R1S Quad-Motor Full In-Depth Review by OutofSpecKyle

[jclicky]

It’s finally here, @OutofSpecKyle’s overall review of the R1S, especially as compared to the e-tron, the Mercedes EQS, BMW iX, the new Range Rover & of course the R1T (not that many vs. R1T).




Key takeaways:

• Kyle argues the cooling is over-active & noisy (I actually like this, it tells me Rivian is babying the battery pack which should help with lifespan IMO)
• Great visibility, not many blind spots “one of the best driving positions you can buy”
• Expensive but NOT pretentious (yeah, I think I agree with this, even though people can look up the high sticker price, it doesn’t present an ostentatious style, which I like, say, vs. the TRD Pro Sequoia, which presents as a pavement “princess”)
• “Driving the R1S improves my day” - does what it asks you to do (instant response)
• Top-hinged gas pedal
• Details the experience of 1-pedal driving (best explanation/description of how that feels I’ve heard so far)
• Drivetrain noise, which he likes, good levels (I like this sound vs. the obnoxious “choir” of Toyota’s crap PHEVs)
• Tuning in the drivetrain is firmer than the R1T
• R1T rides “better than this [R1S]”
• Said the R1S feels more “bouncy” (but not as bouncy as the e-tron)
• Not as refined ride comfort as BMW iX
• Said he’s found himself opting for his own personal R1T in the 22” rims vs. the R1S in the 20” rims (this may be a clincher for me in addition to the max pack that’s R1T only, I think I’ll change my R1S reservation to an R1T max pack after his comparison favorably to the R1T on comfort & handling)
• Really good turning radius (he turns around doing a u-turn w/in the width of a a street)
• Deeper dive on suspension than previous videos
• Thermal limits impacting ability to fast-charge (not unique to R1S); cutoffs are shortening duration of high-watt charging
  • Hey @OutofSpecKyle to quantify that road-tripping “charging performance” couldn’t you do a ratio of min.-to-charge [X] / total min. of 65mph driving that X provides? I.e. 47min. to charge to 80% / 120min. of sustained 65mph (130miles) travel that 80% gets you. This or some kind of equivalent could be a universal standard for “how long does it take for my car to get me X number of additional hours of longer-range ‘road-tripping’ total mileage?” This sort of metric would account for vehicles that recharge back to 100% fast but only have a puny battery back that won’t take you very far vs. fast-charging “slower” larger packs that still net you more total aggregate mileage over just a bit more total time, thus fewer net charging minutes for a long-range trip commutatively, if that makes sense. It also would account for more efficient quick super-duper charger packs that are supercooled (thus fast back to 80%) but which might have less total mWh than other vehicles with a longer more drawn out less-efficiently-cooled systems.
• Max Pack delay speculation: [mine] I bet this lack of fast charge cooling & charge-curve hang ups might be part of why the max pack is facing delays. More battery packs could very well make the total heat envelope even worse in the truck & charging curves might be atrocious in test builds out there right now.

Seems like there’s consensus that the R1S’ handling & driving characteristics is far less refined vs. the R1T. I wonder how much of that can ever be corrected via OTA updates & how much due to wheelbase/body design.

My take from all the reviews on R1S:​

I think Rivian would have been far better served with a wider wheelbase on the R1S, the Range Rover Evoque carves a nice silhouette with its wheels at the far corners, near edges of the vehicle.​

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I think the porpoising might be due to relatively significant body overhang with the same front-end as the longer R1T (they ought to have shortened it, but would require new assembly line, tooling, parts, etc.); I think for this sized-pack & height of vehicle, the front & rear wheels need to be farther out toward the edges to help the vehicle grip the road, especially with such a lifted ride + heavy pack (makes me wonder if the R1S regular pack will handle better, perhaps the vehicle just needs to be lighter for this wheelbase size).​

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[krockett]

Jclicky, what affiliation to you have with Kyle? Just curious as most your posts are to promote these videos/reviews.

 

[WakePhil]

It’s finally here, @OutofSpecKyle’s overall review of the R1S, especially as compared to the e-tron, the Mercedes EQS, BMW iX, the new Range Rover & of course the R1T (not that many vs. R1T).

• Said he’s found himself opting for his own personal R1T in the 22” rims vs. the R1S in the 20” rims (this may be a clincher for me in addition to the max pack that’s R1T only, I think I’ll change my R1S reservation to an R1T max pack after his comparison favorably to the R1T on comfort & handling)

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Have been considering the same, switching from R1S to R1T. Anyone done it recently? I have a 11/21 pre-order. To change models, do you have to reach out to CS? Any feedback from that process if they have done more recently?

 

[jclicky]

Have been considering the same, switching from R1S to R1T. Anyone done it recently? I have a 11/21 pre-order. To change models, do you have to reach out to CS? Any feedback from that process if they have done more recently?

you can change vehicle right in the reservation portal & it says it won’t impact your queue in line but people report otherwise (going back to back of the line).

however, seems like turnaround is far faster for R1T vs. R1S

 

[Tahoe Man]

I don't see much difference between the influencers and typical marketers...these days it gets even more annoying.

 

[Guy]

you can change vehicle right in the reservation portal & it says it won’t impact your queue in line but people report otherwise (going back to back of the line).

however, seems like turnaround is far faster for R1T vs. R1S

When I go into my reservation it allows me to change color etc but not change from S toT. I want to see more reviews to confirm if the S does drive worse, or if it was solely the specific blue model they had.

 

[SeaGeo]

Jclicky, what affiliation to you have with Kyle? Just curious as most your posts are to promote these videos/reviews.

He's shared reviews from several outlets, not just OutOfSpec's. Perhaps he's just excited to see reviews of the SUV he preordered.

 

[WakePhil]

When I go into my reservation it allows me to change color etc but not change from S toT.

That’s what I was struggling with too initially, but at the very bottom there is an option to change model. Right next to where you cancel a pre-order.

Haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Still thinking about it.

 

[Tejkalra]

Have been considering the same, switching from R1S to R1T. Anyone done it recently? I have a 11/21 pre-order. To change models, do you have to reach out to CS? Any feedback from that process if they have done more recently?

I changed it in march if I remember. I had R1S changed to R1T. Ordered 09/21. Getting delivery tomorrow my R1T.

 

[jclicky]

He's shared reviews from several outlets, not just OutOfSpec's. Perhaps he's just excited to see reviews of the SUV he preordered.

Lolz yep I’m just a fan (with too much time on his hands apparently) of nerdy reviews, and reviews in general of Rivians.

Jclicky, what affiliation to you have with Kyle? Just curious as most your posts are to promote these videos/reviews.

Honestly? I’ve been craving a worthy modern Land Cruiser for myself for some time, to use for camping trips, off-road, etc. but Toyota suspended that, and the Sequoia is bloated, the RAV4 is fugly, and I just want a solid electric vehicle that does all that & more.

Rivian seems to be awfully close to that mark, but for my part I can’t decide at the moment between their truck & their SUV, so I’m obsessively researching minutia about the subtle differences between the vehicles.

It’s a damn hard decision, for me, between these two vehicles and we don’t know a ton about these vehicles since they’re so new. I thought it might be useful to others if I summarized some of the reviews/readings I was finding, so I’ve been posting what I’ve been watching & what I noticed within them in case it helps others with their choice.

It seems that @OutofSpecKyle shares that type of enthusiasm so I feel like I’ve learned a lot about these vehicles & their characteristics from his lengthier videos, but at the end of the day I’m really just a fan, no affiliation, no relationship, never met him, not a paid consultant, ha!

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