R1T Reviews Master List: JRE, Rivian Stories, Jalopnik, Inside EVs, KBB, Roadshow, ETC

[Blueassassin]

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[Blueassassin]

 

[koersontap]

I only noted steering feel mentioned in two reviews where one mentioned it was super light with no feedback and felt like a video game, while another (I believe Dan Carney) said it was " accurate and well-weighted".
Really hoping the latter is the production spec.

Also thought the vent behind the front wheels in the fender was pretty cool. I don't know if it's for aero concerns or cooling, but it told me a lot about the details the engineering team went through in putting this vehicle together. In one of the flat tire videos, there was also a good shot of a large vent in the fender liner above the driver's side front wheel. No clue what it's for, but it seems like it's going to get nasty in there quickly. Based on some of the times I'm in mud, it'll end up clogged up, so hopefully it's not too important.

Those are to pull the air around the tires and wheel wells, and it helps with aerodynamics a ton. In one review they mentioned a drag coefficient of 0.30, which is WAY better than I'd have guessed.

 

[Harvest]

After reading all of the reviews, which took quite awhile but sure was fun, here's some take aways for me:

- Suspension and ride are fantastic in all surface conditions, which to me sounds like the best ever in a production vehicle. Pretty amazing for a startup company. Obviously great engineering and planning involved.

- Quietness is beyond even what is expected for an ev, so a great job with sound isolation and surprising that the off-road tires are so quiet.

- Meridian audio system sounds excellent. Not too many reviewers commented on it, but those that did were very positive.

- Acceleration, at all speed levels, was excellent. Not a single complain there. Think how many reviews of other vehicles complain about transmissions, speed in certain ranges, engine noise, etc. - none of that here.

- Most like the regen brake settings, especially for off-trail driving. Kind of funny to read about them picking up 20 miles of range coming down the mountain.

- Although doing 60 miles of trail driving wouldn't be expected to use up the battery, it was nice to confirm that, especially since they talked about driving all day (at low speeds) and using relatively little of the battery range. It made me wonder about the rural highway driving I often do in the Midwest, typically limited to 55 mph, and how much more range I might get in those situations - typically my MPG goes up roughly 15% at 55 mph vs 70 mph. I also hadn't thought much about the advantage of an EV at high elevations, but several reviewers pointed that out vs an ICE vehicle.

- Front seat comfort is terrific, a little less so in the back (but adequate leg room in back they all said). The seat comfort and the ride quality were two of my biggest question marks, so very glad Rivian delivered on those ride quality issues.

- Build quality, even in the pre-production vehicles, was better than reviewers expected. Again, remarkable for a brand new manufacturer. It will be interesting to see how consistency of build quality holds up in their regular production line vehicles.

- There is a lot of customization in the user interface, and you have to assume that will likely increase. Obviously the reviewers were split on how friendly the UI was, some liked it, others would have preferred buttons, especially on bouncy trail roads. As some reviewers commented, a big question is how will voice control from Alexa manage to overcome some of those issues of trying to touch a button in a bouncing truck on a trail or busy traffic on the road. Hopefully, they nail that part and Alexa works well. Overall, having looked carefully at all the UI screens I've seen photos of so far, it looks pretty straightforward to use to me. For a reviewer seeing it for the first time it is clearly more challenging than for a regular user who gets familiar with it.

- Having said all that, I personally would like a few more buttons on the steering wheel and direct adjust AC vents - I'm often moving them around depending on how hot or cool I am. Same with the seat adjustments, I like to be able to adjust the seat angle while driving, sounds like that may not be possible, at least in this iteration of the software.

- The highway assist functions are pretty well implemented but also somewhat limited at this time. One would assume those will get better.

- We've all read about the storage options at length, to me they sound great and I don't have any concerns. However, it does sound like they may not have the powered tonneau cover working perfectly yet - at least a few reviewers had trucks where that wasn't working or it was turned off.

- I found it interesting how many of the reviewers got some basic numbers wrong. I've been interviewed a couple hundred times in my professional work by the media, and unfortunately it's just a common issue. You throw more than a couple of numbers at most journalists and they just can't get it all down correctly. Hopefully Rivian will give out detailed fact sheets with all the numbers to journalists in the future to help reduce some of that inaccurate reporting on specs.

- Other than the Bloomberg reporter (discussed at length already in this thread), all the other reviewers were EXTREMELY complimentary of the vehicle and some said in so many words that it was either the best truck they'd ever driven, or in a couple of cases, the best vehicle they'd ever driven. High praise indeed! I expect some truck of the year awards are forthcoming, and more importantly, lots of happy customers.

 

[kylealden]

At least one of the reviews mentioned that and said the engineers were planning to improve with OTA.

That said... there was a lot of things that were "being worked on" by engineers, or "just because it is pre production". They were all minor, but I got the distinct feeling they have really really dialed in the suspension and drivetrain, and the things that can be fixed OTA are not going to be up to the same standard for the first year until they can patch it all.

While I'm disappointed it won't be perfect on day one, it's worth remember that for the first year+, the Model 3 didn't have:

• Sentry Mode
• Dashcam
• Pillar cam views in the UI
• Games/media

Among many other things. The fact that they're mostly working on Rivian working and just need some perf ironed out is promising here, IMO, and from the sound of it Rivian's statements were more like "this is fixed in production software" than "we'll get to it someday."

We'll see, of course, but I'm not in panic mode.

 

[Babbuino]

One more review

 

[RWerksman]

Excellent, excellent in-depth review by Quinn Nelson at Snazzy Labs:



A bit more than I've seen in other reviews including about the keys.

 

[BigE]

I found this on YouTube this morning. Never heard of this guy/channel but I really liked his seemingly well-balanced review of the R1T.

 

[RWerksman]

Jinx?

 

[Harvest]

That was a good review - he covered a few things others hadn't, and it was nice to see a closeup of the wristband for opening/starting the truck - only one that did that I've seen.

 

[koersontap]

One more review

I've never heard of him before. But he was actually one of the best reviewers out there, he did a very thorough job.

26:15. He quotes 40,00 preorders. ?

 

[paariv]

"Rivian is optimistic that they can get through their 40,000 preorders by the end of next year."

Is this the first semi-official confirmation of preorder numbers? Wonder how many are LE.
Also, Jinx, @koersontap!

One more review

 

[Scott]

One more review

this review was excellent.

Also, he let slip a number I hadn't heard before at the very end: 40k pre orders. He didn't say if that was R1s and R1T or just the R1T. But that is the first number I have heard.

 

[jessefive]

The author of that video is over on reddit answering some questions. Some good info there.

 

[kommonplace]

That Snazzy Labs review was fantastic. Never heard of him/them before, but that was one of my faves for sure.

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