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timesinks

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First time seeing the vehicle in person, got giddy when I saw her rolling down our hill. She's a beauty.

My husband's 177s in a ski bag fit comfortably on the diagonal. A longer set would probably still fit fine but might need to be diagonal in the vertical direction too:

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 98B3B51B-A1ED-4738-BE5F-FF4E1EBA8DA4


Not pictured, my 164 snowboard comfortably in the gear tunnel with a bit of room to spare.

Tonneau was locked out.

Tow hitch cover was easy to remove with the keys in my pocket.
Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members FA4015E4-66BE-4B84-88D9-451641EAD548

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members FA14B5D6-503F-4EE6-AB1A-C089B08EF0EC


This vehicle is LE w/ offroad. Still not entirely clear which bits of the underbody shield are related to the off-road package. The guy who did our test drive seemed pretty sure the whole underbody plate was reinforced compared to the not-off-road configuration. ?‍♂

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 7B16FDF0-198F-4116-8DE0-BA7117D8F512

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 638ABD51-9420-4635-A8B7-A6375CF15848


Popped it onto our 32A charger just to explore the charging interface.

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 7B4B5E72-3F06-4078-80F5-CF2DF01DB567

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 0C03C6DC-7D52-4A6B-BAD6-43B14142FE3C

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 3CD42A9F-FCC5-4E22-B554-7B7CC07532AC

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 8B3A2F87-9A2C-499C-8F87-2C439324DF51


Nothing else really new to add. Absolutely fun to drive. Throttle response and feel was great especially compared to our ID.4. Not sure I even had to touch the brake pedal, but none of the jerky see-saw feel the Volt used to give us (and the ID.4 to a lesser degree) -- regen on throttle lift, even in high mode, was very natural feeling.

Roads were wet. We each floored it as hard as we were comfortable with getting onto the highway. Felt fast af, no wheel spin, very controlled, and all of us couldn't believe there was more travel to that pedal. We had some fun on the speed bumps, pot holes, and puddles. Who even needs to demo off road with such a wide array of on-road obstacles?

Despite our objections, the gentleman declined our offer to call him an Uber and did not leave the Rivian and the keys with us.

And did I mention she's gorgeous?

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 747969E6-7DE2-4ED8-A0C1-C8B0CCD07916
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This vehicle is LE w/ offroad. Still not entirely clear which bits of the underbody shield are related to the off-road package. The guy who did our test drive seemed pretty sure the whole underbody plate was reinforced compared to the not-off-road configuration. ?‍♂

7B16FDF0-198F-4116-8DE0-BA7117D8F512.jpeg

638ABD51-9420-4635-A8B7-A6375CF15848.jpeg
Thank you for sharing these photos!

This is the first good look I’ve taken at the underside of the vehicle. That front panel looks like a plastic (maybe polycarbonate) air damn, kind of surprising for an off-roader. I expected aluminum, which I still hope is true of the rear underbody plate. What’s more surprising are the fasteners are internal-drive fasteners, either a torx or Allen. These are awful to use anywhere that is exposed to dirt because they accumulate debris and are prone to strip out unless you are very deliberate about clearing them out before attempting a removal. I’d change these fasteners out for a traditional hex-head bolt very early in ownership.

When I go to the Seattle first drive event you’ll all recognize me because I’ll be the nut poking around under the cars. ? I’m really focused on how easy or hard these will be to maintain long term.
 
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timesinks

timesinks

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Thank you for sharing these photos!

This is the first good look I’ve taken at the underside of the vehicle. That front panel looks like a plastic (maybe polycarbonate) air damn, kind of surprising for an off-roader. I expected aluminum, which I still hope is true of the rear underbody plate. What’s more surprising are the fasteners are internal-drive fasteners, either a torx or Allen. These are awful to use anywhere that is exposed to dirt because they accumulate debris and are prone to strip out unless you are very deliberate about clearing them out before attempting a removal. I’d change these fasteners out for a traditional hex-head bolt very early in ownership.

When I go to the Seattle first drive event you’ll all recognize me because I’ll be the nut poking around under the cars. ? I’m really focused on how easy or hard these will be to maintain long term.
Glad you found it helpful. And apparently my husband snapped a pic of me being that nut...

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members EF0334B4-6568-4646-B670-C1E9FB96F2B5
 

Shzeph

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So I finished my drive and wow, this thing exceeded my every expectation. For reference, I currently drive a 2018 Volvo XC60 T8 Inscription, and my only experience with a pickup truck is my brother’s 2020 Ram 2500.

The R1T they brought me was a Launch Edition Blue/Black w/ 20" ATs and the Off-Road Upgrade

First Impressions/Size/Quality/Driving Experience

The size was about what I was expecting, slightly larger than a Tacoma, but by no means too huge to use around town. The Rivian Blue paint is absolutely gorgeous in person, and has a similar look to Laguna Seca Blue. Panel gaps and exterior quality are good, about in-line with what I would expect. The stadium headlights and light bar look reallllllly good in person, and overall I simply can't overstate how damn fabulous the R1T looks in person.

The interior was really the star for me. Everything felt super high quality, both in actual material quality and how well it was all put together. The seats were really comfortable, and the faux-leather, while not as supple as the stuff you might find in a Range Rover, was far more durable feeling. The Black Mountain interior is very chic, and even though everything is black, the shading and textures are different enough that it felt cohesive and not too "samey"

Actual driving was also phenomenal. The cabin was dead quiet, with almost no road noise. The ride was soft and quite luxurious, and even in sport mode it was far from what I would call harsh. 0-60, even in the rain and on ATs, was incredible. No wheel slipping or anything, and I felt fully in-control even with such rapid acceleration. Around corners there was almost no body roll in All-Purpose, and even less in Sport. Handled like a sports car, truly.

The Tech

So I'll address the most common things I've heard first.

The powered tonneau worked on this one! It was a little slow, and not 100% smooth, but it opened and closed multiple times without issues.

The touchscreen was way, way better than in my Volvo. Practically no lag in the menus and such, and even in the map (where the Rivian employee confessed he had seen lag before) the scrolling and zooming was quite smooth compared to the Volvo. Everything was bright and the graphics looked crisp. The employee did mention that they had just had an OTA update that morning, and had been going through many OTA updates since production began.

At one point during the drive, the menu bar along the bottom of the screen briefly froze, for about 30 seconds. It started working again without any resets or anything though, so the employee chocked it up to the recent software update. Overall I would say that the UI and such was gorgeous, mostly smooth, and definitely will only improve with age/updates.

Audio

I'm not really and audiophile, but my boyfriend is. He thought the Meridian system was great, but that it could use some equalizer adjustments to sound truly amazing.

Personally, coming from the B&W system in my Volvo, I though the Meridian system was very punchy, with nearly as crisp highs and much more low-end punch. There wasn't any distortion at higher volumes, and you could really feel the woofers and bass moving.

Conclusion

I'm certain I've missed stuff, so feel free to ask questions! I'll admit right away I didn't get into the nitty-gritty of charging curves or precise Kw/h or whatever. I don't have the knowledge in those areas. But I'm happy to answer stuff about the actual vehicle and driving experience and such!

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members tempImagetcrxKq
Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members tempImage2WwxDX
Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members tempImagevPEXu7


Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members tempImageGpElcs
 
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timesinks

timesinks

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@Forager1 I'm not sure that there's anything "new" here, but looks like we got a short video clip panning across the underbody too.

 

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SeaGeo

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So I finished my drive and wow, this thing exceeded my every expectation. For reference, I currently drive a 2018 Volvo XC60 T8 Inscription, and my only experience with a pickup truck is my brothers 2020 Ram 2500.

The R1T they brought me was a Launch Edition Blue/Black w/ 20" ATs and the Off-Road Upgrade

First Impressions/Size/Quality/Driving Experience

The size was about what I was expecting, slightly larger than a Tacoma, but by no means too huge to use around town. The Rivian Blue paint is absolutely gorgeous in person, and has a similar look to Laguna Seca Blue. Panel gaps and exterior quality are good, about in-line with what I would expect. The stadium headlights and light bar look reallllllly good in person, and overall I simply can't overstate how damn fabulous the R1T looks in person.

The interior was really the star for me. Everything felt super high quality, both in actual material quality and how well it was all put together. The seats were really comfortable, and the faux-leather, while not as supple as the stuff you might find in a Range Rover, was far more durable feeling. The Black Mountain interior is very chic, and even though everything is black, the shading and textures are different enough that it felt cohesive and not too "samey"

Actual driving was also phenomenal. The cabin was dead quiet, with almost no road noise. The ride was soft and quite luxurious, and even in sport mode it was far from what I would call harsh. 0-60, even in the rain and on ATs, was incredible. No wheel slipping or anything, and I felt fully in-control even with such rapid acceleration. Around corners there was almost no body roll in All-Purpose, and even less in Sport. Handled like a sports car, truly.

The Tech

So I'll address the most common things I've heard first.

The powered tonneau worked on this one! It was a little slow, and not 100% smooth, but it opened and closed multiple times without issues.

The touchscreen was way, way better than in my Volvo. Practically no lag in the menus and such, and even in the map (where the Rivian employee confessed he had seen lag before) the scrolling and zooming was quite smooth compared to the Volvo. Everything was bright and the graphics looked crisp. The employee did mention that they had just had an OTA update that morning, and had been going through many OTA updates since production began.

At one point during the drive, the menu bar along the bottom of the screen briefly froze, for about 30 seconds. It started working again without any resets or anything though, so the employee chocked it up to the recent software update. Overall I would say that the UI and such was gorgeous, mostly smooth, and definitely will only improve with age/updates.

Audio

I'm not really and audiophile, but my boyfriend is. He thought the Meridian system was great, but that it could use some equalizer adjustments to sound truly amazing.

Personally, coming from the B&W system in my Volvo, I though the Meridian system was very punchy, with nearly as crisp highs and much more low-end punch. There wasn't any distortion at higher volumes, and you could really feel the woofers and bass moving.

Conclusion

I'm certain I've missed stuff, so feel free to ask questions! I'll admit right away I didn't get into the nitty-gritty of charging curves or precise Kw/h or whatever. I don't have the knowledge in those areas. But I'm happy to answer stuff about the actual vehicle and driving experience and such!

tempImagetcrxKq.jpg
tempImage2WwxDX.jpg
tempImagevPEXu7.jpg


tempImageGpElcs.jpg
Thanks! That's awesome to hear as I also have a 2018 T8.
 

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@Forager1 I'm not sure that there's anything "new" here, but looks like we got a short video clip panning across the underbody too.

Awesome! I learned from another thread that the plastic bits might actually be carbon-fiber. I don’t know enough about the material to make any judgements about suitability for underbody protection, I’ll just say it seems unique. As a structural engineer, we love it because of its high tensile strength, but such materials are often brittle.

At the 5 second mark you can make out what appear to be 1/4 turn fasteners, which would be used for quick access. I wonder what’s under that panel?

Hard to make out the other fasteners in the video, but it’s a great shot of the rocker panels. It looks like adding rock sliders or running boards would require welding, sometimes those can just be bolt on because of easy access to the rocker frame where such fastening locations are factory provided. Hopefully Rivian has considered this and suitable connections are just under an aero panel.
 

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@Rhidan I could put in both my wife's Skis and my Snowboard and list the lengths for each...we haven't been up to Stevens in several seasons but great info to have regardless. I will say that my wife's Skis are on the short/learner side and I'm 6',4", pretty sure my board is somewhere between 163-165ish.

Trying to determine if you would want/need the racks or not?!? ?

I think @timesinks covered it, but thank you! I knew Seattle would have some skiiers and riders!

I‘m actually debating getting the R1S if the skis don’t fit. There’s no real point in getting a truck if you need a ski rack on top, but I can save that discussion for another thread.
 

kylealden

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A few photos and impressions from my First Drive in Seattle today:

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 1637102442156

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle Rivian First Mile Test Drive Event Impressions & Reviews - by Forum Members 1637102501584

(uh oh... nevermind my rake comment)

Impressions:

Fit & finish are top notch, ride dynamics are truly astounding, UX is great. Didn't really evaluate performance (EVs are fast, yawn) but it handles great. Easily better cornering than my Model Y and honestly the handling felt less "tossy" while still being planted vs. my previous Model 3 Performance.

Great one-pedal driving - never had to touch the brakes and the "throttle feel" of the accelerator was very nice; a tad more forgiving at the initial toe-in than my Teslas, but plenty punchy in the bottom half. I would bet a lot of the slower 0-60 impressions are just accustomed to a tighter accelerator response.

Driver+ was fine on I90, felt just like Autopilot.

The most impressive thing for me was just how "tight" everything feels - no rattles/squeaks/chirps, nothing inside felt cheap or loose, super quiet on the highway, just very composed in general. Tesla falls on its face in all those details by comparison. Infotainment felt fine - I didn't interact with it a ton but everything seemed plenty responsive and certainly looks nice. Love the binnacle display with maps.

Exterior seemed great, no fit and finish issues. Launch Green is a stunner in person, especially on an overcast day - it really takes a lot from the lighting and is a super dynamic color. Tonneau cover was disabled; both the gear tunnel and tailgate didn't open the first time I tried the button, but I think the truck might have just been locked centrally.

Overall it outperformed my very high expectations. The only thing I truly wish was better (that isn't already confirmed to be fixed) is the exterior camera quality.
 
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kylealden

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By the way, here's a 15-second clip that shows why Launch Green is the most perplexing color (though the website seems to be updated with a better render now):






Watch how the color changes when it crosses from sun to shadow, and then compare it to the photos above (from the same time and same parking spot, but shallower angle).

Launch Green is a fickle beast ? I love it.
 

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Babbuino

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Can we put together a collection to buy you a rake? ?

While I'm here... a few photos from my First Drive in Seattle today:

1637102442156.png

1637102501584.png

(uh oh... nevermind my rake comment)

Impressions:

Fit & finish are top notch, ride dynamics are truly astounding, UX is great. Didn't really evaluate performance (EVs are fast, yawn) but it handles great. Easily better cornering than my Model Y and honestly the handling felt less "tossy" while still being planted vs. my previous Model 3 Performance.

Great one-pedal driving - never had to touch the brakes and the "throttle feel" of the accelerator was very nice; a tad more forgiving at the initial toe-in than my Teslas, but plenty punchy in the bottom half. I would bet a lot of the slower 0-60 impressions are just accustomed to a tighter accelerator response.

Driver+ was fine on I90, felt just like Autopilot.

The most impressive thing for me was just how "tight" everything feels - no rattles/squeaks/chirps, nothing inside felt cheap or loose, super quiet on the highway, just very composed in general. Tesla falls on its face in all those details by comparison. Infotainment felt fine - I didn't interact with it a ton but everything seemed plenty responsive and certainly looks nice. Love the binnacle display with maps.

Exterior seemed great, no fit and finish issues. Launch Green is a stunner in person, especially on an overcast day - it really takes a lot from the lighting and is a super dynamic color. Tonneau cover was disabled; both the gear tunnel and tailgate didn't open the first time I tried the button, but I think the truck might have just been locked centrally.

Overall it outperformed my very high expectations. The only thing I truly wish was better (that isn't already confirmed to be fixed) is the exterior camera quality.
I keep hearing chirps when locking the doors...
 

SeaGeo

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Launch Green is a stunner in person, especially on an overcast day - it really takes a lot from the lighting and is a super dynamic color.
So bummed I missed out on LG.
 

kanundrum

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So bummed I missed out on LG.

I'm bummed there are 3 R1Ts down the street from me with 0 drives only for politicians to "see" ?. Grumble grumble.
 

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Can we put together a collection to buy you a rake? ?

While I'm here... a few photos from my First Drive in Seattle today:

1637102442156.png

1637102501584.png

(uh oh... nevermind my rake comment)

Impressions:

Fit & finish are top notch, ride dynamics are truly astounding, UX is great. Didn't really evaluate performance (EVs are fast, yawn) but it handles great. Easily better cornering than my Model Y and honestly the handling felt less "tossy" while still being planted vs. my previous Model 3 Performance.

Great one-pedal driving - never had to touch the brakes and the "throttle feel" of the accelerator was very nice; a tad more forgiving at the initial toe-in than my Teslas, but plenty punchy in the bottom half. I would bet a lot of the slower 0-60 impressions are just accustomed to a tighter accelerator response.

Driver+ was fine on I90, felt just like Autopilot.

The most impressive thing for me was just how "tight" everything feels - no rattles/squeaks/chirps, nothing inside felt cheap or loose, super quiet on the highway, just very composed in general. Tesla falls on its face in all those details by comparison. Infotainment felt fine - I didn't interact with it a ton but everything seemed plenty responsive and certainly looks nice. Love the binnacle display with maps.

Exterior seemed great, no fit and finish issues. Launch Green is a stunner in person, especially on an overcast day - it really takes a lot from the lighting and is a super dynamic color. Tonneau cover was disabled; both the gear tunnel and tailgate didn't open the first time I tried the button, but I think the truck might have just been locked centrally.

Overall it outperformed my very high expectations. The only thing I truly wish was better (that isn't already confirmed to be fixed) is the exterior camera quality.
Thanks for the info!
 

Whmorken

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First time seeing the vehicle in person, got giddy when I saw her rolling down our hill. She's a beauty.

My husband's 177s in a ski bag fit comfortably on the diagonal. A longer set would probably still fit fine but might need to be diagonal in the vertical direction too:

98B3B51B-A1ED-4738-BE5F-FF4E1EBA8DA4.jpeg


Not pictured, my 164 snowboard comfortably in the gear tunnel with a bit of room to spare.

Tonneau was locked out.

Tow hitch cover was easy to remove with the keys in my pocket.
FA4015E4-66BE-4B84-88D9-451641EAD548.jpeg

FA14B5D6-503F-4EE6-AB1A-C089B08EF0EC.jpeg


This vehicle is LE w/ offroad. Still not entirely clear which bits of the underbody shield are related to the off-road package. The guy who did our test drive seemed pretty sure the whole underbody plate was reinforced compared to the not-off-road configuration. ?‍♂

7B16FDF0-198F-4116-8DE0-BA7117D8F512.jpeg

638ABD51-9420-4635-A8B7-A6375CF15848.jpeg


Popped it onto our 32A charger just to explore the charging interface.

7B4B5E72-3F06-4078-80F5-CF2DF01DB567.jpeg

0C03C6DC-7D52-4A6B-BAD6-43B14142FE3C.jpeg

3CD42A9F-FCC5-4E22-B554-7B7CC07532AC.jpeg

8B3A2F87-9A2C-499C-8F87-2C439324DF51.jpeg


Nothing else really new to add. Absolutely fun to drive. Throttle response and feel was great especially compared to our ID.4. Not sure I even had to touch the brake pedal, but none of the jerky see-saw feel the Volt used to give us (and the ID.4 to a lesser degree) -- regen on throttle lift, even in high mode, was very natural feeling.

Roads were wet. We each floored it as hard as we were comfortable with getting onto the highway. Felt fast af, no wheel spin, very controlled, and all of us couldn't believe there was more travel to that pedal. We had some fun on the speed bumps, pot holes, and puddles. Who even needs to demo off road with such a wide array of on-road obstacles?

Despite our objections, the gentleman declined our offer to call him an Uber and did not leave the Rivian and the keys with us.

And did I mention she's gorgeous?

747969E6-7DE2-4ED8-A0C1-C8B0CCD07916.jpeg
FUN report. Hope to hear and see more on underbody off-road upgrade!
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