2025 R1S TriMax Ascend -- best car I've ever owned, except for the range.

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Make sure your tyres are at pressure - in my experience this is the single biggest thing that many folks overlook when looking at efficiency: the difference between 45 psi and 50 psi ‘cold’ is huge in terms of m/kWh.

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[LL75]

Doesn't hurt to have Rivian check it out. Sub 2.0 kWh on all seasons tires in 50 degree weather is suspicious.

 

[malditofman]

I've been a Rivian fan for years. I finally made the decision to get one and was planning to order a dualMax R1S when I happened to find a Tri motor, Max battery, full loaded with ascend interior and only 1,200 miles on it -- locally. WOOOT!!!

I went for it and it is the best vehicle I've ever owned/driven... except.. the range.

Fit and finish is remarkable.
Acceleration and drive quality is bonkers (good).
Sound is 'meh (should be definitively better for a $110k+ car) but I knew that going in
Ascend interior and walnut dash are a work of art
Tech is simple but pretty great (coming from a Tesla, I'm pleasantly surprised and happy with it)

The biggest negative so far has been the range.

Fully charged, it should have 340mi range in regular all-purpose mode (conserve would get us to 400). Granted, I haven't charged fully, but in the few weeks I've had this truck, the range has been really quite bad. After a week of testing launch mode, I've settled into babying it. And, while it's been a little chilly here in the midwest -- I took it for a solid test drive on a recent 70 degree day. We drove it 150 miles at a 62mph average and used 65% of the battery capacity. What!?

This type of range is pretty consistent for the near month I've had the car.

Do the rest of the math on that and we would be getting approx 230-250mi on a full charge.

I'm used to EV's underperforming range estimates (hello model Y), but I'm pretty surprised by how far off this one is even in pretty ideal conditions and how I've been driving (think hyper-miling). 70 degrees, no heat/ac on, 60-65mph, using highway assist almost the time, can't really ask for any better.

Who knows, might be a very lightly used TriMax for sale pretty soon if anyone is looking :/

I have no such range issues with my R1T Tri. I hit within 2% of the range as marketed by Rivian. But then I don't have a lead foot, either, and the weather in SoCal is relatively mild. As I drove my old F150 ICE, I accelerate without aggression, never exceed 60 mph, use Conserve mode on the highway, don't use the cabin heater as I dress warmly in winter, if very cold I use only the heated seat, I use maximum regen, and even when off-road with the instant torque and air down there is no need for AT tires that are rough, noisy, and kill range. The R1T is by far superior to all the F150 4x4 ICE trucks I have owned for over two decades. Best pavement and off-road vehicle I have ever owned. The last software update improved the muddy base of the premium audio quite a bit, too. Rivian is doing EVs right. Drive well.

 

[mcjohnson]

Thanks again all for your replies.

I'm by no means a lead foot.. have been really trying to eek out more range and determine if this is an issue with my vehicle or just the way it is.

The responses here make me think it's much more of an issue with the truck..

I'll report back.

Agree on it being a superior vehicle, that's not a question

 

[mkhuffman]

Thanks again all for your replies.

I'm by no means a lead foot.. have been really trying to eek out more range and determine if this is an issue with my vehicle or just the way it is.

The responses here make me think it's much more of an issue with the truck..

I'll report back.

Agree on it being a superior vehicle, that's not a question

You observed the exterior temperature, but did you monitor the battery temperature? If the truck sat out overnight and the battery cooled down, it might be using energy to warm the battery even though the exterior temperature is no longer cold.

 

[SkyDave]

Ambient temp isn’t particularly relevant to efficiency, especially recently in the Midwest with the large fluctuations. It’s the battery temp that matters that you want to be paying attention to. my battery may still read in the 40’s when the high for the day is 70. When it’s cold I can expect around 1.6 miles per kWH, when the battery is warm I see around 2.6. Drag from wind or speed has a noticeable affect too. Short trips are also low performance while everything is cold. Turn on the 15 minute performance window on the left side as well as battery temp display to get more details.

 

[andrewgrhogg]

Ok I’ll bite. What’s the 15 minute performance window? And for battery temp is that in service mode or are you talking about something else?

I wonder if your battery heating system is malfunctioning. So your battery is never getting warm. I had this happen on my Model S when a main pump failed.

out of all the comments here it seems you have an issue. I would:
1. Check battery temps for sure. If battery temps seem to be low then you can raise them rapidly by doing repeated hard accelerations. Then redo the drive to test again.
2. check tire pressure with an external tool.
3. Check your brake pads. They should have close to zero wear but if they’re dragging then they will be quite worn.

 

[SkyDave]

@mcjohnson the 15 minute performance window looks like this and is accessed by holding down the left buttons on the steering wheel. ... guessing you know where battery temp is.

 

[badger4149]

I've been a Rivian fan for years. I finally made the decision to get one and was planning to order a dualMax R1S when I happened to find a Tri motor, Max battery, full loaded with ascend interior and only 1,200 miles on it -- locally. WOOOT!!!

I went for it and it is the best vehicle I've ever owned/driven... except.. the range.

Fit and finish is remarkable.
Acceleration and drive quality is bonkers (good).
Sound is 'meh (should be definitively better for a $110k+ car) but I knew that going in
Ascend interior and walnut dash are a work of art
Tech is simple but pretty great (coming from a Tesla, I'm pleasantly surprised and happy with it)

The biggest negative so far has been the range.

Fully charged, it should have 340mi range in regular all-purpose mode (conserve would get us to 400). Granted, I haven't charged fully, but in the few weeks I've had this truck, the range has been really quite bad. After a week of testing launch mode, I've settled into babying it. And, while it's been a little chilly here in the midwest -- I took it for a solid test drive on a recent 70 degree day. We drove it 150 miles at a 62mph average and used 65% of the battery capacity. What!?

This type of range is pretty consistent for the near month I've had the car.

Do the rest of the math on that and we would be getting approx 230-250mi on a full charge.

I'm used to EV's underperforming range estimates (hello model Y), but I'm pretty surprised by how far off this one is even in pretty ideal conditions and how I've been driving (think hyper-miling). 70 degrees, no heat/ac on, 60-65mph, using highway assist almost the time, can't really ask for any better.

Who knows, might be a very lightly used TriMax for sale pretty soon if anyone is looking :/

I hear you. I have a Tri with all-terrain package. EPA estimate is 329, which I assumed would be in "all-purpose" mode. Nope. To get anywhere near that, it's "conserve" mode only. As you say, aside from that, great vehicle.

 

[usulio]

I hear you. I have a Tri with all-terrain package. EPA estimate is 329, which I assumed would be in "all-purpose" mode. Nope. To get anywhere near that, it's "conserve" mode only. As you say, aside from that, great vehicle.

You must be referring to highway speeds. I can get more miles than that in all purpose mode in my gen 1 large on ATs ... but I have to be going 55

 

[Tejkalra]

That’s great to know, maybe I’ll schedule a service apt and see what’s happening.

Total efficiency for the first 1,500 miles was 1.6 (before I drove it).

Overall average since I’ve been driving is 1.8 (some cold weather, a lot of in-town).

My efficient on the highway, 70degrees and 62mph average was 1.9

It seems like something might be up. Really appreciate your response.

Give it some miles. I started with 1.48. Now with 3300 miles on it with 2800 miles with conserve and my lifetime mileage is sitting at 2.42. Conserve is best for Tri motor. AP on this Tri motor is very inefficient for some reason.

 

[jaredm]

Also, ignore the EPA estimates. To get the 405miles in conserve mode, you'd need to hit 2.85mi/kWh which I'm sure no one has hit on a 400 mile round-trip.

To get your true estimate, take your average mi/kWh and multiply by 142 (your usable capacity). Maybe calculate that per drive mode. And always use Conserve on road trips, as others suggested.

 

[mudito]

Also, ignore the EPA estimates. To get the 405miles in conserve mode, you'd need to hit 2.85mi/kWh which I'm sure no one has hit on a 400 mile round-trip.

To get your true estimate, take your average mi/kWh and multiply by 142 (your usable capacity). Maybe calculate that per drive mode. And always use Conserve on road trips, as others suggested.

I would add that what the consumer needs, are better EPA Estimate processes

I found that MPG for cars has been pretty accurate in the past 10+ years. Having the city and highway MPG is useful for one to estimate your 'range'. We need the same for EVs: a) Highway estimate (let's call it the Out Of Spec 70mph highway Range), then a City estimate and they can extrapolate a median for Mixed conditions.

 

[mkhuffman]

Just picked up my R1T Tri yesterday (22" Darks). The battery temperature was around 60 F, I turned off climate except for the fan on 1, put it in Conserve and at the lowest height. I had the cruise set for 80 but had to slow for traffic, so my speed fluctuated between 70 and 80. I was probably at 80 mph for half the 40 minute drive.

The efficiency was 2.4 as I got to the end of the drive. Considering how fast I was driving, I am very, very pleased with the efficiency. 140 x 2.4 = 336 miles at an average speed of 75ish. Awesome.

 

[mcjohnson]

Just picked up my R1T Tri yesterday (22" Darks). The battery temperature was around 60 F, I turned off climate except for the fan on 1, put it in Conserve and at the lowest height. I had the cruise set for 80 but had to slow for traffic, so my speed fluctuated between 70 and 80. I was probably at 80 mph for half the 40 minute drive.

The efficiency was 2.4 as I got to the end of the drive. Considering how fast I was driving, I am very, very pleased with the efficiency. 140 x 2.4 = 336 miles at an average speed of 75ish. Awesome.

Wow!! That’s great range..

I did a similar drive, 72mph on the highway. Was 55degree ambient temp, no fan/ac and front seat heater on level 1.

I got 2.05

not as bad as it has been, but not like yours!

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