It's a great question, but as others have said you should forget pre-March pricing. It's like your grandfather telling you a case of beer used to be $5. Great, but who cares?
The order of questions should be: (1) are you able/willing to swing a ~$100k SUV? If so, (2) is the R1S the best...
Congrats on the road trip! What a great way to start out on the adventure! I just picked up my R1T in Boston.
It's no road trip trying to outrun a blizzard, but my experience presented its own (uniquely Boston) risks.
I was instructed to meet the rep at park deep in the industrial...