Finally drove an R1S - at the Boston Rivian event yesterday

[computertom]

So I went down to Rivian's event yesterday in Boston to see an R1S in person. Of course I'd seen a bunch of them when I had my R1T serviced, but I hadn't really jumped in, looked at the back, and gone through one before - and most importantly, I hadn't driven one. So I figured I'd RSVP and head over for a look.

I was happy that they happened to have a Red Canyon with Black Mountain + Dark Ash Wood interior as that's actually what I'm leaning towards so it was nice to see one in real live. The Red Canyon is a great color. There is a lot of sparkle and depth to it.

So seeing as how I've already owned an R1T and there were no duel motors there, there wasn't much for me to do except wait for my drive, thankfully the wait wasn't long. Soon I was walking over to an El Cap with Roger from Rivian. He asked if I had any EV experience and I told him R1T and soon I was in the driver seat and driving.

My former R1T has been with its new owner since May, so it's been a while since I've been in an R1. This is a very nice interior. I'd honestly forgotten. And the thinner steering wheel - so good. It just took me a minute to get my bearings and we were off. Soon we were talking about my past Rivian experience and I was searching for the roughest, most broken roads. The music was off, and I was looking for areas that would disrupt the front end to see if it was like my old R1T. It was a better. Not perfect, but better.

The one thing that did stand out to me though was that the rear is definitely floaty. It doesn't feel as planted over road undulations and I definitely felt the damping not settling the rear as the R1T (or the Braptor my present comparison SUV) does. I didn't really hoon it as I was on a test drive, but it felt stiffly sprung and underdamped. It was weird. It still drove great and I miss the incredibly smooth power delivery of a Rivian, but that rear end definitely stood out. Oh and how I miss one pedal driving!

Overall I was really happy I got a chance to test drive one. I still think the R1T is more special, but R1S is just more practical at least for my family / dog situation. I'm happily keeping our reservation.

And also, just to say the thing we've all experienced over and over again - Roger, and all the folks I have dealt with at Rivian have just been so friendly, genuine, helpful, and interested in trying to make stuff work. Definitely appreciate the culture they are trying to build there. I know it hasn't always scaled and they've had some rough spots, but I continue to be impressed by the people that make up this company.

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[SANZC02]

So I went down to Rivian's event yesterday in Boston to see an R1S in person. Of course I'd seen a bunch of them when I had my R1T serviced, but I hadn't really jumped in, looked at the back, and gone through one before - and most importantly, I hadn't driven one. So I figured I'd RSVP and head over for a look.

I was happy that they happened to have a Red Canyon with Black Mountain + Dark Ash Wood interior as that's actually what I'm leaning towards so it was nice to see one in real live. The Red Canyon is a great color. There is a lot of sparkle and depth to it.

So seeing as how I've already owned an R1T and there were no duel motors there, there wasn't much for me to do except wait for my drive, thankfully the wait wasn't long. Soon I was walking over to an El Cap with Roger from Rivian. He asked if I had any EV experience and I told him R1T and soon I was in the driver seat and driving.

My former R1T has been with its new owner since May, so it's been a while since I've been in an R1. This is a very nice interior. I'd honestly forgotten. And the thinner steering wheel - so good. It just took me a minute to get my bearings and we were off. Soon we were talking about my past Rivian experience and I was searching for the roughest, most broken roads. The music was off, and I was looking for areas that would disrupt the front end to see if it was like my old R1T. It was a better. Not perfect, but better.

The one thing that did stand out to me though was that the rear is definitely floaty. It doesn't feel as planted over road undulations and I definitely felt the damping not settling the rear as the R1T (or the Braptor my present comparison SUV) does. I didn't really hoon it as I was on a test drive, but it felt stiffly sprung and underdamped. It was weird. It still drove great and I miss the incredibly smooth power delivery of a Rivian, but that rear end definitely stood out. Oh and how I miss one pedal driving!

Overall I was really happy I got a chance to test drive one. I still think the R1T is more special, but R1S is just more practical at least for my family / dog situation. I'm happily keeping our reservation.

And also, just to say the thing we've all experienced over and over again - Roger, and all the folks I have dealt with at Rivian have just been so friendly, genuine, helpful, and interested in trying to make stuff work. Definitely appreciate the culture they are trying to build there. I know it hasn't always scaled and they've had some rough spots, but I continue to be impressed by the people that make up this company.

Curious how many miles were on the one you drove? I thought mine felt stiff when I first picked it up but felt like it really settled in after about 2500 miles, or I just got used to it.

 

[Ironcitijc]

I attended this event earlier today and just wanted to add a shout out to all the Rivian folks there today. Very friendly and super helpful.

 

[Chewie904]

My family and I were there on Friday of the event and got to drive an R1S. I would like to echo how friendly and knowledgeable everyone was! Shout out to Joey and Kyle for the great experience both driving the R1S (Kyle) and going over features and navigation (Joey). The whole family enjoyed the event!

 

[PeterSK]

I second the comments about the event. Great venue, lots of vehicles on display, branded merch for sale, and friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Negatives: long wait to test drive an R1S, and missing several colors of vehicles. I particularly wanted to have my family see Forest Green to compare with the Red Canyon that was there, as we haven’t yet finalized our order. I think they were also missing Glacier White and Midnight. If nothing else, it would be good to have a wall display of interior and exterior colors, as I’ve seen at Tesla stores.

 

[atR1S]

In general, I am not a fan of red cars. But after seeing a red R1S a couple months ago, I would agree with @computertom and say the red is deep and sparkly in all good ways. I like some of the Rivian colors more in the R1S than the T.

 

[AxelR]

I attended this event earlier today and just wanted to add a shout out to all the Rivian folks there today. Very friendly and super helpful.

2453 miles on ours. Still pretty harsh overall.
Maybe in 47 miles…

 

[webfootdawg]

Red R1S grabbed from the shop this morning.

 

[Jordman]

How did you all hear about this event in Boston?
Boston is a drive for me from Maine, but it's the closest SC. I've seen all of 2 R1Ts up here in passing and would love to spend some more time around them.

 

[computertom]

How did you all hear about this event in Boston?
Boston is a drive for me from Maine, but it's the closest SC. I've seen all of 2 R1Ts up here in passing and would love to spend some more time around them.

Rivian sent me an email about it. I had definitely filled out a form about being interested in a test drive or event at some point in the past, but I also have an R1S preorder. So maybe it was that and being near an SC. Not sure how their invite system works.

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