2026 Rivian R2 Specs & Reviews!! 300+ Mile Range, 10-80% Charge in 30 Min, 656 hp / 609 lb-ft, 0-60 mph in 3.6s, dimensions

[mkhuffman]

I own a 2025 R1S (2nd Gen), Dual Max. Its been in the shop repeatedly for many things, some big and some small. The next medium thing that breaks i will be doing a buyback/Lemon. I have owned a leaf, Bolt, 3, Y and S before this car. Having said that:
1. I have looked all over for what will replace the R1S - there is really nothing that competes. The closest is the Kia/Hyundai 3-rows SUVs, but those are lower "quality" and as far as i can tell suffer from their own issues (i have a friend on their second battery on a Kia and doing a buyback on that).
2. Despite far too many of their vehicles having issues (LAST on a recent CR survey of issues), the concept and overall design of the Rivian (R1S and R2) are excellent, and super utilitarian, and theres no vehicle that really competes. Comparing the Y to this R2, i dont see why most buyers (assuming similar cost) wouldn't buy the R2, especially once Lidar releases and their self driving does the major stuff - freeway cruising mostly. As a utility vehicle (which is what the Y and R2 are) the R2 appears to win hands down on most variables. Even if you're just driving to work and doing stuff on weekends with the family, the R2 wins (as far as we can see) on ground clearance, wheelbase, rear leg room (based on that Doug video), cargo space behind 2nd row, frunk space, etc. The Y may win on 0-60, price by a few thousand, range by 10-15 miles, and of course self driving (which is overrated on the Y for the price and on which Rivian is rapidly catching up).
3. The big questions are going to be quality (currently low), time to wait for service (already long in most places - tho improving), charge time (which is horrific in the R1, especially in heat due to bad battery pack thermal management).

I am hopeful that some of the new components (coils vs airbags, new motors, maybe better battery pack design) will improve quality, and that some of the existing components and software are finally mature enough to just work. If that happens then i think Tesla is going to get their asses kicked. Same or better vehicle for basically the same price, way higher "cool" factor, and no fascist overtones!

I recommend you don't buy first year production of any car model, especially the R2. Give them a year or two to get the production ramp issues smoothed out. Otherwise I don't think you will be very happy. This is manufacturing 101. There are always more issues in the first year than the second. Always.

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[1stPlace]

FWIW, all mechanical door handles in the rear seat of every vehicle have child safety locks that prevent you from opening them from the inside no matter what. It is a safety feature unless you turn it off.

This is the point I keep coming back to when someone complains about the inside 2nd row mechanical latch not being easy enough. If it is easy enough for a 3 year old to figure out, then they will override the child safety lock when you least expect or want them to. If the concern is about older kids, then have the conversation with them when you get the vehicle--what is shown in these videos for the mechanical latch is not that difficult to remember. My concern is actually for the non-regular 2nd row passenger who was not given the pre-flight safety instructions.

The data needs to be clear that this new design is overall safer. In lieu of that information, the emotional response of many people driven by graphic videos of certain accidents will override the debate. And Rivian will lose those customers.

 

[tivoboy]

Google says 6'2" - 6'3"

That sounded tall for 95 percentile, but I guess it‘s accurate.

Says someone in the 99th percentile (6’5”) and 99.9th.

 

[savethemanual]

Has anyone touched on audio setup and quality?

I haven't read any mention of the audio system(s) yet. The speaker grills look basic plastic so far on all of the videos today, which might mean the standard system on these pre-production units. Someone did point out the front doors have no speakers to make room for more storage/reduce rattling, they were installed below the glove box facing passengers....which is interesting. Also, there were several videos showing the rear cargo area and no subwoofer in sight. I sure hope they offer a premium audio system W/Atmos that rocks! I did see high range speakers in the A pillar and possibly in the head liner.

 

[Virtio]

I haven't read any mention of the audio system(s) yet. The speaker grills look basic plastic so far on all of the videos today, which might mean the standard system on these pre-production units. Someone did point out the front doors have no speakers to make room for more storage/reduce rattling, they were installed below the glove box facing passengers....which is interesting. Also, there were several videos showing the rear cargo area and no subwoofer in sight. I sure hope they offer a premium audio system W/Atmos that rocks! I did see high range speakers in the A pillar and possibly in the head liner.

The only mention of audio came from Motor Trend and it was just one sentence so no real idea how it sounds but this explains the missing speakers in the doors.

"A new firewall-mounted vibration-canceling dual subwoofer frees up room in the front door panels to stow tall water bottles and sounds good, too."

 

[Singletracker]

One of the reviews I saw shows one in the front doors, rear is simplified but still not obvious. I’ll update this post if I find the spot where it was talked about.

Edit: It is the Jerry Rig Everything (JRE) review around the 6 minute mark he talks about the manual releases.

Yes, I saw the JRE review showing these features. It appears the front door handle, while maybe not in an obvious position, is workable. The rear door solution is not acceptable, IMHO. The bottom line is - in an emergency situation, an occupant, unfamiIiar with the idiosyncrasies of the door, shouldn’t need to be putzing around trying to figure out how the hell to quickly exit the vehicle. While the car is burning, please reference page 273 of the Rivian owner’s guide for instructions on how to open the door

 

[portdirect]

This is the point I keep coming back to when someone complains about the inside 2nd row mechanical latch not being easy enough. If it is easy enough for a 3 year old to figure out, then they will override the child safety lock when you least expect or want them to. If the concern is about older kids, then have the conversation with them when you get the vehicle--what is shown in these videos for the mechanical latch is not that difficult to remember. My concern is actually for the non-regular 2nd row passenger who was not given the pre-flight safety instructions.

The data needs to be clear that this new design is overall safer. In lieu of that information, the emotional response of many people driven by graphic videos of certain accidents will override the debate. And Rivian will lose those customers.

Where it makes me worry is that this almost certainly means they have taken the gen2 approach to the exterior door handles. Now of course if the door is locked you are SOl anyway, but i really miss the (potential placebo) reassurance of having a mechanical unlatch mechanic from the outside rather than an oversized lever to a switch. To your point re child locks in ‘traditional’ setups - they enabled you to have the door unlocked while driving so that you could quickly open the door if required (I’m still not keen on how Rivian regardless of gen locks the doors at ~5-10mph).

 

[ev1337]

Charging curve based on carwow session
https://evkx.net/models/rivian/r2/r2_dual-motor_awd/chargingcurve/

comparison with competition with current known spec
https://evkx.net/evcompare?evs=e97ae3,6aa053,dbb2bc,899448,6a4e42

 

[savethemanual]

Charging curve based on carwow session
https://evkx.net/models/rivian/r2/r2_dual-motor_awd/chargingcurve/

comparison with competition with current known spec
https://evkx.net/evcompare?evs=e97ae3,6aa053,dbb2bc,899448,6a4e42

They stated the charging rates have not been finalized yet and are still being tweaked.

 

[DeafPug]

1:04 in that carwow video:

That poor windshield from all the GoPro cameras! Reminded me of the scene from Galaxy Quest where Tony Shalhoub's character is kissing the alien...

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I haven't seen any mention of ventilated seats yet, only heating. IMO not having them at least as an option would be a big miss.

Even as a mid-market vehicle that's a great feature. If Honda can put it into our minivan, Rivian can add it to the R2.

 

[BigSkies]

Yes, I saw the JRE review showing these features. It appears the front door handle, while maybe not in an obvious position, is workable. The rear door solution is not acceptable, IMHO. The bottom line is - in an emergency situation, an occupant, unfamiIiar with the idiosyncrasies of the door, shouldn’t need to be putzing around trying to figure out how the hell to quickly exit the vehicle. While the car is burning, please reference page 273 of the Rivian owner’s guide for instructions on how to open the door

JFC, why does every EV company think they need to reinvent the wheel (latch?) here? It's a car door. There's a mechanism to open it and lock it. The mechanics of making a door latch function haven't fundamentally changed in what, 50 years? (maybe with the exception of child locks)

I don't think I've had a single problem with car doors and locks in the last 30 years of car ownership until Tesla went full-idiot with their redesign of it, and Rivian decided to follow.

Rivian and Tesla just need to start buying the same latches Ford or Toyota or GM uses. Some parts of building an EV are incredibly complex. Door latches shouldn't be.

 

[shrink]

I haven't seen any mention of ventilated seats yet, only heating. IMO not having them at least as an option would be a big miss.

Even as a mid-market vehicle that's a great feature. If Honda can put it into our minivan, Rivian can add it to the R2.

Good point. Ventilated seats are essential living in a desert. Ventilated seats were not an option on DeMuro’s test car per the climate screen

Watching some of DeMuro’s review. Some random thoughts.

- Looks like data is 5G
- His test car showed as red on the display. Possible Red Canyon variant?
- As previously mentioned, not loving the frunk doesn’t power close
- Haven’t see anything about an electrochromic roof unless I missed it.
- angle of the blind spot cameras looks great
- accessories look very cool. Tent has integrated HVAC and lightning. Projector screen is super cool.
- it didn’t look there there was enough room for a spare in the sub trunk area.

Based on this, we would not trade in our Gen 1 Quad R1S as originally planned but will wait for the configurator.

 

[mkhuffman]

- As previously mentioned, not loving the frunk doesn’t power close

I am willing to bet this is a EU regulation.

 

[mnLoon]

I haven't seen any mention of ventilated seats yet, only heating. IMO not having them at least as an option would be a big miss.

Even as a mid-market vehicle that's a great feature. If Honda can put it into our minivan, Rivian can add it to the R2.

I haven't seen any of the reviewers touch the seat on the screen to see if it pops up the ventilated seat option like the R1s have (I believe) when you touch it. I can see the seats are perforated, but doesn't mean they are ventilated... would be a miss for Rivian not to include it.

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