R2 @ Nashville Space Oct 2024 -- photos & impressions

[Highfalutintodd]

Had a chance to see the R2 during the recent Nashville tour and thought I'd add some pics as my first real post.

I was excited to attend the event and it didn't disappoint. I'd visited the Nashville Space a few weeks before and gotten a test drive in an R1S, but R2 is what's really captured my attention. The Space and all the staff there were fantastic and it was great to get to hear from one of the Rivian designers about their thinking behind the vehicles. The energy and passion felt by all - combined with the inviting and no pressure environment - reminded me of the early days of Tesla.

Speaking of, I've been driving a Model S since 2013 (it was the first one in my county) and the R2 is the first vehicle of any kind that's really captured my attention since my Model S. I put a reservation down the day I first visited the Space based on the strength of that R1S test drive and seeing the R2 in person didn't disappoint. Pictures don't do it justice and as much as I've loved my Model S, I'm truly looking forward to the R2 being my next vehicle. It feels like the perfect mix of form, utility, comfort, technology, and style for what I, personally, want and need from a vehicle these days.

I would have driven off with it that day if they'd let me, and I'll be anxiously awaiting start of production in 2026.

PS - It's not my speed, but man oh man that R3X is a freaking awesome little vehicle! They are going to sell so many of those and I can't wait to see them around every corner! ;-)

Highfalutintodd

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[moosetags]

Very nice. Thank you for the pictures. Those of us in the back country can't get to these reveals.

Brian

 

[Highfalutintodd]

Very nice. Thank you for the pictures. Those of us in the back country can't get to these reveals.

My pleasure. When I found out about the tour, I was really surprised that Nashville was on the list and not some other, larger markets (not going to Atlanta that I'm aware of, for example). I knew this would probably be my only real opportunity to see an R2 in person until probably 2026, so figured I'd better not miss it.

I almost wish I hadn't gone, though, as now the waiting is going to be nearly unbearable. ;-)

 

[TomServo2112]

@Highfalutintodd Not to hijack the point of the thread, but how many miles do you have on your Model S and did you have major fixes done? I had a 2014 P85+ for a while (it got totaled) and wonder how the older vintage Teslas hold up.

 

[Highfalutintodd]

@Highfalutintodd Not to hijack the point of the thread, but how many miles do you have on your Model S and did you have major fixes done? I had a 2014 P85+ for a while (it got totaled) and wonder how the older vintage Teslas hold up.

Hey, @TomServo2112. It's my thread so I guess we can do with it as we please. Or the mods will move this somewhere more appropriate. ;-)

My Model S 85 (RWD, no performance, pre-Autopilot) has 108,157 miles and I took delivery in May of 2013. VIN 9786, so it was an EARLY model off the line. And there was no Tesla presence in the Nashville area so they sent a freaking CAR CARRIER to my house to deliver it. Those were the days. ;-)

I'd have to go back through service records to give an actual accounting of issues, but anecdotally I can tell you a few things. I had a lot of early 12v battery issues at the beginning, but that seemed to be endemic across the line. I've had the drive unit replaced 3-4 times. VERY early on I had a sunroof issue where it refused to close. I had to have the infotainment system fully replaced once (which actually ended up being an upgrade because it went from 3G to 4G LTE so it got much faster). I absolutely destroyed the rear driver side door once because my youngest left it open and I backed out of the garage - but obviously that one was on me. ;-)

Some of those sound bad, but were generally more annoying than anything. The drive units were making noise. The 12v battery kept throwing errors. The infotainment system was a pain because the entire thing stopped working, but the car still drove.

Knock wood, I've only had one real showstopper so far and that was a few years ago. I was driving to the gym early one morning and the car just.... stopped working. Every warning light lit up, power dropped to almost nothing, and I had just enough go to get mostly off to the side of the road. Had to have it towed to the service center. I don't remember exactly what the issue ended up being but they had it fixed in a couple of days.

That one show stopping moment aside, I've generally been really pleased with the lack of issues with it. I'm probably grading on a curve with it being a brand new, early edition model from a basically brand new car company, but it's been less trouble that most ICE cars I've ever had. It's never turned the AC coolant into a smokescreen on a hot summer day like one car I had. It's never blown a head gasket like another car. It's never left me needing a jump on a cold winter morning like my wife's car loves to do. It's never needed a transmission rebuild. Or a tuneup. Or a new timing belt. And on and on.

(To be fair, though, I also bought the absolute longest extended warranty they allowed me to get which ended up being a great purchase. It covered EVERYTHING for the first however many years.)

So yeah, it's been good to me and I always kind of figured I'd just run it into the ground. And/or I figured my next car would be a Tesla. But I don't like the X / Y / 3 / CT so I guess I'm not a fan of the direction Tesla is heading in (even putting aside the shenanigans of its CEO).

But to bring it back on topic, my great experience with my Model S is what leads me to believe that the Rivian R2 will be a fantastic next car for me. You'd have to pay me to get back into a gas car at this point, so I always knew my next car would have to be electric. And the warmth and style of the R2 really speaks to me.

Plus, I've gotten into a hobby in the last couple of years that requires a lot of space to transport, which means I've been stealing my wife's minivan a lot. So the utility of an SUV is going to come in super handy. One of the reasons I really wanted to go to see the R2 in person was because I really, REALLY wanted to know how tall the rear hatch opening is. Granted, things can and may change between now and final production, but at the moment that number is 29" if anyone cares.

End of novel. ;-)

 

[Philip]

Had a chance to see the R2 during the recent Nashville tour and thought I'd add some pics as my first real post.

I was excited to attend the event and it didn't disappoint. I'd visited the Nashville Space a few weeks before and gotten a test drive in an R1S, but R2 is what's really captured my attention. The Space and all the staff there were fantastic and it was great to get to hear from one of the Rivian designers about their thinking behind the vehicles. The energy and passion felt by all - combined with the inviting and no pressure environment - reminded me of the early days of Tesla.

Speaking of, I've been driving a Model S since 2013 (it was the first one in my county) and the R2 is the first vehicle of any kind that's really captured my attention since my Model S. I put a reservation down the day I first visited the Space based on the strength of that R1S test drive and seeing the R2 in person didn't disappoint. Pictures don't do it justice and as much as I've loved my Model S, I'm truly looking forward to the R2 being my next vehicle. It feels like the perfect mix of form, utility, comfort, technology, and style for what I, personally, want and need from a vehicle these days.

I would have driven off with it that day if they'd let me, and I'll be anxiously awaiting start of production in 2026.

PS - It's not my speed, but man oh man that R3X is a freaking awesome little vehicle! They are going to sell so many of those and I can't wait to see them around every corner! ;-)

Highfalutintodd

Rivian needs to start making them. Lucid is now in the game with their own SUV.

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

That... looks a lot like the R1S. Rivian's product line in 2030:

 

[emoore]

That... looks a lot like the R1S. Rivian's product line in 2030:

All those headlights are wrong.

 

[Highfalutintodd]

All those headlights are wrong.

Apparently generative AI is as good at Rivian headlights as it is at hands/fingers. ;-)

 

[Highfalutintodd]

That... looks a lot like the R1S. Rivian's product line in 2030:

Heh. I could see the argument for wanting more distinction across the product lineup, but the similarity to the R1S is one of the things that drew me (and probably a lot of others) to the R2 in the first place. R1S is a fantastic vehicle but it's just too big for me, personally, and I'm betting for a lot of others as well. The R1S scales down perfectly into the R2 form factor (IMO) and strikes an excellent balance of size, style, and utility.

And, again personally, I really like the overall design direction that Rivian is taking with the lineup. Love it or hate it, they've made a bold choice with their front-end styling and they're sticking with it to have a comprehensive corporate identity. Just like you can see a BMW or a Jeep or a Mercedes coming from a mile away, there's no doubt when you see the -0———0- headlights that you're looking at a Rivian. I didn't like the headlights when the R1T was first announced way back, but they've really grown on me, to the point where they're now probably my favorite feature. It also gives the car a "face" which works so, so well in a smaller vehicle like the R3 to give it a hell of a lot of personality.

I'd bet most people outside of California haven't even seen a Rivian in person yet, so doubling down on their most distinctive branding element for what will undoubtedly be their best-selling vehicles is, again IMO, absolutely the best decision.

 

[AllInev]

That... looks a lot like the R1S. Rivian's product line in 2030:

No trucks? ?

 

[Uncle Dude]

To the OP any more photos of the inside, in particular the seats?

 

[Highfalutintodd]

To the OP any more photos of the inside, in particular the seats?

I didn't, I'm sorry. I got some pretty good shots of the R3X interior since you could get a little closer to it, but not of the R2 as the angles were a little weird.

Plus, I was, personally, way less concerned about the interior / seats. I could already tell from the press photos that I'm going to be perfectly happy with the interior so my mission was to figure out if I liked the exterior in person (I do!) and if it would have the cargo space to do what I need (it does!).

I just noticed there's a new thread from the Boston space that has some good looking interior shots, though!

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