First day with R1T / First day with an EV -- my owner impressions

[Donald Stanfield]

I would like to start by giving a little background on myself and my vehicle experiences in the past to give you all a decent idea as to where I'm coming from. As my title says this is my first time even touching a Rivian and my first time driving any EV at all. However, I have driven quite a few of the best sorts of cars ICE have to offer. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Vipers, special edition supercharged Mustangs ect. My daily driver is also an Audi SQ5 Sportback prestige.

I would think it's fair to say that I have a decent read on high performance vehicles. With all that said on to my Rivian review. Keep in mind this is more just first impressions as I've only had this car for 6 hours at this point and have about 50 miles of backroad driving. First I want to talk about the interior and the best comparison I have is my old daily the Audi. Audi does some of the best interiors in the business and I would say the Rivian hangs with them easily. Some parts are better, some aren't as good. I like the look of my Audi steering wheel, but the dash of the R1T is better. Overall fit and finish and build quality are right there.

Interior noise in the R1T is less than the Audi which is saying something considering I have the option of the privacy glass in the Audi and it's a really quiet cabin. Obviously with no engine noise and it seems like my body panels are fit well the Rivian is high quality and quiet. Granted I haven't had it up past 60ish MPH so I would like to get a better read on the freeway for impressions here to really make a determination. Also the 21" wheels have very low road noise and I'm glad that's the direction I went.

Sound system is as good or maybe slightly better than the Audi. You can tell that speaker placement was well thought out and engineered and that high quality components were used. There is a really clean sound right about perfect center of the truck so it's a little behind you over your right shoulder. The distortion is low even at high volume and I would say that this sound system stacks up pretty well with the premium sound in the Audi.

One Pedal Drive: This is the area I was most worried about. I have never used one pedal driving and I was worried I would have a difficult time adjusting. I didn't. I already have the truck on high regen and I took to it intuitively. For those who have driven a quick stick shift car or a motorcycle and use a downshift to slow down it is pretty much that but unlike downshifting that is limited to a slowing down a few MPH depending on how many gears you go down the one pedal drive will slow down enough to stop you completely. I like it, and I already don't want to go back.

Acceleration: I'm sure if you haven't launched on yourself by now you've seen the Youtube videos. I'm not a stranger to quick cars but there most certainly is something different in EVs, at least in this one. The surprise reactions people make when they launch aren't fake or embellished for views on YouTube. I've launched a few times now and have taken 6 people for a ride. Every single one of them was completely caught off guard by how quick it goes, myself included. What surprised me the most is how easy it is to make it launch. There's no fan faire, no theater, it just goes. Before you can even realize what's going on you're doing 60. I guess it's so much more aggressive than ICE simply because there is no engine that needs to spool up, and no gears that need to shift so I just keeps pulling. EVs are clearly superior than ICE in this area so much so it's not even a fair comparison.

Handling: It is on par with my SQ5, maybe a little better with the one pedal driving as not having to lift my foot off the go pedal and having instant torque you can pull out of corners just a little bit faster. You can still tell it's a truck, it most certainly doesn't feel like a sports car from a handling perspective but it's fun in the twisties and it absolutely doesn't feel like a truck, certainly not a 7500lb truck. Rivian did a great job here.

I got the Rivian because I needed the truck but I was worried that it wouldn't be as fun to drive as the SQ5. Well I would say that fear is unfounded and the Rivian is pretty much exactly what I hoped for. Everyone who's still waiting and hasn't driven one yet, they are totally worth it.

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[COdogman]

First of all, congratulations on finally getting your truck!



That red was the color that most surprised me with how much more I liked it in person vs. in most photos I’ve seen. Really a nice color.

And thank you for the great review/ comparison. I’ve driven quite a few fast ICE cars in my life (not as many as you LOL), and I am just so impressed with the instant torque and quickness EVs offer. My guide during my first mile drive made sure we got to do a couple launches and we were all laughing like little kids, including her, who gets a chance to do it every day.

Enjoy every adventure in your fancy new EV truck!

 

[R1Tom]

Your comparison to one pedal being like a manual is very accurate. I hadn't thought of that...but it is very true. I love 1 pedal and high regen. Works perfect. I only touch brakes now on rare occasion, mostly when a signal changes when I am too close already for regen braking to slow enough.

Love your Red Canyon 21" combo, too!

 

[Donald Stanfield]

One other thing I'd like to touch on that is a sore spot in this forum, Apple car play. My Audi has it, but so far I prefer the Rivian system over bluetooth. I don't use any other phone function other than my Apple Music, and over bluetooth it lists all the genius songs that are going to be playing next on the screen which honestly is better than car play.

Also, on the Audi car play glitches a lot. It will connect but the screen will be black every 3rd or so time. In order to fix it you need to disconnect from CarPlay, switch back to the Audi native system and then reopen CarPlay to get the screen back. This is annoying and so far the Rivian system seems to be connected to my phone since I use PAAK effortlessly. To expand on connectivity my wife also has her phone set up as PAAK and one time she entered buttons first so the car thought she was driving.

It is super easy to switch driver profiles and overall I've found the UI to be really intuitive.

 

[SoCal Rob]

One other thing I'd like to touch on that is a sore spot in this forum, Apple car play. My Audi has it, but so far I prefer the Rivian system over bluetooth. I don't use any other phone function other than my Apple Music, and over bluetooth it lists all the genius songs that are going to be playing next on the screen which honestly is better than car play.

Also, on the Audi car play glitches a lot. It will connect but the screen will be black every 3rd or so time. In order to fix it you need to disconnect from CarPlay, switch back to the Audi native system and then reopen CarPlay to get the screen back. This is annoying and so far the Rivian system seems to be connected to my phone since I use PAAK effortlessly. To expand on connectivity my wife also has her phone set up as PAAK and one time she entered buttons first so the car thought she was driving.

It is super easy to switch driver profiles and overall I've found the UI to be really intuitive.

One of the benefits of CarPlay and Android Auto is choice: you aren't required to use them if you don’t need them or want them. The glitching sounds like an Audi issue. Given the quirky software in our VW ID.4 and the fact that Audi is also a VAG brand, I’m not too surprised. I had a 2017 Ford and my mom has a 2016 Cadillac, both of which had/have stable CarPlay.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

One of the benefits of CarPlay and Android Auto is choice: you aren't required to use them if you don’t need them or want them. The glitching sounds like an Audi issue. Given the quirky software in our VW ID.4 and the fact that Audi is also a VAG brand, I’m not too surprised. I had a 2017 Ford and my mom has a 2016 Cadillac, both of which had/have stable CarPlay.

Yeah I dont expect too many people to agree with me. I get that choices are generally good, and I understand why people want CarPlay. Reading this forum the lack of CarPlay has been elevated to such a high level complaint that it sort of made me feel like the native system was a steaming pile of hot garbage before I got my truck.

I’m just trying to offer a perspective on the native system that’s a little closer to reality in my view. I can see how the lack of CarPlay is annoying to people, but it’s nowhere near the issue it’s made out to be.

Also for sure the glitching is an Audi issue. That’s why I wanted to bring it up, legacy manufacturers who are generally regarded as having “got it right” still have their own issues when it comes to technology. I think it’s important to keep the issues with the Rivian in context of vehicles as a whole. It’s not pointed at you directly, it’s just this forum discusses all the negatives of the Rivian and that skews the perception to unrealistically critical IMO. Just trying to do my part to bring the needle back to center a bit.

 

[R1Sky Business]

I would like to start by giving a little background on myself and my vehicle experiences in the past to give you all a decent idea as to where I'm coming from. As my title says this is my first time even touching a Rivian and my first time driving any EV at all. However, I have driven quite a few of the best sorts of cars ICE have to offer. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Vipers, special edition supercharged Mustangs ect. My daily driver is also an Audi SQ5 Sportback prestige.

I would think it's fair to say that I have a decent read on high performance vehicles. With all that said on to my Rivian review. Keep in mind this is more just first impressions as I've only had this car for 6 hours at this point and have about 50 miles of backroad driving. First I want to talk about the interior and the best comparison I have is my old daily the Audi. Audi does some of the best interiors in the business and I would say the Rivian hangs with them easily. Some parts are better, some aren't as good. I like the look of my Audi steering wheel, but the dash of the R1T is better. Overall fit and finish and build quality are right there.

Interior noise in the R1T is less than the Audi which is saying something considering I have the option of the privacy glass in the Audi and it's a really quiet cabin. Obviously with no engine noise and it seems like my body panels are fit well the Rivian is high quality and quiet. Granted I haven't had it up past 60ish MPH so I would like to get a better read on the freeway for impressions here to really make a determination. Also the 21" wheels have very low road noise and I'm glad that's the direction I went.

Sound system is as good or maybe slightly better than the Audi. You can tell that speaker placement was well thought out and engineered and that high quality components were used. There is a really clean sound right about perfect center of the truck so it's a little behind you over your right shoulder. The distortion is low even at high volume and I would say that this sound system stacks up pretty well with the premium sound in the Audi.

One Pedal Drive: This is the area I was most worried about. I have never used one pedal driving and I was worried I would have a difficult time adjusting. I didn't. I already have the truck on high regen and I took to it intuitively. For those who have driven a quick stick shift car or a motorcycle and use a downshift to slow down it is pretty much that but unlike downshifting that is limited to a slowing down a few MPH depending on how many gears you go down the one pedal drive will slow down enough to stop you completely. I like it, and I already don't want to go back.

Acceleration: I'm sure if you haven't launched on yourself by now you've seen the Youtube videos. I'm not a stranger to quick cars but there most certainly is something different in EVs, at least in this one. The surprise reactions people make when they launch aren't fake or embellished for views on YouTube. I've launched a few times now and have taken 6 people for a ride. Every single one of them was completely caught off guard by how quick it goes, myself included. What surprised me the most is how easy it is to make it launch. There's no fan faire, no theater, it just goes. Before you can even realize what's going on you're doing 60. I guess it's so much more aggressive than ICE simply because there is no engine that needs to spool up, and no gears that need to shift so I just keeps pulling. EVs are clearly superior than ICE in this area so much so it's not even a fair comparison.

Handling: It is on par with my SQ5, maybe a little better with the one pedal driving as not having to lift my foot off the go pedal and having instant torque you can pull out of corners just a little bit faster. You can still tell it's a truck, it most certainly doesn't feel like a sports car from a handling perspective but it's fun in the twisties and it absolutely doesn't feel like a truck, certainly not a 7500lb truck. Rivian did a great job here.

I got the Rivian because I needed the truck but I was worried that it wouldn't be as fun to drive as the SQ5. Well I would say that fear is unfounded and the Rivian is pretty much exactly what I hoped for. Everyone who's still waiting and hasn't driven one yet, they are totally worth it.

Great review....now let's go put on some miles.....

 

[R1Sky Business]

One other thing I'd like to touch on that is a sore spot in this forum, Apple car play. My Audi has it, but so far I prefer the Rivian system over bluetooth. I don't use any other phone function other than my Apple Music, and over bluetooth it lists all the genius songs that are going to be playing next on the screen which honestly is better than car play.

Also, on the Audi car play glitches a lot. It will connect but the screen will be black every 3rd or so time. In order to fix it you need to disconnect from CarPlay, switch back to the Audi native system and then reopen CarPlay to get the screen back. This is annoying and so far the Rivian system seems to be connected to my phone since I use PAAK effortlessly. To expand on connectivity my wife also has her phone set up as PAAK and one time she entered buttons first so the car thought she was driving.

It is super easy to switch driver profiles and overall I've found the UI to be really intuitive.

And will continue to improve over time

 

[SoCal Rob]

Yeah I dont expect too many people to agree with me. I get that choices are generally good, and I understand why people want CarPlay. Reading this forum the lack of CarPlay has been elevated to such a high level complaint that it sort of made me feel like the native system was a steaming pile of hot garbage before I got my truck.

I’m just trying to offer a perspective on the native system that’s a little closer to reality in my view. I can see how the lack of CarPlay is annoying to people, but it’s nowhere near the issue it’s made out to be.

Also for sure the glitching is an Audi issue. That’s why I wanted to bring it up, legacy manufacturers who are generally regarded as having “got it right” still have their own issues when it comes to technology. I think it’s important to keep the issues with the Rivian in context of vehicles as a whole. It’s not pointed at you directly, it’s just this forum discusses all the negatives of the Rivian and that skews the perception to unrealistically critical IMO. Just trying to do my part to bring the needle back to center a bit.

I got to use the RIivian‘s native system during a first mile drive and while sitting in Vehicles at the Venice Hub. From what I saw it was responsive and it looked really good. My issue is not that the system is bad, but that it is lacking some functionality which is important to me as a consumer. My hope is that the native system will continue to add functions over time and that hands-free eyes-free texting will show up quickly.

The Rivian developers have done a great job! They simply cannot keep up with the pace of development of apps for smartphones and skills for Alexa because there are so few Rivian employees working on infotainment compared to the number creating for the other platforms.

 

[milliemc]

I would like to start by giving a little background on myself and my vehicle experiences in the past to give you all a decent idea as to where I'm coming from. As my title says this is my first time even touching a Rivian and my first time driving any EV at all. However, I have driven quite a few of the best sorts of cars ICE have to offer. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Vipers, special edition supercharged Mustangs ect. My daily driver is also an Audi SQ5 Sportback prestige.

I would think it's fair to say that I have a decent read on high performance vehicles. With all that said on to my Rivian review. Keep in mind this is more just first impressions as I've only had this car for 6 hours at this point and have about 50 miles of backroad driving. First I want to talk about the interior and the best comparison I have is my old daily the Audi. Audi does some of the best interiors in the business and I would say the Rivian hangs with them easily. Some parts are better, some aren't as good. I like the look of my Audi steering wheel, but the dash of the R1T is better. Overall fit and finish and build quality are right there.

Interior noise in the R1T is less than the Audi which is saying something considering I have the option of the privacy glass in the Audi and it's a really quiet cabin. Obviously with no engine noise and it seems like my body panels are fit well the Rivian is high quality and quiet. Granted I haven't had it up past 60ish MPH so I would like to get a better read on the freeway for impressions here to really make a determination. Also the 21" wheels have very low road noise and I'm glad that's the direction I went.

Sound system is as good or maybe slightly better than the Audi. You can tell that speaker placement was well thought out and engineered and that high quality components were used. There is a really clean sound right about perfect center of the truck so it's a little behind you over your right shoulder. The distortion is low even at high volume and I would say that this sound system stacks up pretty well with the premium sound in the Audi.

One Pedal Drive: This is the area I was most worried about. I have never used one pedal driving and I was worried I would have a difficult time adjusting. I didn't. I already have the truck on high regen and I took to it intuitively. For those who have driven a quick stick shift car or a motorcycle and use a downshift to slow down it is pretty much that but unlike downshifting that is limited to a slowing down a few MPH depending on how many gears you go down the one pedal drive will slow down enough to stop you completely. I like it, and I already don't want to go back.

Acceleration: I'm sure if you haven't launched on yourself by now you've seen the Youtube videos. I'm not a stranger to quick cars but there most certainly is something different in EVs, at least in this one. The surprise reactions people make when they launch aren't fake or embellished for views on YouTube. I've launched a few times now and have taken 6 people for a ride. Every single one of them was completely caught off guard by how quick it goes, myself included. What surprised me the most is how easy it is to make it launch. There's no fan faire, no theater, it just goes. Before you can even realize what's going on you're doing 60. I guess it's so much more aggressive than ICE simply because there is no engine that needs to spool up, and no gears that need to shift so I just keeps pulling. EVs are clearly superior than ICE in this area so much so it's not even a fair comparison.

Handling: It is on par with my SQ5, maybe a little better with the one pedal driving as not having to lift my foot off the go pedal and having instant torque you can pull out of corners just a little bit faster. You can still tell it's a truck, it most certainly doesn't feel like a sports car from a handling perspective but it's fun in the twisties and it absolutely doesn't feel like a truck, certainly not a 7500lb truck. Rivian did a great job here.

I got the Rivian because I needed the truck but I was worried that it wouldn't be as fun to drive as the SQ5. Well I would say that fear is unfounded and the Rivian is pretty much exactly what I hoped for. Everyone who's still waiting and hasn't driven one yet, they are totally worth it.

Cool. Thanks for the info. How long did you have to wait from the time you made a reservation? We reserved this past July and I know it will be at least a couple years before we see our Truck.
I wanted to respond to the Launch comments, as we have a Tesla Model 3 and I still remember my shock the first time I took off on the in-lane on I-25 and the sudden and immediate speed the car produced. I am not z speedster driver but can count on the car taking off when it needs to , to get around packs of cars on the highway or to get away from a potentially dangerous situation. I consider it a safety thing. I love my Tesla but am hopeful we can get a Rivian soon.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Cool. Thanks for the info. How long did you have to wait from the time you made a reservation? We reserved this past July and I know it will be at least a couple years before we see our Truck.
I wanted to respond to the Launch comments, as we have a Tesla Model 3 and I still remember my shock the first time I took off on the in-lane on I-25 and the sudden and immediate speed the car produced. I am not z speedster driver but can count on the car taking off when it needs to , to get around packs of cars on the highway or to get away from a potentially dangerous situation. I consider it a safety thing. I love my Tesla but am hopeful we can get a Rivian soon.

I waited a little over a year. I’m ahead of schedule of my initial window that Was dec-Jan. You might see your truck sooner than you think.

 

[moosehead]

Congrats, she's sharp in Canyon Red. You'll be just as pleased at highway speeds and canyon carving.

Same positive experience here with one pedal. Further, in an Ioniq 5, it has made my 15 year-old a better driver as one pedal seems to promote smoother driving vs the yo-yo gas/brake he was previously doing on an ICE vehicle.

I too have been pleasantly surprised by the Riv navigation and Spotify/Tune In apps. That said, Nav still does not recognize many businesses and traffic aint Waze. Alexa is a bit of a joke and I still would like hi-res wired music access.

 

[JeffADK]

I waited a little over a year. I’m ahead of schedule of my initial window that Was dec-Jan. You might see your truck sooner than you think.

Congratulations on getting your truck, and I agree that the Canyon Red with 21's looks great. Delivery of my own Canyon Red R1T with 21's (VIN 120xx) is scheduled for the first week of October, and it now feels like the week before Christmas when I was a little kid. I went out on a limb with the Ocean Coast interior, and my friends now think that I'm trying to recreate the look of a '59 Corvette.

I put my reservation in about a year ago, and was also slated for Dec-Jan. I wonder if the CR/OC combination may be uncommon enough to have moved me up.

 

[Mathme]

Yeah I dont expect too many people to agree with me. I get that choices are generally good, and I understand why people want CarPlay. Reading this forum the lack of CarPlay has been elevated to such a high level complaint that it sort of made me feel like the native system was a steaming pile of hot garbage before I got my truck.

I’m just trying to offer a perspective on the native system that’s a little closer to reality in my view. I can see how the lack of CarPlay is annoying to people, but it’s nowhere near the issue it’s made out to be.

Also for sure the glitching is an Audi issue. That’s why I wanted to bring it up, legacy manufacturers who are generally regarded as having “got it right” still have their own issues when it comes to technology. I think it’s important to keep the issues with the Rivian in context of vehicles as a whole. It’s not pointed at you directly, it’s just this forum discusses all the negatives of the Rivian and that skews the perception to unrealistically critical IMO. Just trying to do my part to bring the needle back to center a bit.

my Audi Car Play glitches like that. It seems to do Mm it more so if I get in, start up, then shift into reverse (and bring on the back up cameras) before Car Play syncs with my phone.

Google Maps and Nav in myAudi is also wonky in that it’ll seem to forget all of my previous and saved directions about every 4-6 weeks. I don’t know how many times I’ve had toenter my home address.

again, this is to highlight that even traditional car makers have their issues

 

[Gpers]

Congratulations on getting your truck, and I agree that the Canyon Red with 21's looks great. Delivery of my own Canyon Red R1T with 21's (VIN 120xx) is scheduled for the first week of October, and it now feels like the week before Christmas when I was a little kid. I went out on a limb with the Ocean Coast interior, and my friends now think that I'm trying to recreate the look of a '59 Corvette.

I put my reservation in about a year ago, and was also slated for Dec-Jan. I wonder if the CR/OC combination may be uncommon enough to have moved me up.

Congrats to the OP and thanks for the review! Excited to see so many Red Canyon’s being delivered…I’m grabbing mine later today too. Looks like we have very close build dates! RC, OC, 21’s, 120xx

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