I've owned the vehicle, so I imagine this will improve soon.
Software: Outside of the navigation and voice commands, I think the rest of the software is pretty solid. The menus work well and make sense, and the operation is quick. The graphics are good. I use Spotify for music and podcasts, and that works fine, even better than with my Tesla. Basic functionality is good, comparable to Tesla. They added scheduled departure recently, which I love. The new menus they added in the last release are convenient. In general, the software is solid and getting better rapidly. Voice calls work well, and I like being able to ask Alexa questions. I also really like the garage door opener that I can operate with one click on the steering wheel and the 3D parking feature.
Ride and Handling: I have the 22s. The ride quality in Sport is really rough, particularly if the tires are even slightly overinflated. I generally ride in All-Purpose with the ride height in the middle and the stiffness in moderate. In that setting, I think the ride is perfectly acceptable even over bad roads, but certainly not plush. It's better than the ride in our Model 3 or Model Y for sure. The handling is incredible for such a big vehicle. It really corners flat and can hustle around corners nearly as well as my Model 3. It's fun to drive.
Steering, Braking, and Acceleration: Rivian really nailed the regenerative breaking. It's much stronger than what Tesla has, which makes one-pedal driving much easier to me. I basically never use the brakes except in an emergency. The pads are going to literally last forever. The acceleration is amazing. You can leave the vast majority of sports cars in your wake. I didn't like the throttle mapping when I got the car, but a recent software release really improved it. It feels much better now and makes controlling the car much easier. To me the steering is a little looser than I prefer, but I'm used to driving small, sporty cars (think Miatas). I have no trouble placing the car precisely, so this isn't a functional issue, just a feel preference.
Insurance: I got a quote from Rivian that was absolutely horror show. I ended up getting insurance through USAA for a fraction of the price, similar to what we pay for our Teslas. If you get a bad insurance quote, be sure to shop around. It's amazing how much the quotes can differ.
Charging: I charge with the included charger through a 50-amp appliance plug in my garage that I paid an electrician $250 to install. I get about 14 mph of range out of this, which means it needs to charge 2-3 hours a night on average to get me back to "full" each morning. I don' t personally see any need for a fixed wall charger, as this is plenty of speed. (I've been charging my Model 3 through a standard 20-amp wall socket for 2 years now and haven't needed more than that.) We haven't taken it on a trip yet, but we should be getting the Tesla network adapters soon, which should make road tripping fairly easy.
Styling: I love how it looks. My wife thinks it looks like a Rolls Royce in silver. It's futuristic without looking stupid. (Cybertruck, I'm looking at you.) I think the design will age really well. The interior in Ocean Coast is lovely. I think it has enough style to be interesting without being overdone. My Tesla looks really spartan and boring inside in comparison. I have 2 young children, so I worried about the white interior in my wife's Tesla, but it has held up fine. I'm guessing the Rivian interior will also hold up well, particularly since the materials seem much more rugged and better quality. The lighter color should keep the car cooler during the Texas summers.
Comfort and Convenience: I find the front seats comfortable. They heat up nicely, along with the steering wheel. I'm guessing I'm going to like the cooled seats once summer hits. My son likes being able to control the rear heated seats through the rear screen. The latch anchors are readily accessible for car seats. The 3rd row is fine for a couple of kids or small adults, which is who 3rd rows are made for. Even with all of the seats up, there is plenty of storage space in the back and in the huge frunk. If you drop the back seats, you've got a ton of room for moving big items.
All in all, I think this is an amazing vehicle. It's as fast as a sports car, can off road better than anything this side of a modded Wrangler, and can tow a boat, all while being comfortable for 6 passengers. It's hard to believe that's even possible. I think this is probably the single most capable production vehicle ever built. I'm an engineer, so I can appreciate all of the great work that went into developing this vehicle. Nice work, Rivian! I'm looking forward to what they do next. The future is here, and it's great!
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