What I like least about my R1T

[EBEG]

My biggest disappointment with my R1T is that I don't feel connected to the amazing mechanical hardware because of all the software between me and the various systems. The performance is objectively amazing in everyway. I understand why there needs to be software controlling all aspects of an 835 horsepower 7,000 pound vehicle. But in my daily driving, it mostly feels heavy and a little cumbersome because of all the intervening software. I'm glad the motors whine like they do or I would feel even less connected.

Is this simply how cars will be from now on or is there a way to engineer better feel into an electric vehicle?

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[Dark-Fx]

But in my daily driving, it mostly feels heavy and a little cumbersome because of all the intervening software.

I'm not quite sure what interventions you're talking about. Feel free to turn off stability control, lane keep assist, always run in sport+lowest+stiff for full power all the time.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I understand why there needs to be software controlling all aspects of an 835 horsepower 7,000 pound vehicle. But in my daily driving, it mostly feels heavy and a little cumbersome because of all the intervening software.

it feels heavy and cumbersome because it is. That isn’t software holding you back — it’s physics.

If anything, software is working hard to make it handle better than it should/could if left only to mechanics.

 

[mabowden]

I'm not quite sure what interventions you're talking about. Feel free to turn off stability control, lane keep assist, always run in sport+lowest+stiff for full power all the time.

I keep forgetting to turn off lane keep assist. It is pretty awful, at least in southern california. It nudges me all over the place.

I will do that today .

 

[EBEG]

I'm not quite sure what interventions you're talking about. Feel free to turn off stability control, lane keep assist, always run in sport+lowest+stiff for full power all the time.

Those settings help, but they are still settings controlling the software response to your inputs. I really like my R1T and it is the best vehicle I have owned. I think all the software interpreting my inputs and keeping track of the vehicle systems reduces what I feel, making the vehicle feedback experience feel more like haptic feedback when playing a video game than I expected. It's clearly subjective to everyone, and some people may prefer the R1T set up to other vehicles, but it is what I have experienced.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I don't understand this take at all. There is software between you and the engine/motors in every modern vehicle.

Software isn't making an R1T feel like a 7000lb truck. The R1T BEING a 7000lb truck is what's making it feel like that.

 

[EBEG]

it feels heavy and cumbersome because it is. That isn’t software holding you back — it’s physics.

If anything, software is working hard to make it handle better than it should/could if left only to mechanics.

I think weight in a vehicle makes everything more challenging to engineer, including software.

Maybe the software has already made 7,000 pounds feel as good as it can ever feel.

 

[Dark-Fx]

it feels heavy and cumbersome because it is. That isn’t software holding you back — it’s physics.

If anything, software is working hard to make it handle better than it should/could if left only to mechanics.

Just the drivetrain alone is something that would be impossible to control as well. How could a human independently torque vector all four corners? Would the OP rather have mechanically damped suspension? Non-assisted steering? No power brakes?

IMO if you go into drift mode and turn off stability control, you find out pretty damn quick how good the Rivian system is at it's job, especially if you are driving around on surfaces where the truck can easily overpower the amount of traction it has. I mean seriously, the Rivian is faster to 60 mph than the Carrera GT that Paul Walker died in when the guy driving it lost control. And it's a 7000 lbs pickup truck.

 

[EBEG]

The responses are interesting.

No one has claimed, so far, to feel connected to the R1T and its mechanical systems when driving it.

I guess the answer to my question is "no."

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I feel very connected to my truck while driving it. I can still feel the road. The steering is tight. I can throw it around a corner and feel the edge of traction. It's not a 911 as far as driving feel goes, but it's certainly far superior to anything else I've personally owned.

EDIT: The thing that makes me feel most connected is the very nature of an EV itself. Not having to wait for anything to spool up in my motors like I would in an ICE instantly creates a better driving experience and feel for me. When I ask my R1T to do something it does it instantly.

 

[racekarl]

The responses are interesting.

No one has claimed, so far, to feel connected to the R1T and its mechanical systems when driving it.

I guess the answer to my question is "no."

I think we're all puzzled about what it is you are expecting or think the alternative would be. Cars have not been mechanically connected to their systems in the way you seem to be expecting since the 1980s when cable-controlled throttles and non-ABS brakes were common.

 

[Dark-Fx]

The responses are interesting.

No one has claimed, so far, to feel connected to the R1T and its mechanical systems when driving it.

I guess the answer to my question is "no."

I feel quite connected to my truck when it's in sport+lowest+stiff and I have the 22" sport tires on it. Could it be more responsive? Absolutely. Rivian dulled the responsiveness slightly in a previous update to soften the feel of all of the bumps and dips in the pavement. It's better for every day use, but definitely leaves the door open for a dedicated track mode where you aren't asked to make those concessions.

 

[moosehead]

Pretty sure this is the visceral connection that some ICE folks talk about as a potential negative for EV. Some miss the manual or auto shift points, custom aggressive exhaust, even the smell of petro in the morning, etc.

I was fearful of the above given my prior love affair with V8's, but got over it quickly due to the R1T's substantial performance advantages. I did throw up in my mouth a little bit during the first launch.

Now when seeing and hearing an ICE vehicle at WOT, a loud exhaust winding through the gears just seems to mask the slower speeds and highlights the inefficiencies. Kinda like a penis extention.

No offense intended.

 

[COdogman]

It sounds like you are simply talking about missing the sounds and feel of an ICE vehicle, which is also heavily dependent on software unless you are driving an old muscle car, which is pretty much the opposite of an EV.

Stop thinking about what you are missing and start thinking about what you are gaining. It doesn't feel the same because it isn't the same. It's new. They can add a snow mode to your truck via software update that adjusts your braking, your power to each wheel, the way the suspension responds. You can't do that with an ICE vehicle with a traditional suspension. They can do software updates but it's not nearly as flexible.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

The responses are interesting.

No one has claimed, so far, to feel connected to the R1T and its mechanical systems when driving it.

I guess the answer to my question is "no."

I ride motorcycles. I don't expect a 7k+ lbs truck to feel like that. So if you want to interpret that as "no" then go for it.... But if you expect that it should, then I think you've got unreasonable expectations.

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