Sponsored

DayTripping

Well-Known Member
First Name
Timothy
Joined
Sep 12, 2024
Threads
4
Messages
688
Reaction score
846
Location
DFW
Vehicles
Gen1 R1T QM, S Plaid, Highland 3 Perf, 3 Long Range, R2 on order
Occupation
Consultant
There's a lot of evidence that the Gen 2's extra torque launches it harder with notably faster 0-60 times.

DE6403BB-4C3D-4C86-AD86-0804BDE68262_1_105_c.jpeg
We have no idea how they time that. I've never seen an internal timer like these that are accurate. Just for the heck of it I went out and ran a run in my Plaid. I didn't do anything special. I was about 70% SoC, no launch mode, no pre-heating the pack, nothing. Just like I did the runs in another thread with my R1T. Just like most any day I'd be daily driving my vehicles.

I guarantee you that even in that state, it will launch harder than the Tri or Quad R1 anything. I have Pilot Sports with 295s at all 4 corners. I didn't even hit 1.18 g's at launch. Maybe a bit above 1.1 g's. I still ran a 2.47 on a random street. So, I find the claimed 1.18 highly suspect from the built-in instrument. I am still not buying the Tri is massively quicker than Gen1 quad once rolling. Maybe it is, but I'd have too see independent numbers from an average one on the street. I like to see a run of a Tri without launch mode to make it an apples to apples to comparison. Or if they get launch mode on the G1 trucks.

Just for grins, I ran 45-65 runs on the Plaid with less than ideal circumstances and a lot of wheelspin. To recap, here are the numbers I've captured for my R1T, CB CT, G2 quad. This was the metric that MotorTrend showed how tremendously quick the new Quad is in their what I believe to be a "Puff Piece" at this point. It should have been under ideal circumstances, whereas my truck was the old run what you brung, not super high SoC (70%) and on my Goodyear AT's, and bunch of stuff in the truck so at least 500 pounds of payload on a random street. It wasn't warm out either so surfaces definitely had less traction.

45-65 mph times (All #'s except my truck came from Motor Trend)
My G1 R1T 70% SoC - 1.53 (In the 1.4's is easily doable with a higher SoC, more traction, more street oriented tires and less junk in the trunk), MT ran it in 1.5
DPM R1T - 1.8
CB CT - 1.1
DM CT - 1.7
G2 Quad - 1.2
G2 Tri - TBD (obviously slower than G2 quad)
S Plaid - 0.9 (severely traction limited, on the street 70% SoC, no preheating, launch, etc.)

Rivian R1T R1S Motortrend Gen2 2025 R1T Tri Max Review Plaid street Dragy run
Sponsored

 

Tejkalra

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tejinder
Joined
Oct 14, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
147
Reaction score
94
Location
Ca
Vehicles
R1T
What are you not happy with on the tri motor specifically?
Well let's start with good.
Cabin is much quite (when it's not rattling).
Over all looks and interior is awesome.
Suspensions are much better... I can feel that.
Bad
Efficency is not there. 1000 miles.. It's 1.83.
Range is not there either 371 miles... Nope... I would be happy if I can get 270.
Heat pump was suppose to be a upgrade... Nope. I am in Southern California, doesn't work that great.. Already had a service appointment and nothing.
It's not fast at all. Untill unless you go in sports mode. All purpose is not fast like QM Gen 1. You are on red light someone want to mess with you and you are gone. Don't try it on Tri motor you will make fool out of you. Trust me it's fast but not competitive fast. Put in sports mode if you like to do that. Otherwise just relax and take it easy.
GPS will be gone now and then. It was showing I was somewhere in south Africa. Not for a moment but all day. (opened ticket) after hard reset and soft reset and what not nothing same South Africa. At night suddenly it came back from south Africa. May be deported I guess 😂😂😂
Adaptive high beam are great only if you don't get a error message that it's not available service soon. Need to hard reset and works fine. But after few days back to hard reset.
Interior rattling.
Every now and then in morning message pops up to press outer most button to reset.
Floor mats are useless.
Tonnoe cover (may be wrong spelling) is like same as gen 1. Loud and feels like it will fall apart.
Frunk is now smaller. Not little bit... By a lot. Whatever I was able to fit in Gen 1 easily found out I have to make adjustments to fit same things in this.
Paid high price and spare tire is missing.. No option available as well.
 

Donald Stanfield

Well-Known Member
First Name
Donald
Joined
Jul 31, 2022
Threads
49
Messages
6,127
Reaction score
12,120
Location
USA
Vehicles
2025 R1S Tri Ascend, 2024 i4 M50
Occupation
Stuff and things
Well let's start with good.
Cabin is much quite (when it's not rattling).
Over all looks and interior is awesome.
Suspensions are much better... I can feel that.
Bad
Efficency is not there. 1000 miles.. It's 1.83.
Range is not there either 371 miles... Nope... I would be happy if I can get 270.
Heat pump was suppose to be a upgrade... Nope. I am in Southern California, doesn't work that great.. Already had a service appointment and nothing.
It's not fast at all. Untill unless you go in sports mode. All purpose is not fast like QM Gen 1. You are on red light someone want to mess with you and you are gone. Don't try it on Tri motor you will make fool out of you. Trust me it's fast but not competitive fast. Put in sports mode if you like to do that. Otherwise just relax and take it easy.
GPS will be gone now and then. It was showing I was somewhere in south Africa. Not for a moment but all day. (opened ticket) after hard reset and soft reset and what not nothing same South Africa. At night suddenly it came back from south Africa. May be deported I guess 😂😂😂
Adaptive high beam are great only if you don't get a error message that it's not available service soon. Need to hard reset and works fine. But after few days back to hard reset.
Interior rattling.
Every now and then in morning message pops up to press outer most button to reset.
Floor mats are useless.
Tonnoe cover (may be wrong spelling) is like same as gen 1. Loud and feels like it will fall apart.
Frunk is now smaller. Not little bit... By a lot. Whatever I was able to fit in Gen 1 easily found out I have to make adjustments to fit same things in this.
Paid high price and spare tire is missing.. No option available as well.
The tri is faster than the gen 1 quad.
 

DayTripping

Well-Known Member
First Name
Timothy
Joined
Sep 12, 2024
Threads
4
Messages
688
Reaction score
846
Location
DFW
Vehicles
Gen1 R1T QM, S Plaid, Highland 3 Perf, 3 Long Range, R2 on order
Occupation
Consultant
The tri is faster than the gen 1 quad.
Only in sports mode.
I don't think anyone is debating that. But the bigger question (at least for me) is what speed ranges? Or does launch mode give it an advantage, and from then on is there is much benefit? I mean, aside from the one use case of raising the top speed limiter when using launch mode.

So, let's try this scenario. Line up a Gen1 quad and G2 Tri. Put them both in sport mode, and no launch control. Equal levels of charge and similar wheels. Then run them. I'd be curious to see the results.

If the Tri pulls the G1 quad, it clearly isn't going to be by much, at least based on the numbers I've seen, for the 1/4 mile time, 0-60 and other speed ranges. If you unlocked the top speed of the G1 quad, gave it launch mode like the G2 Tri, it would probably be a very tight race. A Gll1 quad hits its top speed limiter well before the end of the 1/4 where it could continue to pull and this is where the G2 trucks will continue to gap the G1. I've yet to see an 1/8th mile time for either a G2 Tri or Quad. That would be an apples to apple comparison.

Even the G2 quad isn't crushing the G1 as much as I thought it might. We all know the Tri will be less than the G2 quad. It is pretty bad when your "halo" truck can't crush its nearest competition with an extra 200HP on tap. It might barely pip it to 60.
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

Mark_AZR1T

Well-Known Member
Site Sponsor
First Name
Mark
Joined
May 28, 2021
Threads
33
Messages
1,720
Reaction score
2,762
Location
Gilbert, AZ
Website
jackpucks.com
Vehicles
R1T Launch, R1S Canyon Red
Clubs
 
But arguably wheeling is a limited appeal to Rivian buyers as a whole. Why between my wife and daughters we have three Wranglers of varying spec and modifications. Nothing...beats a lifted 2 door Wrangler with lockers and 37's.

Would lockers be cool in a model of Rivian? Absolutely! I would love it!
37's the prerequisite for the Rubicon....I couldn't justify the $40K price increase to own the Tri vs the Launch G1 Quad, but I'm glad they offer it.
 

Mark_AZR1T

Well-Known Member
Site Sponsor
First Name
Mark
Joined
May 28, 2021
Threads
33
Messages
1,720
Reaction score
2,762
Location
Gilbert, AZ
Website
jackpucks.com
Vehicles
R1T Launch, R1S Canyon Red
Clubs
 
I don't think anyone is debating that. But the bigger question (at least for me) is what speed ranges? Or does launch mode give it an advantage, and from then on it there is much benefit? I mean, aside from the one use case of raising the top speed limiter when using launch mode.

So, let's try this scenario. Line up a Gen1 quad and G2 Tri. Put them both in sport mode, and no launch control. Equal levels of charge and similar wheels. Then run them. I'd be curious to see the results.

If the Tri pulls the G1 quad, it clearly isn't going to be by much, at least based on the numbers I've seen, for the 1/4 mile time, 0-60 and other speed ranges. If you unlocked the top speed of the G1 quad, gave it launch mode like the G2 Tri, it would probably be a very tight race. A Gll1 quad hits its top speed limiter well before the end of the 1/4 where it could continue to pull and this is where the G2 trucks will continue to gap the G1. I've yet to see an 1/8th mile time for either a G2 Tri or Quad. That would be an apples to apple comparison.

Even the G2 quad isn't crushing the G1 as much as I thought it might. We all know the Tri will be less than the G2 quad. It is pretty bad when your "halo" truck can't crush its nearest competition with an extra 200HP on tap. It might barely pip it to 60.
The GEN 2 Quad with offset tires (speed rated), raises the speed limiter to 130mph, so nothing Rivian builds will be anywhere close in the 1/4 mile. If you live your life a 1/4 of a mile at a time, then get the Gen 2 Quad (when available).
 
Last edited:

R1Thor

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Aug 9, 2023
Threads
7
Messages
1,179
Reaction score
1,752
Location
Lancaster, PA
Vehicles
23QM R1T, Limestone + Ocean Coast, 21" & UBS
Occupation
Mechanical Engineering Lead
Clubs
 
Probably the biggest issue with the R1 off-road is the way it can get into a stall condition when stopped on an uphill obstacle.

I've not experienced this, or anything like it. I've seen it parroted. So, likely I've just not been in a position to experience it. BUT, I have some hypotheses:

Firstly, from an engineering perspective, I don't think what you're experiencing is actually 'stall' of the motor. I work with servos, steppers and drives. One of the biggest advantages to electric over anything is the near-instant torque. While there's theoretically a point where Rivian's driveline could be compromised enough to prevent the wheels from turning, it's definitely not going to be from an unladen start regardless of the incline. At 908 lbs-ft of torque, it's mathematically improbable. If you could create positive traction, so it wouldn't 'fall off,' it'd climb a vertical wall. If the characteristic between the rotor and stator were such to mean there's a 'stall torque,' we wouldn't be able to launch the 7000 lbs-mass of truck from 0-60 in 3-ish seconds. The motors won't care what vector you're taking. They'll turn.

What's more than likely happening are 1- there is a traction limit imposed by the software (likely due to safety) and 2- here's my personal experience mirrored by many others: you're trying too hard. These trucks are immensely capable. As @zefram47 mentioned above "as slow as possible, as fast as necessary" is the mantra for off-road terrain negotiation (especially rock crawling). I'm betting a LOT that if you're flooring it, Rivian's software limiting your approach (*or even canceling it in the name of safety), because it'd be dangerous as all-get-out to actually let you try to launch your truck up the side of a steep incline.

I've personally negotiated obstacles where the 'climb over' was necessary and I found that literally just sitting there and not adding ANY extra throttle, the truck figured it out. Patience. Just hold the accelerator at the same ~10% and it'll start moving again. If not, take a different approach.
 

ElGuano

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2024
Threads
13
Messages
371
Reaction score
629
Location
Cali
Vehicles
R1T Trimax - Storm Blue, Driftwood, Sport Dark
Occupation
darkweb peddler
I feel the article is a fair take. The more I think about it, the less the sentiment of "why is it here?" has less to do with the capabilities and positioning of the tri versus the dual, and more about how Rivian is pricing the different motor options.

The Tri is a lot faster than the DM or DMP. In a Cybertruck, you're paying $20k for that privilege. So while there isn't a standardized "dollars to horsepower" pricing schedule for cars, the pricing kind of justifies the segmentation.

Because Rivian made the Tri so much cheaper (in some cases it's only $3700 versus the same confirm dual), it's almost a gimme is some cases. EXCEPT, are they doing the same with the quad? Motor Trend absolutely thinks so, and that's what makes "why have this model?" a question.

It has nothing to do with the capabilities of the car. If the QM didn't exist, or if it will be priced $20k more in the same config, then the Tri, without changing anything about it, may become the bargain of the lineup. "Hey, if you're adding more than 4 options onto your dual, just get the Tri and be done with it. Don't even need to think about the quad unless you're shopping halo." Suddenly, all of those not-worth-it-for-the-price differences become a bargain, with literally zero change in either the DM or the Tri.

At least, that's how I'm seeing it. Really looking forward to spotting my first teal calipers on the road though :)
 

zefram47

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
Feb 6, 2022
Threads
16
Messages
2,412
Reaction score
3,919
Location
Denver, CO
Vehicles
Rivian R1T, Alfa Romeo 4C
Occupation
Software Engineer
I've not experienced this, or anything like it. I've seen it parroted. So, likely I've just not been in a position to experience it. BUT, I have some hypotheses:

Firstly, from an engineering perspective, I don't think what you're experiencing is actually 'stall' of the motor. I work with servos, steppers and drives. One of the biggest advantages to electric over anything is the near-instant torque. While there's theoretically a point where Rivian's driveline could be compromised enough to prevent the wheels from turning, it's definitely not going to be from an unladen start regardless of the incline. At 908 lbs-ft of torque, it's mathematically improbable. If you could create positive traction, so it wouldn't 'fall off,' it'd climb a vertical wall. If the characteristic between the rotor and stator were such to mean there's a 'stall torque,' we wouldn't be able to launch the 7000 lbs-mass of truck from 0-60 in 3-ish seconds. The motors won't care what vector you're taking. They'll turn.

What's more than likely happening are 1- there is a traction limit imposed by the software (likely due to safety) and 2- here's my personal experience mirrored by many others: you're trying too hard. These trucks are immensely capable. As @zefram47 mentioned above "as slow as possible, as fast as necessary" is the mantra for off-road terrain negotiation (especially rock crawling). I'm betting a LOT that if you're flooring it, Rivian's software limiting your approach (*or even canceling it in the name of safety), because it'd be dangerous as all-get-out to actually let you try to launch your truck up the side of a steep incline.

I've personally negotiated obstacles where the 'climb over' was necessary and I found that literally just sitting there and not adding ANY extra throttle, the truck figured it out. Patience. Just hold the accelerator at the same ~10% and it'll start moving again. If not, take a different approach.
In Rivian's case it's actually the opposite problem, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get into a state where you've got the throttle matted to the floor and the truck sits there doing nothing. What many of us off-roaders would love to see is some mode that would allow the vehicle to apply whatever power/torque necessary to spin the tires up to something like 5 mph max. Rivian seems to dramatically limit the power you can actually deploy off-road unless you very quickly hit the throttle, basically not giving the traction control system time to figure out its on a limited grip surface on some wheels, but not others. This is why I think they could tune the system better for these situations if they really wanted to, but it's not an easy problem from a control logic angle. There's also the potential that say one wheel is actually lodged in a crevice and can't rotate and deploying all available torque could break a half-shaft...maybe this is why they don't seem to allow it. Many ICE 4x4s have what amounts to off-road cruise control that does whatever it needs to do to get a vehicle moving by using their traction control logic, etc. Rivian doesn't really have this, but maybe it would be a means to allow our trucks to negotiate rock ledges and the wall obstacle I mentioned without having to mash the throttle to get any motion at all.

Your last section claiming you could leave the throttle at 10% and have it figure it out...this has *not* been my experience.
 

Sponsored

Dark-Fx

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brian
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Threads
127
Messages
11,601
Reaction score
22,993
Location
Michigan
Vehicles
R1T, R1S, Livewire One, Fisker Ocean, Sierra EV
Occupation
Engineering
Clubs
 
I've not experienced this, or anything like it. I've seen it parroted. So, likely I've just not been in a position to experience it. BUT, I have some hypotheses:

Firstly, from an engineering perspective, I don't think what you're experiencing is actually 'stall' of the motor. I work with servos, steppers and drives. One of the biggest advantages to electric over anything is the near-instant torque. While there's theoretically a point where Rivian's driveline could be compromised enough to prevent the wheels from turning, it's definitely not going to be from an unladen start regardless of the incline. At 908 lbs-ft of torque, it's mathematically improbable. If you could create positive traction, so it wouldn't 'fall off,' it'd climb a vertical wall. If the characteristic between the rotor and stator were such to mean there's a 'stall torque,' we wouldn't be able to launch the 7000 lbs-mass of truck from 0-60 in 3-ish seconds. The motors won't care what vector you're taking. They'll turn.

What's more than likely happening are 1- there is a traction limit imposed by the software (likely due to safety) and 2- here's my personal experience mirrored by many others: you're trying too hard. These trucks are immensely capable. As @zefram47 mentioned above "as slow as possible, as fast as necessary" is the mantra for off-road terrain negotiation (especially rock crawling). I'm betting a LOT that if you're flooring it, Rivian's software limiting your approach (*or even canceling it in the name of safety), because it'd be dangerous as all-get-out to actually let you try to launch your truck up the side of a steep incline.

I've personally negotiated obstacles where the 'climb over' was necessary and I found that literally just sitting there and not adding ANY extra throttle, the truck figured it out. Patience. Just hold the accelerator at the same ~10% and it'll start moving again. If not, take a different approach.
I've had my truck get seriously upset about stall only once. I was reversing straight up an ~18" rock that the front wheel had to go over after floating in the air, trying to go slow to not damage things.

I don't recall exactly what the message was, but it was something like drivetrain failure. Performance was so reduced I couldn't convince the truck to go back over it. Had to do a key cycle off/on to get it to reset. Then give the accelerator a nice whap to avoid the stall condition when I retried.
 

R1Thor

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Aug 9, 2023
Threads
7
Messages
1,179
Reaction score
1,752
Location
Lancaster, PA
Vehicles
23QM R1T, Limestone + Ocean Coast, 21" & UBS
Occupation
Mechanical Engineering Lead
Clubs
 
Your last section claiming you could leave the throttle at 10% and have it figure it out...this has *not* been my experience.
Clearly you do cooler stuff than I do!
 

portdirect

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2023
Threads
2
Messages
256
Reaction score
296
Location
Missouri
Vehicles
R1T (2023 QM - RIP, 2025 Tri Max), R1S (2024 DM Large)
Occupation
Blinkenlight Hearder
Well let's start with good.
Cabin is much quite (when it's not rattling).
Over all looks and interior is awesome.
Suspensions are much better... I can feel that.
Bad
Efficency is not there. 1000 miles.. It's 1.83.
Range is not there either 371 miles... Nope... I would be happy if I can get 270.
Heat pump was suppose to be a upgrade... Nope. I am in Southern California, doesn't work that great.. Already had a service appointment and nothing.
It's not fast at all. Untill unless you go in sports mode. All purpose is not fast like QM Gen 1. You are on red light someone want to mess with you and you are gone. Don't try it on Tri motor you will make fool out of you. Trust me it's fast but not competitive fast. Put in sports mode if you like to do that. Otherwise just relax and take it easy.
GPS will be gone now and then. It was showing I was somewhere in south Africa. Not for a moment but all day. (opened ticket) after hard reset and soft reset and what not nothing same South Africa. At night suddenly it came back from south Africa. May be deported I guess 😂😂😂
Adaptive high beam are great only if you don't get a error message that it's not available service soon. Need to hard reset and works fine. But after few days back to hard reset.
Interior rattling.
Every now and then in morning message pops up to press outer most button to reset.
Floor mats are useless.
Tonnoe cover (may be wrong spelling) is like same as gen 1. Loud and feels like it will fall apart.
Frunk is now smaller. Not little bit... By a lot. Whatever I was able to fit in Gen 1 easily found out I have to make adjustments to fit same things in this.
Paid high price and spare tire is missing.. No option available as well.
My experience to date is similar, yet possibly not quite as harsh as this. Lets be honest, the TriMax is one of the most mixed bags of Rivian's troubled 2nd Album:
  • On Gen2 vs Gen1 there's a lot:
    • The interior looks nicer than gen1 adventure. But then it should, the gen1 interior is now (in cost reduced form, e.g. headline material) still the adventure interior, but now relegated to only being available for the dual motor models.
    • Despite being much nicer visually, the interior feels 'cheap' in a few spots - notably the door panels creak when going over potholes/speedbumps etc. as well as when holding the internal door grip - plastic on plastic creaking is not a premium sound folks.
    • I'm yet to see a meaningful improvement from the heat-pump, and frankly doubt I'll see one -yes it consumes a bit less energy, but its not as fast to heat the cabin, and OH BOY IT IS LOUD. Its so loud, much louder than our old ice car, that I genuinely worry about the neighbors complaining while our R1T pre-conditions each morning - we park outside, and i can hear it from inside the house.
    • The electric doors are just dumb; enough people have ranted for me to not need to put much more here - but def a step back from gen1, especially when the truck goes to sleep while they are 'unlocked' and you have this weird thing of having to try and open the door once to wake the truck up and the pull the handle a second time to actually open the door - its a HORRIBLE user experience; anytime you need to explain how a handle works, you know its bad.
  • Gen1 Quad vs Gen2 Tri
    • The performance improvements are super tricky to quantify via the butt dyno: it *does* feel faster, especially between 40-80+..., but as others have pointed out this could just be down to a different throttle mapping.
    • Launch mode is a gimmick - and I'm convinced (please someone prove me right/wrong) that its primary objective is just marketing, I'd put money on the tri being slower on 0-60 against a gen1 quad in AP mode, when testing on the same wheels etc.
      • I'd also put money on launch mode coming to the gen1 quad when the gen2 quad comes out, at which point the gen1 will become 'faster' as rivian no longer have the incentive to push the tri motor as an all round upgrade, but get to market it as the 'middle of the road' model.
    • Range - I'm so far to see any improvement in AP, I've not got enough miles on mine to be definitive, but so far I've seen a lower m/kWh that I did on our Quad (and yes I do understand winter) - trips that used to sit around 1.8m/kWh on the quad are now looking around 1.7m/kWh on the tri - but I'll give it until 8k miles on the tri to actually make a judgement there. The end result so far is that the larger battery is effectively canceled out - out gen1 quad used to have a guess-o-meter around 276 miles at 85%, our tri is sitting at 283 at 85%.
    • Regen SUCKS! We used to be able to drive our Quad, and still drive our dual, with regen on Max and virtually never touched the brake. The regen in our Tri is so weak, even on max that I find us using the brake quite a lot - easily 10x as much as we do in our other Rivian(s). I do wonder if this is done in the aid of making the tri motor feel faster?

Overall it feels to me the tri was created to solve three problems:
  1. Get shippable product as the ascent front motors were running behind schedule
  2. Start working on the kinematics for the top tier R2/3 platform
  3. Taking a leaf out of apples book - by the time you have added premium audio, the utility panel, tonneau cover etc to the dual, you are so close to a tri you might as well get it.. ..and guess what, once you have gone for a tri... ...its only another bit to get the real top of the line model...
I must admit its kinda fun watching the media review evolve over time for the Tri; though sadly it reenforces my perception that they are wholly in bed with the mfrs these days. When Rivian had no other product to sell the Tri was the 'goldilocks' of the range - neither to hot not too cold; now the quad is approaching its becoming the unloved model in the range as it neither has the price/range dual's or the extreme performance of the quad (and boy do I miss having torque vectoring at the front...)

So why did I get one? Well ultimately I really had no choice - Rivian offered me a deal I couldn't refuse on a Tri Motor after damaging our Quad in service (all said and done, we traded in our quad, got the tri and $7.5k back); they would not let us wait for the gen2 quad. Is it a great truck - seems like its a good one. Is it as good an overall package as the gen1 quad was (at full price) - hell no.
 
Last edited:

DayTripping

Well-Known Member
First Name
Timothy
Joined
Sep 12, 2024
Threads
4
Messages
688
Reaction score
846
Location
DFW
Vehicles
Gen1 R1T QM, S Plaid, Highland 3 Perf, 3 Long Range, R2 on order
Occupation
Consultant
My experience to date is similar, yet possibly not quite as harsh as this. Lets be honest, the TriMax is one of the most mixed bags of Rivian's troubled 2nd Album:
  • On Gen2 vs Gen1 there's a lot:
    • The interior looks nicer than gen1 adventure. But then it should, the gen1 interior is now (in cost reduced form, e.g. headline material) still the adventure interior, but now relegated to only being available for the dual motor models.
    • Despite being much nicer visually, the interior feels 'cheap' in a few spots - notably the door panels creak when going over potholes/speedbumps etc. as well as when holding the internal door grip - plastic on plastic creaking is not a premium sound folks.
    • I'm yet to see a meaningful improvement from the heat-pump, and frankly doubt I'll see one -yes it consumes a bit less energy, but its not as fast to heat the cabin, and OH BOY IT IS LOUD. Its so loud, much louder than our old ice car, that I genuinely worry about the neighbors complaining while our R1T pre-conditions each morning - we park outside, and i can hear it from inside the house.
    • The electric doors are just dumb; enough people have ranted for me to not need to put much more here - but def a step back from gen1, especially when the truck goes to sleep while they are 'unlocked' and you have this wird thing of having to try an open the door once to wake the truck up and the pull the handle a second time to actually open the door - its a HORRIBLE user experience; anytime you need to explain how a handle works, you know its bad.
  • Gen1 Quad vs Gen2 Tri
    • The performance improvements are super tricky to quantify via the butt dyno: it *does* feel faster, especially between 40-80+..., but as others have pointed out this could just be down to a different throttle mapping.
    • Launch mode is a gimmick - and I'm convinced (please someone prove me right/wrong) that its primary objective is just marketing, I'd put money on the tri being slower on 0-60 against a gen1 quad in AP mode, when testing on the same wheels etc.
      • I'd also put money on launch mode coming to the gen1 quad when the gen2 quad comes out, at which point the gen1 will become 'faster' as rivian no longer have the incentive to push the tri motor as an all round upgrade, but get to market it as the 'middle of the road' model.
    • Range - I'm so far to see any improvement in AP, I've not got enough miles on mine to be definitive, but so far I've seen a lower m/kWh that I did on our Quad (and yes I do understand winter) - trips that used to sit around 1.8m/kWh on the quad are now looking around 1.7m/kWh on the tri - but I'll give it until 8k miles on the tri to actually make a judgement there. The end result so far is that the larger battery is effectively canceled out - out gen1 quad used to have a guess-o-meter around 276 miles at 85%, our tri is sitting at 283 at 85%.
    • Regen SUCKS! We used to be able to drive our Quad, and still drive our dual, with regen on Max and virtually never touched the brake. The regen in our Tri is so weak, even on max that I find us using the brake quite a lot - easily 10x as much as we do in our other Rivian(s). I do wonder if this is done in the aid of making the tri motor feel faster?

Overall it feels to me the tri was created to solve three problems:
  1. Get shippable product as the ascent front motors were running behind schedule
  2. Start working on the kinematics for the top tier R2/3 platform
  3. Taking a leaf out of apples book - by the time you have added premium audio, the utility panel, tonneau cover etc to the dual, you are so close to a tri you might as well get it.. ..and guess what, once you have gone for a tri... ...its only another bit to get the real top of the line model...
I must admit its kinda fun watching the media review evolve over time for the Tri; though sadly it reenforces my perception that they are wholly in bed with the mfrs these days. When Rivian had no other product to sell the Tri was the 'goldilocks' of the range - neither to hot not too cold; now the quad is approaching its becoming the unloved model in the range as it neither has the price/range dual's or the extreme performance of the quad (and boy do I miss having torque vectoring at the front...)

So why did I get one? Well ultimately I really had no choice - Rivian offered me a deal I couldn't refuse on a Tri Motor after damaging our Quad in service (all said and done, we traded in our quad, got the tri and $7.5k back); they would not let us wait for the gen2 quad. Is it a great truck - seems like its a good one. Is it as good an overall package as the gen1 quad was - hell no.
Thanks for taking the time to write this. It seems pretty well balanced. Nothing is almost all steps forward without some back at times. Especially as Rivian has to race toward profitability.

Almost everything you mentioned were things that kept me from buying into a new tri vs. a used quad. I had to buy this year for tax purposes and couldn't wait for the new quad which would have gone a lot farther in satisfying my thirst for speed. At the same time, I am not sure the new G2 quad is worth 60k+ more than a barely used G1 quad.

Really how close the dual is to a tri is pretty sad. They really do want to get you to level up. At the same time, at current pricing, I didn't think the dual offered much value either. The 5k upgrade from DM to DPM seemed a bit steep when you compare it to Tesla's acceleration boost at 2k.
Sponsored

 
 





Top