Official Video: How Does it Feel to Drive a Rivian (Featuring Preorder Holders)

[SeaGeo]

@DuckTruck what'd you think of the seats compared to your XC60? Did you check out the Frunk much with the removable shelf?

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[DuckTruck]

Would be cool to mix and match....

Although I'm sold on the Forest Edge package, in large part because I love its natural wood tone, the three packages are all great blends of colors that match up well with their selected wood finishes. I agree with the others who have observed that the Ocean Coast is actually a very pleasant light gray. It seems very neutral to me, but the photos really make it look lighter than it is, almost a stark white.

 

[DuckTruck]

If I never left pavement and lived somewhere without winter or, I’d get the 22” wheels with summer tires. If I lived somewhere with actual seasons and moderate winter, but didn’t leave pavement other than the odd gravel road, 21” with all seasons.

But I live in the middle of Canada, with 6 months of winter, and drive on lots of ”unimproved” roads. (Although the paved ones are also so bad, I know people who came here as refugees from war torn countries who say the roads back home are better despite having been bombed ?).

so 20” A/T for me. And the max battery. With -40 winters and big distances, the more electrons the better.

Sounds like you have a great setup in mind for your conditions. Out of curiosity, which paint and interior combination did you go with?

Good to hear your roads are superior to what we have in Portland right now. I'm not sure who makes more money from our potholes, Alignment shops or Dentists?

 

[DuckTruck]

@DuckTruck what'd you think of the seats compared to your XC60? Did you check out the Frunk much with the removable shelf?

Brice,

I won't lie about it, I love the seats in my Volvo R-Design, and so does my backside. As we've discussed before, they fit like a glove, with solid thigh and side bolsters. They allow me to stay locked in when using the Polestar performance through the PS4S Summer tires. That said, I wouldn't want anything that form-fitting in a pickup.

The R1T seats are roomier, but still kept me locked in and well-supported while making high speed road maneuvers, drifting in the loose stuff, rolling over the gravel mounds and side hills, and even while summiting Mt. Rivian's boulderfields and steep North face.

All of Rivian's Launch/Adventure front seats are really good looking. They have plenty of adjustability in all directions and, had I not known better, seem to be made from beautiful leather. One very welcome feature, especially in the heat and humidity of the Midwest (or anywhere, these days) is their cooling capacity. Once activated, it didn't take long for me to notice the cooling effect. That's going to come in handy for a lot of people. Also as I understand it, this feature apparently helps the range quite a bit over having to crank the AC unit first. While I didn't test the heating function of the seats, I trust it will warm up my happy backside while also minimizing the space-heating's negative impact on range.

Regarding the folding and removable shelf in the frunk, it creates a nice space with more flexibility baked into your options. Also, at the lowest suspension setting (8 inches, I believe), the lift-over height was quite doable for a just under six-footer.

Keep your questions coming!

 

[godfodder0901]

Regarding the folding and removable shelf in the frunk, it creates a nice space with more flexibility baked into your options. Also, at the lowest suspension setting (8 inches, I believe), the lift-over height was quite doable for a just under six-footer.

Keep your questions coming!

Did you happen to notice if the 'grocery hooks' were present in the frunk and/or Gear Tunnel?

 

[DuckTruck]

@DuckTruck thanks for keeping us informed! I am so glad that you got to experience this and share it.

I think I read that RJ thinks the AT 20’s are the best wheel for the truck.

Did he mention anything about the 300 mile vs. the 400 mile range trucks and which one he prefers?

Also, did you get any good picks of fully built Compass Yellow?

Sully,

In my earlier, lengthy response after you reawakened my memory of the conversation with RJ about the MaxPack performance upgrades, I forgot to address your other questions.

In order:

1. I feel safe in stating RJ is a big fan of the 20-inch All-Terrains if you have any chance of going off-road. I think he would agree that that the A/T's give up less than 5% of the road capabilities of the 22's, whereas, with the 22's you would give up a 100% of the serious off-road.

That wouldn't make a Rivian as much a Pavement Princess as it would a Pavement Prisoner. Why do that to one of these Adventurers? Even if you know you'll likely never climb Mt. Rivian again, your newest family member at least knows it could, (that is if the new parents can ever get over their fear of fun.)

BTW, as a reminder, knowing beforehand that I am/was interested in picking up a second full set of five Performamce tires on 22's, RJ told me I should wait and see if I really need them before spending the money. That is special.

2. I didn't ask him about this, but I get the impression he likes the 400-mile MaxPack, especially with the upgraded performance capabilities over the original set-up. Hearing that, I actually thought, "Hmm, should I look at the MaxPack?" (still happy right where I am). I also remember distinctly from some time ago, he was talking about the 300-miler being enough, especially later, when charging stations become as ubiquitous as gas stations. Range anxiety will go down, and we'll still have $10,000 in our pocket. I also like that I'll be driving around about 300 to 350 less pounds. But that's just my take.

I'm sure he'd say get the 400-miler, if you need it, certainly for those who live in a remote or extremely cold climates.

3. I think we did see Compass Yellow R1T's, but I can't find one yet in my gallery. I'll be combing through my videos and pics over this weekend and downloading a bunch.

I hope this helps!

Time for bed now....

 

[Canthoney]

Sully,

In my earlier, lengthy response after you reawakened my memory of the conversation with RJ about the MaxPack performance upgrades, I forgot to address your other questions.

In order:

1. I feel safe in stating RJ is a big fan of the 20-inch All-Terrains if you have any chance of going off-road. I think he would agree that that the A/T's give up less than 5% of the road capabilities of the 22's, whereas, with the 22's you would give up a 100% of the serious off-road.

That wouldn't make a Rivian as much a Pavement Princess as it would a Pavement Prisoner. Why do that to one of these Adventurers? Even if you know you'll likely never climb Mt. Rivian again, your newest family member at least knows it could, (that is if the new parents can ever get over their fear of fun.)

BTW, as a reminder, knowing beforehand that I am/was interested in picking up a second full set of five Performamce tires on 22's, RJ told me I should wait and see if I really need them before spending the money. That is special.

2. I didn't ask him about this, but I get the impression he likes the 400-mile MaxPack, especially with the upgraded performance capabilities over the original set-up. Hearing that, I actually thought, "Hmm, should I look at the MaxPack?" (still happy right where I am). I also remember distinctly from some time ago, he was talking about the 300-miler being enough, especially later, when charging stations become as ubiquitous as gas stations. Range anxiety will go down, and we'll still have $10,000 in our pocket. I also like that I'll be driving around about 300 to 350 less pounds. But that's just my take.

I'm sure he'd say get the 400-miler, if you need it, certainly for those who live in a remote or extremely cold climates.

3. I think we did see Compass Yellow R1T's, but I can't find one yet in my gallery. I'll be combing through my videos and pics over this weekend and downloading a bunch.

I hope this helps!

Time for bed now....

Thanks for answering all of our questions, it’s been very helpful! I had a couple more if you had any insight.

1. Do they plan on implementing a sentry mode or some kind of security monitoring system if somebody tries to break into your car or if you get hit while driving? That’s probably one of the number one features I see on any Tesla nowadays.

2. Well they have any remote parking features, for example getting out of the car and using the app to move the car forward or backwards out of tight parking? Also, will they have any level two semi autonomous driving features like Autopilot?

3. Do they plan on allowing the vehicle to be used as battery back up to your house? Kind of like what the Ford F150 Lightning is doing.

4. Finally, do they plan on allowing you to view entertainment apps like Netflix, Hulu etc. on the main screen, or play games while charging like Tesla? Also, will they be providing free updates or is it only for a certain period of time (like 3 years) my concern is the maps will not stay at the date because they’re not using an unknown provider.

Hopefully not overwhelming you with questions!

 

[EarlyAdptr]

The general response to the 20" A/T's has started to make me wonder what has prompted Rivian to offer all three tire sizes. If the vehicles have an EPA ranges of say... 315 miles with the 21" tires, and the 20" A/Ts take a 5% hit, that puts the vehicles right at 300 miles. If that's the case, the difference seems to small that I'd be surprised if it makes sense to offer both. If the 20" tires take a 10% hit relative to the 21s, and EPA range with the 21s is 305 miles instead of say 315 that drops the range for the 20s down to 275 miles (in theory) that psychological hit below 300 miles is probably worth it from a marketing standpoint.

All guesses, but it's interesting how we all seem to be hearing the feedback on the 20s from the group that visited and noting the general positive feedback from them.

Good observation @SeaGeo. One additional thought. 5% might not be much, unless the 5% degradation takes the stated mileage below a key mental threshold. So, if the 20" A/T wheels only delivered say 295 mileage in range, and the company has been touting "300+ miles" - that would be a pretty significant marketing / messaging problem. Just like every retailer prices things just under the next dollar threshold (e.g., $295, or gas at $3.99 / gallon) - mentally these thresholds stick for humans as consumers. So "295 miles" is actually a much bigger difference from "300 miles" than the 5 miles mathematical difference might suggest.

If I were the product manager, that might cause me to consider a different (new) standard tire that would get me over the 300 mile clip-level. Especially if we had been out touting a 300+ mile range.

 

[SeaGeo]

Good observation @SeaGeo. One additional thought. 5% might not be much, unless the 5% degradation takes the stated mileage below a key mental threshold. So, if the 20" A/T wheels only delivered say 295 mileage in range, and the company has been touting "300+ miles" - that would be a pretty significant marketing / messaging problem. Just like every retailer prices things just under the next dollar threshold (e.g., $295, or gas at $3.99 / gallon) - mentally these thresholds stick for humans as consumers. So "295 miles" is actually a much bigger difference from "300 miles" than the 5 miles mathematical difference might suggest.

If I were the product manager, that might cause me to consider a different (new) standard tire that would get me over the 300 mile clip-level. Especially if we had been out touting a 300+ mile range.

Yep. I had the dang thought That's actually why I used 315 and 5% as a hypothetical. ?

 

[crashmtb]

Sounds like you have a great setup in mind for your conditions. Out of curiosity, which paint and interior combination did you go with?

Good to hear your roads are superior to what we have in Portland right now. I'm not sure who makes more money from our potholes, Alignment shops or Dentists?

Forest green, forest edge interior.
There are not enough green cars.

Having driven in Portland, potholes are plentiful, not enough to be bothersome, not as bad as here. Yours are from all the moisture. Ours are more from freeze/thaw, and so is all of the heaving and crumbling.

Fun Winnipeg facts: a parts person once told me their dealership buys more ball joints than the rest of Canada combined.
Our roads are so bad that automated methods of measuring road condition/pavement quality do not work. It must be done manually.

Brice,

I won't lie about it, I love the seats in my Volvo R-Design, and so does my backside. As we've discussed before, they fit like a glove, with solid thigh and side bolsters. They allow me to stay locked in when using the Polestar performance through the PS4S Summer tires. That said, I wouldn't want anything that form-fitting in a pickup.

The R1T seats are roomier, but still kept me locked in and well-supported while making high speed road maneuvers, drifting in the loose stuff, rolling over the gravel mounds and side hills, and even while summiting Mt. Rivian's boulderfields and steep North face.

All of Rivian's Launch/Adventure front seats are really good looking. They have plenty of adjustability in all directions and, had I not known better, seem to be made from beautiful leather. One very welcome feature, especially in the heat and humidity of the Midwest (or anywhere, these days) is their cooling capacity. Once activated, it didn't take long for me to notice the cooling effect. That's going to come in handy for a lot of people. Also as I understand it, this feature apparently helps the range quite a bit over having to crank the AC unit first. While I didn't test the heating function of the seats, I trust it will warm up my happy backside while also minimizing the space-heating's negative impact on range.

Regarding the folding and removable shelf in the frunk, it creates a nice space with more flexibility baked into your options. Also, at the lowest suspension setting (8 inches, I believe), the lift-over height was quite doable for a just under six-footer.

Keep your questions coming!

That’s high praise, hearing that the seats hold up to Volvo seats. Volvo’s chairs have always been brilliant.
Heated/cooled seats do indeed help with range. So would a heated windshield, but as far as I know the R1 doesn’t have this. It’s a very uncommon feature in North America anyway.

The shelf you’re talking about, is it a false floor, or something more at the midpoint?

Sully,

In my earlier, lengthy response after you reawakened my memory of the conversation with RJ about the MaxPack performance upgrades, I forgot to address your other questions.

In order:

1. I feel safe in stating RJ is a big fan of the 20-inch All-Terrains if you have any chance of going off-road. I think he would agree that that the A/T's give up less than 5% of the road capabilities of the 22's, whereas, with the 22's you would give up a 100% of the serious off-road.

That wouldn't make a Rivian as much a Pavement Princess as it would a Pavement Prisoner. Why do that to one of these Adventurers? Even if you know you'll likely never climb Mt. Rivian again, your newest family member at least knows it could, (that is if the new parents can ever get over their fear of fun.)

BTW, as a reminder, knowing beforehand that I am/was interested in picking up a second full set of five Performamce tires on 22's, RJ told me I should wait and see if I really need them before spending the money. That is special.

2. I didn't ask him about this, but I get the impression he likes the 400-mile MaxPack, especially with the upgraded performance capabilities over the original set-up. Hearing that, I actually thought, "Hmm, should I look at the MaxPack?" (still happy right where I am). I also remember distinctly from some time ago, he was talking about the 300-miler being enough, especially later, when charging stations become as ubiquitous as gas stations. Range anxiety will go down, and we'll still have $10,000 in our pocket. I also like that I'll be driving around about 300 to 350 less pounds. But that's just my take.

I'm sure he'd say get the 400-miler, if you need it, certainly for those who live in a remote or extremely cold climates.

3. I think we did see Compass Yellow R1T's, but I can't find one yet in my gallery. I'll be combing through my videos and pics over this weekend and downloading a bunch.

I hope this helps!

Time for bed now....

Having driven on gravel and otherwise less than paved roads fairly often with various high performance summer tires, it can be done but it is real greasy. unpleasant.
and snow….well, I’ve had surprise early snow (“I’ll put winter wheels on tomorrow, it won’t snow…”) and had to drive home from work on 180TW tires.Never again.
Same for all seasons. Oh sure, m+s rated. Congratulations, tire. You studied enough to pass the test. You can get through it. But it won’t be pleasant or safe compared to more suitable tires.

It makes sense to get the bigger battery if there‘s a chance you’ll need it, as you can’t add capacity later.
Much of the appeal for me with the largest battery pack is less stopping. Even if there’s well placed Charging stations, smaller battery means more stopping. After all, it is still slower to recharge an EV than to tank up a gas car.
Not too worried about charging availability generally, as there is lots of that along major routes like, say, the trans-Canada highway. Indeed petro Canada installed fast charging stations at existing gas stations the length of the highway, beating Tesla to it by a few months. I expect other gas station/truck stop chains to do similar things going forward.

Driving to somewhere like Thompson, MB however… a little iffy.

 

[sevengroove]

BTW, as a reminder, knowing beforehand that I am/was interested in picking up a second full set of five Performamce tires on 22's, RJ told me I should wait and see if I really need them before spending the money. That is special.

Speaking of which, Duck, did they mention how much it would cost to get an additional set of wheels and tires if a customer goes that route? I'm still grumbling about the fact that the jump from the 20s included in our Launch Editions to the all black 20s is $3,500 (which is the same cost to upgrade from the cheaper 21s). Instead, what I might consider is sticking to the free/included 20s, paying extra for a new set of all-black 20s, and then immediately selling the regular 20s to recoup some of the outlay. The assumption is that my net spend all things considered would be less than $3,500, but I welcome hole-poking in this plan .

 

[cohall]

Speaking of which, Duck, did they mention how much it would cost to get an additional set of wheels and tires if a customer goes that route? I'm still grumbling about the fact that the jump from the 20s included in our Launch Editions to the all black 20s is $3,500 (which is the same cost to upgrade from the cheaper 21s). Instead, what I might consider is sticking to the free/included 20s, paying extra for a new set of all-black 20s, and then immediately selling the regular 20s to recoup some of the outlay. The assumption is that my net spend all things considered would be less than $3,500, but I welcome hole-poking in this plan .

Would you consider just getting the standard 20's powder coated black? I think that would be significantly cheaper than both of your other options, and potentially less effort than buying and reselling an extra set. Just a thought.

 

[sevengroove]

Would you consider just getting the standard 20's powder coated black? I think that would be significantly cheaper than both of your other options, and potentially less effort than buying and reselling an extra set. Just a thought.

I did consider this but I wasn't sure how much a quality job would run here in the Seattle area. Are we talking sub $1k?

 

[godfodder0901]

I did consider this but I wasn't sure how much a quality job would run here in the Seattle area. Are we talking sub $1k?

Maybe, but there are some pretty heated debates out there as to the safety of powder coating forged aluminum wheels.

 

[sevengroove]

Maybe, but there are some pretty heated debates out there as to the safety of powder coating forged aluminum wheels.

Ah excellent, another rabbit hole I was not planning on diving down today

It seems like the crux of the debate revolves around the temperatures needed for powder coating. I'm pasting a response from another forum I found which makes sense:

Forged alloy wheels are desirable because they are known to be both strong and lightweight. To achieve these characteristics, they are typically manufactured from 6061-T6 grade aluminum. At some time during the manufacturing process this alloy must undergo a two-step thermal process in order for it to attain the desired mechanical properties, which include high strength and resistance to fatigue. These thermal processing or heat treating steps are known as solution treatment (985°F) and artificial aging (350°F). With forged 6061 aluminum, the artificial aging step requires the material to be held at 350°F for about 8 hours.

The majority of powder coating materials require a cure temperature ranging from 300 to 400°F with a cure time of about 1 hour. Since this overlaps the temperature of the artificial aging step, the powder coating process has the potential to "overage" the aluminum causing embrittlement and reduced fatigue life.

Recent advances in powder coating compounds have brought about lower cure temperatures of 250°F. These new powder coating compounds are more desirable, since they do not impact the prior thermal processing steps for heat treatable alloys such as 6061-T6 aluminum.

When considering powder coating of heat treatable aluminum alloys (6000 and 7000 series), it is always advisable to confirm that the temperature of the part will not exceed 300°F. Ignoring this fact may result in a sudden and unexpected failure of a critical component. A critical failure in a forged alloy wheel could ruin not just one, but possibly the rest of your days.

Before allowing someone to powder coat your forged aluminum wheels, ask them to use a lower cure temperature (250°F) compound and to maintain the temperature below 300°F at all times while they are processing your wheels.

It sounds like it should be fine as long as the cure temperatures of the powder coating process gets nowhere close to 300F?

See, this is why it would just be easier for Rivian to just reasonably price the upcharge for black rims.

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