Rivian R1T Build & Paint Quality Video: Initial Impressions

[TessP100D]

That front door fitment is embarrassing. Can't believe that made it through QC.

Glad to see the paint and interior are excellent.

Not stoked that the sound system is worse than a Tesla's.

exactly


also. Am I the only one who thinks the power bed cover is a big problem waiting to happen. Heck it’s brand new and already scratching and it sounds like the motor is working way to hard and will break soon. All these years on the planning and that’s the best they can do?

Sponsored

 

[TessP100D]

Here's what I have to say about the little tiny details... go to any dealer lot and look at new cars and you'll find issues. Overall he didn't find anything in this video that concerned me.

I just sold my 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. (Original MSRP $55k) It had a ton of manufacturer defects. Interior panels in the cargo area didn't line up, one was loose almost from day 1. Front end, plastic trim around the tow hooks loose on day 1. Multiple dealers just shrugged when I pointed it out. Paint imperfections around the front wheels. The plastic "chrome" on the gear shifter started peeling off after a few months of ownership. My Jeep hadn't been sitting on the dealer lot long, and in fact I made the salesman unwrap a new one for me. (I actually helped) Jeep makes these vehicles by the hundreds of thousands and the quality isn't perfect.

Probably the best car I've ever owned in terms of quality is my Porsche Macan. The fit and finish of everything is fantastic.

Oh, and watch Doug DeMuro's video on the Tesla Plaid and see the terrible paint job on a car someone paid $120k for! ;-)

Porsche quality is way higher than Both Tesla and Rivian. It’s not even close.

 

[crashmtb]

"Live Rust" all the way boys. Blow the da@@ speaker right out of the doors

A thousand percent

 

[TessP100D]

What video did you watch to base your comments on? Can't be this one.

The nit-picky gap findings were related to perimeter lower plastic bits. Teslas, a decade later into production, are still notorious for body panels measured in tenth's of inches misalignment.

What about quality of Rivian vs. Tesla factory paint? Night & day difference. you can decide which is which.

I watched the same video as you did. Maybe your eyes were closed. I’m high on Rivian for sure, but NOT blind. Seems like the paint is better than Tesla. I will give you that

 

[Guy]

I don’t know.

the video review shows panel gaps, doors not lined up, rims scratched up, gear tunnel won’t open, plastic pieces not lined up, not tight, and miss matched, and apparently the. music system is not As good as Tesla.

I’m not comparing it to Tesla really, just pointing out that it seems Rivan has a lot of work to do to get these vehicles right before they go into mass production.

when I spend a 100,000 on a vehicle, I would like to think all this stuff would be worked out.

First of this is under $70k with the tax credit and the interior quality surpasses Teslas. As for the sound that is an off hand comment and everyone will have a different opinion when they actually hear it.
You always find things to complain about, the panel gaps are way less than Tesla, the glass roof stays on and I sure expect the rear bumper will. It collect mud and sand and be ripped off in due course. Of course it helps
Not being built in a tent. If all you are going to do is bash Rivian for bringing our a great (not perfect) product then you should leave.

 

[Guy]

I watched the same video as you did. Maybe your eyes were closed. I’m high on Rivian for sure, but NOT blind. Seems like the paint is better than Tesla. I will give you that

Well yhathh be is high praise from you seeing that Tesla have had five plus years to fix their notorious paint issues and haven’t.
As for doing better and making promises, where is the roadster and semi trucks, or for that matter the cross country FSD drive - all broken promises year behind schedule.

 

[TessP100D]

Those wheels should be considered damaged.

Exactly. Seriously it all comes down to QC.
‘somebody needs to be appointed QC manager And do his job

 

[TessP100D]

Well yhathh be is high praise from you seeing that Tesla have had five plus years to fix their notorious paint issues and haven’t.
As for doing better and making promises, where is the roadster and semi trucks, or for that matter the cross country FSD drive - all broken promises year behind schedule.

Guy. Not sure what’s wrong here.
This is not about Tesla.
this about Rivan.

if you don’t want a Tesla, don’t Buy one.

this is about Rivian And their lack of QC.

 

[emoore]

Guy. Not sure what’s wrong here.
This is not about Tesla.
this about Rivan.

if you don’t want a Tesla, don’t Buy one.

this is about Rivian And their lack of QC.

You have first hand knowledge of their lack of QC? I didn’t realize you were an employee Of Rivian.

 

[TessP100D]

First of this is under $70k with the tax credit and the interior quality surpasses Teslas. As for the sound that is an off hand comment and everyone will have a different opinion when they actually hear it.
You always find things to complain about, the panel gaps are way less than Tesla, the glass roof stays on and I sure expect the rear bumper will. It collect mud and sand and be ripped off in due course. Of course it helps
Not being built in a tent. If all you are going to do is bash Rivian for bringing our a great (not perfect) product then you should leave.

Just stop Guy.
its 100,000 for the RT1 fully loaded with tax and delivery. 100,000

for that Money it needs to be right. that’s not hard to understand.

 

[TessP100D]

You have first hand knowledge of their lack of QC? I didn’t realize you were an employee Of Rivian.

I’m not. If you are blinded then nothing will help you.

 

[Iwantatesla]

exactly


also. Am I the only one who thinks the power bed cover is a big problem waiting to happen. Heck it’s brand new and already scratching and it sounds like the motor is working way to hard and will break soon. All these years on the planning and that’s the best they can do?

It sounds like that because the slats are metal. NGL it’s pretty sensitive so there’s some way to go there.

 

[Guy]

Guy. Not sure what’s wrong here.
This is not about Tesla.
this about Rivan.

if you don’t want a Tesla, don’t Buy one.

this is about Rivian And their lack of QC.

Hardly a lack of QC. It is not all or nothing. Sounds like from this ONE review that they got a lot right from the interior to the paint.
I agree this is about Rivian, although you have a history of picking up on any minor comment and blowing it out of proportion. Your username says it all!

 

[emoore]

I’m not. If you are blinded then nothing will help you.

If you are upset at things like this then nothing will help you.

 

[ja_kub_sz]

Again, better then my Model S was (100k+) in terms of fit, finish and gaps, but again if anyone believes the first EV's Rivian makes will be their best EV's that's just not gonna happen. Even legacy auto manufacturers have QC issues that improve over time.

Now think about this, for every person that's worried about Rivian's reliability, but okay with bringing your ICE vehicle in 1-2 times a year for "service" you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you consider manufacturer recommended maintenance as a "reliability issue" Tesla's and other EV's are far more reliable right out of the gates.

I'm excited based on what I see. Again raving about the interior fit and finish and such high praises overall for a first time effort is not a small feat.

As for the stereo system, I'm gonna probably agree with the "not as good as Teslas" based on the high quality sourced components Tesla used (basically an non-branded unlicensed B&O system).

I love Meridian and their top of the line RR system (39 speakers WTF!!!) is probably the best ever made.

Just some specs from the vehicles I'm familiar with.

R1T 19 speakers and 1200w
Perfect Balance, Horizon, ReQ, Intelli-Q

RR Velar 17 speakers 750w
DSP, Trifield, ReQ, Digital Precision, Trifield 3D

RR Sport 19 speakers 825w
DSP, Trifield, ReQ, Digital Precision

These are all Meridian systems, and yet a good deal of sound systems are very subjective, but between the two Range Rover products I have I thought that the stereo system would be relatively equivalent. Boy was I wrong, with the build quality being that much better (more solid and dampened) in the Range Rover Sport than my Velar it makes for a monumental difference on the overall sound quality despite being virtually the same stereo system.

I'm sure the Rivian's system will be good, and get better over time (with better build quality), but I don't think it will necessarily be on par with other Meridian sound systems despite its impressive number of speakers and wattage.

My Model S had an incredible stereo system, one which I would say is number one or number two in all the vehicles that I've owned. I go back and forth between that sound system the sound system in my Range Rover Sport, and this might be a throwback, but the Bose 5.1 system in my Cadillac STS from years ago was truly incredible with two Center channel speakers.

Regardless the EQ looks really impressive and will be able to bring Rivian's elevation systems closer to the likes of everyone's tastes once you dial it in.

Really cool video and thanks for posting it @kanundrum!

Sponsored