Swapped things around on the Nismo. The 57CRs are back on the stock Dunlops for summer, and I moved the all-seasons over to the OEM Nismo wheels for winter.
Now I’ve got a dedicated summer and winter setup.
Wanted to compare my driving data from August 2025 in my R1T to August 2026 in my R2.
R1T (with the Super Pacific, Toyo Open Country A/T III EV tires, and loaded to roughly 7,500 lbs): 2,708 miles, 1.88 mi/kWh, 1,440 kWh used
R2: 3,312 miles, 3.12 mi/kWh, 1,062 kWh used
So I drove the R2 about 600 miles farther while using roughly 378 kWh LESS energy. That's about a 66% improvement in efficiency.
Charging is another interesting part of this.
The R2 took in about 1,073 kWh of charging energy during the month. At my home rate of $0.075/kWh, charging all of that at home would have cost roughly $80. I did use Tesla Superchargers, Electrify America, and RAN during the month, but almost all of that was by choice rather than necessity. The only time I actually needed to fast charge was in Ellensburg so I could complete WABDR Section 3. Outside of that, I could have made it back home and charged there if I wanted to.
Tesla Supercharging: 158.7 kWh / $98.47
Electrify America: 70 kWh / $41.40
RAN: 44.3 kWh / $20.31, but those sessions were refunded.
Including my home charging, my actual net charging cost was about $200 for the month. If I had prioritized home charging whenever possible, it would have been much closer to roughly $80 plus the one Ellensburg fast-charge stop I actually needed.
Fair comparison caveat: this still isn't a perfect apples-to-apples test. The R1T was heavier, had the Super Pacific mounted, and was running all-terrain tires. The R2 month wasn't exactly easy driving either. I spent about 3 days off-road and did quite a bit of higher-elevation driving.
This is really just an observational post, but after a full month of using the R2 for work and everyday life, it seems to fit my lifestyle a little better. I'm not giving up much usable range for the way I actually drive, while also saving money on the payment and, outside of fast charging, quite a bit on energy.
Same driver. Same general area. Same month of the year. Very different vehicles.
Over my first month I've driven 3,171 miles across 123 drives, used about 1,037 kWh, and averaged 3.06 mi/kWh with the 20 All terrains.
My overall average speed across those drives was 34.5 mph. And the individual drives show just how much conditions matter.
My best substantial drive was 75.8 miles at 4.36 mi/kWh, averaging 28.2 mph.
My worst was 18.6 miles at 1.22 mi/kWh, averaging 32.7 mph, but that drive also climbed almost 4,000 vertical feet with basically no descent.
Another mountain climb was 26.1 miles at 1.73 mi/kWh with 3,356 ft of elevation gain.
Even on a much longer drive, I did 172.7 miles at 2.73 mi/kWh, averaging 59.2 mph, while still climbing more than 7,700 ft total.
Over 3,096 miles in All-Purpose mode, I've averaged 3.08 mi/kWh.
So when I post one drive getting terrible efficiency going up a mountain, that's not me saying the R2 only gets that range. Over more than 3,000 miles of actual driving, I'm averaging 3.06 mi/kWh at an average speed of 34.5 mph. Speed, terrain and elevation make a huge difference.
Even with some limitations compared to the R1 platform, it handled amazingly. It’s also surprisingly great to sleep in.
Next up: 18-inch wheels with 33s… although I’m wondering if we can push 34s!!! And I definitely want a proper lift, not spacers.
I may even stick with the BFGs when I move to 18s. They’ve honestly impressed me so far.
The r2 handled the enter section 3 of the BDR like a champ. I do miss air suspension in some rocky/bumpy parts hut all together she just bounced through it all.
Just move the green Pelican case on top of the black one and I can sleep comfortably. Not fully set up for all my SAR missions since I still need to work the radio issue, but close. They are pricey. I have a set for the land cruiser already and tried to make this work with the original foamy and it just bunched up.
Skip to about 4 minutes in to start the actual walk through. Go over a lot of things to even include under the vehicle, how to find the owners manual and ya... live action service ticket.
Was going to Portland for Pleasure Burger, but woke up with a migraine and didn't get that all fixed with meds until about 11am... so I drove the R2 from Gig Harbor to Ridgefield, WA for In-N-Out and figured it was the perfect excuse to finally do my own longer-range trip and see what my actual setup would do.
BFG Trail-Terrain 20s
All-Purpose mode
307-mile rated range
A/C running
Outbound:
130.5 miles
3.29 mi/kWh
99.7% to 56.4%
50.1 mph average
77.4 mph max
Light tailwind
Return:
132.4 miles
2.81 mi/kWh
56.4% to 4.9%
55.2 mph average
77.0 mph max
Light headwind
Full trip:
262.8 miles
3.03 mi/kWh
86.8 kWh used
Finished at 5% with 15.5 miles still estimated (I think my battery holds 91.5 kwh)
That projects to about 277 miles of total range, or roughly 90% of the 307-mile rating.
The biggest thing I noticed was how much conditions changed the result. Going south, the overall elevation trend and light tailwind helped. Coming back north, I had the opposite, with the gradual climb from the Woodland/Paradise Point area toward Napavine, a headwind, and the HVAC turned up a little higher.
The telemetry backs that up too. My sustained ~70 mph sections averaged about 2.79 mi/kWh combined, but there was a noticeable difference depending on direction. The southbound section was more efficient, while the northbound section took the bigger hit.
Same vehicle, same tires, same drive mode, nearly the same distance, but 3.29 mi/kWh one way and 2.81 mi/kWh the other. The return also averaged about 5 mph faster, so that likely contributed as well.
For my R2, on the setup I actually drive every day, I’m pretty happy with that result.
Sean came along in his Gen 1 Quad R1T on Toyo all-terrains, which gave us a fun side-by-side comparison on the exact same trip. He covered 274.6 miles at 2.18 mi/kWh overall and finished with about 3% battery remaining. His outbound leg averaged 2.3 mi/kWh, while the return dropped to 2.1 mi/kWh, so he saw the same general trend I did with the drive back being less efficient.
Two different Rivians, two different tire setups, same route, and both showed how much direction, wind, elevation, speed, and HVAC can move the efficiency numbers around.
I should have a video about the trip tomorrow.
Gig Harbor to Portland for a Smash Burger at Pleasure Burger (My long time friend owns the place so any chance I get I go), then back as far as I can to Gig Harbor.
All Purpose. BFG Trail Terrains. 307 range estimate. 70mph most the way down and up.
I do believe I should easily make it back to Olympia but pushing for Tacoma Telsa Super Charge. What do you think?
There has been a lot of discussion around the R2’s real-world range, especially after recent 70 mph testing. Rather than trying to recreate a controlled range test, I wanted to show what the R2 looks like during an actual week of work and fun for someone who drives considerably more than average.
As a real estate photographer, a typical workday involves traveling to multiple homes throughout Pierce and Kitsap counties in Western Washington State. The routes include highways at around 60 to 65 mph, back roads, neighborhood streets, traffic, and constant elevation changes. Many of these drives repeatedly move from near sea level to around 400 feet. Traffic around Bremerton and the shipyard can also be rough, so there is plenty of stop-and-go driving mixed in.
There is also a pretty established history here of putting serious mileage on Rivians.
The Gen 1 Quad-Motor R1T covered more than 40,000 miles in just under two years. The Gen 2 Tri Max then reached 45,000 miles in only 18 months, which works out to roughly 30,000 miles per year.
Between those two trucks, that is more than 85,000 miles in less than three and a half years. So the question with the R2 was never whether it could handle a short commute or occasional weekend use. The question was whether a smaller and more affordable Rivian could still keep up with a high-mileage work schedule.
The R2 is charged to 100% every night, just like both previous R1Ts. It is currently equipped with BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain tires, and most highway driving stays around 60 to 65 mph, with very little time spent over 70 mph.
Rivian Roamer is being used to track driving and charging. For whatever reason, it missed the first 75 miles, but tracking started during an off-road trip through Tahuya ORV Park. Monday marked the beginning of the work week, which continued through Thursday evening. By then, the R2 had about 745 miles on the odometer, with nearly 700 miles driven in roughly five days.
During the recorded portion, Rivian Roamer tracked 641.9 miles across 41 separate drives, with an overall efficiency of 3.0 mi/kWh. That included an off-road day, four days of work travel, highways, back roads, traffic congestion, elevation changes, and dozens of individual stops.
Sunday’s trip through Tahuya ORV Park also brought the weekly efficiency down. Slow off-road driving is not particularly efficient because the vehicle is still powering its systems and moving a heavy vehicle while covering very little distance. Even with that included, the R2 averaged 3.0 mi/kWh across the tracked week.
Monday through Thursday alone accounted for approximately 534 miles, or more than 130 miles per workday. The busiest day was close to 150 miles.
That is probably more daily driving than most R2 owners will experience. But for this kind of work, the vehicle needs to travel between counties, carry equipment, deal with unpredictable traffic, and still leave enough flexibility for another appointment or an unexpected detour.
Across the tracked period, 222.6 kWh was added through five charging sessions. At a home electricity rate of approximately 7.5 cents per kWh, that cost only $16.70.
The biggest takeaway was not a theoretical maximum range. It was how easily the R2 fit into a normal routine.
The vehicle was driven throughout the day, plugged in at home each night, and ready again the next morning. There was no need to stop at a public charger during the work week, and no need to organize appointments around charging. Even on days with 140 to 150 miles of driving, the R2 completed the schedule without making range something that required constant attention.
This is not intended to be a controlled range test, and it is not meant to dispute anyone else’s results. Weather, speed, terrain, tires, climate use, and driving style will all affect efficiency.
This is simply an example of what the R2 looks like when used as a high-mileage work vehicle.
In its first several days, it went from an off-road park to more than 500 miles of work travel across Pierce and Kitsap counties. It handled highways, back roads, hills, traffic, frequent stops, and 41 separate drives while averaging 3.0 mi/kWh.
After more than 85,000 miles across two R1Ts, the expectations were already clear. The R2 did not need to produce one specific range number.
It needed to keep up with someone who drives as much as 30,000 miles a year.
So far, it has.
To be fair I needed to take off the side panel in order to get to the tail light in the R1T..... when in the r2 is only a small bolt.
