Doug Demuro Review: The Rivian R1T Is the Coolest Pickup Truck Ever Made

[opnwide]

If Doug truly had Brian Gase’s R1T and had such great things to say, I’d be willing to bet Doug will be a be one of the first, if not first, to get his hands on an R1S to review.

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[McMoo]

I have Tesla AP1 on my S and the lane change still seems better than EAP on our Y/3. I hate the fiddly having to use the screen to change the airflow though. Wish they could figure that one out. At least the door handles can be opened with one hand, unlike the Tesla 3/Y

Air through the screen is so unnecessary. Rivian copied Tesla on many things but that is definitely one they should have left off. I like the Rivian door handles better but I can open the model 3 doors with one hand without a problem…

https://www.howtotesla.com/using-model-3-door-handle/

 

[MadMac]

I liked Doug a lot better before he was a star and was just being Doug with all his quirks and features. Now I get the impression he’s working very hard to include every one of Doug’s quirks and features in each video. His expressions of amazement at certain features —key card, frunk, air vent control, etc— you know he’s seen before in other vehicles (ie Tesla) without acknowledging adds to this. Still, nice to see him like the truck,, confirming my commitment to purchase one so far sight unseen!

 

[toade]

Yeah, I do believe some of his "Doug Score" numbers should be called to questions (value, handling, and some others) and feel the R1T should have then broke the 74-75 mark.

IMO those scores are fair. It's a truck, and it's not going to handle as well as a sports car or a luxury sedan. He doesn't grade things separately for different auto segments. You could argue that handling should be higher given that it's better than other trucks.... but then one could argue Mclarens shouldn't get a 2 in practicality when compared to other sports cars, which would in turn raise their scores as well.

 

[Monkey]

Air through the screen is so unnecessary. Rivian copied Tesla on many things but that is definitely one they should have left off. I like the Rivian door handles better but I can open the model 3 doors with one hand without a problem…

Air vent controls on the screen is just fine unless you're a person who likes to continuously fidget with their position. We set the vents in our Model Y a year and a half ago when we got it and haven't changed it after fine tuning over the first week. I'm glad they didn't copy Tesla's wiper controls though. Tesla can't seem to figure out how to make decent wipers or control them.

Door handles on the 3/Y seem weird at first, but once you're used to them they work great and are practical. I prefer them to the push-buttons of the X but still like the pop-outs on the S the best. My biggest gripes about the 3/Y handles is that everyone needs a lesson on how to open them the first time and the real issue is they are difficult for those with semi-functional hands. My father in law has to make a two hand task out of it with his arthritis, yet conventional door handles are no big deal for him. I know Tesla was trying to be innovative while also making something functionally robust and aerodynamically neutral. They mostly succeeded... At times though I think the handles feel like a solution looking for a problem. If they were to pop out automatically like the Rivian handles or better yet like the Model S, that would be so much better.

 

[SeaGeo]

IMO those scores are fair. It's a truck, and it's not going to handle as well as a sports car or a luxury sedan. He doesn't grade things separately for different auto segments. You could argue that handling should be higher given that it's better than other trucks.... but then one could argue Mclarens shouldn't get a 2 in practicality when compared to other sports cars, which would in turn raise their scores as well.

If I'm going to nitpick one is going to be comfort. I can't imagine that the model Y, with it's near universally panned too harsh ride is as comfortable as the R1T in all-purpose mode.

The other I'd pick on is his cool factor since it's the first electric truck and his description of "cool factor" is:

The “cool factor” category is a combination of both how cool the car is and how important it is. You can think of it as “how much can a car turn heads?” and "how important is it to the car world - if you were creating a car museum, how likely would you be to include this car in it?” But it isn’t all about how much the car appeals to the masses — it’s also designed to reward cars that would turn enthusiast heads at cars and coffee. The cars that earn 10 points here attract both the masses and the enthusiasts (think Jaguar XJ220 or the Bugatti Veyron), while the cars with lower scores would be everyday rides like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Pilot.


At the end of the day, it's his opinion and review and fun little scoring chart. It did well in any case.

 

[echerod]

Same he kept on comparing it to cars but really its a heavy Truck and compared to most Id imagine its amazing though I can't tell with out driving ha.

The thing is his scoring system is supposed to assess every aspect with respect to all vehicles across all different types, not just within the given category, so it’s understandable it would not compare well in this respect with say exotic sports cars.

 

[PastyPilgrim]

Did anyone else notice the charge screen? Is this reporting 101mi of range at 47% (i.e. yikes) or is 101mi referring to something else like the number of miles added during the current charge?

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Did anyone else notice the charge screen? Is this reporting 101mi of range at 47% (i.e. yikes) or is 101mi referring to something else like the number of miles added during the current charge?

That’s 101 miles of range at 47%. It does show he’s in Sport mode, as well, and it’s likely he was flogging it a bit, so I wouldn’t read too much into it.

 

[PastyPilgrim]

That’s 101 miles of range at 47%. It does show he’s in Sport mode, as well, and it’s likely he was flogging it a bit, so I wouldn’t read too much into it.

I dunno, even in sport mode losing a third of your range when in pretty optimal conditions (shot in San Diego where he couldn't have been going particularly fast and the weather/temp/etc. is perfect) is a bit concerning.

Definitely looking forward to real customer deliveries where people can actually speak to the practical ranges that they're getting.

 

[TessP100D]

He said the tech was good, including the navigation and charging status.You are trying to find something substantial to complain about, not surprise given your username. At least Rivian are not making vehicles under tents or with atrocious panel gaps.

Did you watch the video ? All the way?

cameras are not so good. Taking too long to load up.

missing tech cheap cars have now.
‘’what’s going on here?

 

[TessP100D]

I dunno, even in sport mode losing a third of your range when in pretty optimal conditions (shot in San Diego where he couldn't have been going particularly fast and the weather/temp/etc. is perfect) is a bit concerning.

Definitely looking forward to real customer deliveries where people can actually speak to the practical ranges that they're getting.

The real range that is what’s important. How hard can it be to do a review of the real range and then charge to 100% and then tow something to let is see?

not that hard IMHO.

 

[SeaGeo]

I dunno, even in sport mode losing a third of your range when in pretty optimal conditions (shot in San Diego where he couldn't have been going particularly fast and the weather/temp/etc. is perfect) is a bit concerning.

Definitely looking forward to real customer deliveries where people can actually speak to the practical ranges that they're getting.

That's not a third. Remember the 20" are closer to 265 mile range, with a mix of conserve thrown in there. This seems totally reasonable to me, especially assuming he's been launching it.

Also, there have been owners sharing snippets of their experiences on social sites and I've shared some of those. They seem to be online with epa values and (as expected) dependent on drive mode and driving driving habits.

 

[SeaGeo]

The real range that is what’s important. How hard can it be to do a review of the real range and then charge to 100% and then tow something to let is see?

not that hard IMHO.

That's just not what Doug does unfortunately. That's why people really want insideEVS and/or outofspec to do it. Edmunds test had it meeting epa, but their test is also a mix similar to the EPA cycle.

 

[TessP100D]

That's just not what Doug does unfortunately. That's why people really want insideEVS and/or outofspec to do it. Edmunds test had it meeting epa, but their test is also a mix similar to the EPA cycle.

Ok. Maybe somebody out there can do a review of what really happens before we go all crazy.
or before I go crazy at least.

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