New Gen 2 Rivian review video by Out of Spec

[Donald Stanfield]

I met him in person when he was filming some content for Magna back in March of 22. Never found out what the fallout in their relationship was, the video they were producing was supposed to be made public. I was invited to get the facility tour, didn't have time to stick around for the lap they did after to film. It was a pretty cool experience, as I didn't usually get to see the entire facility when I was working in them. And yeah, I obviously was only invited because of my Hummer.

He seemed like an okay person. I think youtube attracts the type of people who crave attention in general, especially ones that are trying to make it a career. I haven't been watching most of his videos since then because of the sheer length of them. Definitely don't care to watch any of his CT content, as it's not a vehicle I'm interested in.

I agree that most YouTubers fit into the attention seeking box. Being famous feels like a punishment to me and I always take a pause when I meet someone who has the goal of being famous.

After his latest CT video when he was basically bragging about how much hate his CT gets it’s clear to me Kyle is especially desperate for attention as he will take visceral hatred over being ignored. The only thing that will satiate that need is some therapy and some self esteem building.

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[Ngkgb]

I remember when he first got his Rivian, he had very few followers. He was able to get early access to the R1T and the following reviews got him a lot more subscribers. He benefited a lot by being able to jump the line. I used to watch his videos, but they are way too long. They are also geared towards his personal use case which is road tripping multiple times per year so his criticisms aren’t always valid for the vast majority of buyers.

 

[Vik]

I'm not gonna lie - this video rubbed me the wrong way a bit.

What Kyle fails to recognize is that while his critiques and praises are very valid on a technical level, his delivery is extremely biased and sways a lot of people for better or for worse.

I want to keep watching, because he gives technical details nobody else does, but it's getting harder and harder to overlook the biased delivery and tone. The general presentation and feel of a car is just so heavily influenced by how he's feeling that particular day.

His previous video on Gen 2, it was late at night, he was tired and grumpy AND they didn't address the particular thing was important to HIM. So he just railed on it for the entire video to the point that people were turned away from Rivian.

And now that he wants to buy one, suddenly he feels the need to make a video showing that he actually loves it and casually mentions his referral link.

</Rant>

You nailed it. I am a long time EV enthusiast and Kyle/OOS has the best EV content on YT. However, Kyle seems heavily swayed by Rivian's attention to his previous video and reaching out.

This video almost seems like an ad for Rivian which is not like OOS. I was waiting for him to confirm that they updated the Max pack charging curve and that is why he is recommending them again, but we didn't see that.

On the topic of DC charging the Max pack, I agree it is/was dogsh@T on the Tesla network. I haven't tested this recently, so maybe there are improvements.

 

[Zorg]

Alex on Autos and the sister channel EV Buyer’s Guide are far better reviews.

Ok, so I went and watched their review of the Jeep Wagoneer EV. I think I will stick with OOS. At least, his reviews seem a lot more honest, and he calls out shit cars when he reviews one. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[johnj2803]

so many sponsorship shout outs in the beginning now and its becoming annoying. I still watch their content tho because its relevant for me

 

[Mathme]

I gave up on OOS reviews about 1.5 years ago when they had an hour-plus long video talking about some sort of efficiency test in the R1T. The jist of the video was about 10 minutes long and the rest of it was blah...blah...blah. Waste of time.

The whole topic of influencers is interesting to me from a social standpoint. Now all of the sudden these people who have a camera, internet connection, and an interest in something are seen as experts...when they may or may not have any actual knowledge to back them up. I was on vacation in Portugal last year and the influencers were obnoxious in that they would take up an entire sidewalk for them to twirl about while their 3-4 people would be supplying lights and filming. Several times they they would show up, do their filming and then leave -- never once to even look at the site behind them nor read about it. No thanks.

 

[mpshizzle]

You nailed it. I am a long time EV enthusiast and Kyle/OOS has the best EV content on YT. However, Kyle seems heavily swayed by Rivian's attention to his previous video and reaching out.

This video almost seems like an ad for Rivian which is not like OOS. I was waiting for him to confirm that they updated the Max pack charging curve and that is why he is recommending them again, but we didn't see that.

On the topic of DC charging the Max pack, I agree it is/was dogsh@T on the Tesla network. I haven't tested this recently, so maybe there are improvements.

They did, in fact, change the pre-conditioning behavior. Based on my observations with my G2 Max pack. Now when you pre-condition it targets 90-100 for battery temp, instead of 60-70, like it used to target. I'm not seeing higher peak charging speed, but it definitely hits and stays at 200kw for longer and more consistently (IF you are preconditioning for long enough for it to reach 90)

 

[NY_Rob]

Is there a better reviewer on YouTube?

We need Project Farm to review a Rivian..
"Rivian says the R1T can do 0-60 in under 3 seconds and tow 11,000lbs... we're gonna test that!"
Load up the Farmebago, put Cousin Eddie behind the wheel and give her a tow!!

 

[PaythePiper]

They did, in fact, change the pre-conditioning behavior. Based on my observations with my G2 Max pack. Now when you pre-condition it targets 90-100 for battery temp, instead of 60-70, like it used to target. I'm not seeing higher peak charging speed, but it definitely hits and stays at 200kw for longer and more consistently (IF you are preconditioning for long enough for it to reach 90)

I’ll find out next week on the way to San Diego. Even though I’ll be at the mercy of a EA charger in Yuma since all the Tesla SC’ers are Tesla only there

 

[hammick]

I’ll find out next week on the way to San Diego. Even though I’ll be at the mercy of a EA charger in Yuma since all the Tesla SC’ers are Tesla only there

See my post #32 here: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/gen2-tri-poor-dcfc-speeds.39829/page-3#post-739024

Certainly not Taycan fast but much improved over what I experienced previously. I really hope Rivian can improve the charging when plugging in at a higher SOC (like 40%). Doesn't make sense that it can charge pretty fast at 40% if you plugged in at 10% but if you plug in at 40% it's much slower. Road trippin' between Kansas City and Montana we rarely have the option of timing a charge with 10% SOC remaining. You charge when you can, not when you want.

 

[evdriver2016]

Kyle was very off on his review of Gen 2. Really harping on something that 99% of drivers don't even notice.
And his dad was pretty off too on his points of Macan EV.

I like these guys and watch every video, so do cut them some slack, just wish they weren't off on the cars I think are the ones that are totally the best to get.

 

[PaythePiper]

See my post #32 here: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/gen2-tri-poor-dcfc-speeds.39829/page-3#post-739024

Certainly not Taycan fast but much improved over what I experienced previously. I really hope Rivian can improve the charging when plugging in at a higher SOC (like 40%). Doesn't make sense that it can charge pretty fast at 40% if you plugged in at 10% but if you plug in at 40% it's much slower. Road trippin' between Kansas City and Montana we rarely have the option of timing a charge with 10% SOC remaining. You charge when you can, not when you want.

All great points. Thanks for the link

 

[AARivian48]

need someone to make his videos into 2 minute shorts... no one has that kind of time. I stopped watching months ago.

 

[Vik]

They did, in fact, change the pre-conditioning behavior. Based on my observations with my G2 Max pack. Now when you pre-condition it targets 90-100 for battery temp, instead of 60-70, like it used to target. I'm not seeing higher peak charging speed, but it definitely hits and stays at 200kw for longer and more consistently (IF you are preconditioning for long enough for it to reach 90)

Great to hear. This was my Tesla SC charging curve back in January:

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

need someone to make his videos into 2 minute shorts... no one has that kind of time. I stopped watching months ago.

Even then, don't bother. Just another influencer spewing for clicks and for sake of self-promotion.

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