Review From Former Owner & Future Owner + What I Want in R1.2

[evhelphub]

For current owners, those who have a second order or are waiting on their initial pre-order: curious to get your thoughts on what changes and improvements you'd like to specifically see to the R1 platform of vehicles. Here are my thoughts.

*This is an incredibly long post, but I hope is helpful for others.

My story:

• I placed a pre-order after the LA auto show back in 2018. Picked up my original pre-order in August 2022 and placed a second pre-order at the same time.
  
  
• I really loved the truck, but sold it a few months later because:
  • I originally wanted the max pack and once the dual motor max pack situation was somewhat more clear, I realized that would be a better fit for my needs. Depending upon the final EPA range I might stick with the large pack + dual motors.
    
    
  • I drove the truck in conserve mode 95% of the time, which I was told would destroy my front tires very quickly.
    
    
  • I have no need for four motors and I did not love the motor whine when in all purpose mode.
    
    
  • I prefer range over performance and as mentioned, options that were a better fit became available.
    
    
  • My truck had a lot of the gen 1 issues reported on here*:
    • broken tonneau
    • shaky wheel at highway speeds
    • suspension clicks/tocks (my highest concern)
    • pulled to the right (didn't get fixed after a two visits)
    • Didn't love how loud the AC had to be to get it to cool the cabin, but the cabin was incredibly well insulated so it did stay cool
    • The air compressor was annoying and loud as well
    • Various build quality issues

*BTW, I had a GREAT experience with service. I loved that they called to follow up on tickets within 24-48 hours. The service center team was amazing and did their best to address every single item that was fixable. A+ earned my return business.

**IF the dual motor/max pack weren't going to be available until 2025 or something, I would have kept it.

Where I am at now: Second pre-order, waiting for the dual motor R1Ts to become available, along with a confirmation that some of the major issues have been fixed like the auto tonneau cover, no more shaking wheel, suspension tocks and that they drive straight.

What I would like to see (other than the main issues above as noted):

• Charging speeds of at least 250kW that can be sustained for longer periods of time, but preferably more - website now lists "300kw+ in the future" again, which disappeared for a while.
  • Based on RJ's comments on the most recent earnings call, it sounds like they are working on the wiring and battery pack components to reduce cost/weight in early 2024. Could this be a 800v architecture switch or something that enables faster charging? This is not a deal breaker, but certainly is needed for those who pack on the miles.
• Heat pump - Before I sold the truck the weather got down to 40 degrees w/ rain and it was crazy watching the efficiency drop to 1.5 - 1.7 mi/kwh with little HVAC use. Ouch.
  
  
• V2H - Have had some power outages every year for the last few years where I live that lasted 4-6 days. Would be nice to have a backup.
  
  
• Reduced motor whine - Hopefully the enduro motors can provide this, as they are less powerful in the base configuration.
  
  
• Improved camera resolution - One of the first criticisms of the R1 platform was that the cameras were a bit too low res. With the launch of the dashcam feature, it's even more obvious now that this is a weak point in the overall luxury feel. Would love to see a bump so that license plates can be read, very important for dashcam and gear guard.
  
  
• Relatively minor things that are unlikely to get better:
  • Turn signal stalks should stay in place
  • Google maps > Map Box
  • More combined power output from the 120v outlets
  • Would love to see the cabin floor be more like the F-150 lightning where there's a drain and you can just hose it out
  • Change the shape of the gear tunnel doors or add some protective rubber to them - some very sharp edges exist

With that, here's what I really LIKED about my R1T:

• Ride quality - found it to be a very smooth ride
  
  
• Cabin noise was very solid for the tire size and type of vehicle
  
  
• Gorgeous interior
  
  
• Comfortable heated and vented seats
  
  
• Gear tunnel and massive AUTO (very important) front trunk where used in some way almost every day - I never used the frunks in my Tesla because they were too much of a hassle.
  
  
• While build wasn't perfect, I appreciate a solid German "thunk" when closing doors which indicates good sealing work. The R1T has it.
  
  
• The cabin stays very well insulated once the AC or heat has been running for a minute. I found those things did not need to constantly run in inclement weather. Underrated feature.
  
  
• In conserve mode, EPA estimates were easy to beat in relatively typical weather even with some AC use at highway speeds. Very. Much. Appreciated. You should get what's advertised in most situations imo.
  
  
• I appreciate having a 120v outlet in the cabin. I did some work in the vehicle and it's nice to be able to use the bigger charger that comes with the laptop.
  
  
• It's a great size. Not too large that it is intimidating to learn how to drive and impossible to park, but large enough to offer some functional versatility.
  
  
• I want an electric truck and Rivian is the best one. I don't see a good alternative that's been announced to date. F-150 is too large. Silverado EV is too large.
  
  
• I appreciate consistently working parking sensors, auto-wipers, auto-high beams, rear cross traffic alert functionality, and radars. I didn't experience phantom breaking issues during my use of Driver+. I found it to be more reliable for forward impact warnings than some of the competition as well - far less false positives.
  
  
• Air suspension came in handy a few times. I'll leave it at that.
  
  
• It has a great turning radius for what it is and because it is pretty slender, I found it easy to park and get around town in general. Underrated aspect imo.
  
  
• As mentioned, I had an excellent experience with service and with my guide.
  
  
• It's cool as hell. I've never received so many compliments on a car in my life. I had people stopping me in the middle of shopping mall parking lots to talk to me. Caught numerous people taking pictures/videos. At one point, I'd see people following me to my truck to talk to me about it. Everyone I talked to - probably a few dozen in those couple of months - had absolutely nothing but positive to say about it. All types of people. Current Tesla owners, big lifted truck owners, city people, people in middle OK. Fun experience, no doubt. Rivian is going to be very successful with R2 if it is the right price.

Sorry again for the length, but it is a very expensive purchase from a new company and I wanted to be thorough.

What about you, what do you agree with or what would you like added to the list?

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[DTown3011]

Great post - I'm curious why you drove it in conserve 95% of the time? I've had mine since late March and it has 3,000 miles on it and never once have I used conserve mode. Do you have range anxiety or just longer, road trip drives in general?

That said, I agree with pretty much everything you've said!

 

[rbr19870445]

Recent delivery here. It seems like a significant amount of improvements were made from the 2022 and 2023 years.

But I'll take the opposite view. I absolutely love the motor whine from the Bosch motors. It's there when you step on it but very subtle when tooling around town.

Camera resolution should absolutely be improved. It's good enough to see things but if in an accident, there's no way I'm getting the plate information.

In regards to charging speed and heat pump, it'll be interesting to see how Rivian goes about with this. FWIW, tesla introduced higher charging speeds and a heat pump in the 3/Y before going back and updating the S/X. We might see these features in the R2 before the R1 series.

 

[evhelphub]

Great post - I'm curious why you drove it in conserve 95% of the time? I've had mine since late March and it has 3,000 miles on it and never once have I used conserve mode. Do you have range anxiety or just longer, road trip drives in general?

That said, I agree with pretty much everything you've said!

Thanks!

I used conserve mode for a few reasons:

A) I prefer to have less instant torque with a vehicle of this size. I found it smoothed out acceleration a bit.

B) I do prefer efficiency over power.

C) It helped tone down the motor whine, which I didn't personally like.

@rbr19870445

I think Tesla only implemented it on the 3/Y first because they were in the middle/end of a redesign for the Model S/X and didn't want to shut down the lines or make changes to a product that was going to be deprecated a handful of months later.

I don't know what Rivian will do, but I do not believe they will wait 2-3 years to implement a heat pump now that other brands are actively including them, in particular as customers often use their products in cold weather climate.

 

[Trandall]

I am planning on ordering another R1T with the enhanced dual motor when they are out I'm just trying to time my preorder so that it will come when I'm ready to trade my current LE R1T.
As far as what I'm hoping for is that it doesn't get diluted A La Sandy Monro style. Secondarily is maybe a quieter cabin, better cup holders, operable sunroof, and a powered multi-function tailgate similar to the GMC.
Non vehicle related but another thing I'm hoping for is a fully built out service network.

 

[BoIsADog]

Well balanced post. I also like conserve

The tire comments on other threads scared me out of conserve. I don't know how true it is or isn't...

 

[evhelphub]

Well balanced post. I also like conserve

The tire comments on other threads scared me out of conserve. I don't know how true it is or isn't...

I was told this by a Rivian service tech after he saw my front tires after a few thousand miles. I think the impact was real.

 

[DTown3011]

Thanks!

I used conserve mode for a few reasons:

A) I prefer to have less instant torque with a vehicle of this size. I found it smoothed out acceleration a bit.

B) I do prefer efficiency over power.

C) It helped tone down the motor whine, which I didn't personally like.

@rbr19870445

I think Tesla only implemented it on the 3/Y first because they were in the middle/end of a redesign for the Model S/X and didn't want to shut down the lines or make changes to a product that was going to be deprecated a handful of months later.

I don't know what Rivian will do, but I do not believe they will wait 2-3 years to implement a heat pump now that other brands are actively including them, in particular as customers often use their products in cold weather climate.

Understood thanks for the clarity! I'll agree with the others that I actually LIKE the motor whine but can certainly respect why you wouldn't. I think it's now well documented that conserve should only be used sparingly, in highway driving long distance scenarios which may have not been as widely known when you purchased.

It does sound like the dual motor may be the ticket for you.

 

[DTown3011]

I was told this by a Rivian service tech after he saw my front tires after a few thousand miles. I think the impact was real.

No need to be scared of conserve, but it's certainly a driving mode that should be used in highway/long-distance road trip type scenarios when you are trying to maximize range, not as a daily drive setting. I've yet to use it!

 

[Kieran]

I do not believe they will wait 2-3 years to implement a heat pump now that other brands are actively including them, in particular as customers often use their products in cold weather climate.

I'm not sure why people think a heat pump is a better option for cold weather climates.
Heat pumps struggle (take longer) to heat the cabin with lower ambient/outside temperatures.
Overall, heat pumps are more energy efficient, but if you drive in very cold climates a lot, a more traditional resistive heater would be more effective.

 

[Ripped]

Thanks for your review and was helpful in reinforcing my wait for the maxpack (which should be early winter)
I was somewhat swayed in the direction of the quad motor, just before my recent first mile but still need the maxpack for the same reasons = mountain towing range.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I'm not sure why people think a heat pump is a better option for cold weather climates.
Heat pumps struggle (take longer) to heat the cabin with lower ambient/outside temperatures.
Overall, heat pumps are more energy efficient, but if you drive in very cold climates a lot, a more traditional resistive heater would be more effective.

Most vehicles still have resistive heaters when they have a heat pump.

 

[R1Tom]

Most vehicles still have resistive heaters when they have a heat pump.

What is added range by using a heat pump instead of resistance heat in say temps below 30 degf?

 

[Dark-Fx]

What is added range by using a heat pump instead of resistance heat in say temps below 30 degf?

For long distances it's still helpful because you'll have components with temperature differences since geartrains will never be 100% efficient

 

[R1Tom]

For long distances it's still helpful because you'll have components with temperature differences since geartrains will never be 100% efficient

I am genuinely curious on the added range. In sub 40 degf weather truck takes a big hit. I assume a fair amount of that is heating batteries. With a decent COP the heat pump should be able to do that heating of both batteries and cabin with a fairly significant gain. I am wondering if it would possibly be 10%, so something like 30 miles on a full chaege?

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