I'll have a Rivian RT1 in my driveway for the next 5 days. Anyone have any questions on it?

My buddy works for them and has one, and will be parking it at my house for a week while he's on vacation (I'm close to the airport). 

Anyone have any questions on it? I'll be driving it some, but won't be able to talk to range or recharge time. 

I had to look up what that is.

Well... I wouldn't use an electric vehicle in the applications they're advertising. I kinda want to know how it would actually do in those conditions and what they're doing to prevent you from getting stranded if used as advertised.

I do not expect you to test it in those conditions.

The majority of my questions involve things you won't be likely to do,, like hauling, towing, off-road.

Measurements of the bed would be nice, empty handling, street manners, parking, interior comfort and space. 

Fit, finish, build quality?

People seem to complain about those for Tesla.

I have a friend who's an offroad trainer who's been working with Rivian for some time, he's doing their in-house driver training. Bill is a better driver than any of us :) He's had a long term loaner R1T and has been taking it all over the place. He loves it, it's apparently extremely capable and the range has not been an issue even on multi-day trips. He just posted an update to his FB page:

Almost 3 months now in our school room, a few thousand miles, student driven and rough tracks to highway - well done Rivian! We have pushed it to almost empty and "ain't skeered" about 'range' any more than we do with our ICE rigs. We have been using the 70% charge rate which gives us 280 miles. Range vs actual has been a reliable 9% - 12% for off road and use of climate systems on the highway back from the field. Actually better than my ICE when the A/C is on.

...

We have experimented with the type of drive mode we use in various terrain. Sometimes we select "hold off" to allow more 2 foot drive control. Sometimes we use "high Regen" to allow a similar effect. Having attribute options is a nice feature with this truck. We always suggest selecting different drive modes in a similar terrain area to get used to how they feel and act. That way the driver can be more adept at selecting the attribute that suits best. R1T is a very capable vehicle for sure!

Interesting note, he just added an older 4runner to the school fleet as well and he modified it. The Rivian has a new set of tires and that's about it, but they're both being used for the same terrain.

https://www.facebook.com/4WheelingAmerica for anyone who wants to see Rivians getting dirt on their tires.

So I'm taking mild off-road capability as a given.

I'd be interested in stuff like street manners, general utility, visibility, that sort of thing. Does it bring anything to the table you don't expect, or is it just "truck, but electric"?

I have heard shocking things about the Rivian's off-road capabilities. It's supposedly really really good. 

Rivian produces nice videos about young, physically fit, and ethnically diverse people of many gender identities having wonderful experiences and making happy memories.

But they don't produce burnout videos.

So my question is "Does the R1T roast 'em?"

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Rivian produces nice videos about young, physically fit, and ethnically diverse people of many gender identities having wonderful experiences and making happy memories.

ie, Tacoma owners :) The fact that there's a factory roof tent option pretty much says everything you need to know about the target market. They're not really directly competing with the F150 Lightning any more than the Tacoma competes with the normal F150.

Burnout capability is basically a given for EVs unless the traction control cannot be defeated. That's one of those things we'll just have to start taking for granted.

Keith Tanner said:

Burnout capability is basically a given for EVs unless the traction control cannot be defeated. That's one of those things we'll just have to start taking for granted.

Nope, not gonna start taking it for granted.  When it comes to burnouts, I'm from muhZURRuh.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Wouldn't you be more interested in muddin' ability, then? I am not clear on my Southern Culture, it wasn't covered in the civics test for citizenship.

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Wouldn't you be more interested in muddin' ability, then? I am not clear on my Southern Culture, it wasn't covered in the civics test for citizenship.

Missouri, the "Show me state".  Took me a minute to decipher it.

Is there any room left in the cabin after a 6'3" driver gets settled in the front?  I like that they are Ranger size but wonder how much usable space is in the cabin after my lanky butt gets comfy.

mapper said:

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Wouldn't you be more interested in muddin' ability, then? I am not clear on my Southern Culture, it wasn't covered in the civics test for citizenship.

Missouri, the "Show me state".  Took me a minute to decipher it.

Thank you for the translation :)

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Indeed, AFAIK Missouri is pronounced muh-ZURR-uh by the people who are from there.

Would you be willing to fork out $70k of your money to own one? 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Indeed, AFAIK Missouri is pronounced muh-ZURR-uh by the people who are from there.

I got that part, it was the "show me" part I didn't get. I thought it was more of a reference to how much Missourians liked their burnouts.

Toyman! said:

Would you be willing to fork out $70k of your money to own one? 

 

Always my issue. I read the reviews and fall in love again and see the "price as tested" and about swallow my tongue again. Same problem with the F150 and basically all new trucks though, and someone's buying them, so maybe in 15 years I'll have a 2022.

In reply to dculberson :

The big question is will the electrics need a $10k+ battery when they are 15 years old? 

In reply to Toyman! :

You can ask the same question about ICE vehicles. It's looking like battery longevity is not that much different than ICE engine longevity. It's usually measured in full discharge cycles. Using 50% of the charge and charging up to 100% is considered a half cycle.

That's sort of like my BMW basing service intervals on gallons of fuel consumed instead of miles driven, harder use means it needs more frequent service.

tremm said:

Seems like a off roading silently is going to be really cool. I'd like to know what kind of noises you get to hear without combustion overpowering everything.

"Range vs actual has been a reliable 9% - 12% for off road and use of climate systems on the highway back from the field." < What does that mean? The Rivian tells you 100 mile range estimated- and you get 88-91 mile actual range while you drive off road? Or you get 9-12 mile actual range?

I think he meant within 9-12% of rated range based on his other posts. You can dig through his FB page to find them, he's put up a number of posts about the Rivian on extended off-road trips. He's certainly going further than 12% of the 280 miles he mentions.

I think EV torque delivery would work really well offroad and getting the noise out of the back country would be nice. No idling, either, so you're only using real energy when actually moving. I've asked Bill if I can join him on a day trip to see how the truck does, just out of curiosity.

Can it do a burnout? What happens when you mash the gas and the brake at the same time?

Toyman! said:

Would you be willing to fork out $70k of your money to own one? 

 

I have recently run up against this. I'm a cheap ass. If right now I'm dropping that much money on an EV it will not be strictly a commuter. It will need to be able to road trip. Which means I'm buying a Tesla. They have a FAR superior charging network.

If all EV charging networks were equal I'd be extremely interested in a Rivian.

Just tell us what you see.

slefain said:

Can it do a burnout? What happens when you mash the gas and the brake at the same time?

You can hear the battery rev.