R3 looks like the perfect car for me

[netantyl]

First, let me get this out in the open: I am not a “car person”. I don’t think I have ever wanted to buy any particular car before in my life. I’ve always thought of a car as a begrudgingly necessary tool. I hope to never own more than one car at a time. I don’t even like driving. And I think cars are generally bad for society.

Now that I’ve probably made everyone mad…

I am currently driving a 2018 Honda Fit. It is the best car I have owned so far, in my opinion. (Hey, stop laughing.) We are a dual income, no kids family. We both work from home, so no commutes. We bought the car new and after 6 years, it has less than 30k miles on it. We love to bicycle and we do errands around town by bicycle instead, whenever possible.

I could never understand why I would want to spend more than I need to on a car. What difference would it make? We would rather spend money on things we enjoy more. And we don’t want any more debt.

Our Fit spends almost all of its life with the back seats folded flat, which seemed like a magic trick the first time I saw it. Do you have any idea how hard is it to find a car that does that? Anyway, we almost never have any passengers other than us two, so the Fit has quite a lot of cargo space for our needs. I have fit more Ikea furniture than you would believe in this thing.

Aside from Ikea and Costco runs, the main thing the Fit does is ferry our bikes around. That’s right: we have an aftermarket trailer hitch, which I have pushed to the absolute limit on this poor little thing, in order to ferry our e-bikes all around Northern California for biking and hiking adventures (which we would love to do more of).

I have been saying for years that all I want is an electric version of the car I already have, but not only does Honda refuse to make that car, they even discontinued the ICE version of it (in the US, where I am). Insult upon injury!

We love the size of the Fit. We love how easy it is to maneuver through tight spaces and to park it. Fitting in the garage is also important, considering most of the space is taken up by bicycles. And we just don’t need or want anything bigger. My potential car spreadsheet has length as one of the primary criteria. Our Fit is 161 inches long… and it looks like the R3 is almost exactly the same!

We have absolutely no need for a larger car and I feel disgusted when I look at the grotesquerie of most EVs on the market today. (Tesla is another story, but a crazy CEO with a flagrant disregard for human safety, or even basic decency, is also a dealbreaker.)

I love the shape of the R3. The boxy frame perfectly appeals to my sense of practicality, in terms of fitting rectangular objects inside it. I absolutely despise the aggressive visual language of most modern car design, so I love that Rivian is willing to do something that’s not only different, but makes so much sense.

At this point, an OEM trailer hitch receiver is a hard requirement for us. It’s difficult enough to find a small EV, and even harder to find one that has a receiver available. My best friend is eTrailer.com, but if you put in the make and model of almost any EV on the market, they will come back with the only options rated at 5-star difficulty. That indicates to me that not only am I going to have a really hard time finding someone to install it for me (I’m not a car person, remember?), but they’re likely going to have to perform major surgery on my brand new automobile, which I don’t think I can stomach. I’d really rather just go OEM, which is why I’m happy to see this seems to be standard equipment on Rivians, unlike almost everyone else.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to use Rivian’s custom bike rack, although it does look cool. Our e-bikes have fenders, like almost all e-bikes do, and that style of rack does not work with fenders. Which makes it sort of a puzzling design, in my opinion, given the increasing popularity of e-bikes. But as long as the car has a standard receiver, I’ll be fine to keep using my Thule EasyFold XL.

Although not a dealbreaker, I do have a soft spot for the moonroof on my Fit (I have the EX trim). This is usually only available on higher-level trims, so I am secretly delighted that it comes standard on Rivians. (Secretly, because it breaks my “car is a tool and not to be enjoyed” rule.)

Oh, and I hate dealerships with a burning passion… (but who doesn’t?) So avoiding those is another anticipated bonus of the buying experience.

The only thing wrong with the R3, as far as I can tell, is the absence of CarPlay. I am quite happy with my CarPlay and I have never been happy with any other infotainment system. Also, I subscribe to Apple Music, and I absolutely refuse to switch.

I don’t need a fast car, and I have no interest in the R3X. I’m glad it exists for people who want it, I guess. Or rather, so that Rivian can benefit from its presumably higher margins. Just drive safely, please. You may find yourself passing me on my bike in the narrow, neglected “bike lane” that barely deserves being called that. Anyway, the standard model looks like it will do just fine for us.

In conclusion: The Rivian R3 looks like the almost-perfect Honda Fit replacement, which Honda should have made but probably was never going to. Not only that, but I have basically no other viable alternative, and it doesn't look like there will be one any time soon (at least in the US).

So… it’s going to be a long 3-4 years… but that’s okay. Hondas last forever, and ours has low mileage. We can wait, as much as I’d rather not! I just hope… y’know… that it actually happens.

Well, with nowhere else to direct my “shut up and take my money” energy, I went ahead and picked up some RIVN today. I very rarely buy individual stocks, but this one currently looks like a bargain (lol). At this point I would like to echo everyone else who has been begging Rivian to let us put down a deposit. Or at least sell me a scale model I can put on my desk or something.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my incoherent rambling. I guess I’ll be seeing you folks around!

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[Zorg]

Everyone loves the idea of an R3 but most will buy an R2. While hot hatches are super cool, they're not as practical and few will buy one.

 

[krockett]

Disagree, my preference would be for R3X over the R2.

 

[Wefty]

I sold my 2008 Fit a few months ago because we wanted something a bit more modern. If I knew about the R3 I would have held onto it.

 

[Hillbilly]

First, let me get this out in the open: I am not a “car person”. I don’t think I have ever wanted to buy any particular car before in my life. I’ve always thought of a car as a begrudgingly necessary tool. I hope to never own more than one car at a time. I don’t even like driving. And I think cars are generally bad for society.

Now that I’ve probably made everyone mad…

I am currently driving a 2018 Honda Fit. It is the best car I have owned so far, in my opinion. (Hey, stop laughing.) We are a dual income, no kids family. We both work from home, so no commutes. We bought the car new and after 6 years, it has less than 30k miles on it. We love to bicycle and we do errands around town by bicycle instead, whenever possible.

I could never understand why I would want to spend more than I need to on a car. What difference would it make? We would rather spend money on things we enjoy more. And we don’t want any more debt.

Our Fit spends almost all of its life with the back seats folded flat, which seemed like a magic trick the first time I saw it. Do you have any idea how hard is it to find a car that does that? Anyway, we almost never have any passengers other than us two, so the Fit has quite a lot of cargo space for our needs. I have fit more Ikea furniture than you would believe in this thing.

Aside from Ikea and Costco runs, the main thing the Fit does is ferry our bikes around. That’s right: we have an aftermarket trailer hitch, which I have pushed to the absolute limit on this poor little thing, in order to ferry our e-bikes all around Northern California for biking and hiking adventures (which we would love to do more of).

I have been saying for years that all I want is an electric version of the car I already have, but not only does Honda refuse to make that car, they even discontinued the ICE version of it (in the US, where I am). Insult upon injury!

We love the size of the Fit. We love how easy it is to maneuver through tight spaces and to park it. Fitting in the garage is also important, considering most of the space is taken up by bicycles. And we just don’t need or want anything bigger. My potential car spreadsheet has length as one of the primary criteria. Our Fit is 161 inches long… and it looks like the R3 is almost exactly the same!

We have absolutely no need for a larger car and I feel disgusted when I look at the grotesquerie of most EVs on the market today. (Tesla is another story, but a crazy CEO with a flagrant disregard for human safety, or even basic decency, is also a dealbreaker.)

I love the shape of the R3. The boxy frame perfectly appeals to my sense of practicality, in terms of fitting rectangular objects inside it. I absolutely despise the aggressive visual language of most modern car design, so I love that Rivian is willing to do something that’s not only different, but makes so much sense.

At this point, an OEM trailer hitch receiver is a hard requirement for us. It’s difficult enough to find a small EV, and even harder to find one that has a receiver available. My best friend is eTrailer.com, but if you put in the make and model of almost any EV on the market, they will come back with the only options rated at 5-star difficulty. That indicates to me that not only am I going to have a really hard time finding someone to install it for me (I’m not a car person, remember?), but they’re likely going to have to perform major surgery on my brand new automobile, which I don’t think I can stomach. I’d really rather just go OEM, which is why I’m happy to see this seems to be standard equipment on Rivians, unlike almost everyone else.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to use Rivian’s custom bike rack, although it does look cool. Our e-bikes have fenders, like almost all e-bikes do, and that style of rack does not work with fenders. Which makes it sort of a puzzling design, in my opinion, given the increasing popularity of e-bikes. But as long as the car has a standard receiver, I’ll be fine to keep using my Thule EasyFold XL.

Although not a dealbreaker, I do have a soft spot for the moonroof on my Fit (I have the EX trim). This is usually only available on higher-level trims, so I am secretly delighted that it comes standard on Rivians. (Secretly, because it breaks my “car is a tool and not to be enjoyed” rule.)

Oh, and I hate dealerships with a burning passion… (but who doesn’t?) So avoiding those is another anticipated bonus of the buying experience.

The only thing wrong with the R3, as far as I can tell, is the absence of CarPlay. I am quite happy with my CarPlay and I have never been happy with any other infotainment system. Also, I subscribe to Apple Music, and I absolutely refuse to switch.

I don’t need a fast car, and I have no interest in the R3X. I’m glad it exists for people who want it, I guess. Or rather, so that Rivian can benefit from its presumably higher margins. Just drive safely, please. You may find yourself passing me on my bike in the narrow, neglected “bike lane” that barely deserves being called that. Anyway, the standard model looks like it will do just fine for us.

In conclusion: The Rivian R3 looks like the almost-perfect Honda Fit replacement, which Honda should have made but probably was never going to. Not only that, but I have basically no other viable alternative, and it doesn't look like there will be one any time soon (at least in the US).

So… it’s going to be a long 3-4 years… but that’s okay. Hondas last forever, and ours has low mileage. We can wait, as much as I’d rather not! I just hope… y’know… that it actually happens.

Well, with nowhere else to direct my “shut up and take my money” energy, I went ahead and picked up some RIVN today. I very rarely buy individual stocks, but this one currently looks like a bargain (lol). At this point I would like to echo everyone else who has been begging Rivian to let us put down a deposit. Or at least sell me a scale model I can put on my desk or something.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my incoherent rambling. I guess I’ll be seeing you folks around!

It's interesting to me to read stuff like this and try to wrap my head around other people's lifestyles. I can't avoid putting 30k miles a year on my vehicles due to work. I literally can't imagine 30k over a six year window.

 

[Hillbilly]

Everyone loves the idea of an R3 but most will buy an R2. While hot hatches are super cool, they're not as practical and few will buy one.

The super young and super old can skew less practical, particularly if the price point makes it more attractive out of the gate than the R2.

 

[White Shadow]

...I could never understand why I would want to spend more than I need to on a car. What difference would it make? We would rather spend money on things we enjoy more....

So wouldn't you need to know the price of an R3 before thinking it's the perfect car for you? It's probably safe to say that an R3 is going to cost at least double what you paid for a new Honda Fit back in 2018.

 

[White Shadow]

Everyone loves the idea of an R3 but most will buy an R2. While hot hatches are super cool, they're not as practical and few will buy one.

That's an interesting take. Personally, I have no interest in the R3 at all, but I love what I'm seeing so far with the R2. I do wonder which vehicle will become the bigger seller for Rivian. I'm leaning towards the R2 at least in the North American market because small and midsize SUVs seem to be the vehicle of choice here, but in many parts of Europe, they prefer smaller cars and wagons (in Germany, they call them "combis"), so I can see something like the R3 being much more popular than the R2.

 

[iansriv]

You should move to Europe as your lifestyle is very much European. Love the way you think. I wish more people would adopt your lifestyle. I dont need the R1 but I didnt need all the other cars I've had. Just got a bike and started riding to work on days I can. You make a very conviencing point for the R3 and you should stick with that plan. All the best!

 

[Zorg]

That's an interesting take. Personally, I have no interest in the R3 at all, but I love what I'm seeing so far with the R2. I do wonder which vehicle will become the bigger seller for Rivian. I'm leaning towards the R2 at least in the North American market because small and midsize SUVs seem to be the vehicle of choice here, but in many parts of Europe, they prefer smaller cars and wagons (in Germany, they call them "combis"), so I can see something like the R3 being much more popular than the R2.

In Europe, the R3 will do very well. I think it's super neat and I am glad that Rivian did it.

 

[Ingo B]

In Europe, the R3 will do very well. I think it's super neat and I am glad that Rivian did it.

Denser cities, too. I'm thinking San Francisco and LA in particular. Probably NY as well.

 

[netantyl]

So wouldn't you need to know the price of an R3 before thinking it's the perfect car for you? It's probably safe to say that an R3 is going to cost at least double what you paid for a new Honda Fit back in 2018.

I've always been frugal with cars because I've never cared about them before. This one has changed that. Sounds crazy, and maybe it is.

I've spent some time researching EVs, and it's been a huge disappointment so far, until the R3. I'm not interested in literally anything else in the US market right now. (There's lots of great stuff in Europe or Asia, that will seemly never come here.) EVs across all makes and models seem to start at $30-45k anyway, so if I'm going to pay that much, it may as well be for something I actually want.

It seems like the days of paying $18k for a new car are over. (That was the negotiated price of my Fit EX in 2018.) You can't even get a new ICE for that any more these days.

I suppose if it was pushing past $45k or $50k+ for the base model, I'd have to stop and reconsider. Even I have my limits.

 

[netantyl]

Everyone loves the idea of an R3 but most will buy an R2. While hot hatches are super cool, they're not as practical and few will buy one.

I would personally never consider an R2 (or R1). Way too big. If not for R3, I wouldn't even look at Rivian.

Bigger cars are more popular, that's for sure. I'm not convinced they're more practical.

You should move to Europe as your lifestyle is very much European. Love the way you think. I wish more people would adopt your lifestyle. I dont need the R1 but I didnt need all the other cars I've had. Just got a bike and started riding to work on days I can. You make a very conviencing point for the R3 and you should stick with that plan. All the best!

Indeed. I like California, though

More bikes on the road makes every bike safer, so thanks for biking!

 

[KeithPleas]

We have absolutely no need for a larger car and I feel disgusted when I look at the grotesquerie of most EVs on the market today.

You are fighting a rising tide there - but we might have reached the peak. I read an analysis this week of why our cars are so large - there are many factors but one of them is that congress exempted "light trucks" from the CAFE standards. Many (most?) SUVs are "light trucks". And that is probably coming to an end.

If you want to drive what my family loves to call a "shoe car" then go for it - but survivability is higher on our priority list.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Your rambling reminds me of MY rambling. I also own a Honda Fit (2009), but it has 260,000 miles on it and it’s still going strong. I’ve had to replace the CV axles, brake pads, tires, windshield, etc. and there have been a few recalls, but overall it’s been an amazing car. I fit an entire IKEA couch in there once (disassembled) and I also hauled a mattress on the roof (after removing the antenna).

There was actually a Honda Fit EV, but it was a compliance car that was only sold in California. It had a range of only 82 miles! Totally useless in my opinion, especially in cold weather where your range usually drops by 40%.

Sadly Honda has never figured out how to engineer a decent battery. The fantastically designed retro modern Honda e had around 100 miles of range, was very expensive, and was only sold in Europe.

I’m hopeful about Honda and Sony’s collab with the Afeela (terrible name), but I feel like they’ve totally given up developing their own EVs as evidenced by the Honda Prologue (a joint venture with GM). It’s another crossover SUV that costs around $50K. Just what we don’t need.

Anyway, from one Honda Fit fan to another, I’m also looking forward to the R3. Hopefully we don’t have to wait until the end of the decade to get one.

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