Donald Stanfield
Well-Known Member
I would like to start by giving a little background on myself and my vehicle experiences in the past to give you all a decent idea as to where I'm coming from. As my title says this is my first time even touching a Rivian and my first time driving any EV at all. However, I have driven quite a few of the best sorts of cars ICE have to offer. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Vipers, special edition supercharged Mustangs ect. My daily driver is also an Audi SQ5 Sportback prestige.
I would think it's fair to say that I have a decent read on high performance vehicles. With all that said on to my Rivian review. Keep in mind this is more just first impressions as I've only had this car for 6 hours at this point and have about 50 miles of backroad driving. First I want to talk about the interior and the best comparison I have is my old daily the Audi. Audi does some of the best interiors in the business and I would say the Rivian hangs with them easily. Some parts are better, some aren't as good. I like the look of my Audi steering wheel, but the dash of the R1T is better. Overall fit and finish and build quality are right there.
Interior noise in the R1T is less than the Audi which is saying something considering I have the option of the privacy glass in the Audi and it's a really quiet cabin. Obviously with no engine noise and it seems like my body panels are fit well the Rivian is high quality and quiet. Granted I haven't had it up past 60ish MPH so I would like to get a better read on the freeway for impressions here to really make a determination. Also the 21" wheels have very low road noise and I'm glad that's the direction I went.
Sound system is as good or maybe slightly better than the Audi. You can tell that speaker placement was well thought out and engineered and that high quality components were used. There is a really clean sound right about perfect center of the truck so it's a little behind you over your right shoulder. The distortion is low even at high volume and I would say that this sound system stacks up pretty well with the premium sound in the Audi.
One Pedal Drive: This is the area I was most worried about. I have never used one pedal driving and I was worried I would have a difficult time adjusting. I didn't. I already have the truck on high regen and I took to it intuitively. For those who have driven a quick stick shift car or a motorcycle and use a downshift to slow down it is pretty much that but unlike downshifting that is limited to a slowing down a few MPH depending on how many gears you go down the one pedal drive will slow down enough to stop you completely. I like it, and I already don't want to go back.
Acceleration: I'm sure if you haven't launched on yourself by now you've seen the Youtube videos. I'm not a stranger to quick cars but there most certainly is something different in EVs, at least in this one. The surprise reactions people make when they launch aren't fake or embellished for views on YouTube. I've launched a few times now and have taken 6 people for a ride. Every single one of them was completely caught off guard by how quick it goes, myself included. What surprised me the most is how easy it is to make it launch. There's no fan faire, no theater, it just goes. Before you can even realize what's going on you're doing 60. I guess it's so much more aggressive than ICE simply because there is no engine that needs to spool up, and no gears that need to shift so I just keeps pulling. EVs are clearly superior than ICE in this area so much so it's not even a fair comparison.
Handling: It is on par with my SQ5, maybe a little better with the one pedal driving as not having to lift my foot off the go pedal and having instant torque you can pull out of corners just a little bit faster. You can still tell it's a truck, it most certainly doesn't feel like a sports car from a handling perspective but it's fun in the twisties and it absolutely doesn't feel like a truck, certainly not a 7500lb truck. Rivian did a great job here.
I got the Rivian because I needed the truck but I was worried that it wouldn't be as fun to drive as the SQ5. Well I would say that fear is unfounded and the Rivian is pretty much exactly what I hoped for. Everyone who's still waiting and hasn't driven one yet, they are totally worth it.
I would think it's fair to say that I have a decent read on high performance vehicles. With all that said on to my Rivian review. Keep in mind this is more just first impressions as I've only had this car for 6 hours at this point and have about 50 miles of backroad driving. First I want to talk about the interior and the best comparison I have is my old daily the Audi. Audi does some of the best interiors in the business and I would say the Rivian hangs with them easily. Some parts are better, some aren't as good. I like the look of my Audi steering wheel, but the dash of the R1T is better. Overall fit and finish and build quality are right there.
Interior noise in the R1T is less than the Audi which is saying something considering I have the option of the privacy glass in the Audi and it's a really quiet cabin. Obviously with no engine noise and it seems like my body panels are fit well the Rivian is high quality and quiet. Granted I haven't had it up past 60ish MPH so I would like to get a better read on the freeway for impressions here to really make a determination. Also the 21" wheels have very low road noise and I'm glad that's the direction I went.
Sound system is as good or maybe slightly better than the Audi. You can tell that speaker placement was well thought out and engineered and that high quality components were used. There is a really clean sound right about perfect center of the truck so it's a little behind you over your right shoulder. The distortion is low even at high volume and I would say that this sound system stacks up pretty well with the premium sound in the Audi.
One Pedal Drive: This is the area I was most worried about. I have never used one pedal driving and I was worried I would have a difficult time adjusting. I didn't. I already have the truck on high regen and I took to it intuitively. For those who have driven a quick stick shift car or a motorcycle and use a downshift to slow down it is pretty much that but unlike downshifting that is limited to a slowing down a few MPH depending on how many gears you go down the one pedal drive will slow down enough to stop you completely. I like it, and I already don't want to go back.
Acceleration: I'm sure if you haven't launched on yourself by now you've seen the Youtube videos. I'm not a stranger to quick cars but there most certainly is something different in EVs, at least in this one. The surprise reactions people make when they launch aren't fake or embellished for views on YouTube. I've launched a few times now and have taken 6 people for a ride. Every single one of them was completely caught off guard by how quick it goes, myself included. What surprised me the most is how easy it is to make it launch. There's no fan faire, no theater, it just goes. Before you can even realize what's going on you're doing 60. I guess it's so much more aggressive than ICE simply because there is no engine that needs to spool up, and no gears that need to shift so I just keeps pulling. EVs are clearly superior than ICE in this area so much so it's not even a fair comparison.
Handling: It is on par with my SQ5, maybe a little better with the one pedal driving as not having to lift my foot off the go pedal and having instant torque you can pull out of corners just a little bit faster. You can still tell it's a truck, it most certainly doesn't feel like a sports car from a handling perspective but it's fun in the twisties and it absolutely doesn't feel like a truck, certainly not a 7500lb truck. Rivian did a great job here.
I got the Rivian because I needed the truck but I was worried that it wouldn't be as fun to drive as the SQ5. Well I would say that fear is unfounded and the Rivian is pretty much exactly what I hoped for. Everyone who's still waiting and hasn't driven one yet, they are totally worth it.
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