R2 highway efficiency (~3mi/kWh) is better than in the city (~2.5mi/kWh)

[RivianTrackr]

Shhh. There are people here who think you can't get even close to 3 mi/kWh on the highway. Don't embarrass them! (Or maybe it is just one person, probably a bot.)

I wasn't even aware R2 could hit those numbers

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[jimmymatt]

Our efficiency is horrible no matter where we drive it. It’s been brutally hot lately (central Indiana) and I know the AC is having a huge impact but we are getting 2.15mi/kWh for the first 1000 miles. Most of these are local but about 20% are interstate or two lane highway miles. We have the AT 20s and drive in all purpose most of the time. We took a 150 mile round trip today on two lane highways with the first 70 miles in conserve and used 85% of the battery.

 

[Redmond Chad]

Dang, sorry to hear that. My first 250 miles have been at 3.2mi/kWh. Not worst-case conditions, but definitely not best-case either.

21" wheels.
Fairly moderate temps (50-75) but some rain to push out of the way.
About half All-purpose and half Sport mode.
A fair mix of speeds from 30 to 70.
I used a fair bit of autonomy+.
Lots of for-science sport-mode WOT launches.
Lots of sitting in the car with HVAC on checking out settings and such.

In a week I plan to take a long trip where I can measure efficiency at some different speeds. And I'm hoping to find someone local with 20" wheels so we can do a 75mph run together.

 

[Zathras]

If you can charge at home, the efficiency of local drives is irrelevant. You just plug it in every night and it is always ready to go the next morning.

The highway efficiency discussion is really about range and needing to find a public charging option. Longer highway range means greater flexibility regarding where you stop.

Yeah, I was kind of joking, and I do plan to take more trips with my car and leave her 19 mpg Subaru at home.

 

[mkhuffman]

Our efficiency is horrible no matter where we drive it. It’s been brutally hot lately (central Indiana) and I know the AC is having a huge impact but we are getting 2.15mi/kWh for the first 1000 miles. Most of these are local but about 20% are interstate or two lane highway miles. We have the AT 20s and drive in all purpose most of the time. We took a 150 mile round trip today on two lane highways with the first 70 miles in conserve and used 85% of the battery.

I have some suggestions if you want to improve efficiency.

1) Use Conserve mode. I understand it doesn't have a huge impact in the R2, but it matters.

2) Don't use Autonomy+/adaptive cruise. While again it shouldn't have a big impact, A+ will use the friction brakes to slow the vehicle which is less efficient than motor regen.

3) Make sure you have regen on High and avoid using the brake pedal as much as possible. If you are using low regen and the brake pedal to slow the truck, your efficiency will be bad. This could be the primary reason for poor efficiency. The brake pedal engages the friction brakes and will destroy your efficiency.

4) Take it easy on the go pedal. Generally hard acceleration isn't as bad in a EV as in a ICEV. But it will help improve efficiency to accelerate slowly and keep closer to the speed limit.

 

[dub]

I'm only guessing it was that. But how he responded to me by including a screenshot of my profile pic, it's a pretty decent guess to make.

As someone who has sported a goatee for 20 years, looking at your profile pic - might be jealousy

 

[emroch]

Don't use Autonomy+/adaptive cruise. While again it shouldn't have a big impact, A+ will use the friction brakes to slow the vehicle

Make sure you have regen on High and avoid using the brake pedal as much as possible. If you are using low regen and the brake pedal to slow the truck, your efficiency will be bad. This could be the primary reason for poor efficiency. The brake pedal engages the friction brakes and will destroy your efficiency.

Are you basing these on R1 behavior? Because R2 has blended brake by wire so touching the brake pedal does not automatically engage friction brakes unless they are needed beyond the capability of regen. I would also be surprised if A+ did not use regen first and friction second as that would need a different brake by wire algorithm than the standard accelerator/brake pedal mapping.

 

[mkhuffman]

Are you basing these on R1 behavior? Because R2 has blended brake by wire so touching the brake pedal does not automatically engage friction brakes unless they are needed beyond the capability of regen. I would also be surprised if A+ did not use regen first and friction second as that would need a different brake by wire algorithm than the standard accelerator/brake pedal mapping.

Rivian has not stated that blended braking is implemented, just that it is capable. As far as we know it is not implemented.

Before posting the last post, I asked Grok for help confirming if I missed something. But no. There is no official confirmation that it is actually implemented in the R2 yet.

Grok:

**What is proven today**

- Regen is still a lift-off / one-pedal setting (High / Standard / Low).
- The owner’s guide still tells you to press the brake pedal when regen is limited.
- Regenerative Braking Assist only *augments* lift-off regen when the pack can’t take current. That is the same job RBA does on the R1, not a blended brake pedal.
- A Rivian engineer said they kept regen on the accelerator and, for the brake pedal, “in this instance we’re just doing brake.”
- Ars Technica’s first drive: any touch of the brake pedal adds friction.

That stack points to **R1-style behavior**: brake pedal = friction. Regen stays on the accelerator. When regen fades (cold or high SOC), RBA fills in so lift-off feel doesn’t fall off.

**What is only capability, not proof of current behavior**

Brake-by-wire means the controller *could* satisfy a pedal request with regen first. A couple of reviewers inferred that it already does. Rivian has not published a blend map, a “regen on brake pedal” setting, or an official statement that the pedal harvests energy before the pads. Without that, the YouTuber “blend point” claims are inference, not confirmation.

So: hardware can blend later via OTA. Current software, as described by Rivian and the manual, does not look like Tesla-style blended braking. Pressing the pedal is friction, same idea as the R1, with RBA as the safety net on lift-off—not a regen-first brake pedal.

 

[Dennisis]

I have some suggestions if you want to improve efficiency.

1) Use Conserve mode. I understand it doesn't have a huge impact in the R2, but it matters.

2) Don't use Autonomy+/adaptive cruise. While again it shouldn't have a big impact, A+ will use the friction brakes to slow the vehicle which is less efficient than motor regen.

3) Make sure you have regen on High and avoid using the brake pedal as much as possible. If you are using low regen and the brake pedal to slow the truck, your efficiency will be bad. This could be the primary reason for poor efficiency. The brake pedal engages the friction brakes and will destroy your efficiency.

4) Take it easy on the go pedal. Generally hard acceleration isn't as bad in a EV as in a ICEV. But it will help improve efficiency to accelerate slowly and keep closer to the speed limit.

I would add, given it was very hot, use a roof shade and ceramic tint your windows including 70 percent on the windshield to lessen the climate system load. It can have a significant impact.

 

[cwq93r]

Rivian has not stated that blended braking is implemented, just that it is capable. As far as we know it is not implemented.

Before posting the last post, I asked Grok for help confirming if I missed something. But no. There is no official confirmation that it is actually implemented in the R2 yet.

Grok:

**What is proven today**

- Regen is still a lift-off / one-pedal setting (High / Standard / Low).
- The owner’s guide still tells you to press the brake pedal when regen is limited.
- Regenerative Braking Assist only *augments* lift-off regen when the pack can’t take current. That is the same job RBA does on the R1, not a blended brake pedal.
- A Rivian engineer said they kept regen on the accelerator and, for the brake pedal, “in this instance we’re just doing brake.”
- Ars Technica’s first drive: any touch of the brake pedal adds friction.

That stack points to **R1-style behavior**: brake pedal = friction. Regen stays on the accelerator. When regen fades (cold or high SOC), RBA fills in so lift-off feel doesn’t fall off.

**What is only capability, not proof of current behavior**

Brake-by-wire means the controller *could* satisfy a pedal request with regen first. A couple of reviewers inferred that it already does. Rivian has not published a blend map, a “regen on brake pedal” setting, or an official statement that the pedal harvests energy before the pads. Without that, the YouTuber “blend point” claims are inference, not confirmation.

So: hardware can blend later via OTA. Current software, as described by Rivian and the manual, does not look like Tesla-style blended braking. Pressing the pedal is friction, same idea as the R1, with RBA as the safety net on lift-off—not a regen-first brake pedal.

It could be proven by any R2 owner who just wants to record the screen while an autonomy+ and slowing down in traffic.

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