R2 Highway Efficiency Test: Uphill at 75–80 mph, Then a More Civilized 70 mph Run

[ksurfier]

Make no mistake, I believe 1000% in Rivian and have 0 doubt they have hit a home run with the R2, did they cook the EPA books just like Tesla and prob. every other manufacturer? Yes sir!

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[ksurfier]

I would argue that for first time EV buyers like me, they are certainly competitors. Maybe not in the sense that they are going head-to-head with enthusiasts. I want to love the R2 and I'm hoping I can get over my anxiety of spending upwards of $60K on something I will regret later.

You won’t

 

[savethemanual]

I would argue that for first time EV buyers like me, they are certainly competitors. Maybe not in the sense that they are going head-to-head with enthusiasts. I want to love the R2 and I'm hoping I can get over my anxiety of spending upwards of $60K on something I will regret later.

Can you hold out until the non performance versions of the R2 are released?

 

[Dennisis]

Up to you of course, no one here can decide for you. Take a pass and the guy behind you will snap it up. With no experience Many have some sort of “range anxiety” but one road trip later they’re relieved at how easy it is. We would all like more range but few really need it. I’ve taken long road trips around the west for years and have actually gone over 200 miles on a charge 3 times, and only once to 250 miles. Don’t let “what if’s” scare you away. No charge for the advice .

 

[Apprunner]

I would argue that for first time EV buyers like me, they are certainly competitors. Maybe not in the sense that they are going head-to-head with enthusiasts. I want to love the R2 and I'm hoping I can get over my anxiety of spending upwards of $60K on something I will regret later.

the E-GMP cars are competitors and have better range and charging to boot. Much cheaper too. Let’s not forget the Blazer and Equinox. Crowded field now

 

[mkhuffman]

I've been watching all of these range reviews with great interest. As a first-time EV buyer, to say this is personally disappointing for me is an understatement. I’m waiting for my R2 number to be called next month, and these numbers certainly make me second guess my decision.

I have a long commute and tack on around 30,000 miles per year. We have long, cold winters here in my part of the country. There are just too many competitors with similar/better real world range, much lower cost, and trade-offs I could probably live with for me to give Rivian a pass on this. I love the Rivian looks, ethos, and what the brand stands for. However, I’m not sure the R2 holds up to the adventure-ready machine it was promised to be.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but my dreams of adventuring on extended trips out West definitely seem a little less achievable at the moment. Daily driving doesn't concern me in the least, but my road trip plans are slightly crushed.

I'm very bummed and not sure which direction I will go when my time comes.

I read your subsequent posts but decided to respond to this one.

What are the specifics regarding your use case? 30k miles is a lot of miles a year. Is that mostly highway, or mostly a lot of driving around your local area? The answer will have a big on your decision process.

My first BEV was a new 2021 Ford Mach-e. It was COVID priced, so I actually paid MSRP. Never done that before. It was an amazing car but I could not stand the range and charging limitations. People will say a 280 mile EPA range car is all you really need. BS.

The R2 battery is the same size (approximately) as what I had in my Mach-e. I think the R2 is more efficient. But physics is physics. In the summer the highway range in my Mach-e was 220 miles. Winter, 180. And that is 100% to 0%. Almost nobody drives to 0%.

I am not a BEV fenatic. I think for many use cases it is better than anything liquid powered. But you might be better off with a gas or hybrid powered car. My R1T would probably have the range you need, but that is a big investment.

I would love to help if you can provide a little more specifics regarding what you want to do with your R2. We can do that via DM or right here. I won't steer you wrong if I think the R2 won't work for you.

 

[ksurfier]

Just another data point. Tom over at SOC got 260 miles on the A/T's at 70 mph, his testing was not on an ideal route either and he didn't go until the vehicle died but did drive down to 1 percent.

The more the better! I could really care less about the 100% range since the key figure is ~70%, I just want to know how many highway miles are realistically possible for 10-75%, for the R2 it’s roughly 150 miles as far as I can tell…

 

[chimpanzee]

I read your subsequent posts but decided to respond to this one.

What are the specifics regarding your use case? 30k miles is a lot of miles a year. Is that mostly highway, or mostly a lot of driving around your local area? The answer will have a big on your decision process.

My first BEV was a new 2021 Ford Mach-e. It was COVID priced, so I actually paid MSRP. Never done that before. It was an amazing car but I could not stand the range and charging limitations. People will say a 280 mile EPA range car is all you really need. BS.

The R2 battery is the same size (approximately) as what I had in my Mach-e. I think the R2 is more efficient. But physics is physics. In the summer the highway range in my Mach-e was 220 miles. Winter, 180. And that is 100% to 0%. Almost nobody drives to 0%.

I am not a BEV fenatic. I think for many use cases it is better than anything liquid powered. But you might be better off with a gas or hybrid powered car. My R1T would probably have the range you need, but that is a big investment.

I would love to help if you can provide a little more specifics regarding what you want to do with your R2. We can do that via DM or right here. I won't steer you wrong if I think the R2 won't work for you.

Thanks very much for your response and willingness to offer your perspective and experience.

The breakdown is that roughly 75% of these annual miles are done daily commuting at highway speeds with 70 MPH speed limits. My commuter miles are rarely, if ever, above 100 miles round trip.

The other 25% are road trips that could be weekend camping getaways, concerts, live sports, or other vacations. I would guess these non-commute miles are mostly highway speeds just like commuting, with a fair amount of city miles sprinkled in. That's just the nature of where I am located.

It is indeed a lot of miles to drive annually. I will also add that I typically purchase new cars and keep them 6-7 years. Obviously, leasing or 2-3 year flips don't make sense when you're racking up these kinds of numbers. Needless to say, out of warranty repair cost becomes a concern too when you're blowing through a bumper-to-bumper in 2 years time. There's a lot playing into my purchase anxiety and desire not to make an unfavorable decision for my use case.

I also realize I'm an outlier when it comes to this use case, and that's a "me" problem, not necessarily any fault of the platform or product.

 

[mkhuffman]

Thanks very much for your response and willingness to offer your perspective and experience.

The breakdown is that roughly 75% of these annual miles are done daily commuting at highway speeds with 70 MPH speed limits. My commuter miles are rarely, if ever, above 100 miles round trip.

The other 25% are road trips that could be weekend camping getaways, concerts, live sports, or other vacations. I would guess these non-commute miles are mostly highway speeds just like commuting, with a fair amount of city miles sprinkled in. That's just the nature of where I am located.

It is indeed a lot of miles to drive annually. I will also add that I typically purchase new cars and keep them 6-7 years. Obviously, leasing or 2-3 year flips don't make sense when you're racking up these kinds of numbers. Needless to say, out of warranty repair cost becomes a concern too when you're blowing through a bumper-to-bumper in 2 years time. There's a lot playing into my purchase anxiety and desire not to make an unfavorable decision for my use case.

I also realize I'm an outlier when it comes to this use case, and that's a "me" problem, not necessarily any fault of the platform or product.

1. Daily commute - I think the R2 is perfect for your daily commute, assuming you can charge at home. I suppose if you can't charge at home but you can charge while at work it may be OK, assuming the charging speed of the work charger is fast enough to add about 48 kWh during your work day. A 6 kW charger will do it, but some public EVSEs have time limits and are slower than that. The key is being able to charge at home while you sleep. Imagine never needing to go to another gas station ever again on the way to work or on your way home. So amazing, and one of the best reasons to own a BEV.

2. Weekend travel and vacations - you should check the availability of DCFC stations along your typical travel route. I would avoid Electrify America, but in a pinch they may be OK. I have had very bad experiences with EA. Some stations are excellent, and some suck. You can check the reviews. Ideally you want to stop at a station that has more than four "pumps". Tesla, Ionna and Rivian (RAN) usually have 6 or more. I prioritize those personally. Other good options are coming online at Walmart, and from GM and Mercedes. A good place to start is A Better Route Planner (ABRP): ABRP - A Better Routeplanner . I have a paid account with them but the free one works really well. Sign up and do some trip planning with your hypothetical R2. If you have charging options every 50-100 miles, you should be in great shape and traveling with the R2 will be a good experience. Not quite as easy as a ICEV, but worth it to get that amazing work commute vehicle.

3. Reliability - this is something that is unknown regarding the R2. I will say that I worked in manufacturing early in my career and first year production ALWAYS has more problems than second year production. Always. If you can wait a year, you are more likely to get a more reliable R2. If you don't want to wait, just be prepared for the possibility of more issues. I am not saying every truck will be defective, but the chances of problems will be higher in the first year. I was willing to take that chance on my 2021 Mach-e, and I don't regret it. But it did have some first-year problems.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[dannyq2]

This is in another part of the forum. I hope it will help you, even a little.

(39) Many people want to know how far the R2 can go. I wanted to know whether it could keep up with my actual life. | Rivian Forums - R1 R2 R3 R4 News, Specs, Models, RIVN Stock -- Rivianforums.com

 

[R2dreamer]

If someone is in the Bay Area and wants to loan me an R2 for a day, I’ll do the driving test!

(Remembering SNL) Yeah, that’s the ticket. Let me use your car and I’ll do a range test!

 

[rvnxyz001]

The more the better! I could really care less about the 100% range since the key figure is ~70%, I just want to know how many highway miles are realistically possible for 10-75%, for the R2 it’s roughly 150 miles as far as I can tell…

Official epa full charge 303 highway epa miles (50-60 mph) perfect conditions, 10-75 will be 196

For actual road-trip planning (from all tests I've seen so far), I would use 155 miles at 70 mph and 150 miles at 75 mph between 75% and 10%, assuming mild weather and no major headwind (most likely in conserve mode, rwd mode, it is extremely inefficient on high speed , even large battery can't compensate)

And you better rent ICE car for winter road trips...

 

[renderpaz]

Only test that matters that I have yet to hear about: Go on a road trip with more than 1 charging stop. How much longer did the trip take vs another EV?

My money is on zero minutes, worst case scenario? 10 minutes. Out of 5-6 hours.

Rivian knows that the listed EPA range is a warm milk bottle for folks considering their first EV. They have the data, they know most road trippers go 150 miles between charging stops and know that charging speed from 10-60% is what matters most.

99.8% of miles on R2s will be sub 40 mile round trips at the top of the pack.

 

[mkhuffman]

Only test that matters that I have yet to hear about: Go on a road trip with more than 1 charging stop. How much longer did the trip take vs another EV?

My money is on zero minutes, worst case scenario? 10 minutes. Out of 5-6 hours.

Rivian knows that the listed EPA range is a warm milk bottle for folks considering their first EV. They have the data, they know most road trippers go 150 miles between charging stops and know that charging speed from 10-60% is what matters most.

99.8% of miles on R2s will be sub 40 mile round trips at the top of the pack.

That's the purpose of the OOS 10% challenge test. Those test results are a good way to compare the travel experience in different BEVs.

 

[rvnxyz001]

99.8% of miles on R2s will be sub 40 mile round trips at the top of the pack.

Yes, but people who drive like this may take only a few precious road trips a year, usually for long weekends, and they will want to reach their destination as quickly as possible. Charging usually also requires a detour, since most charging stations are located farther from the road than gas stations and it can add extra 20 mins easily...

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