Any options for a 25+ ft extension cord to connect from my 50-amp NEMA receptacle to the VW portable charger?

I'm getting spooked by R1 and R2 owners saying they've been to the service center 10~15 times in a year or so. Is that real? I thought the advantage of an EV was 'no moving parts' and 'no service' and 'no maintenance'?

I have a VW Alltrack (AWD wagon) with 70k miles, and it has never been in the service center. Ever.

My ID.4 AWD Pro S with 70k miles has been to the dealer for one recall and to replace the comms module. That's it.

2023 AWD Pro S.

So the EPA figures show 114 mpge City for the R2 with 21" tires. That converts to 3.4 miles/kWh (114 / 33.7). So the Range would then be 3.4 x 88 kWh = 299.2 miles in the City, right?

If that's true, then Highway would be 96 mpge / 33.7 x 88 = 250 miles range on Highway, right?

So how does combined range = 330 miles?

I'll keep this short.

1. Blind spot cameras work great.
2. No need to use mirrors when parking
3. Acceleration is what everyone’s talking about.
4. Great map, responsive. Once I had zoomed out then when we got to a navigational turn it did not zoom back in (I expected it to) so I almost missed it.
5. Voice nav is great.
6. Adjusted seat manually while driving; this automatically triggered the settings panel on driver's view so I can also adjust steering wheel to compensate. Nice touch.
7. HVAC easy to control vents by pointing where you want them to go.
8. In-seat cooling wonderful, loud when on full but no more than anyother A/C when on full. Typically you would use that for 'quick cool' only.
9. Handling is ok for an EV, great for a real SUV, and better than my old 4Runner.
10. Steering over-corrects when coming out of a turn or out of parking if you let the wheel go on its own.
11. Autonomy+ Self driving works well, handles curves well.
12. Hesitated at off ramp.
13. Stopped well from 50 mph down to car at red light on 'medium.' Approach was fast because around a corner but handled well.
14. Changing lanes conservative then confident.
15. Speed limit sign in driver's view is helpful.

Could you (Rivian) go ahead and animate those headlamps so the 'eyes' can smile and show other emotions? Just kidding. Have a great weekend!

RJ, if you are skimming these posts, here's one missing item from the configuration that I think would be very popular with users: Offering the same 20" All-Season tires with a 330-mile range for the Performance (launch) version, as you do for the Premium version.

[Edited to remove some confusion]

That’s what they call it. Works for me.

To start: I haven’t been this excited about a new car since the release of the ’96 4Runner—a total remake that we were already calling the “mini Land Cruiser.”

To qualify, I’m still deeply in love with that 4Runner (which, by the way, has always been called the “Hi Lux Surf” in Japan). I’m also a UI and HMI designer, so I notice details. I’m not an EV newbie either: four years and about 70,000 miles, mostly long road trips with some off-roading. And I’m not interested in anything Tesla. Nothing against their lineup, I just found that none of their models fit my use cases. When I was researching my first EV, I went to Turo and spent three days each in a Model Y, an Ioniq 5, and an ID4. The Model Y came in a distant third.

My use case

Frequent long road trips. Regular off-road diversions (nothing intense—think the occasional Imogene Pass drive, 4~5 rating). Hauling stuff between work and play. Urban driving with tight street parking. No commuting, but maybe 5% of the time spent in gridlock. In short? Sport utility, in the true sense.

I’m definitely interested in autonomy, but I have zero interest in reading a book while I drive. (That said, I do have a habit of taking photos from the car while moving. So yes, autonomy!)

First impressions

The first thing I noticed was an instant feeling of understated strength and power.
Then, almost immediately: this car is just fun.

The drive

It started with a family of four pulling up in the test vehicle while we sat waiting for our turn. They all got out of the car with big grins, as if they’d just stepped off a roller coaster or come out of a really good movie. That was encouraging.

Setting up

The car is “bigger on the inside than on the outside,” basically a design philosophy of efficiency and unpretentiousness, and it matches my taste perfectly. Nothing feels contrived. Everything just fits, which is exactly what I read online before my drive.

Dialing in the seating and steering wheel was quick and intuitive (5'11 here). I especially loved that, once everything was set, a modal popped up asking whether I wanted to save the settings. Nice touch; no hunting through menus.

I love seeing the hood. Not sure why, but I never adjusted well to the concave 'drop off' in our current EV. That said, I made a mental note to try to check out the Esker Silver on a sunny day; curious whether a strong sun might reflect off that hood and into the driver's eyes?

Street driving

I was given a preset navigation route, which was okay because it let me see how the nav system works right away.

Visibility felt excellent, and I didn’t notice any obvious blind spots. The first thing I did was pull down on the “Express” toggle on the overhead panel to open all five windows, including the back one. It creates this wind-tunnel effect inside the cabin (maybe slightly exaggerated, but it genuinely feels like the air is refreshed every fraction of a second). Beautiful way to drive, like a convertible, but your hair stays in place.

I was unable to find voice guidance for nav.

Handling in sharp turns around corners felt confident and controlled. It’s not a sports car, but it handles better than any mid-sized ICE SUV because the low center of gravity really shows.

I didn’t get onto the highway, but I did test out “warp speed” on an open stretch—and my passenger grabbed my shoulder and said “wooahh!” Some people have commented on a slight delay in acceleration when you punch the pedal. I think that's a good thing. With that amount of power, imagine sneezing at a crosswalk. It felt responsive without being hair-trigger, which is what I expected in default mode.

Parallel parking was shockingly easy. The backup camera guides are helpful and feel more straightforward than in other vehicles I've driven. During one approach with an angle that was probably too sharp, the software emitted a 'tinkle' sound and a color alert, indicating I should start turning the wheel to correct it. Each time, I was able to park within an inch of the curb without taking a chunk out of the sidewall. For me, this is a win. I’m looking forward to self-parking mode.

Interfaces

The Halo wheels feel great, though I want more time with them to form a more definitive opinion. They did not feel cheap, and the haptic response felt realistic.

I also loved having the map right in front of me. My current EV shows visual driving directions in front of the driver, but the map here was simply better.

On the main screen, I really liked how you can “pull in” items from the left or right (think 'Minority Report") while keeping the main context visible, for example, the map during navigation. The design feels cohesive, and the heuristics are sensible.

Edit: Autonomy View in the Driver Display did not show 360 degrees; rather, cars ahead of me and some cars on my side.

A couple of UI niggles

I did run into a few small annoyances—most likely because I wasn’t fully familiar with the interface while driving.

First: HVAC controls. I found them hard to operate and even harder to locate, even after tapping the HVAC icon. I expected them to be more immediately accessible, but they seemed tucked into a corner of the screen when pulled up. I spent time tapping tiny icons, then realized I’d hit the wrong one and couldn’t easily back out. That’s the kind of thing that’s fixable with minor UI adjustments, which I believe will make the initial user experience more pleasant for new drivers. My copilot had the same issue. Maybe easier using the AI feature?

Second: the driver’s screen layout divides the view into thirds: infotainment (music/volume) on the left and driving info (nav/traffic/trip) on the right. I’d love an option to hide the infotainment panel so driving info can go full screen. (Not a dealbreaker—just something I noticed.)

Verdict

10/10 for a first drive. I’m looking forward to testing it on the highway next.

I've seen the custom-fit futons and that weird rooftop tent. What are your real plans?

New owners? What kind of range are you getting?

As an ID4 owner and previous 4Runner owner considering the R2,  I have a few questions and concerns.

As a former 4Runner owner, I see this as the EV version and can't wait. As a current ID4 owner of almost 4 years, I love the build quality and the ID4's firm, quiet ride, but the electronics are horrible. At the time, I thought, "So what, I'm buying a car, not a computer (one reason why I didn't go near the MY, after spending three days in one courtesy of Truro).

First of all, I’m probably not a typical EV owner. I'm not an off-roader per se, but I've taken my ID4 to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and deep into the Black Canyon. And I've taken my 4Runner all over the Rockies, including Black Bear Pass at Telluride. At the time I bought my ID4 (November '22), no other EVs offered 'real' off-road capabilities, but the ID4 came close.

Here are some of my concerns about the R2.

NCA Battery.  I’ve read that NCA can degrade faster than LFP or NMC, particularly when charging above 80% (Rivian recommends 70%), and that this is the trade-off for higher density and better performance.  I'll be driving at least 20k per year, so this is a major concern. (Note: I never charge above 80% except on road trips.) Concerns?

Regen braking as the only option does not allow for more efficient coasting, which is better on highways and in other driving situations (each time you convert energy from one source to another, you lose energy).  Comments?

No power on the rear gate. This concerns me because I had a 4-Runner many years ago, and each time I closed the gate, it required a hard close (basically slamming it), which knocked loose parts of the automatic window and the wiper assembly. This required multiple repairs.  Maybe just me.

Sunroof does not have a shade (same as MY), which can be an issue in states like Arizona, where I spend much of my time.

The turning radius isn't ideal compared to the ID4, but I’m guessing that’s just a matter of getting used to it.

The mobile service arrangement kind of freaks me out because it costs about $150 per call. Tell me more about this and how much you love (or don’t like) it?

How does the internet work, and does it have a hotspot? If so, are there carrier options?

By the way, I'm sure I'll be ecstatic about many of the R2's features compared to my ID4 (I've done a detailed study). I also have a question about whether I should wait for the Lidar-based FSD, but at this point, as an old-schooler, I'm not really concerned as long as I can get self-driving to work for traffic and long road trips - both of which work fine for me on the ID4 as long as I touch the steering wheel every 15 seconds!

Thanks in advance!

Hi. I've got 80,000 words in Scrivener across 55 chapters and 200+ endnotes. I now have two editors whom I'll be working with. I need track changes and a master copy, and I need to endnotes in place. I've been told Google Docs is the best way to go because it's easy to work with editors online. What is the best way to compile my project? I've tried compiling to docx, but the endnotes get stripped. Actually, some of them make it, but most do not. Even more strange. Help!