The EPA should not include illegal speeds in their test cycle, that would just encourage people to break the law.
Driving 80 mph is legal on at least some highways in nine states. Incidentally one of the current speed test cycles (US06), which is included in the EPA range calculation, includes very brief acceleration to 80 mph simulating a highway passing scenario, although the average is only 48 mph.
Have you ever been to Utah, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, or a number of other states? There are plenty of places where the road stretches for miles with little traffic. As AI/self-driving technology matures, it’s not hard to imagine some roads eventually allowing higher speeds instead of lower ones.
I wonder if a catenary cone would be even better?
This is helpful. TBH my R1S was my first EV and I didnt consider the efficiency. I was coming from ICE cars that were getting about ~10mpg so anything was an improvement. Another issue was that there wasn't anything else comparable with better efficiency. As long as I'm being honest-I simply cannot drive at 70mph when everyone around me is drive >80. These cars drive very smooth at 80-90.
Godspeed if you go through DC. You either go 0-2mph or pay pulse pricing on the HOV which would bankrupt 99% of Americans. But, yeah, 95 south of Richmond totally opens up and you can do 70 for quite some time then. If the truckers will let you.
I saw exactly 2.0 on 2023 Quad Motor in February during 1,000 mile RT to Utah. This typically meant driving 150 miles or so then charging around 30 min:
This is helpful. TBH my R1S was my first EV and I didnt consider the efficiency. I was coming from ICE cars that were getting about ~10mpg so anything was an improvement. Another issue was that there wasn't anything else comparable with better efficiency. As long as I'm being honest-I simply cannot drive at 70mph when everyone around me is drive >80. These cars drive very smooth at 80-90.Trip to Utah (MPH: high 70s/low 80s)
83 MPH in Utah is sloooow…
Temps: 60s to low 70s
Total supercharger time 70 minutes to cover ~480 miles
153 miles; 2.19 ave MPK; 22 min charge in Barstow
294 miles: 2.04 ave MPK; 36 min charge in Henderson
430 miles: 1.98 ave MPK; 12 min charge in St George
80mph is not illegal on certain roads across the country.
Put me down for $100 on the over!No, just kicked them...everyone was looking at me funny...
But ABRP shows the following (only a ~5% difference betweem 20" and 21")
R2 at 80 mph can travel ~190 miles (2.16 MPK)
R2 at 75 mph can travel ~200 miles (2.3 MPK)
R2 at 70 mph can travel ~213 miles (2.45 MPK)
R2 at 66 mph can travel ~225 miles (2.6 MPK)
R2 at 58 mph can travel ~250 miles (2.85 MPK)
Breaking News! Speed affects efficiency.Location - Van Nuys
Based on everything I've seen, I believe the typical usable range for the R2 w/ 21" rims to be ~230 miles at 100% (2.6 MPK) and R2 w/ 20" rims to be ~207 miles at 100% (2.35 MPK).
Something else important jumps out at me. The older R1 EPA rating appears unusually representative of actual highway range, whereas the R2’s newer combined rating is much more optimistic for highway travel. Applying the same real-world relationship seen with the 2023 R1 would put the R2 closer to approximately 210 miles of 70-mph highway range, versus roughly 240 miles in slower or city-weighted driving. If tire, then the R2 delivers roughly 200 highway miles from its 88 kWh battery, its highway efficiency is nearly identical to the 2023 R1. That would suggest the higher EPA-rated efficiency is driven primarily by how the EPA combined range is derived—whether due to different certification procedures, greater weighting of low-speed efficiency, or both—rather than a dramatic improvement in sustained highway efficiency.
I think the most interesting part of this drive wasn’t the interior or the acceleration—it was how dramatically speed dominated efficiency. The data tells a much bigger story than the spec sheet.
First Drive Review: Rivian R2 Performance (21” Wheels)
I picked up a Moonlight Gray R2 Performance on 21-inch Pirelli Scorpions from Rivian Van Nuys around 10:30 AM on a 91°F Thursday. With Southern California traffic running lite, I immediately headed north on the freeway to see how it behaved in real-world conditions instead of around-town demo routes.
The first few miles were intentionally tough on the vehicle. I settled in around 80 mph with the A/C running in triple-digit pavement temperatures. Efficiency wasn’t flattering—hovering around 2.0 mi/kWh (Trip B showed 1.97 mi/kWh after the initial run). That’s a useful reminder that high speed is still the biggest enemy of EV range, regardless of manufacturer.
On the return trip I changed just two variables:
* Reduced speed to roughly 70 mph
* Turned the A/C off
The difference was immediate. As the route transitioned downhill and onto city streets, efficiency climbed rapidly:
* 2.23 mi/kWh
* then 3.11 mi/kWh
* ultimately settling around 3.0 mi/kWh
That’s more than a 50% improvement simply from changing driving conditions—not the vehicle itself.
The takeaway
People often ask, “What’s the R2’s real-world efficiency?”
The better question is:
“At what speed?”
This drive demonstrated that speed has a much larger impact than most people appreciate. Driving 80 mph in 91°F heat paints a completely different picture than cruising at 65–70 mph.
The vehicle itself
The R2 feels like Rivian distilled the best parts of the R1 into something that is more attainable.
Highlights
*Ventilated seats are outstanding—among the best I’ve experienced.
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The ride isn’t quite as polished as an R1—which is expected considering the price difference—but it’s surprisingly close. Nothing ever felt cheap.
Performance
The Performance model has one interesting characteristic:
It almost feels like too much power.
Acceleration is effortless and entertaining, but unlike the larger R1, the lighter R2 almost feels eager enough that you find yourself using only part throttle most of the time. It’s fast in a way that will probably surprise people moving from Model Ys or gas SUVs.
Final thoughts
After spending time with it, I came away thinking Rivian didn’t simply build a smaller R1.
They built what could become the benchmark electric SUV in the $45–65k segment.
It has the design, technology, comfort, practicality, and performance to appeal well beyond existing Rivian owners. If pricing lands where Rivian has indicated, I wouldn’t be surprised if the R2 becomes the vehicle that moves Rivian from a niche manufacturer into the mainstream.
One short drive obviously can’t answer every question, but it answered the most important one:
Does the R2 feel like a compromised “budget Rivian”?
Not even close.
Another Key takeaway: The R2 appears to be only about 15–20% more efficient than the Gen1 R1 in real-world driving. However, that modest efficiency gain is paired with a battery pack that’s roughly one-third smaller (88 vs. 128 kWh). As a result, in real-world highway driving the 88 kWh R2 is expected to deliver roughly 40 fewer miles of range than the original 128 kWh R1, despite being the more efficient vehicle. Combined with the newer EPA methodology—which likely produces a more optimistic range estimate than the 2023 procedure used for the R1—the R2’s highway range at 75–80 mph is noticeably shorter than many would expect. The issue isn’t that the R2 is unusually sensitive to speed; it’s that aerodynamic losses at highway speeds quickly overwhelm its modest efficiency advantage, leaving the smaller battery as the limiting factor.
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Efficiency Graph
I’ve created a graph based on your recorded observations, showing how efficiency increased as average speed decreased over the course of the drive
At least 20-30% of vehicles are traveling at 79 mph when roads are open and fire/chp have told me that 79 and under is the golden number to stay under…don’t quote me though…
