Finished R2 demo test drive? Share your review / impressions

[mkhuffman]

Right - so got to drive last night for about 40 minutes. Count me in as one of the guys who said he'd bribe them to let me buy the demo right there.

LOVE LOVE LOVE it... we had perfect weather and as soon as I hit the 5X button and all the windows went down and the air rushed in, I was the happiest I've been behind the wheel in.... forever.

I had the Ratatouille flashback moment:

I now know what the R2 is: It's nothing less than the 21st century reincarnation of the International Travelall.



My Aunt Judy had a Travelall. Sitting in the way-back with the window down, hanging out the back window, heading to the lake, lunch on the tailgate were glorious times. The Travelall went everywhere and we were always happy in it. R2 is that same happy place.

I don't really have much to add about the drive that hasn't been said. The haptic wheels are, at least first time in the car, harder and more fiddly to use while driving. I recall Top Gear's complaints about flappy paddles when they first started coming to cars. Functions that you wanted were hard to use because they turned with the wheel. So muscle memory will take some retraining. I seemed to notice more while driving than while parked, that volume and fan speed control lagged more. I'm sure it will become more, um... dialed in over time.

We drove on the AT 20's. All city driving. With the windows down over 40mph, there's a fair amount of road hum. When pushing it through the curves, the AT's audibly complained. I'm going to eventually schedule another drive when I can try the 21" Pirellis. For certain, whether going with the risky choice of the 21's or sticking with the 20's, I'm going to want all-season's on the R2.

Nobody needs the power this thing can lay down, but it makes you giddy when you step on it. Regen, even on low, felt aggressive to me but not in a bad way, just unfamiliar. I was learning to feather pretty quickly. Mashing the breaks was fine though obviously lacking the tactile feedback of mechanical breaks. Interesting watching the on-screen schematic, the R2 keeps it's bias towards the rear even through most of the acceleration and it feels like the regen is demanding more from the back end as well.

The ride comfort over bumpy pavement, even in sport mode, is really excellent. Very smooth and composed. Visibility and ride height are just right. My wife is slightly mobility limited and getting in and out for her was easier than her current CX5. We were on the freeway doing about 70 and she made the comment of the night: "We really are going to have a flying car in our lifetime."

Now just to get it in the driveway.

I like the International Harvester comparison. It also makes me worry Rivian could suffer the same fate.

BTW - there are plenty of 21 inch options if you go outside the OEM size. Other sizes should fit without issue (except for speedometer error). 255/50 R21 XL is the closest fit, and the speedometer error is not bad at all:

There are lots of options available at Tire Rack in that size.

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[Mos Eisley]

I like the International Harvester comparison. It also makes me worry Rivian could suffer the same fate.

BTW - there are plenty of 21 inch options if you go outside the OEM size. Other sizes should fit without issue (except for speedometer error). 255/50 R21 XL is the closest fit, and the speedometer error is not bad at all:

There are lots of options available at Tire Rack in that size.

I responded to you in the other thread, but to repeat it here:

Given how software-dependent Rivian's are, driving on a set of tires that cannot (or maybe will not) be officially calibrated by the R2 is a showstopper for me. Having the shorter sidewall cause range and speedometer inflation is bad enough, but if it is going to foul with ADAS etc... would make me nervous. Additionally, when you filter that list for EV-tuned tires it gets much shorter and several of them are still Pirelli's.

International made trucks and cars for 73 years and Travelall for 22. I think Rivian would be happy with that timeline.

 

[mkhuffman]

I responded to you in the other thread, but to repeat it here:

Given how software-dependent Rivian's are, driving on a set of tires that cannot (or maybe will not) be officially calibrated by the R2 is a showstopper for me. Having the shorter sidewall cause range and speedometer inflation is bad enough, but if it is going to foul with ADAS etc... would make me nervous.

International made trucks and cars for 73 years and Travelall for 22. I think Rivian would be happy with that timeline.

Your concerns are not without merit, but I doubt such a small change in tire size would cause any issue other than throwing off efficiency calculations due to incorrect speed and distance readings. Personally I could live with the speedometer error, but the efficiency reading error would be annoying.

I put a non standard tire size on my Mach-e. I was very pleased with the result and the speedometer error was minor.

My current R1 already has a speedometer error. I set the cruise for 81 but the GPS speed is only 79. Of course the truck knows that, so the efficiency readings are still good. I think. LOL.

 

[Mos Eisley]

Anybody know what the level of factory tint is on the glass? At the demos- the back sides, back glass and roof are all quite tinted to my eye.

 

[rogunenode]

My pro's and con's after two test drives, one of which I was able to hit a bit of twisty road on my own. Note: I'm an LE R1T quad owner and also a sports car guy, considering something smaller for my daily.

Pro's:
* Lower NVH and felt more solid overall
* Lots of room and storage considering the footprint
* Lower weight and shorter length were immediately apparent
* Retains nearly all of what I like about my R1T interior, and some things I like more, at a lower price point.

Cons:
* While the ride was good overall, the initial hit on expansion joints and potholes was felt more than I expected.
* Lighter, numb steering feel and slow turn-in when cornering
* Didn't like the steering wheel controls
* The steering wheel itself does not have as much range to extend and go up/down as the R1T. I am tall and could not get it into my preferred position.
* Meh stereo

A great product overall that I think will appeal to many. I do wish it looked more unique vs the R1S.

An R2X with air suspension and tri-motor with torque vectoring, and I'm a buyer. Otherwise, I'll wait in hopes for an R3X and watch the competition.

 

[Eric9610]

So yesterday I had a chance to drive an R2 with 21’s and 20’s back to back. Wow I was disappointed in the ride quality of the R2 on 20’s. Those AT tires gave an audible hum at highway speed and you could feel very road imperfection. I am really disappointed as I planned to go 20’s due to tire options. Now though the ride quality was so differ that I cannot sacrifice the daily comfort.

 

[Mos Eisley]

So yesterday I had a chance to drive an R2 with 21’s and 20’s back to back. Wow I was disappointed in the ride quality of the R2 on 20’s. Those AT tires gave an audible hum at highway speed and you could feel very road imperfection. I am really disappointed as I planned to go 20’s due to tire options. Now though the ride quality was so differ that I cannot sacrifice the daily comfort.

I don’t agree with "feeling every imperfection". However, I do agree with the hum.

 

[Motinda]

Just drove this morning in Colorado Springs, they did their first delivery yesterday. Looking to replace an old Subaru with the R2 or Volvo Ex60, but drive a TM3. Had only 20 minutes which went by fast. The middle regen felt similar to our Tesla's but I didn't try the full. Stereo sounded fine to me. It was quiet if you weren't running full AC or the full seat ventilation (which was nicely effective), but back in our TM3 I felt like the AC noise was equivalent, it's just that it was so quiet otherwise. We had the AT tires, didn't really notice much additional noise from them.
Accelerated out of a turn at a stoplight and freaked out my wife because we were at 70 before we knew it, and that was in All-purpose mode, but didn't get a chance to feel it at regular highway speeds. Didn't even try Sport. Had a nice tight turning radius.
Biggest complaint for both of us was that it was hard to find a comfortable steering position where it didn't block the driver display somewhat (we're both short).

 

[Mos Eisley]

Biggest complaint for both of us was that it was hard to find a comfortable steering position where it didn't block the driver display somewhat (we're both short).

Interesting, I'm6' 2" and have had the blocking issue with almost every car I own. The R2 finally worked for me

 

[mnev]

Test drove yesterday in Edina, MN. Very small space, hoping Rivian eventually builds a larger space.

Although I am not getting the 20” AT tires, we drove that model. I was very surprised with how quiet the vehicle was. Love high regen option and the suspension adjustment was noticeable. As a Tesla Model 3 (non performance) owner the Rivian met and surpassed almost every expectation. I am planning to test drive again and take it on the highway to get an idea for wind noise. I also want to get a better feel for the front seats. The break in the seat up towards upper back was noticeable (not good or bad) but it may have just been how I adjusted the seat.

Couple takeaways/thoughts:
- Software was very good; more complex than Tesla but glad they are not giving in to CarPlay/Android Auto
- How will the rear wiper function in the winter without issue when there is ice/snow buildup.
- I don’t see the front cup holders holding up long term. They did not seem very robust.
- For those of you with a R1, does the airflow pass through behind the front wheels cause any paint chips? Wondering if it would be worth PPF that area.
- Any 3rd party mud flaps?

Will be placing an order when possible.

 

[Husky]

Ugh. Why is this simple tech such an achilles heal for them

The charger worked on my test drive, but also made the phone quite warm in short order. In my experience, wireless car chargers all suck and overheat the phone. I have several wireless chargers I use at home that don't do this, so it doesn't have to be this way, and it's not my (thin) phone case.

 

[Husky]

I think the real question is, Is August the cutoff for orders or deliveries. I can see it being the cutoff for ordering but not delivery. If you say August is the cutoff for orders, add 6 weeks then you are in Oct / Nov.

Exactly. Since Borealis is only available on the Launch edition, but also isn't available until Sept, they would have to be making deliveries past Sept.

 

[Husky]

One thing I noticed and wondered if other did is that the indicator noise was louder than in R1 and sounded like it was coming through the speakers. No option in settings to change.

The blinker sound and volume was almost immediately annoying to all three of us on the test drive. Why Rivian!?? Maybe they'll tone it down with an OTA. It was one of my only criticisms (along with excessive orange peel in the paint and the hot-house created by the giant glass roof with no shade).

 

[Husky]

Did you get any sense of how quickly subsequent waves would roll out? My deposit confirmation was at 12:02pm CST on 3/7/24 so I should be right near the top, but I didn't get an invite today. Being in Austin and not a current R1 owner, maybe there are just too many people in the area that got pushed ahead of me.

I'm hoping they'll keep moving down the list a bit each day rather than waiting days or weeks between batches. But I also suppose they need to give each batch of people time to respond to the invite so the next batch doesn't steal their delivery window...

I beat you by one day No word yet. But I'm going to wait until Sept anyway for Borealis.

 

[DuoRivian]

The blinker sound and volume was almost immediately annoying to all three of us on the test drive. Why Rivian!?? Maybe they'll tone it down with an OTA. It was one of my only criticisms (along with excessive orange peel in the paint and the hot-house created by the giant glass roof with no shade).

Riviantracker said the volume of the turn signal will be addressed in the first OTA for R2

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