Finished R2 demo test drive? Share your review / impressions

[Rivian R2D2]

Uber, its a lot less expensive than $99 a month and way less than a $1000 note.

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[peakTS]

Audio reviews have been interesting. I think I saw one that said everything was perfect except zero bass and it need an aftermarket subwoofer. Hard to know what to believe anymore on the audio.

The bass was okay, I listened to subtronics and Childish Gambino. Bass wasn’t incredible, but it wasn’t flat at all. It was good. The mid-channels genuinely sounded in-tuned. It was weirdly flat. The high channels were very vibrant. I should also caveat that one of the drivers before me could have tuned it. I didn’t touch the EQ and I didn’t look at it. Like I said I was focused on driving. I dabble in high quality audio equipment, but I’m no sound engineer. To some it may sound perfect, to others it may not. It just depends

 

[Virtio]

Here's what I thought of my very limited 15 minute test drive.

What I test drove: R2 Performance with 20" AT tires
What I drive daily: 2023 R1S Quad with 20" AT tires

I'll list everything that I can think of from best to worst.

The test drive went great and the R2 feels very solid.
I tooled around on highway and surface streets but unfortunately no super bumpy roads. It feels very well planted and I think it would be fine over bumpy surfaces. It handles well, especially for 20" AT tires" but I did not push it to it's limits at all. Seems fine for my needs but it would be fun to try it out on a twisty road. I tried both moderate and soft settings and both seemed good. I set regen to high but it felt like less regen compared to the R1S.
I would rate general driving at 10/10, no issues at all.

The cameras are fantastic. I wish the driver's display was a bit bigger so the image could be larger but surround view looks great. 10/10

Comfort front and back is great. If you like the R1 seats you will like the R2 seats. I did not try the seat cooling. Rear seat legroom is amazing. It is roomy and does not feel smaller on the inside compared to the R1S. 10/10

Very little road/motor noise even with 20" tires. Also very little wind noise up to 65 MPH. 9/10

Visibility is very good. I did not study it closely but I don't remember having any issues so 9/10

Trunk space is large for it's size. However, I'm not very fond of the buttons that they used to open the window or the hatch. Both are touch sensitive and don't offer any feedback. They buttons don't depress when pressed, they are capacitive sensitive, and for me it was had to tell when the window or hatch were activated since there's not feedback other than the window rolling down/up or the hatch opening. I could probably get used to this but I really like the feel of a button that moves when pressed so I know that it's been pressed. Thankfully they added a backlight to the hatch close button so I can not easily find it in the dark. That was a major gripe I had with my R1S. So for me the trunk gets a mixed review, good size but not as easy to open/close as I would like. 7/10

I was not impressed with the halo wheels. Like others have said, they feel like cheap plastic and they are hard to use sometimes. One example is with playing music. If you rotate the left wheel it will increase or decrease the volume. That works well. If you tap it to the right it will FF to the next song. If you tap it to the left it will repeat the current song. If you push it forward like into the wheel it will pause/resume the song. That's the tough one. The wheel is pretty loose and when you press on it it's very easy to accidently change the volume or do the left/right action. I feel like they are trying to do too much with a single input device. I prefer the R1 setup. 5/10

I played with the radio a bit and played a few songs that I listen to frequently on my R1S. It's a mixed bag. Again, the deep bass is missing, about the same as the R1S. However, I think the R1S has much better front soundstage and clarity. I did not play with the EQ on the R2 and turned off all the enhancements so it was perfectly flat. The other miss is the lack of a real FM tuner. Where I live I have limited cell coverage and my R1S frequently has no cell service on my daily commute and I typically listed to local FM stations. This will not be possible in the R2. Same at national parks where they broadcast on local stations for road conditions and closures. During the fire here in CA many cell towers burned down I did not have cell coverage for months and I used the radio to get updates on evacuation status. 4/10 at best (6 for sound)

The frunk is a bummer to me. It's a nice size but again the button is capacitive sensitive and does not depress when pressed so it's hard to tell when it's actually activated except that you hear a loud "pop" when the latch unlatches and the hood snaps open. Once it's open it's super hard to close and most of the time I ended up using 2 hands. I had to push down pretty hard to get it to engage before the motor did the final close. Not happy with that and I don't see any way for a pull strap to be able to generate enough down force to completely close the hood so I don't see that as an option. Since I use my frunk frequently that would mean that I would have to press down firmly on the hood very often leaving hand prints all over the front of the hood. You should have seen all the scratches on the front of the hood from people trying to close the hood on the demo R2. I would have to put PPF on the hood for sure. For me the frunk is a miss. 3/10

I was really looking forward to driving the R2 and it did drive great. Sadly, a few of the features were disappointing. I would prefer that it had a metal roof (no glass) and put the savings into a better radio/audio system and a more user friendly frunk.

I like my 2023 R1S Quad and it's been 100% reliable but I really wanted something smaller and was hoping that the R2 would be like a smaller R1. In some ways I do like it better but there are several little things (and some not so little) that bug me. Before I saw it in person and played with it, I was seriously thinking about trading my R1S for the R2 but now I'm not so sure. I still might but I'm not as anxious as I was and I would need to drive the R2 for more than 15 minutes. I think many people will be impressed with the R2, especially if you want something that can go off road.

 

[mkhuffman]

People who put a high value on sound quality are likely to find a way to install a subwoofer. My guess is we will see a thread about someone who has installed one in a month or two after first deliveries really kick off.

IMO it is almost always bass response that kills someone's impression of sound quality, so hang tight. The problem (if there is one) will be solved.

 

[Tom(myBoy)]

What is there is well executed. That said, there’s a lot of room for improvement.

1/ Why is the launch missing Rivian Assistant? I was told it isn’t available yet. I came to check out its tight integration, but it can’t be demonstrated. Frustrating! I have seen a comparison against Tesla for R1 and I was ready to wowed! Instead, i experienced a missed opportunity

Then there’s Climate Hold, Pet Mode & Camp Mode which are all important to us and yet we were told that they are missing too “for now.“ And, these apps: SiriusXM, Google Casting, & YouTube, we were told are not available yet. I’d like Apple CarPlay and my hubby is an Android Auto user, but we know that’s not going to happen. Sigh.

2/ Every feature and function (safety, interior habitability, etc.) that the new Volvo EX60 and the new BMW iX3 need to be “on plan” for OTA updates and the local showroom staff need to be able to make the comparison to Rivian’s potential customers. Their standard replies/mantra of “check the website” doesn’t cut it. Them comparing the R2 only to the Tesla Model Y is also not satisfying or sufficient.

Finally on this topic, we got a different answer than apparently some of you on exterior and interior colors. We were told Forrest Green and Coastal Cloud will both be available in August for the Launch Edition (LE), but since the window of opportunity to order an LE that applies to our individual reservations are unique, we may not be able to wait until then so we should consider ordering based what colors show up when we get our reservation fulfillment email and we login to order.

3/ When (& which automaker) will finally accommodate those of us with hearing aids? Ideally navigation instructions as well as music, etc. could be sent to (a) hearing aids (perhaps thru the smartphone) alone, (b) directly to the car’s speakers (as it does today), or to (c) both. Personally I‘d like and use option ”a” for navigation directions.

4/ I really think the roof on the top of the line trim ought to AT LEAST have electrochromic shading as an option. On the Volvo Plus (i.e., lower) trim it’s available for $950 dollars. I’d pay that to have this option.

5/ I‘m not impressed with the spate of information I’ve found so far on the V2H/G bidirectional charging capability of the R2. I understand from Volvo, that the EX60 supports/is compatible with the Enphase bIdirectional charger. Rivian‘s bidirectional charging capability built in to the R2 cannot be proprietary like I’ve been told Tesla’s capability is. That'd be disappointingly substandard. It wouldn’t differentiate the R2.

6/ I’d like to see Rivian R2 accessories in the showrooms now. They aren’t aftermarket so they should, like the paint color samples & tires/wheels, be there now.

7/ Finally, Rivian showroom staff really need to reset each car before or with the next driver. The navigation audio was turned off by a previous driver and wasn’t reset when I was getting into the auto so, being unfamiliar with the settings of this vehicle, I wasn’t able to use one of the functions I depend upon when driving and navigating.

And, it would be even better if they could accompany you on the demo drive. That way when questions arise during the drive (and to promote potential selling points), each can be addressed immediately as well as/or noted for discussion after the drive in the showroom static display area.

At some point, pricing and purchase options need to also be discussed. This demo drive of the R2 seemed to me to focus on the vehicle itself. And, from the initial articles I’m seeing online and discussed here, leasing is overpriced. It is not priced for those that are looking at the R2 Instead of an R1.

Bottom-line: The current offering is not yet compelling.

 

[mkhuffman]

What is there is well executed. That said, there’s a lot of room for improvement.

5/ I‘m not impressed with the spate of information I’ve found so far on the V2H/G bidirectional charging capability of the R2. I understand from Volvo, that the EX60 supports/is compatible with the Enphase bIdirectional charger. Rivian‘s bidirectional charging capability built in to the R2 cannot be proprietary like I’ve been told Tesla’s capability is. That'd be disappointingly substandard. It wouldn’t differentiate the R2.

The R1 seems to mostly comply with the NEMA standard for bi-directional DC VT"x" connections.

You are correct that Rivian has not been very clear regarding the direction, but I would be very surprised if they didn't fully embrace the NEMA standard when the bi-directional VTX is released, supposedly sometime this year. There are people already using the capability with their R1 trucks.

I would be equally surprised if the R2 does not follow the NEMA standard.

For the AC interface, it may be a different story. And it would be helpful, as you said, for Rivian to explain this to us. It is reasonable to assume Rivian will continue down the industry standard path, as they seem to be doing with the R1.

BTW - proprietary or not, there are aftermarket solutions for Tesla, so I am sure this will be the case for Rivian. The solution below has not been tested on a R1 to my knowledge. I am tempted to get one to test it, but that is a lot to spend on something that might not work.

10KW V2L Discharge Device for Tesla S/X/3/Y High-Performance Power Sup – Tlyard

 

[Tom(myBoy)]

The R1 seems to mostly comply with the NEMA standard for bi-directional DC VT"x" connections.

You are correct that Rivian has not been very clear regarding the direction, but I would be very surprised if they didn't fully embrace the NEMA standard when the bi-directional VTX is released, supposedly sometime this year. There are people already using the capability with their R1 trucks.

I would be equally surprised if the R2 does not follow the NEMA standard.

For the AC interface, it may be a different story. And it would be helpful, as you said, for Rivian to explain this to us. It is reasonable to assume Rivian will continue down the industry standard path, as they seem to be doing with the R1.

BTW - proprietary or not, there are aftermarket solutions for Tesla, so I am sure this will be the case for Rivian. The solution below has not been tested on a R1 to my knowledge. I am tempted to get one to test it, but that is a lot to spend on something that might not work.

10KW V2L Discharge Device for Tesla S/X/3/Y High-Performance Power Sup – Tlyard

THANK YOU, YOU'RE THE BEST!! Your post is quite helpful and hopeful!!!

 

[Jeremy3292]

The R1 seems to mostly comply with the NEMA standard for bi-directional DC VT"x" connections.

You are correct that Rivian has not been very clear regarding the direction, but I would be very surprised if they didn't fully embrace the NEMA standard when the bi-directional VTX is released, supposedly sometime this year. There are people already using the capability with their R1 trucks.

I would be equally surprised if the R2 does not follow the NEMA standard.

For the AC interface, it may be a different story. And it would be helpful, as you said, for Rivian to explain this to us. It is reasonable to assume Rivian will continue down the industry standard path, as they seem to be doing with the R1.

BTW - proprietary or not, there are aftermarket solutions for Tesla, so I am sure this will be the case for Rivian. The solution below has not been tested on a R1 to my knowledge. I am tempted to get one to test it, but that is a lot to spend on something that might not work.

10KW V2L Discharge Device for Tesla S/X/3/Y High-Performance Power Sup – Tlyard

My biggest concern is I have Tesla solar panels and Powerwalls already. I hope the R2 can one day interface with the Tesla equipment to give me another 88 kWh of backup...that would be huge. Tesla doesn't even offer it though except on Cybertruck so who knows.

 

[DaveA]

I'm thinking a silly but nicely done foam insert would fit in that crevice and lessen the gap that seems to allow the top section to FEEL like it's protruding. I might mock something up for my next test drive.

Not that one SHOULD have to do this for a brand spanking new car, but i've spent my entire life already adjusting to a world designed by engineers who are CLEARLY 5'7". Im not saying EVERY car or aircraft or office seat/chair needs to have we 99% percentile examples of the upright race in mind - and they shouldn't but still, RJ HIMSELF looks to be a near cousin in size - at least from the pictures - although he COULD be surrounded by all those 5'7" engineers and designers... but still

I am 6'1" and also felt this in the mid upper back, but I believe its something that will soften after a few months of use.

 

[AndySTL928]

Had our test drive Saturday in St. Louis.
Pros:
Car looks amazing in person.
The interior is fantastic. Very comfortable seats. Tons of room in the 2nd row. Coming from a Tesla, I love having dash information right in front of me.
The drive is really nice. Incredible acceleration for that size and a very smooth ride. Coming from a Tesla M3, it did feel like driving a tank. Being able to see all that hood in my forward view will be a switch.
The ride is very quiet on the highway
Cons (I honestly was hoping there wouldnt be this many)
Scroll wheels are kind of a disaster. The pushing back towards the driver is nearly impossible without scrolling the wheel. The left and right pushes are also too stiff. I'm sure this is something you can get used to but I was not impressed.
The software is just not intuitive. I'm sure updates will improve this, but it is clunky and too much going on (again, something I would probably get used to).
Sound is not good for a $60K car. I have been spoiled with Tesla sound, but it will need to be improved somehow through an update. Not a deal breaker though.

 

[one44]

I am 6'1" and also felt this in the mid upper back, but I believe its something that will soften after a few months of use.

Was it on your upper right side? I wonder if it's a mixture of height + how you drive. I tend to sit with a slight lean on my right side when I'm driving, likely because I primarily use my right hand to steer the wheel. The R1 seat is perfect and the prototype I sat in of the R2 felt the same. Just disappointed that they messed the seat up. Not great when a 15 minute drive has you feeling pain.

This combined with my lackluster impression of the audio really made an impact on me. I'm no longer thinking of ways to get out of my R1T lease quicker (should my invite open up) and instead will keep that until the end of December and see whether the R2 improves or if I go down another path.

I'm also concerned that the R2 isn't the run away hit that a lot of the reviewers were seeming to claim. It drives great, yeah, but there's some serious drawbacks as well. I can't say the same when I got into the R1 or even when I bought the Model 3 or Y in the past.

Rivian. Please hire some good audio engineers and stop cutting costs on the sound. There's so many other things I'd cut (like the flashlight) before I'd take away from the sound system. The company seems to employ a bunch of podcast listeners or casual music fans. I'm not even asking for a crazy sound system...just one that doesn't sound thin or take away from the music.

 

[one44]

Cons (I honestly was hoping there wouldnt be this many)
Scroll wheels are kind of a disaster. The pushing back towards the driver is nearly impossible without scrolling the wheel. The left and right pushes are also too stiff. I'm sure this is something you can get used to but I was not impressed.

Forgot to mention this earlier, but yeah, I was initially excited to see them innovate with the scroll wheels when the R2 was first unveiled. They sounded cool...but my initial impression was similar. Felt too loose and easy to input things incorrectly.

I also don't know if there's a strong argument to change the approach R1 uses. I've never really found that limiting. Perhaps long-term use will convert me over, but I came away thinking they were fine...but not something that was a strong positive. More of a neutral leaning to bad without software improvements. May ultimately wind up on the gimmick side rather than a useful customer experience improvement.

 

[Virtio]

Had our test drive Saturday in St. Louis.
Pros:
Car looks amazing in person.
The interior is fantastic. Very comfortable seats. Tons of room in the 2nd row. Coming from a Tesla, I love having dash information right in front of me.
The drive is really nice. Incredible acceleration for that size and a very smooth ride. Coming from a Tesla M3, it did feel like driving a tank. Being able to see all that hood in my forward view will be a switch.
The ride is very quiet on the highway
Cons (I honestly was hoping there wouldnt be this many)
Scroll wheels are kind of a disaster. The pushing back towards the driver is nearly impossible without scrolling the wheel. The left and right pushes are also too stiff. I'm sure this is something you can get used to but I was not impressed.
The software is just not intuitive. I'm sure updates will improve this, but it is clunky and too much going on (again, something I would probably get used to).
Sound is not good for a $60K car. I have been spoiled with Tesla sound, but it will need to be improved somehow through an update. Not a deal breaker though.

I agree 100%, especially about the scroll wheels. After all the hype about them I was really turned off. On my R1 I can easily find the buttons on the steering wheel and activate them while in motion without looking. On the R2 this will be a challenge. I also felt like the stereo was very average and unimpressive. I came away feeling like they tried too hard to make everything possible programmable right down to the frunk release button. It's no longer a mechanical pushbutton. Now it's a capacitive sensitive button that they can program for pressure and duration of press. Maybe I'm a little old school but I feel like a plain old pushbutton works really well in some cases.

 

[TollKeeper]

I test drove a R2 Launch in LE Green and black interior on Saturday... And I have to say its a I love it... I hate it.

It drove fantastic, great feeling suspension, the power was good, seats were good, getting in and out was great (big thing for my bad back). It took me a minute to figure out that the clock had moved. The Hands Free Driving was awesome. The power tailgate window I really like. Towing package is right in the area I need it to be, I really liked that the hitch was exposed and didnt have a annoying cover over it.

It would fit my needs in almost every way.. Except...

The sound system is woefully inadequate, even my 8 year old kid said it sucked. The power is noticeably different than my R1 quad.

I can survive on the less power I think??.. But the sound system, I just dont think I could do it. I am a sudo-audiophile. And while I will admit the sound system in a R1 is not fantastic, it is rather good. The sound system in the R2 is horrid, at best. Even the top trim TMY is better than this.

The scroll wheels... My wife didnt really like them. I was ok with them. But much rather have the controls on my R1

They offered my $67030 on trade, my spec build is $61795, so its a good deal for me.

Going to have to do some soul searching

 

[Virtio]

Was it on your upper right side? I wonder if it's a mixture of height + how you drive. I tend to sit with a slight lean on my right side when I'm driving, likely because I primarily use my right hand to steer the wheel. The R1 seat is perfect and the prototype I sat in of the R2 felt the same. Just disappointed that they messed the seat up. Not great when a 15 minute drive has you feeling pain.

This combined with my lackluster impression of the audio really made an impact on me. I'm no longer thinking of ways to get out of my R1T lease quicker (should my invite open up) and instead will keep that until the end of December and see whether the R2 improves or if I go down another path.

I'm also concerned that the R2 isn't the run away hit that a lot of the reviewers were seeming to claim. It drives great, yeah, but there's some serious drawbacks as well. I can't say the same when I got into the R1 or even when I bought the Model 3 or Y in the past.

Rivian. Please hire some good audio engineers and stop cutting costs on the sound. There's so many other things I'd cut (like the flashlight) before I'd take away from the sound system. The company seems to employ a bunch of podcast listeners or casual music fans. I'm not even asking for a crazy sound system...just one that doesn't sound thin or take away from the music.

I too was disappointed with the R2. Perhaps my expectations were too high after driving my R1S for 2.5 years and loving it but wishing it was smaller. The R2 drives great, 10/10 IMHO but there are so many little things that bugged me, especially the audio system and the funky halo wheels, that I'm a lot less excited now and will probably keep my R1S and possibly look at other options.

I would gladly ditch the glass roof for a better audio system.

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