Its not particularly useful for owners not into baja style high speed driving on loose surfaces. Lack of lockers, missing winch, and heavy weight make it a relatively weak off road vehicle.
What I'd REALLY like to see is a tri-motor R1 with an eLSD in the rear. The eLSD is really the best option, even over a true locker. I have an eLSD in my vehicle and what makes it better than a locker is that it can be completely reactive unlike a locker. And yes, an eLSD can be set up to fully lock the rear axle as well. So if Rivian does go that route with the tri-motor, I truly hope it goes eLSD rather than a locker.
Didn’t they have ‘Explorer’ trip? It may be becoming Entry then?
I feel Rivian has been fair to old order holders with the vouchers. I agree its unlikely that they get manipulative as to what we can buy.
The reactive part is the problem and exactly what the quad motor setup already does. It doesn't do anything until it actually slips...just apply torque until it slips and then pull it. I don't agree with all his negativity, but R.I.P. has some good points on this where in off-camber situations that initial slip will send the rear of the vehicle sliding down-slope and hopefully not into a tree, hole, etc. That said, a proper locker would do the same...but an open differential wouldn't. I still have some hope that Rivian could tune the quad a little better in those situations using the vehicle's accelerometers to tweak how torque is applied, but they really haven't seemed interested in retuning the off-road performance and most of their tuning seems to have happened in Moab where grip is plentiful. I'm still generally pleased with my truck's off-road performance in most situations, but there are definitely limitations. Not the least of which is each the power/torque of each motor is limited to that wheel...so in a situation where only one or two wheels have grip, you have halved or even reduced your max torque to 1/4 of what's available since there's no direct mechanical connection between wheels. With a traditional 4x4 with a low-range gearbox it's less of an issue, but they also distribute the torque of the engine over all 4 wheels when locked, etc.
Yes, they originally offered the Explorer trim, which had a more basic interior (no wood, no ventilated seats), a less fancy stereo, and for R1T only the manual tonneau. They converted all of those to Adventure trim at some point in the months before deliveries started. I'm glad to see they will offer something like it again. I could see that being popular.
I would not say quad motor isn't worthy offroad, it really depends on the situation. If you're spinning only two tires with no vehicle movement, back off the throttle and pulse it on. Rivian pulls power back out of stalled motors to prevent burning things up.
I agree that there has to be a meaningful difference. It doesn't necessarily have to be all in the interior. They could tie other features to the trim to keep the number of variants small.
You might have misunderstood what I'm saying. A properly set up eLSD can be reactive or pro-active. A locker is either off or on, as set by the driver. So when it's off, it does nothing. And when it's on, it's not reactive at all.....there's no inbetween with a locker.
Electrochromatic or removable roof
I don't believe there is a rule, tactical decision by each manufacturer for sake of newness (but within reason). The Mazda CX-70, 2-row version of the 90, is about to hit dealers as a '25 model. I've yet to see any manufacturer date and launch new models more than 1 year ahead. Over-exaggerations invites scrutiny and litigation.
