Reviving this thread just to give a report. I attended the First Mile event in Sonoma today and drove the R1T. It rained nearly 2 inches overnight so the track was wet and muddy, but I did get a chance to test the wipers on the vehicle!
My impressions can be summed up to say that the vehicle delivers on what is advertised. It's an EV pickup that handles and drives as well as you'd expect it to. It's well thought out and the features are precisely what they purport to be. But that's not very informative, so I'll mention a few things that stood out to me.
First, the frunk is very high so as to be almost difficult to reach into for my 5'7" shorty self. They did have all vehicles raised to their max height which may have impacted this, but the truck has a flat hood, unliked the curved hood of the X, so it's naturally higher. Yes, it would fit an electric cooler. No, there's no way I'd be able to get one in there without stilts. It has a magnetically fixed divider/false floor that separates your charging cables (below) from your cargo (above). I liked that a lot. The size of the frunk is more in line with my RWD Model S, which has a ton of space. Accessing it is much easier because it's electronically controlled.
The gear tunnel seemed great. I stood on the flipped out door and it was solid. I disconnected and reconnected the Rivian rail system while standing on it, which is very easy and well thought out. My only concern with the gear tunnel is that some random stuff will get stuck in the middle and I'll need a broomstick or something to push it out to the other side. Or I'll just learn how to use it. You can access the gear tunnel from the inside of the vehicle, which definitely helps. I just imagine that turning into a total mess on a road trip.
Quality of the sound system absolutely blows away anything I've ever had in my three Teslas. It was outstanding. The infotainment setup, with an IC and a landscape center screen, was potentially preferable to my existing S and X setups. The screen quality and contrast were also better than in my Teslas. Responsiveness was slower than I'd like but not as slow as I've seen in some videos. I'm guessing that'll be a software fix over time. Voice controls seemed limited, or not working very well at this point. And I had a rep reboot the vehicle (left steering wheel scroll tab, hazard button hold), and it took over 5 minutes to complete. You cannot drive while doing this procedure. I mentioned how Tesla separates out these reboots and he was impressed. Also something Rivian will need to address as time goes on.
Since I am strongly considering this due to towing ability, I spent some time looking at the towing setup. The receiver is accessible via a removable cover in the back. Removing this cover consists of two plastic coin type screws and plastic hooks. The piece must be stowed in the vehicle somewhere, but leaving it off doesn't leave any open gaps like it does with the Model X, so it can be comfortably left at home if you tow frequently. Safety chain hooks are large and easy to use and the 7-pin connector is very accessible, mounted right next to the receiver. The vehicle auto-detects a load and automatically goes into towing mode, like the Tesla. That mode limits air suspension adjustments and some of the lane keeping features, which is comparable to what Tesla is doing.
Seeing the hood while I was driving was a bit of an adjustment. I'm not used to such a square vehicle, and it kind of bothered me. Visibility feels better with the more upright windshield and A pillars, but I felt like the hood was a reminder that I was in a boxy shaped truck simply for the purpose of the form. That reminded me of the inefficiency of the vehicle as well, which along with weight are probably my two biggest hangups.
In the end, I wasn't swayed away from the vehicle and I probably became a little more excited about it. There weren't any build issues that were concerning at all. So I continue to wait for my max pack, which will be a while. I've got time to change my mind if something else comes up. For now, I'll say they've done a good job and it's a promising vehicle.
My impressions can be summed up to say that the vehicle delivers on what is advertised. It's an EV pickup that handles and drives as well as you'd expect it to. It's well thought out and the features are precisely what they purport to be. But that's not very informative, so I'll mention a few things that stood out to me.
First, the frunk is very high so as to be almost difficult to reach into for my 5'7" shorty self. They did have all vehicles raised to their max height which may have impacted this, but the truck has a flat hood, unliked the curved hood of the X, so it's naturally higher. Yes, it would fit an electric cooler. No, there's no way I'd be able to get one in there without stilts. It has a magnetically fixed divider/false floor that separates your charging cables (below) from your cargo (above). I liked that a lot. The size of the frunk is more in line with my RWD Model S, which has a ton of space. Accessing it is much easier because it's electronically controlled.
The gear tunnel seemed great. I stood on the flipped out door and it was solid. I disconnected and reconnected the Rivian rail system while standing on it, which is very easy and well thought out. My only concern with the gear tunnel is that some random stuff will get stuck in the middle and I'll need a broomstick or something to push it out to the other side. Or I'll just learn how to use it. You can access the gear tunnel from the inside of the vehicle, which definitely helps. I just imagine that turning into a total mess on a road trip.
Quality of the sound system absolutely blows away anything I've ever had in my three Teslas. It was outstanding. The infotainment setup, with an IC and a landscape center screen, was potentially preferable to my existing S and X setups. The screen quality and contrast were also better than in my Teslas. Responsiveness was slower than I'd like but not as slow as I've seen in some videos. I'm guessing that'll be a software fix over time. Voice controls seemed limited, or not working very well at this point. And I had a rep reboot the vehicle (left steering wheel scroll tab, hazard button hold), and it took over 5 minutes to complete. You cannot drive while doing this procedure. I mentioned how Tesla separates out these reboots and he was impressed. Also something Rivian will need to address as time goes on.
Since I am strongly considering this due to towing ability, I spent some time looking at the towing setup. The receiver is accessible via a removable cover in the back. Removing this cover consists of two plastic coin type screws and plastic hooks. The piece must be stowed in the vehicle somewhere, but leaving it off doesn't leave any open gaps like it does with the Model X, so it can be comfortably left at home if you tow frequently. Safety chain hooks are large and easy to use and the 7-pin connector is very accessible, mounted right next to the receiver. The vehicle auto-detects a load and automatically goes into towing mode, like the Tesla. That mode limits air suspension adjustments and some of the lane keeping features, which is comparable to what Tesla is doing.
Seeing the hood while I was driving was a bit of an adjustment. I'm not used to such a square vehicle, and it kind of bothered me. Visibility feels better with the more upright windshield and A pillars, but I felt like the hood was a reminder that I was in a boxy shaped truck simply for the purpose of the form. That reminded me of the inefficiency of the vehicle as well, which along with weight are probably my two biggest hangups.
In the end, I wasn't swayed away from the vehicle and I probably became a little more excited about it. There weren't any build issues that were concerning at all. So I continue to wait for my max pack, which will be a while. I've got time to change my mind if something else comes up. For now, I'll say they've done a good job and it's a promising vehicle.
