OT - Rivian R1T electric truck

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

That guy is nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying.

His reviews are the equivalent of listening to a teenage girl talk about the latest Justin Bieber release.

Wow. No kidding. Insufferable.


And yeah, as Saab says, this truck is totally a future pavement princess. I reckon less than 5% of people who own one will take it off road.

[pasadena]

The only one with a proprietary charging network is Tesla, though Teslas can use other charging standards.

The charging networks otherwise are standardized.

Originally Posted by Louis

I don't know much about EVs, but this suggests to me that the various manufacturers will have proprietary charging locations. That's insane, and if it's true EVs will never be competitive compared to IC. They absolutely have to standardize.

From what I've read Levels 1 and 2 charging are generic, but Level 3 is not. That's like saying that if I want to put more than 5 gallons of gas in my Impreza I have to find a Subie gas station. Nuts to that.

[GuyGadois]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

Literally. I just purchased a brand new ICE car with zero regrets. I recently drove from NW New Mexico back to LA in one hit. I looked at how much longer it’d have taken in a Tesla. 4 hours. 4 freaking hours. And that was with the super charger network. Imagine traveling with any other EV. Would be so painful.

Really not that bad. I just charge my car at food stops. When on the road I stay at hotels with chargers and wake to a full car of electrons. It’s slower but really not that much when you factor in the stops typically made. Cruising on autopilot between NW New a Mexico and LA is super convenient too. My Tesla also has free supercharging for life so there’s that too.

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by GuyGadois

Really not that bad. I just charge my car at food stops. When on the road I stay at hotels with chargers and wake to a full car of electrons. It’s slower but really not that much when you factor in the stops typically made. Cruising on autopilot between NW New a Mexico and LA is super convenient too. My Tesla also has free supercharging for life so there’s that too.

Maybe the fact that I stopped for fifteen minutes is a sign that I need to stop more when driving long distances? four extra hours is a looooong time though.

Anyway, the main reason I traded in my Crosstrek for my Outback is so I can sleep in it lying completely flat. It’s been great for that so far.

[jkbrwn]

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[cojames]

I applaud them for doing what they’re doing, but I’d be concerned about dealer network and reliability. Hard to beat the Ford Lighting at almost half the price.

[saab2000]

As noted, his delivery isn't for everyone. But here's Doug taking the Rivian off road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeACRO3hoek&t=598s

Most won't do this, but this isn't the first video I've seen of this vehicle doing what it is designed to do.

My biggest concern would be the seemingly short bed but I don't own a pickup and likely never will so it doesn't much matter to me.

I do not hate this vehicle but my first EV is more likely to be a Model 3 Performance.......

[b33]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I do not hate this vehicle but my first EV is more likely to be a Model 3 Performance.......

Nickels worth of advice - check out the BMW i4 M50 or the Benz EQS - I just sat in a EQS this past weekend and it's worlds better than the 3 when it comes to design.

[benb]

The bed makes me kind of barf.

It looks like it holds less than most medium size SUVs/Wagons with the seats down, not to mention minivans. 54" is ridiculous for a pickup truck and the tailgate is going to be down for just about anything. We don't have a single bike that will fit in that bed without taking wheels off and my snowboard won't even fit with the tailgate up!

They're talking about stuff like dirt bikes & snowmobiles and that's just even more unrealistic. It's not going to be good for taking a kayak or canoe anywhere either.

Do you need to do any of this stuff, maybe not, but if you don't a a pickup truck seems like the wrong vehicle.

I'm all in on EVs it's just crazy how expensive some of them are while being super impractical.

[benb]

Originally Posted by b33

Nickels worth of advice - check out the BMW i4 M50 or the Benz EQS - I just sat in a EQS this past weekend and it's worlds better than the 3 when it comes to design.

The i4 M50 gets completely decimated by the Model 3 in every way though if you want to drive it as opposed to look at it. Unfortunately the BMW is a fat pig.

M3 is much faster, much longer range, 500+ lbs lighter, etc..

The i4 is a sad entry from BMW due to it being a compromise platform intended to allow tacking on an ICE or EV drivetrain.

EQS is a 6000lb sedan that starts over $100k, not sure in what universe you compare that to a Model 3.

[b33]

Originally Posted by benb

The i4 M50 gets completely decimated by the Model 3 in every way though if you want to drive it as opposed to look at it. Unfortunately the BMW is a fat pig.

M3 is much faster, much longer range, 500+ lbs lighter, etc..

The i4 is a sad entry from BMW due to it being a compromise platform intended to allow tacking on an ICE or EV drivetrain.

EQS is a 6000lb sedan that starts over $100k, not sure in what universe you compare that to a Model 3.

Jeez bro, I said it was a nickels worth of advice

I owned an S - in a straight line it went faster than my 750 - in every other aspect of "driving" the 750 decimates the S. The S couldn't corner, the lack of feedback blew, the interior was less than an Acura . . . I could go on but I am far from the only one who thinks the same.

[saab2000]

From what I have heard, Tesla’s fit and finish both inside and out have improved immensely from a couple years ago. That said, I know this is the strength of the German manufacturers and a blind spot for Tesla.

The Model 3 I drove a month or so ago was perfectly acceptable to my eyes. Not perfect, but OK for me.

I know they’re not really a driver’s car, but it was enjoyable enough for daily driving. I’m never going to a track anyway. I want quickness, a good driving position and sharp turn-in. The Model 3 gives me this.

If I were planning an ICE vehicle there are so many great choices. But with EVs it’s still all about Tesla for me, at least today. The others are playing catch up. I think the VW Group has some interesting stuff with their Porsche and Audi offerings, but they’re priced in a different category than im looking at.

[fried bake]

Nice truck, but at this prices point and given the limited dealer network I expect that they will sell fewer than 10K of these in the first year. The limits of servicing these vehicles becomes a significant impediment to ownership, not to mention the charger network that is no match for Tesla’s.

Speaking of quality, the Model Y applies the brakes randomly. And some folks actually find this acceptable in a $70k car.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/r...nt-175163.html

“According to the Roadshow editor, he has experienced these sudden braking episodes more than five times in a single hour of driving. And it was not an isolated episode: Stevens said that, in three months of ownership, phantom braking is constant, making Autopilot dangerous. If that system is hazardous, the journalist concludes that the entire car is.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[benb]

I'm still scared of Tesla maintenance/breakdown/collision stories realistically.

I'd probably rather take a hit on some performance metric for the peace of mind of a local dealer.

Tesla has been selling the whole "Dealers suck" thing but realistically the stories make it sound like you get one choice with Tesla, Tesla itself, and they perform similarly to your worst idea of a traditional dealer.

If Rivian can beat some of those metrics that will help a lot. Parts have gotta be easily available if people are actually going to use this truck like a truck, go offroad with it, whatever.

I give my parents a hard time about the frequent extra services on their BMW and Mini versus the Japanese cars my wife and I have owned but I think I'd still happily try a BMW EV over a Tesla unless the stories from Tesla owners start improving greatly, cause even with the Tesla reality distortion field/cult the stories are still horrific. Driving a loaner for months cause someone hit you or the car broke down just sounds terrible. And a lot of these stories the owners aren't getting a Tesla loaner, they're back in a gasoline rental car.

[auto_rock]

One of the things that comes up in the press about Rivian a lot is how slow and careful they've been. Tesla seems to have gone at it with a tech industry "scale first" approach, and there are some interesting results from that approach.

https://www.thedrive.com/tech/36274/...rade-fake-wood

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2020...details-video/

And yeah, your only "dealership" option with Tesla is a Tesla-owned dealership, which has some interesting ramifications in some states.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_...ect_sales_bans

And regarding the brand specific charging proglems, at least there's Electrify America (Volkswagen had to set up an independent charging network as part of their diesel cheating settlement). While that doesn't give access to the fastest tier of charging, yet, sometimes standardization just takes time.

And regarding off-road, the reports of the Rivian have been impressive there as well. Four independently driven motors should, in theory, outperform front and rear lockers, since you can put all the torque where you need it, rather than sharing it around, and low speed torque is a huge advantage as well.