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R1S Split Hatch/Tailgate

RexRemus

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While I am still eager and happy to get my R1S at some point before 2050, I was wondering people's thoughts on the decision to split the rear hatch?

For me the R1S is replacing a frequent grocery-getter vehicle so the rear hatch is used quite a bit by the lady of the house who is a bit height-challenged. She's already raised concerns of having to reach up and over into the frunk since it's not designed as some others where the front grill also lifts away when it's opened and now is asking about the split of the rear hatch and having a tailgate to lift things over as well.

I've felt the split rear was an odd decision since day 1, it's not enough to push me away from the vehicle, but I do think it's a really odd choice and I'm curious what others think, what benefits are there? I can see many downsides, mostly minor, but still downsides. What am I missing?

I do suspect the camp kitchen variant for the R1S attaches to it somehow and then rotates out of the back on the tailgate section but it seems like for the 99% of the rest of the time when you're not out camping and when most people have no intention of buying the camp kitchen - which is clearly gonna be a niche addition to an already niche vehicle - you're stuck with the gate just to enable that feature. I also realize it might be somewhat usable as a seat, or step - the gear tunnel door concept but applied to the R1S but it's a pretty damn high up step and a pretty short seat when you can generally just hop in the back and use the rear deck as a seat anyway with a traditional full hatch.

So what "good" things do people have to say about the split rear hatch?
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RDB

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My Volvo XC90 has it. I am not height challenged, but it has never been an issue. It does not come out very far. It is nice to sit on it and put on a pair of boots, golf shoes, etc. I am mostly indifferent on the split tailgate, but will say it has never been a problem, hopefully you will feel the same!
 

koersontap

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I don't have much to add here, as I've never had a vehicle with anything other than a traditional hatch. But I am curious what others have to say, as well.

Best I can figure is that maybe it's nice having that lip there, so stuff doesn't risk falling out once you pop it open? I've had things shift around on me while driving, such that as soon as I opened my hatch, a milk jug fell out and exploded on the ground. It'd be nice to avoid that (besides properly securing my groceries, I know....)

On a related note: I'm more than a little disappointed if we we're actually getting is the material build quality that RJ showed in the video that he climbed into the back. Looked like this in his video:
Rivian R1T R1S R1S Split Hatch/Tailgate 1639494603247


Looks like it on the current pictures on the website, too. Was really hoping for the fancy finish we'd seen on the early builds, which seemed to include Chilewich instead of traditional carpet and a much nicer aluminum (or some other metal) sill plate:
Rivian R1T R1S R1S Split Hatch/Tailgate 1639494691141
 

fotoflux

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Honestly, I am glad they didn’t cut out the real wood in the front 2 rows where we would notice it! The interior is still spectacular for a $75k vehicle.

I am a fan of the split tailgate because it saves your bumper when loading and unloading large and heavy objects! It would have been nice if the lower half was powered like the top, however.
 

mkg3

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Used to own XC90 with split gate and we loved it.

Its a great short surface that you can sit, use it as a table to set things down and occasional extended carrying things beyond the length of cargo space without having the tailgate up or using a roof rack (as long as its flat enough to fit within the bottom gate height).

Volvo used to (may still) have a folding seat that plugged into the hitch receiver that used the bottom split gate as a table for picnic or any other outdoor use.

My guess is that lower gate opening can be used to slide the camp kitchen without having to open the upper gate (to keep the cooking smoke/splatter and what have you) out of the interior cargo space.
 

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echerod

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One of the advantages of the split hatch/tailgate is that as you open the top part it does not protrude backwards as much, so that it's more likely you can open it within your garage without having to open the garage door, and similarly if say you are parked with another car or wall behind you.
 

bd5400

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Most of the advantages have already been covered (provides a place to sit, keeps things from falling out, creates a smaller upper hatch that needs less room to open, etc.) but I will say that the split tailgate, for me, is a huge advantage of the R1S over a lot of competing SUVs. I've always liked split tailgates and so few vehicles have them.
 

sevengroove

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Also makes a great step for accessing the roof!
Great point, I hadn't thought of that. And surely it will have the load-bearing capacity for at least a couple of average humans, seeing as how they have to plan for folks sitting on the tailgate anyway.
 

koersontap

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Great point, I hadn't thought of that. And surely it will have the load-bearing capacity for at least a couple of average humans, seeing as how they have to plan for folks sitting on the tailgate anyway.
This makes me think of a stupid question; I've seen pictures of the rear fully open. And a few with just the top hatch opened. But *can* you open the bottom tailgate without opening the top hatch?
 

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sevengroove

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This makes me think of a stupid question; I've seen pictures of the rear fully open. And a few with just the top hatch opened. But *can* you open the bottom tailgate without opening the top hatch?
Sounds like a question for customer service! I hope it's possible.
 

Sdvictor

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Your butt won't get dirty sitting on it. Groceries won't roll out when you open it. That's good enough for me.
 

mrodriguez

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It would have been nice if the lower half was powered like the top, however.
Is this confirmed or is that assumption based on R1T tailgate not being powered? Honest question here as I had not heard and was hoping it would be powered for both top and bottom half.
 

jplblue

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This makes me think of a stupid question; I've seen pictures of the rear fully open. And a few with just the top hatch opened. But *can* you open the bottom tailgate without opening the top hatch?
My guess is based on my split hatch: you have to open the top hatch and lift it a bit first, then you can lower the tailgate. Once the tailgate is down, you can close the top hatch.

Making it work any other way would seem overly complicated to me.
 

SlaterGS

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Split gate or MINIMALLY the glass opening should be a requirement for all SUVs with this limited of rear storage IMO.

Think a Suburban vs a Tahoe.
Pretty much the same vehicles besides the Suburban having the extra storage space in the rear.

You can get away with not having a split gate with the Suburban because there is much more space for packing before you risk items falling out. You tend to pack from the back of the seats to the rear whereas with the Tahoe you pretty much are packing up from the small floor space.

Our Navigator is not split gate but the glass opens up and 9 times out of 10 we just open the glass to prevent stuff falling out.
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