u/dcdttu

The number of times I've been in the turning lane and a car in front of me realizes they shouldn't be there and proceeds to block all traffic behind them while waiting for a clearing to cut over and go straight. It's wildly dangerous, selfish, and illegal. Just turn and fix it later, safely. It often involves a quick U-turn and you're good to go.

First of all, it's really easy to get a demo in Austin. They're doing it at both locations.

I drove a white and half moon grey R2, both with the 20" wheels and A/T tires. Getting the seat in a good spot is easy, but I did notice that the white R2 seat was apparently partially broken as it wouldn't go down very far. I have a crazy-tall torso and felt uncomfortably high in that seat, but the driver’s seat in the showroom R2s would go way lower. I also felt the half-moon grey R2's seat also didn't go as low as others I had sat in. Definitely interesting. The vents are definitely reversed as far as the up-down controls on the screen. Add that to the fact that where the vents are aimed side-to-side has little to nothing to do with where the air actually blows, and it's a frustrating experience that I would call broken. I had to put my hand over the steering wheel and manually aim the vent until it was blowing in my face. The screen showed it aimed way to the left by the time I got it right. Not great, Rivian needs to fix this. Ventilated seats are a a dream. They make a bit of noise but not bad. I think the ultra-quiet cabin makes them seem louder than they are.

Speaking of cabin noise, the R2 is very quiet. Noises that transfer to the cabin from the wheels of my Model 3 are just not there in the R2. It's very quiet. Wind noise is at a minimum as well and the suspension is quiet when going over rough spots. My Model 3's front suspension is much more noisy/poppy.

The accelerator pedal has a lot of travel, and I mean a lot. I kinda wish Sport and All Purpose mode made it a bit more sensitive and it accelerated with less pedal pushing (more front-loaded if that makes sense). Other modes, like off-roading, maybe less sensitive. I actually thought the car was on the slow side compared to my Model 3 until I finally floored it by pushing the pedal all the way to the center of the Earth. She's very fast, but it stopped at 80mph due to it being locked at that speed, I assume.

The second time I drove the R2, I liked it a lot more. Not saying I didn't the first time, I just knew a bit more and could really drive the car to get a feel for it. I prefer the firm setting on the suspension, as other settings make the vehicle more wobbly and unsure-feeling. I really hope the Premium trim's suspension is on the firmer side, as that's basically the only reason I'd get the Performance over the Premium. I don't need the speed, 0-60 in 4.6 seconds is more than enough.

The vehicle's ride is very much SUV or truck-like, but not in a bad way. It's quite refined and with the suspension on firm, it was quite nimble in the streets of Austin. It seemed to hold its line well on the highway. I tried the autonomy features for about half a mile and they worked fine. I didn't do much with it.

The audio, coming from Model 3's premium stereo, is at first not great. The first demo I used the built-in Apple Music, the second time, Bluetooth. The second time I drove it, I stopped trying to compare it to my Tesla and just listened. Below 20, as others have said, it sounds just fine. It's clear, I love the front-biased sound stage (as it should be), and it had a pleasant, spacious sound. Immersive was set to high. I listened to electronic, Lord Huron, and some others and they all sounded good. What's missing? Bass. Sometimes mid-bass, sometimes sub-bass, sometimes both. Once I made peace that it's just not that punchy down low, it sounded a lot better to my ears. Taking the volume over 20 becomes a mess, Rivian should start attenuating frequencies that are harsh, cutting out, or sound bad above 20 for sure. Luckily the cabin is so quiet you really don't ever need to go over 20 unless you want to go deaf. (For reference, the EQ had been set by someone previously, and I liked it. Bass and treble were elevated by about half way up, and the mids were lowered a bit. Classic "U" shape. I did up the bass toward the end of the drive and did indeed get more bass. Though, having to modify the EQ at all shouldn’t be required for a good system to sound good, and having to max out the bass to get a still-unsatisfying amount is silly. C’mon Rivian, get better with audio. Not a dealbreaker, it’s fine.)

Random notes:

The trunk is huge, there's a sub-trunk and even a dedicated spot for a compact spare. The frunk is generous as well but the lid doesn't go up very high. I assume it's so it doesn't lift out of the reach of shorter people? Seemed weirdly low but shouldn't affect its use any.

I gunned it in all-purpose while watching the car stats screen (which is amazing) and it caused the front motor to engage. I did not feel any weirdness as the front clutch engaged the front motor. It was quiet and seamless.

The steering wheel control wheels work well unless you have to push the wheel in or out, then it's **way** too stiff and I tended to turn the wheel while pressing because turning the wheel is really, really easy. they need to make the press in/out action equally as easy as the other ways you manipulate the wheels and then it would be perfect. At the very least, make it slightly easier to press/pull the wheels.

Your phone holds on tight in the little spot you put your phone. MagSafe and/or Qi 2 is great. Not sure the charging speed from them though. It could be 7.5 Watts, or all the way up to 25 Watts if Rivian was smart and future-proofed them. Who knows.

I will wait for reviews and a demo drive of the Premium before I make my decision. I was going to wait for the upgraded autonomy suite to be included anyway, so it's not a big deal. I for sure want Rivian to fix the vent aiming mess, the seat-lowering issues, and hopefully get the audio system to sound better.

Coming from a Model 3, I thought visibility would be a problem with the R2 having such a big hood/front. It wasn't. I had a VW Atlas as a rental 2 weeks ago and that car was a nightmare to see out of. The R2 was not, so much so I didn't even notice...and that's a good thing.

I'm leaning toward the Glacier White exterior (it's Texas, and the sun is brutal) or Esker Silver, which I need to first see in person. I like Launch Green, but not enough to pay for it.

Ask away if you have specific questions.