Video: Met the Rivian R1S... at Venice Hub Event

[SANZC02]

Few quick things from R1S Venice today. Many of you probably already know this but just in case...

1) R1S (and probably R1T, since its the same cab essentially) definitely can use a running board. Vehicle at the lowest height, the floor is fine but the added height of the seats is such that a short or older person may have a bit of trouble ingress/egress. Those that have sat in the T, you already know.

2) Many discussion on Red Canyon color. It is essentially medium red mixed with gold tone, resulting in metallic orange red. Personally I did not like the color. This color was on the truck. So much of what you see online and on the screen is unreliable due to white balance and color calibration on the display devices.

3) You can schedule R1T test drive at the service center (Costa Mesa) now and when R1S is available, that too - I was told by Rivian staff.

4) Ocean coast is a very light pale gray, unlike many images that shows cream like color. This is from the swatch sample on display. The light color wood looks more like white washed wood than naturally light wood.

5) The vehicle looks rugged and looks and feels quite heavy. The interior and appointments are NOT luxury like at all. Its simple and plain. If anyone is expecting plush or refined interior and touches, this is definitely not the vehicle. Its very basic in terms of how it looks and feels.

They did not have one set to the lowest setting, the blue one was in low and the green one was in high. I found in the low setting of the blue one it is just a little higher ( less than an inch) for ingress/egress than my Jeep GC with quadratic is just to add a reference point.

Curious what your opinion of luxury is just to get an idea of your taste. The look and feel of the interior with the different textures with minimal hard plastic pieces are where people say it is luxury. My opinion is it is at least 2 levels above my Model S in that category and probably close to BMW or Range Rover but opinions vary, that is only mine.

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[Ccomtois]

I wish! It IS our configuration, exactly! Nice surprise to see it just as ordered.

....and it's an amazing configuration at that! I can't wait. So grateful for your post, thank you.

One question, and the thing I've now been pondering...Do I really need to spend the $2k on the Reinforced Underbody Shield? I will not be doing any crazy, off-roading, rock climbing, etc. Just curious your thoughts.

 

[Matty J]

....and it's an amazing configuration at that! I can't wait. So grateful for your post, thank you.

One question, and the thing I've now been pondering...Do I really need to spend the $2k on the Reinforced Underbody Shield? I will not be doing any crazy, off-roading, rock climbing, etc. Just curious your thoughts.

I do not have the underbody shield configured. With the skid plate and tow hooks I feel it will be more than enough for our use. I have no plans to get that crazy with rocks off road. Could be a mistake, but I think we will be OK with the clearance and A/T tires.

 

[mkg3]

They did not have one set to the lowest setting, the blue one was in low and the green one was in high. I found in the low setting of the blue one it is just a little higher ( less than an inch) for ingress/egress than my Jeep GC with quadratic is just to add a reference point.

I asked one of the Rivian staff there and was told that the vehicle is at the lowest height setting (sport). I did not get a clarification if that height is different than the lowest parking height (which I seem to recall reading somewhere...)

Curious what your opinion of luxury is just to get an idea of your taste. The look and feel of the interior with the different textures with minimal hard plastic pieces are where people say it is luxury. My opinion is it is at least 2 levels above my Model S in that category and probably close to BMW or Range Rover but opinions vary, that is only mine.

My original comment about how the interior is not luxurious or plush really has nothing to do with my taste; rather, the standard norms that most people have. Having said that, if I compare to say a Range Rover, Audi Q8/Q7, or MB/BMW equivalent, then Rivian is much closer to the Scandinavian minimalist-like interior I had on my 1st gen XC90.

I don't quite understand the comment about the textures and plastic. Unless you are comparing to entry level vehicles, its really apples-to-oranges comparison to me. Its given that any vehicle at this price range has certain amounts of upgrade materials and finishes. My comments are based on given that...

The fact that I made the comment that its basic and simple, was not meant to be low quality. Its more of fashion statement than anything else. And I actually prefer the simplicity over lots of appointments and fancy touches. I actually wish Rivian had more manual control switches and nobs for simple things (my number one complaint about my Model 3)

As for Model S, I would say it depends on which generation interior that you are comparing to. I am not a fan to the initial interior but the new/current is much better. And even in the original, it depends on which seat option was selected also made a big difference. In either case, all Tesla interiors are more minimalistic than traditional automakers so I do like that.

 

[Hexijen]

For those of you who have been there already, how crowded and busy is it at the Hub?

The video makes it look like its not too busy but it also happens to be on a Monday morning. I'm headed there on Thursday afternoon slot.

Thanks in advance.

If you go when they first launch something new, its busy but not packed. Easy to check out the vehicle with a small amount of waiting if you want to sit inside it, while someone else is there already. If you go any other time, its not an issue at all.

You can confirm this with google maps, it shows you how busy it is based on phone data and this week you can see the spike due to the R1S.

 

[Matty J]

I asked one of the Rivian staff there and was told that the vehicle is at the lowest height setting (sport). I did not get a clarification if that height is different than the lowest parking height (which I seem to recall reading somewhere...)



My original comment about how the interior is not luxurious or plush really has nothing to do with my taste; rather, the standard norms that most people have. Having said that, if I compare to say a Range Rover, Audi Q8/Q7, or MB/BMW equivalent, then Rivian is much closer to the Scandinavian minimalist-like interior I had on my 1st gen XC90.

I don't quite understand the comment about the textures and plastic. Unless you are comparing to entry level vehicles, its really apples-to-oranges comparison to me. Its given that any vehicle at this price range has certain amounts of upgrade materials and finishes. My comments are based on given that...

The fact that I made the comment that its basic and simple, was not meant to be low quality. Its more of fashion statement than anything else. And I actually prefer the simplicity over lots of appointments and fancy touches. I actually wish Rivian had more manual control switches and nobs for simple things (my number one complaint about my Model 3)

As for Model S, I would say it depends on which generation interior that you are comparing to. I am not a fan to the initial interior but the new/current is much better. And even in the original, it depends on which seat option was selected also made a big difference. In either case, all Tesla interiors are more minimalistic than traditional automakers so I do like that.

For what it's worth or helpful, on Monday the LG R1S was in "Low" mode 10.1, not the lowest. I grabbed a screenshot from the video I made to confirm. Not sure if they changed it or not later in the week. Maybe you can compare pictures to see if the ride height compares.

 

[mkg3]

If you go when they first launch something new, its busy but not packed. Easy to check out the vehicle with a small amount of waiting if you want to sit inside it, while someone else is there already. If you go any other time, its not an issue at all.

You can confirm this with google maps, it shows you how busy it is based on phone data and this week you can see the spike due to the R1S.

Thanks. I actually was there yesterday afternoon and you're very correct. It wasn't bad at all. There was a line at the bathroom that took longer than getting up close and inside of R1S.

 

[mb0220]

Anyone interested, here are the GVWR labels. The blue one matched the wheels on the R1S, the green one shows 21 inch wheels but had the 20 inch all terrain on so not sure what that setup label would be.

If these are both R1S then why do they have different GAWR Rear?

 

[Matty J]

If these are both R1S then why do they have different GAWR Rear?

22 vs 21 wheels.

 

[SANZC02]

If these are both R1S then why do they have different GAWR Rear?

Different tire configurations, for one, not sure if one may have had the extra off-road shield. We see the same differences on various R1T configurations.

 

[electruck]

22 vs 21 wheels.

Different tire configurations, for one, not sure if one may have had the extra off-road shield. We see the same differences on various R1T configurations.

If it were the mounted wheels, the front axle numbers would also have been different. There's a 90 lb difference so I suspect the LG was spec'd with the spare tire (which may or may not have actually been present [edit: no spare shown in the video]).

 

[SANZC02]

If it were the mounted wheels, the front axle numbers would also have been different. There's a 90 lb difference so I suspect the LG was spec'd with the spare tire (which may or may not have actually been present [edit: no spare shown in the video]).

That is probably the answer. The green one did not have the spare for sure. The blue one had a bunch of soccer balls in the back so I never opened it to see if it had the spare optioned or not.

 

[electruck]

That is probably the answer. The green one did not have the spare for sure. The blue one had a bunch of soccer balls in the back so I never opened it to see if it had the spare optioned or not.

The LG had the sticker with the heavier weight. My guess is Rivian removed the spare from the display vehicle. Things like that can have a tendency to grow legs.

 

[R1SChi]

Question. First, this is super helpful video review. Question: how is the first row in the backseat? I am also tall, have tall kids, and want to know 1) how the legroom was really and 2) if it will feel cramped with 3 across? We have a Hyundai and that works great but has the captain chairs. thank you

 

[NRJ]

Question. First, this is super helpful video review. Question: how is the first row in the backseat? I am also tall, have tall kids, and want to know 1) how the legroom was really and 2) if it will feel cramped with 3 across? We have a Hyundai and that works great but has the captain chairs. thank you

I was able to go to the Venice hub earlier today and sat in every seat. I'm six foot and was able to sit in the front comfortably in the drivers seat, then move to the 2nd row and still be comfortable. To do that though I had to slide the 2nd row almost to the back so if you are planning on sitting 7 people in there that are all tall-ish I'd say that wouldn't work. 2nd row slid all the way back kinda locked my legs in place while sitting in the 3rd row. I actually wouldn't have minded if the fixed 3rd row in the back was pushed back a little further because there is quite a bit of cargo area behind the 3rd row. (at least compared to my Honda Pilot)

Three across I didn't really test but it didn't really seem cramped back there. The 3rd row was pretty comfortable if you had someone a little shorter than I sitting in the 2nd in front of you.

One funny thing I didn't realize that I didn't really think of before was that there is no glove box. They tried to make up for it with other areas but still thought it was kinda funny. Not a big deal just something to get used to.

All in all, car looks great and I can't wait to get mine.

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