Demo Drive : Tri R1S, Quad R1T, Dual R1T : Very different ride/handling, trying to understand

[thebruce]

Hi. New to the forums. Been looking in at Rivian for a while now and decided to take some demo drives this past weekend.

I was very surprised at how different the three vehicles (R1S Tri, R1T Quad, R1T Dual Performance) handled. I drove the same route over 30-40mins covering side roads, highway and even a twisty back road. I believe all of these vehicles were on 22" wheels. I was driving in All Purpose, Firm (although didnt feel much difference between the various modes) and lowest setting on regen - my current EV coasts and doesnt really do one peddle driving. I wasn't used to the regen on high but figured I would end up liking it over time.

R1S (Tri) : the car felt undamped over every bump in the pavement, it felt very boat like. It was wallowy on anything other than perfect pavement. I didnt think any of the pavement I drove was 'that bad'.

R1T (Quad) : Same route, same settings, this just blew me away was a totally different experience. Was super smooth, little body roll even on the twisties. I could not believe I was in a truck. It drove as good as my wife's Cayenne.

R1T (Dual Perf) : This was way better than the R1S but somewhat worse than the R1T quad. It drove more like a regular truck.

Performance was great across all and I had no issues there, and I was prior to the demo that the R1T dual performance would suit my needs. But the quad performance I dont need, but it was a different vehicle in terms of handling at all speeds and surfaces.

Rivian guy said they do all drive a bit differently, but the difference was large. My question is was this expected - I hear in review folks love how the R1S handles, but for me it was a no. Is it possible there was something wrong with alignment or something, or I should have put the cars into other modes / ride height? Looking for some advice here on whether this was normal or perhaps something was amiss.

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[ElGuano]

I recall the first gen S was a bit rough on the suspension side, owing to the fact that it was built on a pickup truck platform and the need to support a lot of cargo weight. They reworked the S suspension in Gen2 to be more pliant and more like a family SUV.

 

[impulsoren]

Are you certain they all had 22 inch wheels? Coming from an R1T quad with 22 inch wheels, I got a loaner R1S on 20’s and had the same experience as you. I couldn’t decide if it was tire sidewall, more weight in the back/shorter wheelbase, or likely a combination of those that made it seem so mushy and wallowy.

 

[thebruce]

I know for sure both R1T variants were on the 22's, can't say for sure on the R1S.

 

[savethemanual]

The T is known to have a much better ride quality due to it's longer wheelbase compared to the S.

 

[jackfu]

I’ve driven a gen 2 S for a year and a half and went for a test in a gen 2 T. Both are dual motor, same wheel set (20s).

The suspension difference is huge. The T definitely handles bumps much better than the S. The S bounces a lot more.

the three settings are very noticeably different for me in both vehicles

 

[mkg3]

Several factors involved.

1 - wheelbase difference and the ratio between the track and the wheelbase will affect the handling as well as the ride.

2 - Quad vs Tri vs Dual all have different torque vectoring algorithms due to the nature of the power source

3 - No suspension height setting was mentioned so if that was different, it can have a large effects

4 - Weight distribution F/R is different between R1T and R1S and will affect how it handles as well as the ride.

 

[Proxy]

We have a Gen 1 R1S dual and a Gen 1 R1T quad on 20” OEM AT’s. I’m not sure if it is the lower CG, wheelbase, motor configuration or suspension decisions by Rivian, but the R1T is much more fun to drive. It seems to settle and be ready to drive out of corners better. Both are driven in All purpose medium.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

If you can’t recall/ID wheels just based on visual appearance… can’t really take your word, for having correct details/impression. Sorry. Hardware-wise, if same generation and same tire/wheel package, the only difference those sampled would be power and torque. T for T and S for S.

And between gen 1 and gen 2 R1S, gen 1 has same suspension and tuning taken straight from the T. In order to get to market on time, Rivian did not tune specifically for the shorter wheelbase of the S. They did for gen 2, with better tuning of air springs, dampers and bespoke bushings.

Regardless of generation (and honestly any vehicle), tire size/choice matters greatly on ride quality/handling. 22" tires have less internal volume and therefore less cushioning. Lower profile tire packages prioritize sharper handling response over ride comfort (less sidewall to flex and deflect while under load). 20" tire sizes will give you more internal volume and damping than the suspension alone can provide. 22" Rivian offerings have 5.48" sidewall. The smaller offering for 20" wheels ("all-season", 275/60R20 Goodyear Territory AT RIV) has 6.5" sidewall and a significant increase in air volume. The larger and least effiecient All-Terrain offering (275/65R20) has a 7.04" sidewall.

Gen 1, Rivian had a middle-of-the-road 21" (275/55R21) all-season package that offered a good balance of on-pavement handling and comfort. However, for a long time there were no aftermarket replacement options in that tire size and the packaged proved to be unpopular with owners. With introduction of gen 2, Rivian replaced it with the 275/60R20 Goodyear AS/AT hybrid tire.

There are also other factors involved like tire pressure and whether software governing suspension was behaving correctly. Like computers with messed up preference cached, once in a long while suspension could be on wrong setting and need to be reset. You also don’t mention ride height. Inherent in this kind of variable height design, the lower you are the less suspension travel you have—more likely to reach bump stops on compression, which result in harsh ride. The tires themselves also make a difference. There have been three different tire offerings in 22” and each with different characteristics: Pirelli Scorpion Zero, Pirelli Scorpion MS and Michelin Pilot Sport 5S.

Quad and tri do have much more power. Launches/acceleration could be more violent. And that could be misinterpreted as being rough riding.

Nearly 3 years in my gen 1 T. Have thought it too soft once or twice, while Rivian adjusted software. But never thought of it as rough… unless I lowered it to ease loading of cargo and forgot to raise it back for subsequent drive. For a vehicle as heavy as R1, the handling is borderline mind bending and better than the Sport Package BMW X5 I had before it (which weighed 2k lbs less).

 

[bfilippo]

I too find the S generally a bumpier ride, and the T feels more planted, but weirdly my wife prefers driving the S (Gen 1 LE w/ 22" Michelin Defender LTX) over my new Gen2 Tri Max R1T (20" OEM Pirelli AT's), but I do think the T generally absorbs impact better with the longer wheelbase and is generally a bit more fun to drive.

Though, after driving the Lightning, the R1S is the most nimble boat I have ever driven! lol

 

[DuoRivians]

I think most people would say the longer wheelbase on the R1T gives it a better ride.

The quad motors may feel better than the dual, because the two independent motors up front do a better job at cornering, etc than the dual with limited differential

 

[TTedP]

If rims/tires were the same, most owners will say the T rides better than the S due to longer wheelbase. If tires weren't the same, this whole comparison gets thrown out.

Also for the DM Perf vs Quad, one motor per wheel vs one per axle (so to speak). If you have the chance to drive again, put the DM Perf in Sport mode where both motors are engaged all the time and then compare. It's no Quad, but it's much livelier than a "FWD" dual.

 

[Davethadog]

I agree with the quad vs tri gen 2 R1s. We had a tri that they bought back because it was a turd, the quad steers much better particularly with beefier tires.

 

[Yota2R1T]

Hi. New to the forums. Been looking in at Rivian for a while now and decided to take some demo drives this past weekend.

I was very surprised at how different the three vehicles (R1S Tri, R1T Quad, R1T Dual Performance) handled. I drove the same route over 30-40mins covering side roads, highway and even a twisty back road. I believe all of these vehicles were on 22" wheels. I was driving in All Purpose, Firm (although didnt feel much difference between the various modes) and lowest setting on regen - my current EV coasts and doesnt really do one peddle driving. I wasn't used to the regen on high but figured I would end up liking it over time.

R1S (Tri) : the car felt undamped over every bump in the pavement, it felt very boat like. It was wallowy on anything other than perfect pavement. I didnt think any of the pavement I drove was 'that bad'.

R1T (Quad) : Same route, same settings, this just blew me away was a totally different experience. Was super smooth, little body roll even on the twisties. I could not believe I was in a truck. It drove as good as my wife's Cayenne.

R1T (Dual Perf) : This was way better than the R1S but somewhat worse than the R1T quad. It drove more like a regular truck.

Performance was great across all and I had no issues there, and I was prior to the demo that the R1T dual performance would suit my needs. But the quad performance I dont need, but it was a different vehicle in terms of handling at all speeds and surfaces.

Rivian guy said they do all drive a bit differently, but the difference was large. My question is was this expected - I hear in review folks love how the R1S handles, but for me it was a no. Is it possible there was something wrong with alignment or something, or I should have put the cars into other modes / ride height? Looking for some advice here on whether this was normal or perhaps something was amiss.

I drive a dual R1T, but I have had many a drive in quad motor variants (mostly Gen 1, but also Gen 2). The ride quality is and should be Imperceptible between the trucks. Tires make a difference, but other than acceleration and off road performance, they ride the same.
Drive modes and front bias arguments aside.
That's my experience.

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