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swhme

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tl;dr: The perfect daily driver for a big chunk of people, including me.

The great:
  • This is a really lovely place to spend time. Visibility is good, seats and comfortable, it's easy and comfortable to get in and out. Seat belts come out easily and are easy to buckle. This is the easiest vehicle I've ever buckled a booster seat in. (I have 12 cars currently, cycle through at least one new car every three months, and have rented/borrowed many others, so my sample size is significant)
  • The storage is really great. Very well thought out and usable. Shopping bags go in the frunk. Outdoor equipment goes in the gear tunnel, big stuff in the bed.
  • There's a ton of power, and it's easy to access. You can go 0-60 by the time you get through an intersection. If you're passing a car on a 2-lane road, you can very quickly go from 40-70 to be able to pass quickly and get out of the oncoming lane.
  • The cameras are very good. 360 view is accurate.
  • They nailed the size. I've owned full size and HD trucks (F150, Tundra, Silverado 3500), and they're great for interior room, but hard to maneuver and park in city settings. I'm 6'5 and built like a @SASSquatch , so space is important. I find the R1T to be just right-- the width is a and wheelbase is a bit shorter, so it feels much easier to get through tight spaces, but it's SO MUCH more usable for moving stuff around than our Model S or Y OR an F150 (due to the options for weather-sealed storage spaces)
The meh:
  • Driving dynamics. People have raved about the handling. It's fine. It does not feel like a sports car. It does handle better than other trucks, but I'd put it in league with a sporty-ish full-size SUV (roughly on par with a BMW X5, not as good as a Porsche Cayenne, but not TOO far behind). It's a 7,000 pound truck, you can't hide that. They've done an admirable job, but don't expect it to replace a Porsche 911 or BMW M3 for driving enjoyment.
  • HVAC. They prioritized aesthetics over performance here. I'm not opposed to computer-controlled vents, they work well on our Tesla, but these suffer from struggling to return to the same position on vehicle cycling (they close when the truck turns off, and it seems like the "home" position isn't consistent). Additionally, if the center vent is positioned to hit my face, it's also hitting my knee straight on. So I have to choose between having a cool face and a frozen knee or a comfortable knee and a hot face.
  • Audio quality is fine. It's not amazing. But it's acceptable.
The bad:
  • The nav is terrible. Alexa doesn't understand what I'm asking for half the time, it won't show you a list of options to choose from, she asks you if "Is X at 123 main street what you were looking for?" and if you say no she says "sorry" and doesn't offer other options. I've tried using it 10 times, and 3 of those times it either didn't have the right address for a business that moved 3 years ago or didn't know about a road that was built 2 years ago or tried to route me on a private, dead end road.
  • The app really needs a lot of work. Hopefully this is coming...

At the end of the day, this truck fits my lifestyle perfectly. I'm in my mid-30s, I work in tech and am comfortable with buggy software, I have a couple of small kids, I have a fairly large (15+ acre) property in the suburbs and make at least weekly hardware store runs. I have other cars to use for fun drives. For my life, the Rivian is the best daily driver I've ever had, by a very wide margin.
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KingTodd

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Thanks for An honest, informative, and succinct review...you should get a reward! Not from me, but from someone who gives those out :) Hope you share more as you drive more!
 

rraj2k81

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  • Driving dynamics. People have raved about the handling. It's fine. It does not feel like a sports car. It does handle better than other trucks, but I'd put it in league with a sporty-ish full-size SUV (roughly on par with a BMW X5, not as good as a Porsche Cayenne, but not TOO far behind). It's a 7,000 pound truck, you can't hide that. They've done an admirable job, but don't expect it to replace a Porsche 911 or BMW M3 for driving enjoyment
I was wondering this myself, when everyone was raving about how this thing drives like a sports car. How can something that weighs 7000lbs handle and drive like a sports car?
But you answered that question.

  • Audio quality is fine. It's not amazing. But it's acceptable.
This is what I had expected as well, especially considering the only option is Spotify Streaming. I would really like to see Rivian enable some kind of a local media playback to see how well the Meridian system handles audio.
 

Dark-Fx

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The nav is terrible. Alexa doesn't understand what I'm asking for half the time, it won't show you a list of options to choose from, she asks you if "Is X at 123 main street what you were looking for?" and if you say no she says "sorry" and doesn't offer other options. I've tried using it 10 times, and 3 of those times it either didn't have the right address for a business that moved 3 years ago or didn't know about a road that was built 2 years ago or tried to route me on a private, dead end road.
So I might be able to explain this one a little based on some observations and assumptions. Mapbox definitely pulls data from OpenStreetMap. The accuracy of that data can vary greatly from area to area because it's primarily user generated. My area has lots of people who are obsessed with maintaining it, so it seems quite good. Your area might be primarily generated off an older government dataset and have lots of outdated information and bad assumptions. (If you're interested, that dataset was source from TIGER several years ago).

Otherwise, the more information you can give Alexa in the search the better. If you know the road/city your destination is on, include those when you ask for navigation. If it's a typical destination for you and it doesn't show up at all, you can join OSM and learn how to add things to the map.
 

FrankieJ

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tl;dr: The perfect daily driver for a big chunk of people, including me.

The great:
  • This is a really lovely place to spend time. Visibility is good, seats and comfortable, it's easy and comfortable to get in and out. Seat belts come out easily and are easy to buckle. This is the easiest vehicle I've ever buckled a booster seat in. (I have 12 cars currently, cycle through at least one new car every three months, and have rented/borrowed many others, so my sample size is significant)
  • The storage is really great. Very well thought out and usable. Shopping bags go in the frunk. Outdoor equipment goes in the gear tunnel, big stuff in the bed.
  • There's a ton of power, and it's easy to access. You can go 0-60 by the time you get through an intersection. If you're passing a car on a 2-lane road, you can very quickly go from 40-70 to be able to pass quickly and get out of the oncoming lane.
  • The cameras are very good. 360 view is accurate.
  • They nailed the size. I've owned full size and HD trucks (F150, Tundra, Silverado 3500), and they're great for interior room, but hard to maneuver and park in city settings. I'm 6'5 and built like a @SASSquatch , so space is important. I find the R1T to be just right-- the width is a and wheelbase is a bit shorter, so it feels much easier to get through tight spaces, but it's SO MUCH more usable for moving stuff around than our Model S or Y OR an F150 (due to the options for weather-sealed storage spaces)
The meh:
  • Driving dynamics. People have raved about the handling. It's fine. It does not feel like a sports car. It does handle better than other trucks, but I'd put it in league with a sporty-ish full-size SUV (roughly on par with a BMW X5, not as good as a Porsche Cayenne, but not TOO far behind). It's a 7,000 pound truck, you can't hide that. They've done an admirable job, but don't expect it to replace a Porsche 911 or BMW M3 for driving enjoyment.
  • HVAC. They prioritized aesthetics over performance here. I'm not opposed to computer-controlled vents, they work well on our Tesla, but these suffer from struggling to return to the same position on vehicle cycling (they close when the truck turns off, and it seems like the "home" position isn't consistent). Additionally, if the center vent is positioned to hit my face, it's also hitting my knee straight on. So I have to choose between having a cool face and a frozen knee or a comfortable knee and a hot face.
  • Audio quality is fine. It's not amazing. But it's acceptable.
The bad:
  • The nav is terrible. Alexa doesn't understand what I'm asking for half the time, it won't show you a list of options to choose from, she asks you if "Is X at 123 main street what you were looking for?" and if you say no she says "sorry" and doesn't offer other options. I've tried using it 10 times, and 3 of those times it either didn't have the right address for a business that moved 3 years ago or didn't know about a road that was built 2 years ago or tried to route me on a private, dead end road.
  • The app really needs a lot of work. Hopefully this is coming...

At the end of the day, this truck fits my lifestyle perfectly. I'm in my mid-30s, I work in tech and am comfortable with buggy software, I have a couple of small kids, I have a fairly large (15+ acre) property in the suburbs and make at least weekly hardware store runs. I have other cars to use for fun drives. For my life, the Rivian is the best daily driver I've ever had, by a very wide margin.
So I might be able to explain this one a little based on some observations and assumptions. Mapbox definitely pulls data from OpenStreetMap. The accuracy of that data can vary greatly from area to area because it's primarily user generated. My area has lots of people who are obsessed with maintaining it, so it seems quite good. Your area might be primarily generated off an older government dataset and have lots of outdated information and bad assumptions. (If you're interested, that dataset was source from TIGER several years ago).

Otherwise, the more information you can give Alexa in the search the better. If you know the road/city your destination is on, include those when you ask for navigation. If it's a typical destination for you and it doesn't show up at all, you can join OSM and learn how to add things to the map.
Great review and thanks for sharing. I am a bit surprised on your assessment of the audio system. I consider myself a good judge of audio performance, although perhaps I give myself too much credit. I find the audio system to be far superior to any other systems I have heard and I have listened to some great systems. The system will only be as good as the quality of the media you are using. Have you tried Amazon music or checked to make sure the equalizer is set up properly?
 

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RayzorBEV

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So I just got my R1T. The Vin # 3700's and was built 04/2022. I noticed the front right roof section is depressed. I believe this is a manufacturing defect. Anyone have similar issue? Thanks y'all

Rivian R1T R1S My thoughts, two weeks into R1T ownership... Screenshot_20220524-153835_Gallery
 
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swhme

swhme

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Great review and thanks for sharing. I am a bit surprised on your assessment of the audio system. I consider myself a good judge of audio performance, although perhaps I give myself too much credit. I find the audio system to be far superior to any other systems I have heard and I have listened to some great systems. The system will only be as good as the quality of the media you are using. Have you tried Amazon music or checked to make sure the equalizer is set up properly?
This is an excellent point, and one I should have been clearer on— Spotify is a huge part of the problem, and the sound is pretty good when I use lossless Apple Music, but not as good as, say, Mercedes Burmeister systems. So the meh is more about the interface than the speakers.
 

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I was wondering this myself, when everyone was raving about how this thing drives like a sports car. How can something that weighs 7000lbs handle and drive like a sports car?
But you answered that question.
I have found over the years that most people who say their new car "drives like a sports car" never drove a real sports car, and/or have never driven at/beyond the limits. That's when you can determine if it really "drives like a sports car". I would love to take my Rivian to an SCCA Autocross/solo event. SCCA might refuse to class Rivians under their no truck/no SUV rollover risk policy. But there is a Rivian engineer who is very active in SCCA, so maybe he can prove that the low cg eliminates that concern.
 

Zoidz

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So I just got my R1T. The Vin # 3700's and was buolt 04/2022. I noticed the front right roof section is depressed. I believe this is a manufacturing defect. Anyone have similar issue? Thanks y'all

Screenshot_20220524-153835_Gallery.jpg
How the hell did that pass QC????? :mad:
 

crashmtb

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I have found over the years that most people who say their new car "drives like a sports car" never drove a real sports car, and/or have never driven at/beyond the limits. That's when you can determine if it really "drives like a sports car". I would love to take my Rivian to an SCCA Autocross/solo event. SCCA might refuse to class Rivians under their no truck/no SUV rollover risk policy. But there is a Rivian engineer who is very active in SCCA, so maybe he can prove that the low cg eliminates that concern.
I definitely wouldn’t say it drives like a sports car. But it does drive like a big sport sedan. It definitely doesn’t drive like a pickup. On the day I had a first mile drive, I went straight from bombing Sonoma County backroads in my focus RS(on winter tires, granted) to the R1T. It really drove like a car. Think “sport package 7 series” but with way better braking & handling.

ive done silly things in a Cayenne Turbo S, my only real “physics defying truck/SUV” comparison, and the R1T was more car-like.

here anything is allowed for autocross as long as it’s not taller than it is wide. So R1 is go 🤣
How the hell did that pass QC????? :mad:
only short people on QC that day, not enough stepladders?
 

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Thank you OP. I'm 5,000 miles in now on my R1T and have had an overall excellent experience....with some software glitches, oddities with self leveling, etc., but I think in regards to handling the vehicle turns so much better (flatter) than any truck I've ever driven that the term it handles "like a sports car and not a truck" is valid, if you consider what you're working with......it's isn't a sports car by any means (I own a few and have owned many), but it absolutely handles (there is a lot in the word handles) more like a sport car than a truck......(ha that was wordy)....
 
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The nav is terrible. Alexa doesn't understand what I'm asking for half the time, it won't show you a list of options to choose from, she asks you if "Is X at 123 main street what you were looking for?" and if you say no she says "sorry" and doesn't offer other options. I've tried using it 10 times, and 3 of those times it either didn't have the right address for a business that moved 3 years ago or didn't know about a road that was built 2 years ago or tried to route me on a private, dead end road.
I will use this as another opportunity to comment that trying to compete with Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps is a fools errand. Apple should have shown that quite clearly with their launch of Apple Maps a few years ago, which was a horrid mess with all of Apple’s resources behind them.

I guess that maybe Amazon wants to get into that game, and they are big enough to compete. But I don’t think that has happened yet.
 

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This is an excellent point, and one I should have been clearer on— Spotify is a huge part of the problem, and the sound is pretty good when I use lossless Apple Music, but not as good as, say, Mercedes Burmeister systems. So the meh is more about the interface than the speakers.
I got Spotify when it became native in my Tesla. I was surprised that the audio quality was rather poor for a music service. (not as bad as satellite radio, but not great). So I stopped using it.

I mostly use Apple Music now which is much better with quality. I did find Spotify's playlists and curated collections much smarter than apple's though.

In the Rivian I'll probably stick to streaming from my iTunes library.
 

Mister Person

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This is an excellent point, and one I should have been clearer on— Spotify is a huge part of the problem, and the sound is pretty good when I use lossless Apple Music, but not as good as, say, Mercedes Burmeister systems. So the meh is more about the interface than the speakers.
Is this Apple Lossless over Bluetooth? I take it that’s the only way to listen to audio from an iphone.
 
 




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