racekarl
Well-Known Member
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- #1
It seems like 90% or more of people here are coming from or comparing the Rivian to a Tesla, so maybe someone will appreciate the different perspective of one of the hundreds 
of owners of the short list of non-Tesla premium EVs out there.
My I-pace is a 2019 "First Edition" which means it was fully loaded with all available options. At the time the MSRP of that configuration was around $90k, but they were being steeply discounted and so I did not pay nearly that much. The MSRP and feature mix has been adjusted several times so it's hard to compare to today's I-pace, but overall it's similarly priced to the R1T.
Driving dynamics:
It was never going to be a really fair comparison on-road between a pickup truck and a sport-adjacent CUV, so it's no surprise that the I-pace is hands-down better driving, but the Rivian does put up a good show. It's certainly preferable to my wife's 2022 XC90 Recharge, and not even in the same conversation as the last truck I drove regularly. (Incidentally, the I-pace also has air suspension and it is surprisingly capable off-road, with more wading depth than an original Defender for example, but that's more of a side-show as opposed to a core mission of the car. )
The only complaint I had about driving the R1T is that I agree with those on this forum who have complained about the inability to "coast". The pedal feel in the Rivian needs some tweaking, IMO. It was surprisingly lazy on tip-in, making it feel slower off the line than the Jag, despite being substantially quicker (~3.5s vs ~4.5s 0-60), but the bigger issue was that there was not enough "dead zone" or pedal travel between acceleration and regeneration. It felt constantly balanced on a knife edge in both high and standard regen in All-purpose mode. I am sure it's something I would get used to, but it did feel harder to drive smoothly and I understand the complaint. (For reference I would place the Jag's highest regen setting as being somewhere between high and standard on the R1T. It's strong enough to one-pedal drive but not as aggressive as Rivian's high.)
Outward visibility in the the R1T is very good. Despite being a much larger car I had no trouble maneuvering it in the parking lot, etc.
Motor noise was more noticeable in the Rivian, but the Jaguar has a fake spaceship "engine noise" that you can turn down but not off completely. Road noise was similarly more present in the Rivan, which had 20" AT tires, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet and composed it was.
Interior
This is likely to be where this comparison differs most from the typical Tesla comparison. The Jaguar interior is very much in the legacy luxury automaker mold: lots of premium materials, thoughtful touches, interesting shapes, and textures, iffy and sloooow infotainment system (JLR updated this in 2020, adding more and faster processors and a new UI, but I expect it's still closer to what I have than it is to the Rivian).
The Rivian interior is fantastic and generally on par with the I-pace in fit and finish and quality of materials that meet the eye and hand. The UI of the instrument panel is about the same, but the center display in the Rivian is nicer and the responsiveness of the UI is decisively better (the Jag really sucks in this regard). The Jag would get a point for physical controls like volume and temperature, but the responsiveness to them is so bad that it forfeits it. The Jag DOES get a point for CarPlay. It also has one additional screen vs. the Rivian, and it can do a neat trick of allowing you to change what is controlled by the lower screen (e.g. redirect media controls to the lower screen where climate control displays by default). The Jag nav is pretty poor, but so is the Rivian's from what I hear, so that's a push. The Jag does have a HUD which I am sure I would miss for a while but not the same way I would miss CarPlay.
The front seats in the Jag are way nicer than the Rivian, but to be fair I am not sure they have an equal anywhere. They are more adjustable and they have their own dedicated heat ducting and a Peltier cooler to actively cool them, plus you can adjust where on the seat you want to be heated or ventilated. The Rivian wins in rear comfort, but that's no surprise being a much larger vehicle. I was disappointed with the size of the rear door opening, though - I was expecting it to be easier to climb in and out than it was.
Misc
Driver+ was harder to engage than Jag's lane-centering ACC both from a UX point of view and from its willingness to engage while slightly off center in the lane. I was only able to drive for maybe 1.5 - 2 miles with Driver+ engaged and it felt overall similar to the Jag. That being said, I expect Driver+ to get better while newer I-paces don't even have the lane centering ACC that mine has anymore.
The turn signal noise and cadence in the R1T is just terrible. I'm sure it's something you stop noticing after a while, but this is one of those areas where deviating from people's normal expectations creates a worse experience without seeming to offer any counterbalancing benefit.
The good news from the perspective of a prospective R1T owner is that several of the items I found missing in the R1T vs. the Jag can be added via OTA:
- Displaying consumption units vs economy units (e.g. kWh/mi instead of mi/kWh)
- Displaying media info in the instrument panel
- Ability to set up a commute with scheduled pre-conditioning
- Ability to learn your habits and automate your typical tasks (e.g., the Jag learns that when it's cold outside I like to turn on my seat and steering wheel heat and does it automatically).
- Ability to set up custom infotainment screen layouts (via widgets) and personalize them per driver
- CarPlay/Android Auto
of owners of the short list of non-Tesla premium EVs out there.My I-pace is a 2019 "First Edition" which means it was fully loaded with all available options. At the time the MSRP of that configuration was around $90k, but they were being steeply discounted and so I did not pay nearly that much. The MSRP and feature mix has been adjusted several times so it's hard to compare to today's I-pace, but overall it's similarly priced to the R1T.
Driving dynamics:
It was never going to be a really fair comparison on-road between a pickup truck and a sport-adjacent CUV, so it's no surprise that the I-pace is hands-down better driving, but the Rivian does put up a good show. It's certainly preferable to my wife's 2022 XC90 Recharge, and not even in the same conversation as the last truck I drove regularly. (Incidentally, the I-pace also has air suspension and it is surprisingly capable off-road, with more wading depth than an original Defender for example, but that's more of a side-show as opposed to a core mission of the car. )
The only complaint I had about driving the R1T is that I agree with those on this forum who have complained about the inability to "coast". The pedal feel in the Rivian needs some tweaking, IMO. It was surprisingly lazy on tip-in, making it feel slower off the line than the Jag, despite being substantially quicker (~3.5s vs ~4.5s 0-60), but the bigger issue was that there was not enough "dead zone" or pedal travel between acceleration and regeneration. It felt constantly balanced on a knife edge in both high and standard regen in All-purpose mode. I am sure it's something I would get used to, but it did feel harder to drive smoothly and I understand the complaint. (For reference I would place the Jag's highest regen setting as being somewhere between high and standard on the R1T. It's strong enough to one-pedal drive but not as aggressive as Rivian's high.)
Outward visibility in the the R1T is very good. Despite being a much larger car I had no trouble maneuvering it in the parking lot, etc.
Motor noise was more noticeable in the Rivian, but the Jaguar has a fake spaceship "engine noise" that you can turn down but not off completely. Road noise was similarly more present in the Rivan, which had 20" AT tires, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet and composed it was.
Interior
This is likely to be where this comparison differs most from the typical Tesla comparison. The Jaguar interior is very much in the legacy luxury automaker mold: lots of premium materials, thoughtful touches, interesting shapes, and textures, iffy and sloooow infotainment system (JLR updated this in 2020, adding more and faster processors and a new UI, but I expect it's still closer to what I have than it is to the Rivian).
The Rivian interior is fantastic and generally on par with the I-pace in fit and finish and quality of materials that meet the eye and hand. The UI of the instrument panel is about the same, but the center display in the Rivian is nicer and the responsiveness of the UI is decisively better (the Jag really sucks in this regard). The Jag would get a point for physical controls like volume and temperature, but the responsiveness to them is so bad that it forfeits it. The Jag DOES get a point for CarPlay
. It also has one additional screen vs. the Rivian, and it can do a neat trick of allowing you to change what is controlled by the lower screen (e.g. redirect media controls to the lower screen where climate control displays by default). The Jag nav is pretty poor, but so is the Rivian's from what I hear, so that's a push. The Jag does have a HUD which I am sure I would miss for a while but not the same way I would miss CarPlay.The front seats in the Jag are way nicer than the Rivian, but to be fair I am not sure they have an equal anywhere. They are more adjustable and they have their own dedicated heat ducting and a Peltier cooler to actively cool them, plus you can adjust where on the seat you want to be heated or ventilated. The Rivian wins in rear comfort, but that's no surprise being a much larger vehicle. I was disappointed with the size of the rear door opening, though - I was expecting it to be easier to climb in and out than it was.
Misc
Driver+ was harder to engage than Jag's lane-centering ACC both from a UX point of view and from its willingness to engage while slightly off center in the lane. I was only able to drive for maybe 1.5 - 2 miles with Driver+ engaged and it felt overall similar to the Jag. That being said, I expect Driver+ to get better while newer I-paces don't even have the lane centering ACC that mine has anymore.
The turn signal noise and cadence in the R1T is just terrible. I'm sure it's something you stop noticing after a while, but this is one of those areas where deviating from people's normal expectations creates a worse experience without seeming to offer any counterbalancing benefit.
The good news from the perspective of a prospective R1T owner is that several of the items I found missing in the R1T vs. the Jag can be added via OTA:
- Displaying consumption units vs economy units (e.g. kWh/mi instead of mi/kWh)
- Displaying media info in the instrument panel
- Ability to set up a commute with scheduled pre-conditioning
- Ability to learn your habits and automate your typical tasks (e.g., the Jag learns that when it's cold outside I like to turn on my seat and steering wheel heat and does it automatically).
- Ability to set up custom infotainment screen layouts (via widgets) and personalize them per driver
- CarPlay/Android Auto
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