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Rear Seat Room in R1S

Hmp10

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Has anyone here sat in the rear seat of the R1S?

I have a Tesla Model S which I generally love, but the rear seat room is abysmal for adults, to the point that I use our minivan anytime there are going to be more than two people. The car press lauds the Tesla for its interior room, front and rear, and that overblown praise causes me to discount anything the press reports on interior space.

I placed a deposit on a Lucid Air due to its focus on rear-passenger space and comfort. However, once I started looking at Rivian after its show circuit debut, I am finding the R1S very appealing. So I also put a deposit down on it. However, as far as I know, Rivian is not scheduled to appear at any car show near me any time soon.

The only way I will go ahead with delivery of the Rivian over the Lucid Air is if the Rivian is truly comfortable for rear seat adults of a "certain age". I would appreciate hearing from anyone with actual experience of the rear seat.
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Aurum

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I don’t have actual experience, but I do know on the fully charged YouTube episode featuring rivian, the rivian employee specifically said the third row was designed for 85th percentile adults to be able to fit comfortably.
 
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Hmp10

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Thanks. If I stay with the Rivian, I'm probably going to get the 180kW version which would not have the third-row seat. I am more concerned about the second row. The photos seem to show good legroom, but they often pull the front seats forward to photograph the second row.
 

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I've been wondering the same about rear seat legroom. Unfortunately I don't think anyone outside of Rivian employees has gotten any seat time (front or rear) yet, except for a few select people that Rivian has worked with for promotional shoots/videos. These are the only shots I've seen of someone in the rear seat.

RJ Scaringe and Alex Honnold (famous rock climber) sitting in the rear of the R1T. Alex Honnold is 5'11" and you can't see his legs in the shot but he doesn't seem to be sitting bolt upright for more legroom.

Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat Room in R1S Rivian-R1S-R1T-Rear-Seat-Legroom-4


Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat Room in R1S Rivian-R1S-R1T-Rear-Seat-Legroom-3




And this is Ben Moon, an adventure photographer. Seems like lots of space between him and the rear of the front seat. Also second photo you can see an adult sitting in the other rear passenger seat with plenty of leg room to spare (marked it with an arrow :cool:).

Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat Room in R1S Rivian-R1S-R1T-Rear-Seat-Legroom-1


Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat Room in R1S Rivian-R1S-R1T-Rear-Seat-Legroom-2
 

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I also assume that the second row will move up to make more accommodations for third row passengers, especially given the large amount of legroom the passenger has in the photo you posted above.
 

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Hmp10

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Thanks, Electronaut. I thought I'd seen every picture of the R1S on the internet, but I missed these. The rear seat room does look promising. A Motor Trend review also noted lots of second row room in the R1S, but I've gotten very cynical about such reviews. I've seen articles claiming the rear seat of the Tesla Model S is as capacious as a Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series. I've been in all those cars, and anyone asserting that claim is a hack.

Some of the newest EV's are addressing rear seat legroom by sculpting the battery pack to create a footwell for rear seat passengers, who don't have as much room as front seat passengers to stretch their legs forward. (The Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air are taking this approach, for example.) In my Tesla, the flat battery pack under the rear seat foot area makes you feel as if your knees are being pushed up under your chin. The Rivian is not sculpting its battery pack, but I'm hoping the upright cabin will ameliorate the issue by making the seat cushions high enough off the floor.
 

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The Rivian is not sculpting its battery pack, but I'm hoping the upright cabin will ameliorate the issue by making the seat cushions high enough off the floor.
I think seating will be comfortable like the Model X. RJ is a pretty tall guy and his knees seem normal height in the photo. Also look at all that headroom the rear passengers have in the photos I posted earlier. Wouldn't make much sense to drop the seats super low with that much cabin height space available.

Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat Room in R1S Rivian-R1S-R1T-Rear-Seat-Room
 
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Hmp10

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I also assume that the second row will move up to make more accommodations for third row passengers, especially given the large amount of legroom the passenger has in the photo you posted above.
I’ve read that the third row seat will slide backward to create more legroom if you can do with less cargo space. (I don’t know by how much.). That’s the first SUV I’ve heard of that can do that.
 

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Thanks. If I stay with the Rivian, I'm probably going to get the 180kW version which would not have the third-row seat. I am more concerned about the second row. The photos seem to show good legroom, but they often pull the front seats forward to photograph the second row.
I believe they just announced that you will be able to get the 180 and 7 seats, but I think that is going to be late 2022.
 
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Hmp10

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Thanks. I had read that the 180-kWh pack would be available with 3 seats in the future, but I didn't realize it was going to be that far out. I wonder what the reason is for the long delay?
 

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I’ve read that the third row seat will slide backward to create more legroom if you can do with less cargo space. (I don’t know by how much.). That’s the first SUV I’ve heard of that can do that.
That would explain why they claim there is only 7.1 cu ft. of storage behind the 3rd row. Photos I have seen seem to show more than that. LR4 has 9 cubic feet and I don't think you could fit a shoe box flat and still close the liftgate.
 

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I believe they just announced that you will be able to get the 180 and 7 seats, but I think that is going to be late 2022.
They said they are working on a larger capacity battery that will work with 7 seats, and details would be released "after launch".

No mention of battery capacity, range, or exact timeline.
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