My R1S Delivery & Initial Thoughts!

[stynes]

I was finally able to take delivery today in Atlanta. I know the signatures don't show up well on mobile devices so I'll post the timeline from my signature here.

Pre-order: December 3, 2018.
R1S LE, Launch Green, Black Mountain interior, 22" Sport Bright, underbody shield
May/June October-December 2022 Delivery Window
Configuration locked and guide assigned: October 6
VIN assigned: October 7
Arrived at Atlanta SC: October 25-26
Delivery window unlocked: October 27
Delivery: October 29
Days from pre-order until delivery: 1,426 or 3 years, 10 months, and 26 days.

Here are a few initial thoughts:

I have a PHEV 2018 Chrysler Pacifica that we bought in 2017. The R1S is replacing that on some level. I also have a BEV 2022 Tesla M3LR. I've also most recently owned a ICE 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit.

Some initial thoughts... if the Jeep and the Tesla had a baby, it would be the R1S. The ride and interior quality, many of the features, are very similar to the Jeep. The electronics, BEV, connected / integrated design, all very similar to the Tesla.

- The ride is smoother than the Tesla and the interior is quieter although you can hear more of the motors. I love the split tail gate design so far - much more usable than the Jeep.​

- The 2nd/3rd row are roomier than I thought they'd be but the 3rd row is pretty lower to the floor than would be ideal.​

- Driver+ doesn't work as widely as Tesla Autopilot but it doesn't constantly ask me to apply pressure to the wheel either which is great.​

- The Rivian screen doesn't seem to track cars beside me the same way Tesla does but it has the blind spot monitoring indicators built into the side mirrors like the Pacifica which I really like.​

- The Tesla being lower to the ground feels like a rocket sled. The Rivian is noticeably faster (M3LR is listed at 4.2 to 60) but you're so high off the ground it's like looking at the ground from a plane and not realizing you're going 400mph.​

- Climate control is only dual zone L/R, not tri zone with the rear. The L/R zoning flows from front to rear.​

- There are I think 8 USB C charging ports plus the wireless charging pad and I think 3 separate 110v outlets.​

I welcome any questions anyone has!

Here are some exterior pics:

And a few interior pics as well, sorry they're a little dark. I wanted to include a few interior features I hadn't a lot from other sources.

The center seat in the middle row folds down separately. If the seat is up, it has the standard armrest/cupholder seat insert that folds down. Alternatively there's a release button on the top/back that allows the entire seat back to fold down. The kids in the back row really like this - it made kids in the 3rd row feel much less claustrophobic.

This is the middle row with the seats all the way back (and Halloween mode activated ). I'm 6' and the front seat is comfortably positioned for me. There's ample room for tall passengers in the middle row. My son is 6-1 and had plenty of room sitting behind me. He preferred the space here to our Chrysler Pacfica, just for reference.

This is the middle seat released and moved forward for 3rd row access. It's a little tight sliding in but doable, even for me. Two things I'd note, and you can see this more in the next picture. 1 - the 3rd row is a little low the floor so your knees are a little up in the air. And 2 - the floor directly in front of the seat is a little sloped so you can't put your feet flat on the floor without the middle row being moved up a little.

You can kind of see the slope/curve from the base of the rear of the middle row up to the actual seat bottom of the 3rd row. For small feet it's probably not a big deal but for adult feet the middle row needs to move forward to give room for the feet to sit flat on the floor. The space is doable - my kids are 14, 16, 17, and 19. Everyone fit fairly comfortably but it did take a little bit of moving the middle row forward and back to find the right balance of space for both the middle and 3rd row. And when you release the middle row to have people get in or out, you have to find that right position again.

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[NY_Rob]

No questions... just congrats and thanks for the Tesla-Rivian comparison.

 

[jclicky]

How is the handling? Any of the reported “porpoising” & other handling deficiencies that Car & Driver experienced as compared to the R1T?
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a40514350/2022-rivian-r1s-drive/

The SUV form-factor is ideal for my needs, but would prefer the max pack so am considering swapping to the Max Pack dual-enduro motor R1T if the R1S’ narrower wheel-base makes it a bit less stable, but I suspect it was either a poorly-aligned model or else a drivetrain tuning misalignment that a later OTA update could fix.

how does it behave on these topics as compared with your Tesla?

 

[stynes]

How is the handling? Any of the reported “porpoising” & other handling deficiencies that Car & Driver experienced as compared to the R1T?
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a40514350/2022-rivian-r1s-drive/

The SUV form-factor is ideal for my needs, but would prefer the max pack so am considering swapping to the Max Pack dual-enduro motor of the R1S’ narrower wheel-base makes it a bit less stable, but I suspect it was either a poorly-aligned model or else a drivetrain tuning misalignment that a later OTA update could fix.

how does it behave on these topics as compared with your Tesla?

The Tesla has a much stiffer ride. You're stretched out in a low seat just off the ground. In the R1S you're sitting fully upright. In the Tesla, the seat bottom is ~16" off the ground. In the R1S, in kneel mode (parked) it's ~30". I just measured both sitting in the garage. That makes for a much different feeling ride. And it's an air ride suspension with a much longer WB than the Tesla, too. So it rides much differently.

I haven't taken it offroad or anything but it's a great ride on the interstate and city streets so far. No complaints. I've been over speed bumps, potholes, no porpoising and no, I haven't felt that the steering was out of sync. Maybe they had a poorly aligned ride or a problem with the air suspension? Or maybe it's something that's been improved via OTA. Not sure. Or maybe their expectations and ability to evaluate is much more trained than mine. I've got no complaints, though.

 

[jclicky]

The Tesla has a much stiffer ride. You're stretched out in a low seat just off the ground. In the R1S you're sitting fully upright. In the Tesla, the seat bottom is ~16" off the ground. In the R1S, in kneel mode (parked) it's ~30". I just measured both sitting in the garage. That makes for a much different feeling ride. And it's an air ride suspension with a much longer WB than the Tesla, too. So it rides much differently.

I haven't taken it offroad or anything but it's a great ride on the interstate and city streets so far. No complaints. I've been over speed bumps, potholes, no porpoising and no, I haven't felt that the steering was out of sync. Maybe they had a poorly aligned ride or a problem with the air suspension? Or maybe it's something that's been improved via OTA. Not sure. Or maybe their expectations and ability to evaluate is much more trained than mine. I've got no complaints, though.

Thanks this is super helpful: as delivery timelines slip for R1S & R1T is the only model with any max pack in its future, it’s a lot to weigh between these two vehicles. The SUV is my ideal form-factor (I’m dead-set for a Rivian, even an R2, just can’t decide which) but I might opt for the truck (less-ideal given the open bed vs. fully enclosed) If I must.

If the R1S truly did have a poorer ride (I hear you that you haven’t taken it off-road yet) then that would make it easy to go for the larger body (though less ideal) & opt for the R1T.

But I’m grateful to hear you have no complaints or issues with the R1S ride characteristics, that’s what I suspected.

I had heard some people reported worse behavior on conserve mode & at lowest height, so glad to hear you haven’t had that experience, especially on your 22” wheels (least ideal for ride comfort). Super grateful for the measurements in your garage too, thank you!

 

[MadMac]

How does it compare to the Jeep Grand Cherokee in terms of ride and other dynamics?

 

[stynes]

How does it compare to the Jeep Grand Cherokee in terms of ride and other dynamics?

It's very similar. The Rivian is a little larger and much quicker but the feel of the air ride is very similar.

 

[Gymdent]

I have a fairly recent deposit on an R1S. Hoping to get it before the next ice age. Haven’t driven either Rivians, but being a racer, owning 2 Tesla m3 performances and a new 911 Carrera S manual, good handling is important to me. The Car and Driver review was the only one I’ve read or watched that panned the handling of the R1S.

I tend to agree with stynes that something was out of wack either with the suspension itself or the software calibration in that particular car. The R1S being shorter and somewhat lighter should have sharper handling than the R1T.

For those interested, Here’s a good review of the R1T’s on and off-road performance.

 

[rivianguy]

Thanks this is super helpful: as delivery timelines slip for R1S & R1T is the only model with any max pack in its future, it’s a lot to weigh between these two vehicles. The SUV is my ideal form-factor (I’m dead-set for a Rivian, even an R2, just can’t decide which) but I might opt for the truck (less-ideal given the open bed vs. fully enclosed) If I must.

If the R1S truly did have a poorer ride (I hear you that you haven’t taken it off-road yet) then that would make it easy to go for the larger body (though less ideal) & opt for the R1T.

But I’m grateful to hear you have no complaints or issues with the R1S ride characteristics, that’s what I suspected.

I had heard some people reported worse behavior on conserve mode & at lowest height, so glad to hear you haven’t had that experience, especially on your 22” wheels (least ideal for ride comfort). Super grateful for the measurements in your garage too, thank you!

I have over 2500 miles on my R1S, and I while I'm not a professional car tester I can tell you it has by far the nicest ride of any vehicle that I have ever owned or driven in, and it's not even close. I have a launch edition with 22" tires and the underbody protection just for reference (which I think is similar to what Car and Driver tested) I have not taken this vehicle rock crawling or attempted to hammer it down the worst of roads yet, but have taken it down quite a few forest service roads, fishing holes etc. and it's manners have been exceptional in my opinion. The Car and Driver article was interesting (and seemingly an anomaly as far as I can tell in their impressions of the overall ride) It's possible that some of their gripes come from the fact that (I believe) the R1T they took off roading extensively was on all terrains and the R1S they were given was on the 22". I could be wrong on this but if that was indeed the case then certainly that would have provided a significantly different driving experience. I've driven the R1T also and while their ride handling characteristics struck me as similar the R1S does feel a bit more nimble in certain ways perhaps due to shorter wheel base. Again, highly subjective and I didn't instrument any of this. Perhaps you should ask Out of Spec Kyle? He is reviewing the R1S this week I believe.

 

[jclicky]

I have over 2500 miles on my R1S, and I while I'm not a professional car tester I can tell you it has by far the nicest ride of any vehicle that I have ever owned or driven in, and it's not even close. I have a launch edition with 22" tires and the underbody protection just for reference (which I think is similar to what Car and Driver tested) I have not taken this vehicle rock crawling or attempted to hammer it down the worst of roads yet, but have taken it down quite a few forest service roads, fishing holes etc. and it's manners have been exceptional in my opinion. The Car and Driver article was interesting (and seemingly an anomaly as far as I can tell in their impressions of the overall ride) It's possible that some of their gripes come from the fact that (I believe) the R1T they took off roading extensively was on all terrains and the R1S they were given was on the 22". I could be wrong on this but if that was indeed the case then certainly that would have provided a significantly different driving experience. I've driven the R1T also and while their ride handling characteristics struck me as similar the R1S does feel a bit more nimble in certain ways perhaps due to shorter wheel base. Again, highly subjective and I didn't instrument any of this. Perhaps you should ask Out of Spec Kyle? He is reviewing the R1S this week I believe.

This is so good to hear! And @OutofSpecKyle has already posted his review of some off-road tests of his experiences off-roading it, and your opinion was borne out, especially with his drifting it on some loose gravel & dirt at the end!

 

[wicked2112]

CONGRATS!!!

 

[Tyleem111]

Where are the locations of the 110v outlets? I’ve only seen the one located in the rear cargo area near the air compressor, where are the others? Also, do you have the 12v in the Frunk?
Congrats on your R1S, I’m hoping to see mine April-June 2023

 

[stynes]

Where are the locations of the 110v outlets? I’ve only seen the one located in the rear cargo area near the air compressor, where are the others? Also, do you have the 12v in the Frunk?
Congrats on your R1S, I’m hoping to see mine April-June 2023

I could have sworn the guide mentioned 2 other 110s (in addition to the one in the rear cargo area). I've only found 1 other one, though - it's under the rear display. There's also a 12v under the front console and in the frunk.

 

[Tyleem111]

I could have sworn the guide mentioned 2 other 110s (in addition to the one in the rear cargo area). I've only found 1 other one, though - it's under the rear display. There's also a 12v under the front console and in the frunk.

Thank you for the reply! Glad to see there is still the 12v in the frunk.

 

[OCBlueDevil]

I have the same spec R1S as the original poster (R1S LE, LG, BM interior, 22" Sport Bright, underbody shield) but have not received it yet. VIN assigned is in the mid=800's. It's supposedly on rail to arrive in Southern California.

My question - How's the quality of the car? Any panel gaps or trim issues? How's he quality of the paint exterior as well? Wanted to know if they've worked out the quality issues of the R1S yet. (Thanks in advanced.)

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