Kia EV9. What many R1S buyers would be very happy with...

[CrazyOne]

Folks will still spend big bucks even if they don't plan to use all the capability. Car manufacturers are aware of this and will capitalize on it for their shareholders. Just go look at all the SRT, AMG and M competition models that never get used to its full potential.

Case in point is a Louis Vuitton soccer mom who dropped everything to go look at the GX 550 which was only available for few hours before being moved to another dealership for a viewing party.

These folks are going out of there way to get vehicles that are not even going to be used to it's full potential. Lexus or the customer neither care about not using the vehicle to its full potential. They would still rather pick up the off-road capable Lexus over the mini-van looking family hauler.

Rivian will do just fine with their pricing and ability to introduce lower end Explore models for R1S and then eventually the R2 line up.

Even if this soccer mom won't go off-road, she still wants the ability to have it and the styling that goes with it.

Do you really think the $3,000 - $5,000 Louis Vuitton bag is any better than a Jansport bag I used in middle school? Doesn't matter, folks will still cough-up $3,500 for something that speaks to them and literally become bagholders in the process.

New GX looks good from the back. Front is good in black, as the headlight mascara is camaglouged. Sadly it's not a 3 row, so ruled out for us.

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[MidnightRivian]

New GX looks good from the back. Front is good in black, as the headlight mascara is camaglouged. Sadly it's not a 3 row, so ruled out for us.

Yup, the overtrail which is off-road capable only has 5 seats. The pavement princess edition has 6 seat captain chairs option or 7 seater with a bench.

Rivian has most of the boxes checked when people really start to compare and look at capable off-road 7 seaters that can fit everyone comfortably and not feel sluggish in daily use with. The EV versus gas breakeven is a lot quicker in places like California and Canada where gas is expensive.

Solar and hydro work really well in those situations to help you with the all-in cost for your purchase.

 

[sfvR1S]

Folks will still spend big bucks even if they don't plan to use all the capability. Car manufacturers are aware of this and will capitalize on it for their shareholders. Just go look at all the SRT, AMG and M competition models that never get used to its full potential.

Case in point is a Louis Vuitton soccer mom who dropped everything to go look at the GX 550 which was only available for few hours before being moved to another dealership for a viewing party.

These folks are going out of there way to get vehicles that are not even going to be used to it's full potential. Lexus or the customer neither care about not using the vehicle to its full potential. They would still rather pick up the off-road capable Lexus over the mini-van looking family hauler.

Rivian will do just fine with their pricing and ability to introduce lower end Explore models for R1S and then eventually the R2 line up.

Even if this soccer mom won't go off-road, she still wants the ability to have it and the styling that goes with it.

Do you really think the $3,000 - $5,000 Louis Vuitton bag is any better than a Jansport bag I used in middle school? Doesn't matter, folks will still cough-up $3,500 for something that speaks to them and literally become bagholders in the process.

I don't understand the point of your posts.

Everyone is free to buy whatever they want, even if it means ending up a with vehicle outside of its intended purpose or their actual need. If buying a Hummer EV makes you feel better about yourself even though you're an urban dweller and you have no desire to take it off pavement, by all means.

I've owned 30+ cars in my lifetime and now I buy cars for my actual need. I needed daily drivers that would qualify for CA clean air decals so I got a Fiat 500e/Bolt EV/Outlander PHEV/Bolt EUV.

I needed an off-road capable vehicle/weekend truck with space for large items so I bought a 4R TRD Pro.

I wanted an EV that could be used as a daily driver/qualify for a clean air decal and also take off-road with room for large items so I bought an R1S.

 

[MidnightRivian]

I don't understand the point of your posts.

Everyone is free to buy whatever they want, even if it means ending up a with vehicle outside of its intended purpose or their actual need. If buying a Hummer EV makes you feel better about yourself even though you're an urban dweller and you have no desire to take it off pavement, by all means.

I've owned 30+ cars in my lifetime and now I buy cars for my actual need. I needed daily drivers that would qualify for CA clean air decals so I got a Fiat 500e/Bolt EV/Outlander PHEV/Bolt EUV.

I needed an off-road capable vehicle/weekend truck with space for large items so I bought a 4R TRD Pro.

I wanted an EV that could be used as a daily driver/qualify for a clean air decal and also take off-road with room for large items so I bought an R1S.

The point of my post is Rivian is priced exactly where they need to be in USD/CAD based on their capability and current competition.

Doesn't matter if folks won't use the full feature set the Rivian has to offer, they will still pay more for Rivian and skip Kia, Tesla or Lexus because of everything Rivian can do at it's current price point.

Your experience lays it out beautifully after going through 30+ cars you ended up with a Rivian, a swiss army vehicle that can used as a daily driver/qualify for a clean air decal and also take off-road with room for large items.

To sum it up, you gotta pay to play.

 

[Jiji]

We purchased an EV9 about 3 weeks ago. As others have said, it’s a $60k electric minivan/kid hauler. Price and interior layout were selling points for us over an R1S, and the DC charging speed is great. It is a much quieter ride with no wind noise compared to my R1T. It’s a comfortable ride.
But the Kia app and UI drive me crazy. I just found out that wireless CarPlay cannot be activated if the vehicle hotspot is turned on. Nowhere in the Kia app is charging speed or time to completion displayed. The Nav system is not great. There are 5(!!!) different stalks/paddles on the steering column. One pedal driving must be re-enabled EVERY TIME you drive it. Driver profiles won’t stay programmed. I could go on. Mostly things my wife doesn’t notice or mind that much, but also makes me realize things I take for granted that rivian just gets right.

Thanks for sharing. I did a test drive this past weekend and find it a nice EV but I didn’t see the many Nav/UI nuisances you observed.

And while some controls, like the haptic buttons in the center dash are nice you are spot on with the steering wheel buttons being over the top. Why there is still a power button and its location is just mind-boggling. At least make it front and center on the dash like my Mach-E and other vehicles.

 

[Kunzene]

Thanks for sharing. I did a test drive this past weekend and find it a nice EV but I didn’t see the many Nav/UI nuisances you observed.

And while some controls, like the haptic buttons in the center dash are nice you are spot on with the steering wheel buttons being over the top. Why there is still a power button and its location is just mind-boggling. At least make it front and center on the dash like my Mach-E and other vehicles.

My hope is that some of my complaints get OTA updates. Even with that there’s a lot to like. We got the Light Long Range at MSRP and Kia had a $3750 manufacturer rebate on top of that - I felt like $56k for a 300 mile 3 row EV was a good price. Dealership was incredibly easy to work with.
Tried our first 350kW EA charger two nights ago and it peaked about 220 but pulled 180kW until 78%. I was impressed.

 

[Jiji]

My hope is that some of my complaints get OTA updates.

Trying to sort out how often they do OTAs and do they ever include new features or are they just maintenance releases. Still the feature set is pretty complete so if they fix the problems it will be a better car.

Tried our first 350kW EA charger two nights ago and it peaked about 220 but pulled 180kW until 78%. I was impressed.

I saw somewhere the peak is not much more than the Rivian but as you observed duration is everything.

My other likes were the glovebox, center console storage for the 2nd row, and sun shades on the 2nd row windows and sunroofs. Also the captain chair option and 3rd row seat access was nice. Seems like a great fit for a roomy family car along side your R1T.

 

[ironmanihp]

Just brought home my ev9 the other night. The Riv is way better truck, the ev9 is a great car/suv on road. But I dont off road I drive on highways all day so I gave up on that.

Riv looks better then the EV9 for sure.

But impressed with the ev9. I like the dash and steering wheel buttons, so I dont have to dive deep into the main dash like the tesla and R1S to say...change my mirror angles.

ev9 drives very smooth and we mostly got it because the captains chairs so the dog could fit. How the dog ended up driving our car decision is beyond me, but he's not small.

I wish the ev9 had better range compared to the R1S . But the interior of the Riv put off my whole family as to bland for such an expensive car. So while the Ev9 is not nearly as capable most of the time we are just driving down the road or highway and not needing such a capable truck, but having just strong AC in the back. Love the driver assist, cant wait for level 3 and let the car do its thing.

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