Agua Dulce LA First Drive Event Impressions & Reactions (w/ Videos & Photos)

[SeaGeo]

My wife and I (2 orders) both drove yesterday, overall not that many surprises as I’ve read and seen all the previous experiences. Here are the only things that stood out to me vs expectations:

1. The infotrainment system has many bugs. In one truck, the volume slider didn’t work basically at all, in another Spotify randomly switched from the album we selected to something else. Everything appears to rely on an internet connection and it becomes REALLY laggy when the connection is slow. Reason provided: “pre production”

2. The mapping system is slow to route and even slower to add charging stations on the route. Panning is also slow. It remind me of those garmin units from 15 years ago. Reason provided “pre production”

3. The space in the center console is smaller than expected. Backpack size is definitely way overselling it.

4. The turning radius is amazingly impressive. My wife didn’t want to drive the off-road course so they took an alternative route and it required a sharp turn to rejoin the main track. The employee said “turn there” and we didn’t think it would make it. My wife said it was no problem at all. My Range Rover Sport and her Explorer & LR4 would not have made the corner. I asked the employee if they had the turning radius yet. He responded “I don’t think that’s a normal thing car company’s publish” that’s the level of knowledge they have. Useless.

5. This thing is FAST. I knew it would be fast but I got it up to nearly 100 mph easily and made the 180 degree turn off the runway no problem. Those are my black rubber trails at the end. I did mean to push it a bit but not quite that much - it’s really quick and handles great.

6. The truck is smaller than I expected. For me, this is a positive. The interior is narrow, but there is ample space both in the front and rear. IMO it’s exactly big enough to where it’s comfortable and space isn’t an issue but without an extra inch anywhere. They definitely did their design research here. Again, as a garage parker and someone that lives in a city, this is a positive to me.

7. Launch Green is awesome and the blue is just as stunning as I thought it would be. The one surprise on colors was that the yellow truck looked way better than I imagined. Not tacky at all. If I was 20 years younger, I’d go yellow.

8. I’m an extreme audiophile. The sound system sounded good. I wish they had a higher quality source available than Spotify and let me close the windows so I could actually rate it properly.

Before attending my wife wasn’t sure about her R1S order. She is now completely sold. I love the vehicle itself but as someone in software, I am dreading having to deal with a subpar, buggy, infotainment system. I know they will update it, but it will undoubtedly be years before it is good.

Good to hear the turning radius is good. One of the videos I saw from the event had an employee not know the EPA range of the R1T. I was um... surprised by that.

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[kanundrum]

 

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

 

[kanundrum]

Anyone else going to the event, can they ask where do they think is the next location would be ?

 

[Matty J]

Anyone else going to the event, can they ask where do they think is the next location would be ?

We asked two different employees at the event, and both did not know. One of them said that they learn of the new location with about a months notice.

 

[LaunchGreen]

We asked two different employees at the event, and both did not know. One of them said that they learn of the new location with about a months notice.

They don’t know anything that isn’t on the website, and maybe just half of that. They seem to be hiring people based more on their demeanor and fit with the brand (IE - do you have a man bun) than any actual vehicle knowledge.

 

[Khaneric]

Anyone else going to the event, can they ask where do they think is the next location would be ?

I asked directly to one person and they said they didn't know, but i overheard another saying Arizona.

 

[Jason C]

It was a great event. The off-road course was a lot of fun. It gave a brief example of what the R1T is capable of. I drove in a launch green R1T with black mountain interior. That is actually my current selection. The overall build quality and features of the vehicle were great. I think the only thing that stood out to me was the forward-facing camera quality. I asked the guide to turn it on when we were approaching the peak of the hill we climbed. In my opinion it was pretty bad. I mean we are talking 480 VHS tape quality. I was expecting a much sharper image. Hopefully a software update fixes that issue. But everything else was spot on.

 

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

 

[sevengroove]

PSA for those who are still interested in demo drives - I just chatted with CS and they said they have availability next week (Mon - Thurs), and that the last day in Agua Dulce is Dec 19th. It seems like the drives are no longer just invite only (I'm a LE R1S holder from Seattle). I will unfortunately just miss the cut off because I plan to travel to the LA area the week of the 20th.

 

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

 

[time]

I was impressed with the off-road demo drive and I'm genuinely more excited for the R1T. My enthusiasm had been dropping a bit previously. The drive confirmed for me that I won't be getting the green interior. I had that on order but the green headliner is weird. Too much green. It should be green interior with black headliner. Kind of a bummer because I want the brown wood. Wish they offered black with brown wood. I also confirmed I like launch green. Just updated my pre-order config to Launch Green with Black Int.

I didn't care for the ride though on the 20's. Felt rough IMO. But I'm keeping them in my order since wheels are easy to change later.

Other thoughts, my Samsung Z flip wouldn't pair for whatever reason. Also as people have said, those cameras have absolutely garbage image quality. Easily the worst I've seen a new vehicle in probably 6-7 years. Its my number one hated thing about the R1T. And it is definitely more than just an annoyance, its hate for sure. Still debating if its a dealbreaker for me. Its likely going to depend on how the Lighting test drive goes. Though no doubt there are already some things I dislike about the Ford. ?

 

[crashmtb]

They don’t know anything that isn’t on the website, and maybe just half of that. They seem to be hiring people based more on their demeanor and fit with the brand (IE - do you have a man bun) than any actual vehicle knowledge.

If you’ve ever been to an auto show before, or talked to a salesperson at a dealership, it’s the same level of product knowledge.

 

[sevengroove]

Also as people have said, those cameras have absolutely garbage image quality. Easily the worst I've seen a new vehicle in probably 6-7 years. Its my number one hated thing about the R1T.

I’d be really curious to see if someone can track down the exact part they use for the camera module. If it’s anything less than 720p and 30fps then we’re f*cked because it’ll be a hardware restriction that no software fixes will get around. I am also somewhat optimistic because it seems like an easy enough part to upgrade, unless there are other sensors in there that we don’t know about.

 

[Craigins]

I’d be really curious to see if someone can track down the exact part they use for the camera module. If it’s anything less than 720p and 30fps then we’re f*cked because it’ll be a hardware restriction that no software fixes will get around. I am also somewhat optimistic because it seems like an easy enough part to upgrade, unless there are other sensors in there that we don’t know about.

I was thinking about this yesterday. I tried to get OEM cameras for a sensor project, we only needed 640x480 resolution. I really couldn't find anything less than 1080. Although I did have the constraint of the modules working with linux.

However, not all 1080 cameras are created equal. Even in the few I tested, image quality varied between the cameras.

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