Smeek
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Hi all!
I just wanted to make a little post comparing my new R1S to the EV i have been driving for 2 years and have put almost 50k miles on, the audi e-tron GT.
Of course, these are very different vehicles and there is really no reason to compare them. Decided to get the R1S for an expanding family and for my poor wife who has to suffer in the back seat with our kiddo on road trips. My wife MASSIVELY prefers the R1S to the Audi. They are marketed at different segments, different price ranges, and are completely different animals. With that disclaimer, i thought maybe some people out there would find it interesting.
Ride Quality
Overall
I just wanted to make a little post comparing my new R1S to the EV i have been driving for 2 years and have put almost 50k miles on, the audi e-tron GT.
Of course, these are very different vehicles and there is really no reason to compare them. Decided to get the R1S for an expanding family and for my poor wife who has to suffer in the back seat with our kiddo on road trips. My wife MASSIVELY prefers the R1S to the Audi. They are marketed at different segments, different price ranges, and are completely different animals. With that disclaimer, i thought maybe some people out there would find it interesting.
Ride Quality
- Despite the Audi's comparatively small tires and laughably small ground clearance, it rides great. it has an air suspension that is adjustable in different drive modes. It is very comfortable and its long wheel base makes for nice highway driving. It also has rear wheel steering and torque vectoring, so it feels smaller than it is in parking lots and changing lanes at speeds is effortless.
- The R1S ride quality is very similar to the Audi. Somehow, this magnificent beast hides its 7000 lb weight very well. Turns are a little more clunky than the Audi (understandably) but not in an off putting manner. Ground clearance is great and i don't have to worry about scraping the bottom of the car on any minor uneven surface in parking lots.
- The Audi's steering is a little lacking in feedback. Changing out the stock tires to a set of Michelin's helps but it is not what i would call very direct (like a Taycan, for example). It is probably my biggest complaint about the Audi. I also do not love how large the steering wheel itself is. It seems huge. It does have a nice premium feel, though.
- I actually much prefer the R1S steering. It feels a lot more connected to the wheels, in turn making you feel a lot more connected to the vehicle. It is very direct. I like that the steering wheel itself is a smaller diameter.
- The R1S is quicker from a stop, if you go full throttle in Sport. It feels about the same as the Audi if you are in All Purpose and just hammering the pedal without doing a full out launch. At speed, however, i think the Audi is a bit quicker (say from 60-90). The Audi has a 2 speed gearbox which allows it to be quicker on the top end and typically shifts into 2nd around 55 depending on how hard you are pushing it.
- The R1S feels a little less sure of itself and less planted when mashing the throttle, to me. The Audi just feels completely effortless and always in control. The R1S just feels a little less planted when going full send. I think this could be largely a function of the tires, though. I have never liked Pirellis, in general. My Audi also came with Pirellis that weren't exactly confidence inspiring and swapping them to Michelins early on was a great move. I wish there were more tire options at 21" for the R1S; hopefully there will be in the Spring.
- I love, love, love the look of the e-tron GT. I had been following its development for 2 years before picking it up in 2021. I still think it is one of the nicest looking cars ever. The R1S is not as elegant, but i do love a good beefy/boxy SUV. I was not sold on the front end of the Rivian for a long time. It has grown on me and now that i realize it reminds me of WALLE i like it even more
- I am impressed with the build quality on the rivian, save for some things coming up in the next paragraph. I just did my first detail on it and got a good look at all the panel gaps. It does seem pretty uniform. The passenger side plastic trim is maybe 2 mm off where the passenger side door and back seat passenger door meet, but it's minor and you have to go looking for it. PPF was applied great from the factory.
- This is where things take a bit of a turn for me. The speakers in the R1S are just mediocre. It really cannot hold a candle to the Bang & Olufsen system in the Audi. it's just night and day. I wish the speakers sounded better. They aren't bad, but the difference is obvious after 2 years in the Audi.
- One pedal driving is new to me. I am not sure about it yet. I kinda don't like how i have to constantly 'let up' off the pedal which feels like an awkward position to constantly keep my foot in. The Audi has regen but it is not as strong as the R1S. It is also adjustable via paddle shifters. You can turn it fully off and coast.
- The R1S has a pretty noticeable steering wheel shake at high speeds above 60 mph, as if a tire is out of balance. This is my biggest complaint about the car. It just feels shoddy. I am about a month from putting on a set of winter tires/wheels that came mounted and balanced from tire rack, so i'm interested to see if this is just a balance issue (although you'd think Rivian could properly mount and road force balance a tire for a new car...). The audi has no shake even when cruising at 80-90 mph. It is solid as a rock.
- Wind nose is noticeably more in the R1S. This should not be surprising. It has a much less aerodynamic front end and not as expensive as the Audi. Still, i can't help but be disappointed by the amount of wind noise at 70 mph this thing generates.
- NVH. The audi has some rattles, more than i would like for a car of its price point. The R1S has as similar amount which i can forgive because of its weight and lower price. It bothers me more in the audi knowing i paid $122k for it.
- AC motor is quite loud in the R1s, even on the lowest fan setting. Not sure what's up with this.
- Range is better in the R1S, but not by much. The aud is only EPA rated for like 240 miles but i routinely get over 300 to a charge. Even if it were truly 240, though, it wouldn't matter to me.
- I drive a lot for work. The Audi is a beast in the snow with proper tires. I have never had an issue getting where i needed to go or needed any service for it. It's been rock solid with 0 issues whatsoever. Very confidence inspiring. I have a good relationship with my service center that is just a few min from my house.
- Day #8 with the R1S i was driving down the highway with my wife and baby in the back when i got a 'motor fault detected' error and had to go into turtle mode and get off the highway with hazards on, hard reset the car, and get back on my way. The error has not returned, but given this is such a new vehicle it was very disappointing. Time will tell if this is a real issue or just a software gremlin. I did contact service who said they would look at the logs of the event and get back to me about whether or not i needed to bring it in for service (because off the bat the next service day was 3 months out). None of this gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling but it's part of being an early adopter and i accept that. I haven't heard from service about it yet either.
- There is no comparison here. the Audi software is ancient, slow, and difficult to navigate. Although, the virtual cockpit looks great and is much more informative than the driver's side screen in the Rivian (for the love of god why is there no trip info on the Rivian?!) You are forced to use CarPlay in the audi because the native software is so awful.
- I cannot decide what i want to do with the Rivian with respect to the key. Do i use the Fob? do i use my phone? i haven't had issues with the phone but read some scary stories about the cloud going down and people getting stuck. i like the idea of the Fob, but it is quite bulky to carry around with me. For now, i've been keeping it in my center console and using the phone as a key primarily with a key card in my wallet.
Overall
- Overall i'm happy with the R1S. I do wish the steering wheel didn't shake like a go kart at highway speeds, (if switching the the snow setup does not fix this then i will have to bring it in for service -- hopefully just a balance issue), that the wind noise at highway speeds was less, and that the speakers were better but it drives great, the software is fantastic and i enjoy being a lot higher up off the ground on the road (i just feel safer). I also cannot wait to take it off roading, on ski trips and camping. We took the audi on a ski trip last year and it was just...not super comfortable.
- I do miss really being able to whip around corners like you can in the Audi, and the overtaking speeds on the highway/general feeling of being more planted on the road with the audi. Hopefully Michelin ends up making Defenders in 21" this spring and that solves some of those issues.
- Edit: forgot to add: while build quality on the whole seems good with the Rivian, my driver side door handle does make this weird audible click when opening the door that the other three door handles don't. It look like the body panel just under the handle is actually flexing a little causing the noise. I'm hoping mobile service can fix this type of thing. I noticed it the very first time i opened the door while taking delivery.
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