Retrospective on winter driving performance?

[graemebshaw]

Hi all,

Now that we have finally shed winter (I assume), I am interested on people's verdict on the snow and ice performance of the R1T/R1S. Not so interested in capability in super deep snow, but more in terms of safety and confidence on snowy and icy roads and (especially) highways.

I realize things got better after the snow-mode update (with reduced regen), and I also realize it is highly dependent on tire choice. However, I also saw several posts where people mentioned they preferred their other vehicles in difficult conditions – which generally referred to easier-to-control ICE vehicles but I also recall one person preferring their Polestar-2.

The reason I ask is I am still debating whether to take delivery of my R1T. I don't need an adventure or serious off-road vehicle (I have one of those), and I don't really need a truck. I want something to safely and comfortably ferry me and my 10-year old son 220 miles up I-87 to the Adirondacks every weekend in all weathers, and can at least handle the last mile on the hilly unpaved road to my cabin. I would like to try an EV (although it's gonna cost me an extra ~$5k to get power to my garage to charge one), but I'm not committed to it. Also I don't like the look or finish of Tesla's, so they are not an option.

Thanks in advance!

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[Dark-Fx]

My R1T with snow tires did better than my polestar 2 with snow tires. But I would find either of them just fine in situations where we have 8 inches of snow or less. More than that and for sure I'd prefer having the R1T. Polestar 2 probably would be capable of driving in more than that, but it'd be plowing the entire time.

 

[Deleted member 7086]

I have driven many 4 x 4's over the years on ice and snowy conditions. Some performed very poorly some quite good. Until the snow mode was made available I was very disappointed with the R1T's performance. With the snow mode my reservations now focus on the AT tires. They are obviously a compromise but even so were more than adequate to get me through one of the most severe winters we have had in Flagstaff in many many years. But when they wear out I will be looking for a different type of tire. To put it bluntly regenerative braking and ice do not play well together. I wish there was an option to deactivate it totally under certain conditions.

 

[jjswan33]

I found driving the Rivian in snow was very stable (20" ATs). I was up and down through the snow line at least 20-30 times this winter and had 0 issues. Worst thing that happened was a little rear tire spin out when trying to pass on slippery roads (hard throttle) and a little lock up coming to a stop but both of those were before snow mode. Bottom line is it is as good or better than any other vehicle I have had in regards to snow performance.

 

[MReda]

We have a winter storm warning for tonight, and I think we're about a month from really shedding winter...

I drove both the 20s and 22s (a loaner) in the snow. Much more time on the 20s, including interstate and mountain passes, but enough with the 22s to get a feel for them. The R1T was perfectly capable with either of them, but I preferred the 20s. I usually forgot to put on snow mode, but the roads down from my house have a double digit grade, so if it was icy, I found snow mode made it more idiot-proof. Under normal circumstances (and the first few snowy road trips last fall) all purpose was fine.

 

[Rivdog]

I found the 21s to be awful in the snow. Although snow mode was probably better, the mandatory regen is a terrible idea. Definitely get the 20’s so you can put some snow tires on. If I had snow tires, I doubt the regen would have been much of an issue. No snow tire options exist for the 21’s right now.

 

[MAR1T]

I drove in the ice and snow a handful of times this winter in my R1T in MA, VT and NH. I’m on the 21” AS tires. In general I was happy with - no issues encountered. I thought it did as well or better than my prior vehicles (x5, q7, model 3, all on AS tires).
The brake regen on slippery surfaces wasn’t a big deal for me. It’s a bit counter intuitive though - you can’t just let off the accelerator as that’s the same as breaking. But I’ve gotten used to it and it’s second nature now.

 

[BendR1S]

20 inch AT setup here. Drove the R1T through the tail end of winter up to the nearby mountain and it handled great. Once you get used to the fact that you're piloting a 7000lbs vehicle, I think it's very capable. I was originally set on getting snow tires, but the ATs have been more than adequate. Once they wear out, I'll make a decision on what to do next. I may get less aggressive tires to optimize range for summer road trips. That may lead to the purchase of a set of snow tires, but the performance of the ATs in snow doesn't appear to justify a dedicated snow setup for me.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

The very few times we have snow here the Rivian did better than my previous vehicles. I don't have much experience though because it barely snows to any degree here and when it does narrow mountain roads with no real provision for snow removal are pretty sketchy regardless of the vehicle you're driving.

 

[Ravenron]

I live in Colorado so regularly encounter snow but usually not as much as non-Coloradans may think. My truck was delivered with the 22" Darks (from the Shop - my config was with 20") and I figured I could "get by". Nope! One decent storm convinced me the 22"s were a "non-starter". I purchased a set of Rivian 20" Darks, installed and had Rivian reprogram the truck accordingly. HUGE difference! 20" wheels/tires combined with the Snow Mode resulted in a very capable truck. You still need to respect the weight and approach stopping accordingly but otherwise, it performs very well.

I swapped my 22" wheels/tires back on last weekend and have a mobile appointment with Rivian scheduled for tomorrow to reprogram the truck for summer. This aspect of the swaps is painful and I really hope Rivian decides to make these adjustments available to the owner like other manufacturers have done.

Bottomline: I've been blessed with many different cars and trucks (including my trade-in - a 2020 Jeep Gladiator) and I would rank the Rivian at the top overall and very near the top for normal, daily snow use. Just my $.02 - YMMV...

 

[Arky]

I did a decent amount of skiing with the car and my conclusion was that it's not great - not horrible. I didn't have any of the issues that people were talking about here, but I've been driving in snow and ice for a while and am fairly used to it. You just have to be aware that it's a HEAVY car and if you're not on snow tires you're going to need more time to brake and won't be able to turn as sharp. The snow mode did help somewhat because it reduces the regen braking 'freak out' as the car rolls up to a stop (all-purpose would seem to lock and unlock and get confused.) That was one of my biggest complaints about the vehicle, 'coasting' is a necessary control technique in low traction scenarios and it's hard with this car.

For reference I drove mostly on packed snow and cracked/white ice in hilly/mountainous terrain as opposed to glare ice and deep snow, as there's not too much of that in CO unless you actually live deep in the mountains. I can't see deep snow being a big issue, but if you get regular icing the OE tires seem much too hard to be able to give you good traction. I'd have studded snows if I regularly encountered glare ice and frozen roads.

 

[graemebshaw]

I did a decent amount of skiing with the car and my conclusion was that it's not great - not horrible. I didn't have any of the issues that people were talking about here, but I've been driving in snow and ice for a while and am fairly used to it. You just have to be aware that it's a HEAVY car and if you're not on snow tires you're going to need more time to brake and won't be able to turn as sharp. The snow mode did help somewhat because it reduces the regen braking 'freak out' as the car rolls up to a stop (all-purpose would seem to lock and unlock and get confused.) That was one of my biggest complaints about the vehicle, 'coasting' is a necessary control technique in low traction scenarios and it's hard with this car.

For reference I drove mostly on packed snow and cracked/white ice in hilly/mountainous terrain as opposed to glare ice and deep snow, as there's not too much of that in CO unless you actually live deep in the mountains. I can't see deep snow being a big issue, but if you get regular icing the OE tires seem much too hard to be able to give you good traction. I'd have studded snows if I regularly encountered glare ice and frozen roads.

Thanks! My worst fear is one of those “heart in the mouth” moments in windy and snowy conditions on the highway, even at reduced highway speeds, when you momentarily lose control. When that happens, and it seems to happen on almost every winter drive up there in the ADKs, will I be able to control the truck? I am sure I am being irrational, but that’s what fears are after all!

 

[Puttyandnapalm]

We had a mild winter in western md, but anytime snow threatened I just drove my “beater” (although as beaters go, a 07 navigator ain’t bad).

my rationale is the ATs are probably good enough, but I don’t trust other drivers to not slide into me. If I keep the ICE vehicle around, I’ll probably do the same next winter as well.

 

[EileenB]

I did a decent amount of skiing with the car and my conclusion was that it's not great - not horrible. I didn't have any of the issues that people were talking about here, but I've been driving in snow and ice for a while and am fairly used to it. You just have to be aware that it's a HEAVY car and if you're not on snow tires you're going to need more time to brake and won't be able to turn as sharp. The snow mode did help somewhat because it reduces the regen braking 'freak out' as the car rolls up to a stop (all-purpose would seem to lock and unlock and get confused.) That was one of my biggest complaints about the vehicle, 'coasting' is a necessary control technique in low traction scenarios and it's hard with this car.

For reference I drove mostly on packed snow and cracked/white ice in hilly/mountainous terrain as opposed to glare ice and deep snow, as there's not too much of that in CO unless you actually live deep in the mountains. I can't see deep snow being a big issue, but if you get regular icing the OE tires seem much too hard to be able to give you good traction. I'd have studded snows if I regularly encountered glare ice and frozen roads.

I didn’t realize you had to reprogram every time you swap out the wheels. Is that the case when changing tires too? Do you have to pay Rivian each time? I agree that is something we need to be able to access as it is very common for those of us that deal with snow and ice in the winter to put on a better snow rated tire for the winter months.

 

[Ravenron]

Generally, you only need to have Rivian reprogram the truck when you change overall tire diameter (stock 20” = 34” diameter vs. stock 22” = 33” diameter). Theoretically, if you maintain the same diameter setup you shouldn’t have an impact keeping same associated program. I’m sure others will disagree but this is my understanding.

Hope this helps…and yes, we do need the ability to do this ourselves…

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