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I recently became a Rivian owner of both the R1T and R1S. They are great trucks, but I believe the R1T is truly revolutionary. However, these are products that I believe can be improved. As a fan of both the product and the company, I thought it would be worthwhile to contribute (constructively) on how these products could be legitimately improved. Direct buyer feedback, as it were.
I think it would be great if others could also add their constructive feedback.
Please keep the complaints to a minimum and focus on product development improvements. Not process or QA improvements - those are obvious.
I'll start:
One Pedal Driving - I loathe one pedal driving. I should be able to disable this. It's not smooth, especially on bumpy roads in the Northeast. It expects perfect foot placement and zero body movement (and tortures passengers if you have to reposition your foot on the pedal). It doesn't allow for anticipation/preparation while driving (i.e., potential deer on side of road - cover the brake, prep for fast corner, etc.), and is generally less efficient than coasting. My Taycan blends regen/braking seamless with acceleration and is more palatable to passengers and more intuitive as a driver. Porsche also seems to agree with the efficiency argument: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1138776_one-pedal-driving-in-evs-isn-t-efficient-says-porsche
Lack of Power Button - Sometimes I just don't want to engage with the car. As a driver, I want to know when I can and can't engage with the car. I want to just sit in it, or be around it. For example, when I wait in the car while someone is inside a store, I often just want the windows down and the car off so as not to use any power (HVAC, Radio, parking lights, etc.). Just off. This feels like a "see what we can do with tech" move instead of a usability feature. The impact is while waiting or my wife to finish physical therapy, I was watching my range drop.
Proximity locking Implementation - I don't need it to lock every time I walk away from it. This is especially annoying when I and my kids are getting things out while it's raining - and every time I walk away it locks it. Other OEMs have figured this out by simply touching the door handle to lock or unlock. Physical controls are not always a bad thing.
Access Height Button - I often need to get into the frunk/bed with very heavy items (600lbs of salt yesterday). I don't use the kneel function as I like the look of it at standard height when parked. Having a button that would allow it to drop to access height for laoding/unloading would be exceptionally useful.
Key Fob - It's huge and black. The lack of contrasting color on the buttons means it's impossible to see in the dark.
Phone As A Key Required For App Integration - PAAK works on one of my cars, but not the other one. This makes it interesting to see what the app can and can't do without it sync'd. Interestingly - without PAAK setup, you can't: see the charging status, set the interior temp to precool/heat, lock the doors, etc. This seems like a poor choice on tight integration. The app should allow for more features even without the phone registered as a key
Suspension Noise during Oscillation - There are quite a lot of noises being transferred through the suspension movement. While challenging to decrease this, it would pay dividends to the otherwise relatively serene environment of the cabin.
I'm sure I'll add more later, but thought this collection was long enough to put out into the world. Hopefully Rivian is watching.
Add yours below!
I think it would be great if others could also add their constructive feedback.
Please keep the complaints to a minimum and focus on product development improvements. Not process or QA improvements - those are obvious.
I'll start:
One Pedal Driving - I loathe one pedal driving. I should be able to disable this. It's not smooth, especially on bumpy roads in the Northeast. It expects perfect foot placement and zero body movement (and tortures passengers if you have to reposition your foot on the pedal). It doesn't allow for anticipation/preparation while driving (i.e., potential deer on side of road - cover the brake, prep for fast corner, etc.), and is generally less efficient than coasting. My Taycan blends regen/braking seamless with acceleration and is more palatable to passengers and more intuitive as a driver. Porsche also seems to agree with the efficiency argument: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1138776_one-pedal-driving-in-evs-isn-t-efficient-says-porsche
Lack of Power Button - Sometimes I just don't want to engage with the car. As a driver, I want to know when I can and can't engage with the car. I want to just sit in it, or be around it. For example, when I wait in the car while someone is inside a store, I often just want the windows down and the car off so as not to use any power (HVAC, Radio, parking lights, etc.). Just off. This feels like a "see what we can do with tech" move instead of a usability feature. The impact is while waiting or my wife to finish physical therapy, I was watching my range drop.
Proximity locking Implementation - I don't need it to lock every time I walk away from it. This is especially annoying when I and my kids are getting things out while it's raining - and every time I walk away it locks it. Other OEMs have figured this out by simply touching the door handle to lock or unlock. Physical controls are not always a bad thing.
Access Height Button - I often need to get into the frunk/bed with very heavy items (600lbs of salt yesterday). I don't use the kneel function as I like the look of it at standard height when parked. Having a button that would allow it to drop to access height for laoding/unloading would be exceptionally useful.
Key Fob - It's huge and black. The lack of contrasting color on the buttons means it's impossible to see in the dark.
Phone As A Key Required For App Integration - PAAK works on one of my cars, but not the other one. This makes it interesting to see what the app can and can't do without it sync'd. Interestingly - without PAAK setup, you can't: see the charging status, set the interior temp to precool/heat, lock the doors, etc. This seems like a poor choice on tight integration. The app should allow for more features even without the phone registered as a key
Suspension Noise during Oscillation - There are quite a lot of noises being transferred through the suspension movement. While challenging to decrease this, it would pay dividends to the otherwise relatively serene environment of the cabin.
I'm sure I'll add more later, but thought this collection was long enough to put out into the world. Hopefully Rivian is watching.
Add yours below!
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