My first mini-trip......It's not a Tesla!! LOL

[kizamybute']

Took my first mini-trip with it today. L.A. to Bakersfield and back. Over the grapevine. Decided to stop and fill it up before coming back over the grapevine as I'm still not sure what the real world range is and just wanted the security blanket. Turns out, total trip took 119 kwh, apparently it has 125 kwh usable, so if that was the case, would have just made it with 6 kwh to spare.

But, was glad to get the opportunity to charge at a public charger for the first time in 8 years. Got spoiled with the Tesla Supercharger network.

Read where many have had issues with public chargers not working correctly. Well, sadly, I got to experience that first-hand. Went to an Electrify America charger. Had four available. When I checked, all four were open and had a 350w charger available. Got there, and three cars must have just beat me. There was a 150w charger open.

Unfortunately, after multiple tries, plugging in, unplugging, resetting, etc, etc, called customer service. They had to reboot the charger. After about 30 minutes, was finally able to plug in. Had it worked as it should have, would have been a good trip. Even on the 150 charger, was still charging at over 300+ miles per hour. Charged for 15 minutes. That added 36 kwh. They're not cheap though at $0.43 per kwh. $15.05 was the total cost.

I drove normally there and back. AC on, around 75-80 mph. Used Conserve mode on the way there and All-purpose mode on the way back. Total trip was 206 miles. 1.73 mi/wh. So, my $15.05 charging session was good for about 62 miles. At today's prices, $15 would have got me about 2.25 gallons of gas. Which at about 25 mpg, would have got me 56 miles. So still officially cheaper than gas, but certainly not by much with the Rivian. Got spoiled with free supercharging over the past 8+ years. Definitely had a strong headwind on the way home. So through that, got to get a good gauge as to the "real world" range. With 20" all-terrains, round trip at 1.7 mi/kw with 125 usable means about 212 miles of range. That's about what I can personally count on and use for planning in the future. Just hope the next charging stop is at a charger that works properly!

Also, finally got to get some good use out of Driver+. Have to say, its lane keeping ability is Very Good. It reminds me of the original Tesla autopilot, but is better than that was when it first came out. Did get to see that it doesn't handle construction zones well, or at all. Was cruising along and the lane ended due to construction and the truck wanted to just keep plowing ahead in the lane. So, apparently didn't see cones or the walls that were put up to close off the lane Absolutely have to pay very close attention. Was a bit surprised it didn't react to the cones or wall at all. Not even a little. But other than that, it does a great job maintaining itself in the lane. A few phantom braking events.

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[mini2nut]

Great review. Yes, we are also spoiled on the Tesla Supercharging network with our Model Y. Pull up and plug in. No apps, cards, they work virtually every time, tons of locations, etc.

 

[miasm]

Huh, I found Driver+ to hug way too close to the right when in the left lane. Turned it off since on the camera view I could see the passenger side tire kissing the dashed white line.

Echo the charger thing. I have had zero issues with EA, but some other chargers gave me issues (reviews show it wasn't just a Rivian thing though).

 

[kizamybute']

Great review. Yes, we are also spoiled on the Tesla Supercharging network with our Model Y. Pull up and plug in. No apps, cards, they work virtually every time, tons of locations, etc.

Absolutely. Fortunately, was mentally prepared that it wouldn't be as easy using public charging. Hopefully, that was the worst of it. At least they got it working. I guess worse would have been if the charger didn't work at all. But was a good learning experience of how to handle it next time. Even at the 150w charger, was happy with the charge rate. 350w should be a little better, but I think I've read that the RIvian doesn't allow for much faster charging anyway right now, so not sure a 350w charger would have been much faster.

 

[kizamybute']

Huh, I found Driver+ to hug way too close to the right when in the left lane. Turned it off since on the camera view I could see the passenger side tire kissing the dashed white line.

Echo the charger thing. I have had zero issues with EA, but some other chargers gave me issues (reviews show it wasn't just a Rivian thing though).

Hmm, mine was centered perfectly in the lane. Will say, that when on the roads, I get a bunch of lane warnings. The screen shows the truck on the left line when I'm centered in the lane. But in Driver+, it was dead center.

And yes, charging had absolutely noting to do with the Rivian itself. Was all Electrify America and the current downfalls of public charging right now. Spoke with someone at the charger and she said it's about 50/50 when they work properly on the first try.

Fortunately, most of my charging is at home.

 

[ajdelange]

Even at the 150w charger, was happy with the charge rate. 350w should be a little better, but I think I've read that the RIvian doesn't allow for much faster charging anyway right now,

You picked up 36 kWh in a quarter of an hour. That's 1.1C confirming that many BEV charge at about 1C or a little over. With a 130 kWh battery clearly a 150 kW charger can support those rates.

 

[timf]

Did get to see that it doesn't handle construction zones well, or at all. Was cruising along and the lane ended due to construction and the truck wanted to just keep plowing ahead in the lane. So, apparently didn't see cones or the walls that were put up to close off the lane Absolutely have to pay very close attention. Was a bit surprised it didn't react to the cones or wall at all. Not even a little. But other than that, it does a great job maintaining itself in the lane. A few phantom braking events.

This makes sense because it is relying on pre-mapped data to follow the road, unlike Tesla which interprets it all visually in real-time. The construction area wouldn't be part of the mapping. I am a bit surprised though the system doesn't look for other clues to tell it the pre-mapped data may be invalid and to disable the system. One advantage to Driver+ may be in rainy or snowy conditions where lane markings are less visible, although in those cases it's probably not the best idea to be using cruise control.

 

[NY_Rob]

Read where many have had issues with public chargers not working correctly. Well, sadly, I got to experience that first hand. ...There was a 150w charger open.

Unfortunately, after multiple tries, plugging in, unplugging, resetting, etc, etc, called customer service. They had to reboot the charger. After about 30 minutes, was finally able to plug in. Had it worked as it should have, would have been a good trip.

Oh boy... you just set off the Rivian fan-boi call to arms alarm!!
First off you mentioned the Tesla SC network, then you openly criticized the public DC-FC network! A double no-no...

As penance... repeat 100X "Rivian and our world class public DC-FC network is great... Tesla and their SC network suck".

 

[Dark-Fx]

So, my $15.05 charging session was good for about 62 miles. At today's prices, $15 would have got me about 2.25 gallons of gas. Which at about 25 mpg, would have got me 56 miles. So still officially cheaper than gas, but certainly not by much with the Rivian

Even the Hummer's 1.2-1.3mi/kWh I was getting at 80 mph was cheaper than an equivalent vehicle with $3 gas. You should have ponied up for the cheaper rate.

 

[AdamUCF]

You should sign up for the Electrify America Pass+. It's $4/month and gets you $.31/kWh charging. As long as you charge more than 34kWh you're saving money.

 

[AdamUCF]

Even the Hummer's 1.2-1.3mi/kWh I was getting at 80 mph was cheaper than an equivalent vehicle with $3 gas. You should have ponied up for the cheaper rate.

Yeah at $5/gal and $.31/kWh, Rivian is equivalent to 35mpg. Not sure how many trucks get 35mpg.

 

[Zoidz]

...
Unfortunately, after multiple tries, plugging in, unplugging, resetting, etc, etc, called customer service. They had to reboot the charger. After about 30 minutes, was finally able to plug in. Had it worked as it should have, would have been a good trip.
...

Thanks for the report!

Why can't the EV charging networks realize that they need to perform equal to or above the up time/reliability of a gas pump? How often do you see a gas station that 25% of their pumps do not work?

 

[zefram47]

That added 36 kwh. They're not cheap though at $0.43 per kwh. $15.05 was the total cost.

So still officially cheaper than gas, but certainly not by much with the Rivian.

Get Pass+...at $0.31/kWh you'll save more than the $4/mo that the subscription costs on the first charge. And the Rivian likely won't be cheaper than gas with public DC Fast Charging, but ought to be cheaper by a fair margin with home charging, especially if you charge at times to avoid demand/time-of-use charges and/or have solar.

 

[kizamybute']

You should sign up for the Electrify America Pass+. It's $4/month and gets you $.31/kWh charging. As long as you charge more than 34kWh you're saving money.

The problem is, I so RARELY use public chargers (tesla superchargers in the past). Well under once a month. Wouldn't have used it on this trip if I knew for sure what the range was. Now that I do, the next time I make the same trip, I know I can make it round trip without charging. So that's the only reason I didn't opt for the monthly charge plan. Would be $48 for the year and I'd likely use it once or twice during the year. Plus, unlike having a single Tesla Supercharger network, there are multiple public charging networks. You never know which type of charger will be where, (electrify america, charge point, blink, evgo, etc), have accounts for all of them, but didn't want to pay monthly fees to all of them, especially in my case of using them maybe a couple of times per year. So, $4 turns into $16 per month x 12 months at $192 per year, for some that regularly use them, it's worth it. But for my 2 times a year, better off paying the higher price per charge.

 

[CyberKentuckian]

Which at about 25 mpg, would have got me 56 miles.

I think most light-duty trucks will cap out at around 24MPG, but the average is going to be closer to 20-22.

If you're comparing trucks with (near but oh-so-far away) equal performance, that number will lean MUCH farther into your favor.

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