First time behind the wheel with First Drive - review & impressions

[Derek]

I had my First Drive test drive yesterday and it was amazing. Everything I was hoping for was there and more. Here are a couple of my insights.

• The truck is good and tall. My partner is 5 foot tall and she has to do a little jump to get in even at the lowest setting. Being that big feels amazing on the road. Your visibility is fantastic with no big blindspots that I noticed.
• Of course the acceleration... it is fantastic. I did notice a strange popping sound at launch though, so it will be interesting if that is all trucks or just the demo truck.
• The Rivian employee that came to my house with the truck was so nice and answered everything I could ask. We talked about most of the truck and I found the conversation about the tonneau cover interesting enough to share.
  • He mentioned that the issue with the cover is that it uses one motor to open and close the cover and that is what is causing the problems. The fix will be to have two motors so the cover is pulled and pushed evenly. I hope this will be the case for the truck I buy.
• The regenerative braking is STRONG. When you take your foot off that accelerator it will move your head forward. Even on the lowest setting, it is way stronger than any electric vehicle I have driven. It's definitely something you can adapt to but my partner says she's going to have a hard time with that one.

I loved everything about this truck and that's why I placed the deposit so long ago, but this drive... this has turned the excitement up to 11! Even my girlfriend, that has been "excited for me" is now super excited to bring this truck into the family. It's just that good.

I didn't take very many pictures. I spent every minute playing with and driving the truck. Here is a couple without my ugly face in them.

Sponsored

 

[9527]

I think Kyle from Out of Spec also mentioned the pop when he tried to launch the truck. Was it like a oh-crap-I-think-something’s-gonna-break pop?

 

[Attesan997]

Don't get the greatest feeling about long term reliability of the cover. Hoping whatever the eventual solution is gets offered as a retrofit for vehicles that have already been produced.

 

[Derek]

I think Kyle from Out of Spec also mentioned the pop when he tried to launch the truck. Was it like a oh-crap-I-think-something’s-gonna-break pop?

Yeah, a little. It was a sound similar to a motor mount that was broken on an ICE truck. It surprised me and was a bit disconcerting.

 

[Derek]

Don't get the greatest feeling about long term reliability of the cover. Hoping whatever the eventual solution is gets offered as a retrofit for vehicles that have already been produced.

I completely agree, it sounds like the cover will get out of alignment often with this one motor setup. There's going to have to be a real fix, otherwise, people (and me) are going to get really upset.

 

[COdogman]

Congrats on getting your drive! Thanks for sharing your experience. I have zero faith in that motorized cover. I would swap it for the manual version in a second if that were possible.

 

[Attesan997]

I completely agree, it sounds like the cover will get out of alignment often with this one motor setup. There's going to have to be a real fix, otherwise, people (and me) are going to get really upset.

With a Q4 2022 delivery window I'm not extremely confident it won't slip to Q1 2023 but I wouldn't be upset if that also meant improvements to this design. They knew something was off from that big first event so they locked the cover controls out. I'm just confused as to the endgame, is the plan to just not say anything until malfunctions start popping up?

 

[Sharpobjects4321]

I had my First Drive test drive yesterday and it was amazing. Everything I was hoping for was there and more. Here are a couple of my insights.

• The truck is good and tall. My partner is 5 foot tall and she has to do a little jump to get in even at the lowest setting. Being that big feels amazing on the road. Your visibility is fantastic with no big blindspots that I noticed.
• Of course the acceleration... it is fantastic. I did notice a strange popping sound at launch though, so it will be interesting if that is all trucks or just the demo truck.
• The Rivian employee that came to my house with the truck was so nice and answered everything I could ask. We talked about most of the truck and I found the conversation about the tonneau cover interesting enough to share.
  • He mentioned that the issue with the cover is that it uses one motor to open and close the cover and that is what is causing the problems. The fix will be to have two motors so the cover is pulled and pushed evenly. I hope this will be the case for the truck I buy.
• The regenerative braking is STRONG. When you take your foot off that accelerator it will move your head forward. Even on the lowest setting, it is way stronger than any electric vehicle I have driven. It's definitely something you can adapt to but my partner says she's going to have a hard time with that one.

I loved everything about this truck and that's why I placed the deposit so long ago, but this drive... this has turned the excitement up to 11! Even my girlfriend, that has been "excited for me" is now super excited to bring this truck into the family. It's just that good.

I didn't take very many pictures. I spent every minute playing with and driving the truck. Here is a couple without my ugly face in them.

DAMN DEREK NICE HOUSE!!!!

 

[Derek]

DAMN DEREK NICE HOUSE!!!!

Thanks, super nice of you

 

[Derek]

With a Q4 2022 delivery window I'm not extremely confident it won't slip to Q1 2023 but I wouldn't be upset if that also meant improvements to this design. They knew something was off from that big first event so they locked the cover controls out. I'm just confused as to the endgame, is the plan to just not say anything until malfunctions start popping up?

I sure hope not, that would really suck.

 

[E.S.]

DAMN DEREK NICE HOUSE!!!!

See? This is why I don't want to give out any of my info, not even pics. You all notice way more than you need to STAY OUT OF MY LAWN/BUSINESS! ??

 

[zefram47]

Congrats on getting your drive! Thanks for sharing your experience. I have zero faith in that motorized cover. I would swap it for the manual version in a second if that were possible.

I actually got a response from CS recently that suggested that will be possible for us pre-March 1 folks. I haven't decided which way I'm going to go yet. But nice to see from the OP that Rivian is looking into a dual-motor setup for the tonneau.

 

[COdogman]

I actually got a response from CS recently that suggested that will be possible for us pre-March 1 folks. I haven't decided which way I'm going to go yet. But nice to see from the OP that Rivian is looking into a dual-motor setup for the tonneau.

I love the *idea* of having a motorized tonneau. I would even take a flyer on it if There was a way to disconnect it form the motors if it got stuck so I could still open it and use the bed. I hope you’re right And we can at least have a choice on it!

Sponsored