u/ashywenis

So after seeing a lot about the variety in tire choices is greater on the 20" wheels, I think I'm going to opt for those. My question is, if i buy those wheels then swap the tires out for after-market all-season tires, should I expect a similar 330 mi range as if I had gotten the 21" all season wheel option?

I'm going to be using my car 90-95% of the time for commuting on highways and streets, while planning on taking it camping/road trips maybe 3-4 times per year. My thought was that I could have the best of both worlds by buying the AT 20" in wheels but then taking the OEM tires off and saving the tread on those for when I actually make those trips into the mountains where the roads are going to be rougher, while at the same time extending my range/efficiency for day-to-day commuting with the all-season tires.

Had a 2nd R2 test drive today. Pretty much solidified my decision on buying it over a plug in hybrid such as the rav 4.

However upon discussing the decision on waiting for lidar or not (sales window estimated at sept-oct), the sales rep said that lidar is expensive and he’d expect that a r2 with lidar may come at additional cost. Realized I hadn’t thought about or seen something regarding this elsewhere. Can’t tell if that’s them just trying to get more people to pull the trigger on ordering as they keep peddling how the precise date on lidar release is unknown and it’s benefit to eyes off autonomy (in terms of expected release) is also unknown.

I’m not sure how much I would really need eyes off driving but it could cost a depreciation hit. However at the same time a gen 2 vehicle with autonomy + at fixed pricing included in the LE version of the car is also a plus.

Does anyone know if there has been any indication that R2 with lidar and RAP1 will cost more than currently released pricing?

I test drove the R2 today in Chicago and below are some of my impressions. I have never owned an EV before and R2 is likely to be my first ever EV. My family has mostly driven Hondas and Toyotas for reliability. I drive a 2016 Honda Fit currently. I’ve been considering the switch the EVs for about 5 years now and Rivian and the R2 are the first compelling EV I’ve seen in terms of aesthetics and capability. Finally have the increase in income to afford a great car.

PROS

Comfort: The cabin, touch points, and space definitely felt luxurious to me. The steering wheel feels great. The seats are comfy and supportive. 

Tech: I feel like I’ve watched every youtube video on the R2 and I think they all undersell how large the middle screen is because they’re all probably filming in like 0.5x zoom. It’s huge. So much room. Snappy and responsive. The driver display is about the size you’d expect. Smaller, but does what you need it to do. 

Drive: One of the smoothest driving cars I’ve had the pleasure to pilot. Barely feel bumps. The suspension does an excellent job absorbing everything. The acceleration is startlingly instant, and persistent even beyond 40-60mph. Speed will never be an issue in this trim. I mostly drove on the all purpose mode and only on the all season tires. 

NVH: Was expecting some wind noise from all the recent reviews, but was pleasantly surprised with a very peaceful, quiet cabin. 

Storage: Space everywhere, in the doors, double glove boxes, cup holders, other hidden compartments. Trunk hatch space is massive, and folding the rear seats back makes the back cavernous, plenty of space to haul some larger items when needed. 

Cameras: Insane. The image quality is incredible. 

Aesthetics: Saw the white in the showroom, and test-drove the half-moon gray. Both were gorgeous. It’s an absolutely beautiful car. 

CONS

Haptic Halo Wheels: I feel like these were advertised as one of the coolest new features of the R2, and I think they’ll either have a quick audience learning curve, or software updates, or people are going to be downright frustrated with them. Scrolling up and down works great, but everything else you attempt to gesture causes it to accidentally scroll up or down, making the experience very inconsistent and finicky. Fun idea, but don’t know if it was executed the best in practice. 

UI Learning Curve: This may be just that I’m coming from ICE cars with much worse tech, but I feel like jumping into an R2, the amount of UI you feel like you have to learn is somewhat overwhelming. It’s abated by the fact that nearly everything in the car that you absolutely NEED to get in and drive is relatively intuitive. But there seems to be so much depth to every setting and sub menu that it would takes weeks to months to fully know how to finetune the car to how you’d want it. I’m in my early 30s and use tech nearly as much as anyone in my day to day life and still found myself the tiniest bit overwhelmed. I suspect that after learning the UI well, it becomes much more of a strength than a weakness though. 

Rivian Assistant: Wasn’t able to get this to work, maybe they had it turned off?

NEITHER PRO NOR CON

Sound System: I thought that after seeing all the comments and posts that the sound system was going to sound like absolute dogshit, and then I turn on some of my favorite songs via bluetooth, and it was…. fine. Lol Idk I’m not an audiophile. It does the job for me so I’m glad it isn’t at all a deal breaker. 

OVERALL IMPRESSION

It’s incredible and likely solidified my decision to get an R2 Performance. Still undecided on waiting for lidar/RAP1 version or not, but expecting that my very recent February 2026 reservation makes that decision for me. 

Will it only be happening in June? Because I thought configurator was only happening in June. Has any non employee been able to place an order yet?