R2 non-powered frunk is a mistake?

[timf]

To be clear, it's not truly power open - the latch mechanism is powered, but the actual opening action is from air cylinders on the struts, like most standard hoods in other vehicles.

It sure beats some of the legacy competition like Volvo who still put secondary release levers under the hood.

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[ElGuano]

To be clear, it's not truly power open - the latch mechanism is powered, but the actual opening action is from air cylinders on the struts, like most standard hoods in other vehicles.

Ah, does it self-rise, or is it just reduced-weight?

 

[Mos Eisley]

Ah, does it self-rise, or is it just reduced-weight?

https://www.rivianwave.com/news/3878/meet-the-rivian-r2-frunk-first-look-details

Opening and Closing
Unlike the trunk, the R2 frunk isn't fully "powered" in the sense that a motor lifts and lowers it like a garage door, but it feels remarkably close. It uses a power release system — you simply press a capacitive button marked with three lines on the outside of the vehicle to unlatch it, and the hood lifts open automatically. This allows you to drop your bags inside even when your hands are mostly full. There’s also an emergency open button on the inside of the frunk for safety.

Rivian Wave
For closing, Rivian has implemented a soft-close mechanism. You can lower the hood (even with a single finger) until it reaches the latch; at that point, the car takes over and "sucks" the hood down to a secure seal. You can also open the frunk remotely via the Rivian mobile app or through a button on the internal screen.

 

[lefkonj]

I am indifferent to it being powered. I get why some would want it but for how infrequently it is used I don't care either way.

A strap would be helpful though.

 

[Big Kidd]

I am indifferent to it being powered. I get why some would want it but for how infrequently it is used I don't care either way.

A strap would be helpful though.

I agree. I will not be a daily user of the frunk.

 

[ElGuano]

Oh, that's totally fine. It opens and self-lifts most of the way on its own, you can use a single finger to lower it and it auto-latches when the frunk reaches the bottom.

If they offered a "fully powered" paid option, I don't think I'd even bother springing for that.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

My god. How did people survive to procreate when cars didn’t even have gas struts on hoods, trunks and rear hatches? What’s the next obscure future gripe? A self-driving car didn’t come with a humanoid robot butler to carry you from bed to car?

R1 has a powered hood because of its height, relative to average height of target customers, plus a price point to justify additional production cost. R2 isn’t as tall and spec’ed to meet a lower price target (amidst sticky inflation). If you are still height-challenged to reach and pull hood down, then why buy a car that doesn’t fit you? No more than you are likely to buy, knowingly, oversized clothing only to complain about poor fit, right?

 

[RivAW]

Our family had a chance to interact with the R2 at the Denver block party. Absolutely loved the vehicle, however it was a very hot day and trying to close the manual-only frunk was tough without getting burned on the hot paint. It was a stretch for my wife to reach and kids couldn't do it all. We use the frunk every single day in our R1 and find the powered feature really helpful. I would certainly have paid a bit more to have that feature in the R2.

I could count on my hands how many times I have used my R!T frunk in 3.5 years. Additionally, the whole point of the R2 is to cut complexity and cost to make it "available to the masses", yet everyone wants the $100K vehicle (options) priced at $50K. It is very likely that their will be 3rd party aftermarket option to power the frunk for those that want it (just like for Tesla)....

 

[TheMac]

I can understand why some folks might prefer a powered frunk on the R2,but when you’re cutting costs and making a smaller vehicle, it’s unrealistic to expect same feature set on the smaller vehicle. Personally I’m indifferent to it being powered or not but if asked would I pay for that feature, answer is no. I guess they could have offered it as a selectable upgrade maybe.

 

[DuoRivian]

I totally get why they didn’t do this for R2 even though I use the frunk a lot.
It is like charging speed where some will argue it has to have 400kWh charging speed yet data shows maybe 10-12 fast charging sessions a year. They cannot please everyone.
The strap seems an easy fix for some of the concerns on closing the frunk.

 

[ballinmcfarlan]

I rarely use the frunk on my Model 3, but that’s mostly because it’s inconvenient to access. Right now, it just holds sports equipment that I don’t want taking up space inside the car.
One thing I’m looking forward to on the R2 is having an actual button on the front of the vehicle to open the frunk, along with a lid that doesn’t require so much force to close. I can easily see myself using it for quick grocery runs since I won’t have to pull out my phone to open it, and I usually back into parking spaces anyway.

 

[shrink]

Our family had a chance to interact with the R2 at the Denver block party. Absolutely loved the vehicle, however it was a very hot day and trying to close the manual-only frunk was tough without getting burned on the hot paint. It was a stretch for my wife to reach and kids couldn't do it all. We use the frunk every single day in our R1 and find the powered feature really helpful. I would certainly have paid a bit more to have that feature in the R2.

I personally in full agreement. It's a big miss for me.

In our family, we originally had planned to replace my wife's Gen 1 R1S Quad with an R2 but the lack of a powered frunk (among other reasons) is giving us pause. We use our frunks A LOT. Would definitely miss it being powered. I understand the cost cutting decision but powered struts and a control module do not cost that much.

I personally use it a lot at on my R1T for curbside pick up. It's very convenient but I do have to tell workers consistently that I'll close it from the interior controls. I don't want curbside pick up workers closing an R2 frunk. I think the auto-latch mechanism would be confusing to someone unfamiliar with it and some would inappropriately slam it shut.

Slightly off topic but we're also reluctant to give up the air compressor in her R1 as well. These concerns are a discussion for a different thread.

 

[VSG]

It's so weird to hear people say they don't use the frunk on the R1, because it's such a large and useful space.

When I first got my R1, I had never owned a car with a frunk before, so I kept forgetting about it. Same with the gear tunnel - I kept throwing stuff in the back seat or the bed because I forgot I had a frunk and gear tunnel.

But on my first road trip where I needed as much extra space as I could find, I quickly developed habits of what to use the frunk for and what to use the gear tunnel for. Now I use both literally every day and regain the use of my backseat and bed.

I really don't see any problem with the R2 frunk. It's going to be really useful. If you can't reach, go around the side of the car to close the hood - it takes minimal force and it's soft-closing so you don't have to worry about it latching.

 

[iansriv]

I'm a pretty heavy frunk user - I can't open my R1S tailgate with the garage door closed so the frunk is the first place I put stuff (unless it's a long trip and then I have to think about temps in the frunk). For groceries and the like? They go in the frunk. I'll miss the powered close, but not enough to worry about it.

I use the frunk because it's closer to the kitchen door, if I park with the front in. Over the course of my lifetime, I'm probably saving myself a full year of time with this efficiency (j/k).

I can see why OP or others might want a powered frunk but the price of the R2 reflects some of these changes.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

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