What I like least about my R1T

[Thud]

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?

Have you driven trucks before? It’s big and heavy.

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[Dark-Fx]

Things I'm currently testing to determine if a bug exist:
The Air Compressor didn’t stop at the PSI I entered, and kept going well past the set point. It worked correctly for the first couple of tires, but didn’t work correctly for the third. It doesn’t output the PSI as it increases so there is no way of knowing its going over.

Not a bug, the Rivian has a "blow" mode for the compressor. it's activated after a short period of inactivity with the compressor. If you don't see "Set" flashing after you hit start, it's in blow mode instead of fill mode. Easy to overlook if you don't know to look for it, but obvious once you do.

 

[RivnSoon]

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."

Connected to a modern vehicle? There is no such thing anymore. If you want connected, purchase an analog vehicle of your choice. Keep the R1T for what it is- heavy and quick EV

 

[goldburger]

I don’t like how big the window shade is and how hard it’s clipped in. I have to basically duck out of the way to move it to the side window. That’s pretty much the only thing I don’t like. Everything else is just a quirk IMO.

 

[aw113sgte]

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."

For a truck, it's fantastic. It's actually enjoyable to drive fast through twisties. Source: have owned NSX, s2000, Miata ND, MR2, Camaro SS, tundra, Tacoma, Xterra, raced motorcycles.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Not a bug, the Rivian has a "blow" mode for the compressor. it's activated after a short period of inactivity with the compressor. If you don't see "Set" flashing after you hit start, it's in blow mode instead of fill mode. Easy to overlook if you don't know to look for it, but obvious once you do.

Thanks.

I'll keep this in mind next time I test it.

Obviously there is going to be a small amount of an inactivity as I go from one tire to the next.

I still don't like that it doesn't output the current PSI so I can see what its at.

 

[Iwannarivian]

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."

Ok…I’ll bite! Not sure what your background of car ownership has been or what exactly you define as your ideal driving car, but from the sound of it, maybe you are being a tad bit critical?!

I owned for about 8 yrs a Backdraft Racing Shelby Cobra that weighed about 2300Lbs, had 530 HP and NO DRIVER AIDS…that said, if you want to feel more ”in touch” with what the car is doing via your inputs then may I suggest a purely mechanical/analog type vehicle may be what you desire. They are more exciting I will say than a Rivian, in the aspect that they are ALWAYS trying to KILL YOU…but if that’s the driving experience you seek, then I think that’s the direction you should go…

Personally, I like having the option of multiple levels of driving aids to choose based on my current driving needs, wants and mood I’m in…being able to select whether or not the vehicle is helping you drive or leaving you to your own devices is a very cool thing IMO!

 

[Dark-Fx]

Ok…I’ll bite! Not sure what your background of car ownership has been or what exactly you define as your ideal driving car, but from the sound of it, maybe you are being a tad bit critical?!

I owned for about 8 yrs a Backdraft Racing Shelby Cobra that weighed about 2300Lbs, had 530 HP and NO DRIVER AIDS…that said, if you want to feel more ”in touch” with what the car is doing via your inputs then may I suggest a purely mechanical/analog type vehicle may be what you desire. They are more exciting I will say than a Rivian, in the aspect that they are ALWAYS trying to KILL YOU…but if that’s the driving experience you seek, then I think that’s the direction you should go…

Personally, I like having the option of multiple levels of driving aids to choose based on my current driving needs, wants and mood I’m in…being able to select whether or not the vehicle is helping you drive or leaving you to your own devices is a very cool thing IMO!

Getting ads for estate planning below this post. Hmm.

 

[atebit]

The OP sounds like everyone in my Porsche club chapter that doesn’t own a Taycan.

So that would be the entire chapter minus three.

 

[srnyoung]

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.

I remember a long time ago when the F16 first came out, pilots described the same feeling in the “fly-by-wire” machine.

Like others have said, I guess that ship has sailed. Those software filters exist to make our vehicles safer. That edge of danger made it feel more real but I guess I don’t miss it. I don’t need my 3.5 ton super truck to be more dangerous for thrills. When I want that adrenaline rush I get my mountain bike out and hustle down a hill. (I also prefer to ride up the hill to feel like I earned it first.)

 

[ImAI]

I dont like backing into tight corners in the R1T because the proximity display is on the center console where it is useless becayse your eyes are glued to the main screen which is showing the cameras.
BMW i3 has this wonderful display which showed the proximity markers on the same screen as the reverse cameras.

Also dont like the fact that heated wheel being on and heated seat settings are lost and not restored automatically upon entering the vehicle.

 

[WSea]

I dont like backing into tight corners in the R1T because the proximity display is on the center console where it is useless becayse your eyes are glued to the main screen which is showing the cameras.
BMW i3 has this wonderful display which showed the proximity markers on the same screen as the reverse cameras.

Also dont like the fact that heated wheel being on and heated seat settings are lost and not restored automatically upon entering the vehicle.

Agree that the proximity display isn’t in intuitive location. Personally I wouldn’t want seat and wheel to restore between uses. You could turn them on a few minutes before leaving with the app

 

[Arky]

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?

I realize I'm skipping all the comments here to reply to the OP but I'm not sure this could be further off the mark. It's never going to feel like a miata but compared to every other vehicle in this class I think the driving feel is top of the pack. The fact that there's any steering feedback in a truck and you can directly feel the torque vectoring working and supporting what you're trying to do is something else. Fully defeatable stability control in a truck is practically unheard of, but we have it. It's not particularly 'analog', but it's the opposite of cumbersome.

The only thing that lets it down (driving experience wise) is the sheer mass. You simply can't get around the fact that the vehicle is 3 1/2 tons. They need to seriously audit their construction and design to cut weight, which would help them on the cost front too.


Things I don't like are almost entirely related to the "living with the car" aspect of it. The lack of good interior storage for driver and passenger, poor ingress/egress, incredibly high idle power usage, and general oddness about maintenance, repair and recovery procedures (someone is going to kill themselves using the spare tire jack) are issues that really ought to be fixed. Car reviews miss a lot of that but it's what owners have to deal with.
Features like the second compressor and speaker and stuff are fairly unnecessary (although from people I talk to they think it's cool this stuff is built in, so maybe marketing was on to something). I'd rather see a beefy inverter that could give us high power 120 and 240V output, we can pack our own compressors/etc if we need them which further saves weight.

 

[EBEG]

I realize I'm skipping all the comments here to reply to the OP but I'm not sure this could be further off the mark. It's never going to feel like a miata but compared to every other vehicle in this class I think the driving feel is top of the pack. The fact that there's any steering feedback in a truck and you can directly feel the torque vectoring working and supporting what you're trying to do is something else. Fully defeatable stability control in a truck is practically unheard of, but we have it. It's not particularly 'analog', but it's the opposite of cumbersome.

The only thing that lets it down (driving experience wise) is the sheer mass. You simply can't get around the fact that the vehicle is 3 1/2 tons. They need to seriously audit their construction and design to cut weight, which would help them on the cost front too.


Things I don't like are almost entirely related to the "living with the car" aspect of it. The lack of good interior storage for driver and passenger, poor ingress/egress, incredibly high idle power usage, and general oddness about maintenance, repair and recovery procedures (someone is going to kill themselves using the spare tire jack) are issues that really ought to be fixed. Car reviews miss a lot of that but it's what owners have to deal with.
Features like the second compressor and speaker and stuff are fairly unnecessary (although from people I talk to they think it's cool this stuff is built in, so maybe marketing was on to something). I'd rather see a beefy inverter that could give us high power 120 and 240V output, we can pack our own compressors/etc if we need them which further saves weight.

You can feel good because you hit many of the previous responses, which were: (1) it's a 7,000 pound truck, which presumably means that feel and connection can't be good, (2) all new cars have tons of software between driver and vehicle, so the distant feel should be expected and how didn't I expect it?, (3) some R1T owners feel connected to the R1T, (4) confusion as to what I meant by connection and feel, (5) point out the positive features available with the R1T design, (6) suggest that I reevaluate my relationship with my R1T, (7) wonder if I expected a BEV to feel like an ICE vehicle, (8) wonder if I know what driving a truck is like, and (9) suggest vehicle alternatives to me including motorcycles and Miatas.

On further reflection and thinking about the responses here, I think 90% of my issue is the 7,000 pounds. However, I agree that feel and connection experience are probably as close to ideal as they can be in a 7,000 pound vehicle. My problem is that I simply underestimated how much the mass would affect the driving experience on a daily basis.

Having said that, I really like my R1T and love many of the features and abilities. I'll just enjoy it for what it is - the best pickup one can drive.

 

[WylieD]

The lack of fast-charger infrastructure in the western United States.

Yeah, not Rivian’s fault. But a real problem for those of us who want to use their Rivian in remote areas, when coupled with the vehicle’s sub-300-mile range (AT tires.)

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