Milage battery range increase?

[mkg3]

I have both a GMC Denali EV and a Gen2 R1T MaxPack. The GMC has significantly better "real world" range than the R1T - the GMC numbers are much closer to the EPA estimates than the Rivian. The GMC charges far, far better than the Rivian. 350kW on an EA charger to around 50%, and above 200kW into the 70s. Charging rates are far more reliable with the GMC - I can't count on a good charging session with the Rivian (I've nicknamed mine Goldilocks). GMC Supercruise is superior to Rivian Driver Assistance. On a 1200 mile, the driving my R1T takes 3 hours longer under the best conditions, and is more likely to be 5-6 hours longer. So if efficient long road trips are your main deciding factor, the GMC (or Chevy) is probably a better choice. The R1T does other things much better. It just depends on how you are going to use the vehicle.

Completely agree. My drive from SoCal to the Bay Area takes 7.5 hours on R1S with 2 stops (don't want to arrive on empty charge). It's roughly 390 miles. The same drive takes less than 6 hours in our ICE Subaru and no stop for gas, and actually costs less in gas than electric charges.

The thing is GM is packing their trucks with lots of batteries; hence less tech that Rivian for similar costs. I just read that Escalade IQ has 200 kWh battery pack. Lucid does it much more efficiently; hence no need for such a huge battery pack.

The good news is that battery tech is evolving fast, even when EV sales have slowed down. In 5 yrs, I'll bet that we'll be talking about 400 mile range as the norm on a new EV. Today's 300 miles will be the 400 milers.

Until then, the problem is the weight. If all one cares about is range then who cares if it weighs 5 tons. If you care about drivability on anything other than freeway driving, then not great.

As sporty as Rivian is using Sports mode, stiff and low settings, on a twisties and curves roads, it shows how heavy the vehicle is. Its the law of physics in terms of directional changes and momentum (centrifugal force).

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[jn bot]

Yes for life. I hope I get mine before I die, really.

 

[Tejkalra]

When taking trips that are mostly highway, which kill efficiency, I find myself wanting a 450-500mi range battery. This way, I don’t have to charge.

If I am going to be at 2.1 mi/kwHr and I want to do a 300mi trip, that’s a lot of battery I need. A 150-160kwhr battery would be great.

You can try Conserve mode. I already have 3780 miles on my gen 2 R1T since Dec. 24’. Almost 3200 miles on conserve mode alone. I am already at 2.44 mi/kwh and it’s going up. Plus warm weather is coming, it should go up. I started with 1.78 with All purpose drive. Changed it to conserve since then it’s going up. Chevy is not close to the efficiency of R1T. It’s battery is 200 KWH plus weighs dinosaur. Chevy feels fast but in reality I don’t think so. I drove loaner Chevy EV WT. With full charge I got 395 miles on board and after driving it to 10%, i got only 280 miles, efficiency was close to 1.97 Mi/KWH(its overall efficiency, didn’t knew how to reset it to zero). Felt fast but when you compare, it’s not, especially, if you switch your R1T to sports mode. There is crowd that love Chevy so be it. But if I have to spent $80K+ it’s better I choose Rivian. Rest is everyone’s their own preferences.

 

[Tejkalra]

I have both a GMC Denali EV and a Gen2 R1T MaxPack. The GMC has significantly better "real world" range than the R1T - the GMC numbers are much closer to the EPA estimates than the Rivian. The GMC charges far, far better than the Rivian. 350kW on an EA charger to around 50%, and above 200kW into the 70s. Charging rates are far more reliable with the GMC - I can't count on a good charging session with the Rivian (I've nicknamed mine Goldilocks). GMC Supercruise is superior to Rivian Driver Assistance. On a 1200 mile, the driving my R1T takes 3 hours longer under the best conditions, and is more likely to be 5-6 hours longer. So if efficient long road trips are your main deciding factor, the GMC (or Chevy) is probably a better choice. The R1T does other things much better. It just depends on how you are going to use the vehicle.

Not too sure why is your R1T not reliable on charging. Yes i had same problem at EA chargers sometimes. But at RAN and Tesla i had no issues. Yes it doesn’t go like 350 or 200 KW speed. But its battery is much smaller then GM, i was still able to catch up with GM somewhat. 18%-84% i was done in 43 minutes. After that it went really slow (actually after 75%), not worth waiting, unplugged and moved on. Latest update made the Driver assistance much better. Never tried supercruise, so can’t compare.

 

[usulio]

Meh. 440 is not that much more range to justify switching. 405 in Conserve for Tri is more than good for most drivers. My range falls within 2% of Rivian's marketing. I suspect secgen Quad will have enough range for most folks. Way too much concern is placed on EV range. Charging stations are nearly ubiquitous and we are still in the early days of mobility transition from hydrocarbons to electrons. Good times. Drive well.

Tri is not getting 405 on the highway. 350 could be doable on efficient tires keeping the speed at 65-70mph. Quad should get the same as Tri.

Anyway I agree that in places where chargers are ubiquitous, people worry way too much about range. If there is a good fast charger every 50 miles, then range over 300 or so doesn't matter except to those with giant bladders. However, if you are talking about towing, or multi-day off road camping adventures far from the grid, then range might still matter.

 

[mkhuffman]

Tri is not getting 405 on the highway. 350 could be doable on efficient tires keeping the speed at 65-70mph. Quad should get the same as Tri.

Anyway I agree that in places where chargers are ubiquitous, people worry way too much about range. If there is a good fast charger every 50 miles, then range over 300 or so doesn't matter except to those with giant bladders. However, if you are talking about towing, or multi-day off road camping adventures far from the grid, then range might still matter.

IMO, range always matters.

It matters when you don't have to stop to charge as frequently, so you can actually choose to stop where you want to instead of where you have to. It matters when you cannot charge at home, either because your residence doesn't have a place to charge, or if you are temporarily staying somewhere that does not have a EVSE.

More range = more flexibility and more freedom to do what you want to do. People make excuses for the crappy range of our BEVs, but IMO they are just excuses. If you could get 600 miles of range for the same price you paid for 200, you would get it. Of course. Because it matters.

I think my Tri-Max can get 340 miles of highway range based on how I drive. I set the cruise for 80, but traffic usually gets in the way, so the average speed is not 80. However, that is when the battery is warm and without using climate control. In the winter? This forum is filled with how bad efficiency is in the winter. And it is not a Rivian specific issue. It is a BEV specific issue.

A general rule that is generally applicable to all BEVs: EPA x 0.8 = real highway range in the summer. In the winter, multiply it by 0.8 again. And oh, by the way, you rarely if ever drive to 0% and charge above 80% when on the road, so multiply that number again by 0.7.

I wish people would stop saying we only need 200 or 300 miles of range, when no BEV can do that on a highway trip in the winter. Well, maybe the GM ones can. IDK. But definitely range matters.

 

[usulio]

IMO, range always matters.

It matters when you don't have to stop to charge as frequently, so you can actually choose to stop where you want to instead of where you have to. It matters when you cannot charge at home, either because your residence doesn't have a place to charge, or if you are temporarily staying somewhere that does not have a EVSE.

More range = more flexibility and more freedom to do what you want to do. People make excuses for the crappy range of our BEVs, but IMO they are just excuses. If you could get 600 miles of range for the same price you paid for 200, you would get it. Of course. Because it matters.

I think my Tri-Max can get 340 miles of highway range based on how I drive. I set the cruise for 80, but traffic usually gets in the way, so the average speed is not 80. However, that is when the battery is warm and without using climate control. In the winter? This forum is filled with how bad efficiency is in the winter. And it is not a Rivian specific issue. It is a BEV specific issue.

A general rule that is generally applicable to all BEVs: EPA x 0.8 = real highway range in the summer. In the winter, multiply it by 0.8 again. And oh, by the way, you rarely if ever drive to 0% and charge above 80% when on the road, so multiply that number again by 0.7.

I wish people would stop saying we only need 200 or 300 miles of range, when no BEV can do that on a highway trip in the winter. Well, maybe the GM ones can. IDK. But definitely range matters.

To clarify, I was not thinking of EPA range, but real-world highway range, and as I said only in places where chargers are ubiquitous. I generally agree with your points and as someone who does camping in the wilderness, range matters a lot to me (also vampire drain).

(edit) That said, it seems to me some people are really fixated on not having to stop more than once every 4 hours and not for more than 25 minutes and driving 80mph plus. That is just a perfect storm of all the worst possible conditions for BEVs. Sorry, they're not good at that, we know this, they'll get better. I hope they get better soon, but right now the financial and environmental cost you need to pay for that convenience is very high (i.e. 200+ kWh batteries).

 

[Rividiculous]

EV range will continue to increase. Perhaps there will be a breakthrough or maybe just lots of small improvements, in battery tech, EV efficiency, and vehicle weight. Meanwhile, charging infrastructure will expand and improve. And humans will adjust to new things. I personally felt some range anxiety for no real reason at first, just that a battery is “different.” But now it’s just the norm.

Those loud, smelly ICE motors are starting to seem as silly as a typewriter. And who would want to stop at a gas station where there is gas on the pump handle? Yuck.

Also, I’m really starting to love the whrrrrr of the electric motors.

 

[Erik+]

Buy a Cybertruck with the range extender battery pack mounted in the bed, oh wait, nm...

 

[Alanparkcity]

I am purchasing the quad.
I was just wondering if they might add more range. My guess is 310.

My Gen 1 quad gets 328

 

[mkg3]

My Gen 1 quad gets 328

Have you actually gotten that? I realize that maybe what's showing on the indicator.

 

[Hxmmss]

I hope the new Quad has extra range. . By that I mean a battery set greater than the current max pack. The Chevy truck EV has 440 mile range according to GM ,more than the dual max pack)

Yes, the competition is heating up, and the Chevy Silverado EV's claimed 440-mile range is impressive. Rivian will likely need to up its game to stay competitive.

 

[Hxmmss]

I hope the new Quad has extra range. . By that I mean a battery set greater than the current max pack. The Chevy truck EV has 440 mile range according to GM ,more than the dual max pack)

Yes, the competition is heating up, and the Chevy Silverado EV's claimed 440-mile range is impressive. Rivian will likely need to up its game to stay competitive.

 

[Hxmmss]

Yes, the competition is heating up, and the Chevy Silverado EV's claimed 440-mile range is impressive. Rivian will likely need to up its game to stay competitive.

A battery pack greater than the current max (180 kWh) would be a significant upgrade. Perhaps Rivian has some surprises in store for us.

 

[jn bot]

I went to a conference high up in the mountains in Park city several years ago, and was actually handed the keys to a plaid by Elon Musk who I liked at the time. You let my son and I drive it for an hour and a half. At that point it was the most incredible vehicle I’ve ever driven or been in. I can’t wait to get my quad. The conference was a future in review put on by Mark Anderson’s strategic news service LL.

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