(Bloomberg) -- As Tesla Inc. has become more difficult to stomach for a number of reasons, political and otherwise, Rivian Automotive Inc. has emerged as a viable alternative.
The Irvine, California-based company has been in the news of late, most notably for plant shutdowns and disappointing quarterly losses, postponing plans to build an electric-vehicle plant in Georgia and a cash infusion from Volkswagen AG, which committed $5 billion in June to start a joint venture with the 15-year-old company. The investment spells salvation for Rivian, which loses about $32,705 per vehicle it sells. We featured it last month in Bloomberg Businessweek and discussed it on the Hot Pursuit! podcast, which I co-host with Bloomberg Television’s Matt Miller.
I drove a Rivian R1T truck in 2021. It was an exciting if overpriced new offering with a cool design and some kinks to work out. Introducing a pickup as its first production vehicle was a canny, though audacious and possibly naive, move to plunge into the highly profitable truck segment but also take on the likes of Ford Motor Co., which has owned the segment with its bestselling F-150 for four decades running. The R1S is the truck’s SUV counterpart that started deliveries in 2022. It’s aimed at wealthy families and upwardly mobile Patagonia wearers who require a large rig for their athletic and recreational activities (aka running errands and sitting in traffic, if we’re honest). If not also to enhance their do-gooder image.
Rivian revealed the second generation of both the R1T and R1S in June. While the exterior design of its flagship vehicles remains largely unchanged, they now come with hundreds of hardware improvements, performance optimizations, a redesigned software system and new drive calibrations. Compared with their first-generation forebears, Rivian’s second-gen vehicles are well-improved. They’re worth consideration from any buyer who wants an American-made EV—or who simply doesn’t want all the baggage associated with driving a Tesla.
The Essentials
The base R1S starts at $75,900. I drove the R1S Performance Dual Max, one of an array of variants denoted by a rotary of mix-and-match terms like Adventure, Performance, Max-Pack, Dual-, Tri Motor and Quad Motor, which offer a spectrum of pricing, battery, aesthetics and performance capabilities. All told, four different motor and battery variants are available for preorder right now, a spokesperson says. Deliveries on the Dual Motor variants like the one I drove have already started; the others will come later. The top-end Quad Motor (1,025 horsepower) starts deliveries in 2025, the spokesperson says. Pricing on that has yet to be announced.
Sitting close-ish to the entry side of the lineup, the R1S Performance Dual Max starts at $94,900, but the one I drove, with its given trim and convenience options, costs $100,950. Even without add-ons, it’s expensive: Tesla’s entry-level Cybertruck lists for $60,990, and the smaller, five-passenger Model X SUV starts at $79,000; Kia’s EV9 SUV starts at $54,900. There’s a chance the electric Cadillac Escalade will be more expensive—it’s expected to cost $130,000 when it goes on sale later this year.
The R1S Performance Dual Max has an enhanced 410 miles of range (up from 258 miles in base models), with a battery that will fill from 10% to 80% in about 40 minutes on DC fast charging. Rivian says the SUV will add 140 miles of range in around 20 minutes. In a week of driving, I never had to charge the thing even once. That was a relief considering my last charging experience: It involved a tow truck and a $466 shakedown.
Its new autonomy system uses 11 cameras, five radars and other technologies to view 360 degrees even in poor weather and lighting conditions. It has Blind Spot Monitoring, Highway Assist and Lane Change; expanded capabilities will come later this year, Rivian says. I can attest the extensive system aids parking this large SUV, especially in tight garages. But the dashboard screen images of other cars around me in morning commute traffic were consistently imprecise, if not downright inaccurate. It didn’t feel unsafe, but it did feel silly.
Inside, a new “dynamic” glass roof can be tinted electronically at the touch of a button (it’s a $1,500 upgrade on Dual Motor versions and standard on the higher-powered Tri Motor), and an interior illumination system offers a rainbow of hues to drench the cabin in subtle and calming light. Also new are aero wheels and tires that reduce drag compared with previous generations. An updated suspension and air springs are here, too.
The Good
Rivian has developed a clever exterior, instantly recognizable even to casual observers, with its signature vertical headlights and grille-less front. The vibe is more quiet luxury than the Cybertruck’s Brutalist edges and the Model X’s attention-grabbing gull-wing doors; it will score you points with the more reserved among your neighbors. The one I drove came standard with cool new 22-inch Sport Bright wheels and a lovely forest-green paint ($2,500), which reminded me yet again why the right kind of green is never wrong (see also: Old Defenders and Land Rovers). Silver paint on the R1S comes included; if you want anything less generic, such as green, blue or even just black, it costs more.
The quality of the R1S’s spacious interior and infotainment system has improved since first-generation models. Gone were the inconvenient software glitches as I switched through drive modes, navigation and my preferred level of regenerative braking. (Well, mostly—more on that in a moment.) Everything fit smoothly and tightly, with body panels fitting flush together and the straight seams and stitching making the SUV feel well-made.
The R1S seems less nerdy inside than the EVs from Tesla, with a modern, innovative cabin design. Mine came in a Black Mountain and Dark Ash Wood combo that costs an additional $750 (all-black faux leather with no wood is the only trim available at no extra cost). The vegan-leather seats, which are dirt-resistant and easy to clean of dog hair and mud (ahem), come with heat and ventilation in the front. It’s easy to lie the rear seats flat for enhanced storage space. I didn’t use the heated steering wheel in sun-scorched Los Angeles but was happy to know it was there.
The Bad
The ride quality of the R1S is placid in a straight line, as it is in any gearless conveyance. It’s not smooth sailing when you want to turn or brake or actually, you know, drive. That applies even with the new roll control.
One Saturday morning, I took it to hike in Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills, then went back home to Hollywood along Mulholland Highway. The SUV pitched and rolled around those hallowed corners like a massive battery on wheels. Of course, that’s what it is. Silly me for thinking an old route that’s fun for most vehicles, even this husky resto-mod pickup, would be fun in this Rivian.
Part of the Frankenstein lumber is down to sheer physics. The R1S is a 7,000-pound, 77.3-inch-tall appliance. Inertia itself prevents anything that big from feeling like a Porsche 911. Duh. But this one careens more than other large electric vehicles such as the Tesla Cybertruck or Kia EV9. (I’m referring here to the Cybertruck rather than the Model X, since it’s closer in size and feel to the R1S.) Even General Motors Co.’s $112,595 GM Hummer EV is more fun to drive—at least it has 1,000 horsepower to play with, versus the 665 hp of the R1S I drove. That Quad Motor with its big-boost promise can’t come soon enough.
Overaggressive regenerative braking didn’t help matters. Forget about coasting; every time I lifted off the accelerator, it felt as if I’d punched the brake. It’s abrupt—like, did I just accidentally run over a speed bump without slowing down? (It doesn’t have to be like this; EVs from Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and even Fiat are far less jerky.) It took a full trip to the Bloomberg newsroom in Century City before I could locate the icon in the info system that reduces the severity of the brake regen function. Unfortunately, every time I turned on the vehicle, it reverted to the standard regen as the default, rather than the less abrupt low setting. At least, after that first time, I knew where to find it.
When I asked about it, the spokesperson told me the vehicle is designed to maintain the regen level you last chose when you were in the vehicle. “This is a minor bug that has occurred in the version of the software that was on the vehicle you were driving. The team is already aware of this bug and is fixing it in our next software update,” they said in an email.
The R1S doesn’t have the key fob we expect from basically every vehicle these days, which will sense your proximity and automatically unlock the car.
To lock and unlock the vehicle, you swipe a flat, credit-card-like thing in a plastic case in exactly the correct motion on the driver-side door handle, which is a lever that lies flush with the side of the car, similar to the Model X. Should you press the key card just so against the door handle, it will pivot outward and allow you to enter the vehicle. Otherwise, no amount of pushing or finger-punching will open the door. I had to text the nice lady who dropped off the vehicle to figure out how to do it correctly.
The card swipe lock/unlock thing doesn’t work if you try to enter through any door besides the driver’s, or when you want to open the trunk first to load groceries, plants or dry cleaning. It was annoying because I, like most anybody returning to the car with a shopping cart, often open the driver’s door last, having loaded parcels before getting inside.
There’s another option, though. Owners can download an app that will unlock the vehicle via cellphone. It sounds very convenient for people who love apps. I didn’t test this. Are you like me? I’m well aware of how often my outdated iPhone battery dies in the most inconvenient of times—and of how much lately, in the dog days of the LA summer, it’s been overheating and putting itself in timeout, especially when placed on wireless charging stations like the one in the R1S center console, which retained a lot of heat as I drove. I’m also generally trying to stay off my phone as much as possible to preserve my mental health and general well-being. Aren’t you?
Better off having a tangible “key” without the potential of getting stranded because my phone is dead, I figured. (Apple Wallet, which can work when a phone is dead, and Apple Watch keys will become available later this fall, as will the ability to share the key with others, the spokesperson says. Let’s hope.) The valets at the Polo Lounge one Thursday understood the assignment: They took that plastic pouch from me unfazed as I started to explain the door-lock process. They were already well-versed.
One more thing: The electronic rear hatch opens and closes too slowly. It would be easier just to have a latch that releases the back gate per usual, rather than having to push a button and count the seconds as the door opens. Impatient, when I tried to manually open the split gate quicker than the “automatic” opener would allow, it froze before awkwardly unfurling. If you want to simply load your vehicle and leave quickly, the R1S will get in the way.
Some innovations aren’t leaps forward. If your new tech adds complexity and slows down everyday, intuitive experiences, you’ve failed.
More to that point, a Rivian spokesperson said a key fob will be available for purchase through the Rivian Gear Shop later this year for those who prefer using that instead. The key fob (price TBD) will support features such as proximity lock/unlock, trunk access, etc. That’s great, but it doesn’t help owners in the meantime.
If You Remember One Thing
The Rivian R1S has a strong signature style, improved interior quality and software, plus a vote of confidence in the recent cash infusion from VW. It’s a viable option for those uninterested in joining the cult of Tesla. Just promise me you’ll test-drive the Kia EV9 before you buy one.
(Updates with news of a key fob being developed in penultimate paragraph.)
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