Rivian EV

[Autoaddict]

Is there anyone here who own a Rivian SUV or pickup? Curious to know your thoughts on it. It looks amazing.

[Mautofied17]

I'm close with a lot of Rivian employees (Rivian basically leases them for pennies on the dollar to employees) and a couple of my colleagues have the R1T.

There was some software quirks at first, but the overwhelming majority of the feedback I hear is praise.

[Autoaddict]

Originally Posted by SickStroke6.0

I'm close with a lot of Rivian employees (Rivian basically leases them for pennies on the dollar to employees) and a couple of my colleagues have the R1T.

There was some software quirks at first, but the overwhelming majority of the feedback I hear is praise.

Thanks. I’m not an EV guy. I can’t stand Teslas but I’ve seen the Rivians around and they look pretty slick. Especially the SUV.

[stein_325i]

Not an owner, but I am someone who has taken interest in the brand, and am curious to see where they go. I think Rivian will survive while Lucid struggles, they were smart to enter the market with an SUV and a Truck, the two most popular vehicles. Whether I'm in MD or FL, I see them everywhere.

I checked an R1S out in person as I had been excited to drive one, and liked the idea of the future R2S SUV to eventually replace our GV70. I was somewhat disappointed though after driving it just down the street. The regenerative brakes are far too strong, and that is in the comfort and sport setting. This thing practically forces you to learn/use one-pedal driving, which is of no interest to me. I find it so strong that it was honestly nauseating. Complete deal breaker for me. I've only driven other EV's like the EQS, i4, and E-Tron on occasions, but I've never found the brakes in those cars to be an issue for me.

Otherwise, the rest of the car is very charming. Styling is love it or hate it, I like it a lot, especially the color options inside and out. Tech is Tesla copycat, but it works very well. Some nitpicks, seats are too firm and not plush for me, and the steering wheel leatherette feels like cheap vinyl in an economy car. No glaring quality issues on the car I looked at.

Hopefully with some software updates or changes over the years they can fix the issues I have with it.

[chassis]

BIL owns an R1T. I have driven it several times. It's good.

Exterior and interior aesthetics are good, this is subjective. I like the interior design better than the exterior, but all of it looks nice to me.

Air suspension is good - multiple heights are very useful when hitching/unhitching a trailer especially on an inclined surface. I love air suspensions in general. My Cayenne has an awesome air suspension and the Rivian's is comparable to the Porsche's.

Power is good, especially towing. I towed BIL's 7k lb boat in the R1T and the truck handled it like child's play.

Tech is good enough. I don't care too much one way or the other about "screens". They are a necessary evil and aren't going away. No complaints on the R1T tech.

One pedal driving is too weird for me. This is not a Rivian thing but rather an EV thing.

On a 150 mile tow, he had to stop twice to charge. Not my cuppa but it's not a Rivian thing, but rather an EV thing.

Summary: good, possibly great, vehicle. If you are into EVs which I am not.

p.s. "Vegan leather" is laughable in the Rivians. Not a major criticism but laughable nevertheless. Real leather isn't (or wasn't) available, probably due to added weight and range reduction. BIL said "your car smells like a quality car" and I told him it was the real (full interior) leather.

[XutvJet]

Charging every 75 miles during towing? My God.

[Clark_Kent]

I had a deposit on an R1S and finally drove one yesterday after several months of serious interest. I've owned a couple of Teslas and two PHEVs (Toyota and Volvo) so that's my baseline. After driving the R1S, I didn't walk away blown away. It was nice enough but I was expecting more. If you've never driven an EV before I could see someone being impressed by the features; however, many of them aren't all that new or ground breaking. At ~$90K and after all the hype I left feeling neutral on Rivian. Still digesting and haven't completely ruled it out. Don't need an SUV replacement until the end of Q1 2024 anyway, so we'll see what happens.

[dscabra]

Those headlights are a deal breaker for me. Definitely not for me, but I'm sure others find them to be attractive.

[Sedoy]

I owed a Rivian R1S, but I sold it for a profit after few months. Overall, it was a positive experience, but there were a few teething issues with Rivian being a new manufacturer. Here are a few of my notes:

Major:
- The reliable fast charging infrastructure is nonexistent compared to Tesla.
- It's pretty inefficient, probably due to the quad motors and unpolished drivetrain/battery management.
- The handling is decent, but I kind of expected more considering the hydraulic cross-linked air suspension with adaptive dampers. I guess the weight negates some benefits of this advanced suspension, which is similar to McLaren cars.

Minor:
- It weighs a lot - 7068 lbs, heavier than some commercial pickups.
- The suspension is quite rough over uneven surfaces, plus super high PSI tires recommended for longer range don't help
- The 3rd-row seats are pretty small for a 201" EV.
- It can lose over 10 miles overnight just sitting locked in the garage (I had my sentry mode disabled).
- The sound system is great.
- The self-driving capability is years behind Tesla, and it was unavailable for many sections of freeways for some reason.
- The rear view/360 cameras quality are nothing special.
- It's surprisingly fast for its weight.

[sspade]

Off road / on trail performance has been proven to be laughable... Probably be alright if you keep it in the city where it belongs. They do look cool and considering they are an American company, I genuinely wish them success.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by M3WC

It is the only quad motor EV on the market besides the $2mill+ Rimac Nevera. Independent torque vectoring gives R1T/R1S one of the most advanced awd and traction control systems in any vehicle. It isn't hyped, the hardware is there to support the msrp. One of the more advanced EV's on the market. But you have to have a need for the off-road capability. 15in of ground clearance is 2in more than a Bronco Raptor. It is designed as a adventure vehicle. People shouldn't expect it to drive like a BMW X5, I would compare it more to Land Rover Defender 110.

That's great, but I stand by my statements.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by sspade

Off road / on trail performance has been proven to be laughable... Probably be alright if you keep it in the city where it belongs. They do look cool and considering they are an American company, I genuinely wish them success.

Rivian off road

[Tejas1836]

Front tires every 6,000 miles
https://www.thedrive.com/news/rivian...iles-heres-why

[Autoaddict]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

Front tires every 6,000 miles
https://www.thedrive.com/news/rivian...iles-heres-why

That’s crazy! From all that torque

[chassis]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Charging every 75 miles during towing? My God.

No. Charging every 50 miles while towing!

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

Front tires every 6,000 miles
https://www.thedrive.com/news/rivian...iles-heres-why

And they are pretty big tires. $1500 / set x 2 sets per year @ 12k miles / yr = $3000 (at least) per year for tires.

Any planet-savings the R1T does, or does not, deliver by virtue of its EV-ness is offset by manufacturing petroleum-based tires, putting them on diesel-burning tractor-trailers to get them from factory to warehouse to local tire shop, consuming the tires and spreading rubber powder all over the environment, then disposing the used tire carcasses when replaced.

Run the same equation for the quad motor hardware: 4x rare earth metals, 4x copper motor windings, 4x epoxy potting, 4x DC-to-AC inverter electronics. Love the mechanical architecture, but it doesn't save the planet.

Makes sense?

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by Sedoy

I owed a Rivian R1S, but I sold it for a profit after few months. Overall, it was a positive experience, but there were a few teething issues with Rivian being a new manufacturer. Here are a few of my notes:

Major:
- The reliable fast charging infrastructure is nonexistent compared to Tesla.
- It's pretty inefficient, probably due to the quad motors and unpolished drivetrain/battery management.
- The handling is decent, but I kind of expected more considering the hydraulic cross-linked air suspension with adaptive dampers. I guess the weight negates some benefits of this advanced suspension, which is similar to McLaren cars.

Minor:
- It weighs a lot - 7068 lbs, heavier than some commercial pickups.
- The suspension is quite rough over uneven surfaces, plus super high PSI tires recommended for longer range don't help
- The 3rd-row seats are pretty small for a 201" EV.
- It can lose over 10 miles overnight just sitting locked in the garage (I had my sentry mode disabled).
- The sound system is great.
- The self-driving capability is years behind Tesla, and it was unavailable for many sections of freeways for some reason.
- The rear view/360 cameras quality are nothing special.
- It's surprisingly fast for its weight.

Thanks for this. Can you provide more perspective and/or data on the efficiency? Also shocked to read about the vampire/phantom drain you experienced. Is the car "asleep"? Is it constantly "waking up"? Do you know the cause?

[///mawana]

Many are popping up on auction floors.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by ///mawana

Many are popping up on auction floors.

They're being flipped in nearly all cases. I don't buy taking delivery and all the sudden "My priorities changed" or "I'm going in a different direction" with less than 500 miles on the clock. The increase in Rivian R1S vehicles popping up on the secondary market coincides with the increase in deliveries due to the production ramp. What will be interesting and inevitable is when there's a relatively large volume of R1S vehicles on the secondary market when they become widely available direct via Rivian.

[Tejas1836]

I just don't see how Rivian is going to survive. Within 5 years the BEV push will fade as devaluation hits, repair costs come home to roost with unaffordable insurance rates, and more efficient hybrids come online. RIVN is headed back down to $14.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

I just don't see how Rivian is going to survive. Within 5 years the BEV push will fade as devaluation hits, repair costs come home to roost with unaffordable insurance rates, and more efficient hybrids come online. RIVN is headed back down to $14.

Agree. It's just business. Rivian has a nice product, so do other manufacturers.

The auto industry is capital-intensive and relies (sadly) on entrenched dealer distribution. RIVN needs to keep investing capital in new products and factories, and they need to either embrace the arguably corrupt dealer system in the U.S. (read about state-by-state dealer laws) or reinvent automotive retailing. It's a steep uphill climb under any scenario.

Elon has done well and may continue to do so. RIVN doesn't seem to have the star power driving it the way TSLA does. On the other hand, RIVN could ride TSLA's industry coattails to success. The next 5 years will be interesting, if they make it that far.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

I just don't see how Rivian is going to survive. Within 5 years the BEV push will fade as devaluation hits, repair costs come home to roost with unaffordable insurance rates, and more efficient hybrids come online. RIVN is headed back down to $14.

Originally Posted by chassis

Agree. It's just business. Rivian has a nice product, so do other manufacturers.

The auto industry is capital-intensive and relies (sadly) on entrenched dealer distribution. RIVN needs to keep investing capital in new products and factories, and they need to either embrace the arguably corrupt dealer system in the U.S. (read about state-by-state dealer laws) or reinvent automotive retailing. It's a steep uphill climb under any scenario.

Elon has done well and may continue to do so. RIVN doesn't seem to have the star power driving it the way TSLA does. On the other hand, RIVN could ride TSLA's industry coattails to success. The next 5 years will be interesting, if they make it that far.

In most instances I would agree; however, RIVN is also backed by AMZN (at least 20% stake) and it appears they're all in. With anti-EV sentiment, especially on this forum, I think people want these EV manufacturers to fail. I think it's too early to call it. If anyone would fail, it would be LCID, but they're backed by MBS. It could lose a material amount of money for a decade or more and they have the capacity to continue funding it without flinching.