The Rivian R2 Is Great, But It Falls Short In a Few Important Ways

[EPIC MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: We've been waiting for this day a long time, because we're excited to find out if this new, smaller SUV from Rivian can keep the party going for the electric automaker. R2, it is you. I've got a lot more where that came from. We're Edmunds, and we test hundreds of cars each year on the road and at our private track so you get the most trusted reviews. If you want to know which car, truck, or SUV is the best, then stick with us. [ENGINE REVVING] At launch, the R2 is only going to be available with the so-called launch package, which means it's going to be basically fully loaded. Now, today, we're going to go over all of the important numbers for this vehicle, including what it was able to achieve on the world famous Edmunds EV range test. But, if you're looking for even more info about the R2, we've got that on the site, including its full rating and where it ranks among the other electric SUVs. You'll find the link in the description or just scan the QR code. Now, the first important number for any vehicle is, of course, going to be its price. And for this R2, with its glacier white paint job and 21-inch wheels, it'll cost you just over $60,000, including destination charges. First up, every EV needs to go through the Edmunds EV range test, and the R2 is no exception. We started with a full charge and drove on a mix of city roads and highway slogs at an average speed of 40 to mimic how drivers use these vehicles in the real world. The R2 has an EPA estimated range in this configuration of 330 miles. And the vehicle said 334 miles when we set out. But it came up well short of that, tapping out after covering just 305 miles in our test, about 10% less than expected. And with its big 88-kilowatt hour battery pack underneath, the R2 isn't that efficient either. Its chief rival, the Tesla Model Y, goes further on less juice with its smaller battery. Getting around 300 miles of range still puts the R2 in good company. But, to be honest, we expected more. Next, we put the R2 on our scales where it weighed in at just under 5,000 pounds. These EVs are pretty heavy even when they're not that big. And the R2, with its larger battery pack, is about 500 pounds heavier than both varieties of the Model Y. When it came to slowing down, the R2 took 124 feet to stop from 60. And, impressively, its results were very consistent Among the several stops that we tried, its worst result was only a few feet further. So the SUV is pretty good at stopping all of that weight. It also felt very controlled under braking without too much nosedive or wiggle at the rear. This is slightly behind the lighter Teslas, though, strangely, the launch series actually out-brakes the performance model by a couple feet. And these results are in line with most other compact electric SUVs as well. On our 200-foot dry skidpad, the R2 pulled 0.84 lateral G. Our test team noted some body roll, but, with the stability control off, it was easy to dial in a little rotation to counteract understeer. Translation-- for a high riding SUV, it was still fun and predictable to drive. But it was less grippy than both of the Teslas. The Model Y's do offer a bit more agility than the Rivian, which is unsurprising as they sit so much lower. That's all the numbers. It's time to get behind the wheel. I'm here on the Excel straight, where we are expecting big things out of this R2 because it's got a ton of power-- over 650 horsepower out of its two motors and over 600 pound feet of torque. Now, how does that compare to its closest competitor, the Tesla Model Y performance? This has almost 150 more horsepower. And the Tesla Model Y premium, it's got over 200 more horsepower than that thing. So, let's see how we do. To launch this thing, it's super simple. Just sport right here, hit this little flag icon for the launch control. Slide that cute little guy up, and then some icons appear on the screen. Gotta hold the brake down to the right pressure, hold the accelerator, and away we go. Oh, yeah. OK. The R2 gets down this straight away in a hurry. Whoa. [LAUGHING] This thing doesn't kick quite as hard as the Teslas do off the line, but it really, really builds speed in a hurry. Let's check the results. OK, so in our best run with the R2, we managed to get a 3.7 second 0 to 60 miles per hour time. And that's a tenth off of Rivian's estimate. And that's also a tenth off of what we were able to accomplish with the Tesla Model Y Performance, even though this thing has such a marked power advantage. The thing that's different about the two, though-- this thing really carries speed on once you get past highway speeds very, very well. It doesn't really run out of breath like a lot of EVs do around 65 or 70 miles per hour. And that's why even though it's down a tenth in the 60 times the Tesla, it traps at nearly 7 miles per hour faster. And that's kind of my favorite part about driving this thing, at least when it comes to speed. This R2 has a top speed of about 130 miles per hour, which we almost hit in the quarter mile, but we just ran out of track. Now, the other fun thing about this vehicle is that this wireless charging pad has MagSafe. So usually, if we're doing Excel runs, you got to put your phone away so it doesn't go flying around. But this time, just click it in right here, and it stayed put the entire time. What a nice addition. Now, we've got our R2 out on our handling course. And this is a great place to describe how this drives a little bit differently than the R1S, but also the Tesla Model Y, its main competitor. The main difference between this vehicle and the R1S, other than its size, is going to be what's underneath it. The R1S, it has a truck based platform. And this is on a unibody platform, which means it's more like a car underneath-- kind of like a modern crossover. And that makes it more stable. When we launched the R1S over on Excel Straight, whenever you'd hit the throttle, it would rear way back, the front end would get super light, and it would be kind of sketchy. But this thing, it's definitely a lot more stable, both under acceleration and under heavy braking, which we think will suit more people in day-to-day driving. Now, Rivian also tells us that the torque split on this vehicle has also been tweaked. It sends a little bit more power to the rear motors than the front, which makes it feel a touch like a rear drive vehicle. So it does understeer a bit. But if you tuck it and give it some throttle, it'll also rotate kind of nicely for you. Now, are most people going to drive an R2 in that way? No, probably not. But it's nice to know that if you want to have some fun from behind the wheel, this thing is actually pretty willing to accommodate you. Now, the steering feel is a touch on the lighter side. I think I actually prefer the steering in the Tesla. It feels a bit more direct and connected. But it's by no means bad. To say that the R2 drives competently would be to undersell it. This thing is actually-- [TIRES LIGHTLY SCREECHING] It's actually kind of fun from behind the wheel. And then when you really want to go, oh, it really builds up speed in a hurry. Now, the R2 has semi-adaptive dampers, so it's got a few different ride settings from firm, to normal, to soft. And I played around with all three over the weekend while I had this vehicle. And, to be honest, you're not really going to tell much difference between the three of them. Firm is really not that firm at all. And soft doesn't feel all that soft. But the good news is that the R2, in all circumstances, it rides quite well. Even though this thing has really big 21-inch wheels, it deals really well with potholes and other bigger imperfections. You kind of just roll over them without a care at all. Where it struggles a bit more is road imperfections. It does feel a bit busy, like when you're going down the highway and it's not perfectly smooth. You're going to feel all those little bumps and jitters in the cabin. It's by no means disruptive, but you will notice it. And I kind of like that, because it means that you're really feeling what's going on underneath you in regards to the road. That being said, though, this cabin is quiet by most standards, but by EV standards it is a bit noisy. You're getting a fair bit of wind noise and tire noise in here. And, again, if you go down to the smaller wheel, it's going to come with the all terrain tires. So I don't really think that will improve things. This isn't quite as tranquil a cabin as the Model Y has for those reasons, especially that Model YL, which I just drove. That thing is, like, whisper quiet on the inside. This thing, it's a bit noisier. Here in the R2, you're also going to get a few different settings for the regen, from high, to standard, to low. All three of them work pretty smoothly. I pretty much left it in high the whole time so I could add the most energy back to that battery. Now, the regenerative brakes, they're only tied to the throttle. So when you lift off the throttle and it slows down, that's how you're adding energy back to that battery. And when you do so, it'll actually slow down to a stop very smoothly. It doesn't feel abrupt at all, even in its highest setting. When you go for the brake pedal, that is when the physical brakes engage. And, as we noted during our testing, this thing is quite confident under braking, more than you would think for a big, heavy SUV. The other thing that we have to talk about is driver aids. So this has Rivian's hands free system. It doesn't require mapped roadways. It just requires visible lane lines and markers. So that's how it's different than Ford's BlueCruise, for example, which requires you to be on a mapped highway. It works pretty well. It does a very good job of lane centering and maintaining a consistent gap with the car ahead of you. The system that we're really waiting for, though, is Rivian's point-to-point self-driving system a la Tesla's full self-driving supervised. That will be just like that system. It will allow you to put a navigation destination in, and then you activate it, and you're hands free the entire time, but definitely not attention free. Now, once that system becomes available, we are going to test it out very extensively. And you can bet that we're going to put it up against what Tesla has to offer as soon as it comes. So, to summarize, I really like the way that the R2 drives. It reminds me of the R1S, just more buttoned up, which is exactly what you kind of want. I like the slight rear torque bias, which lets you have a little bit more fun behind the wheel than you might expect. And, yeah, the cabin is a touch noisy, but it's got a really comfortable ride for all passengers. And I think it's still quieter than most SUVs out there. The Rivian design language definitely works, even when it's downsized here on the R2. This is a very handsome vehicle. And I think that's going to form a large part of its appeal. I also really like that they've paid attention to all the details on the exterior. For example, in these oval shaped headlight clusters, which are now Rivian's signature, you're getting the Rivian name. You're also getting the badge down there. And if you look around this exterior, just all these little details are going to jump out at you. There's these little markers behind the front wheels, which are great. And also on the back, the lettering has been raised up. It'd be easy just to slap flat letters on that liftgate, but raising them up makes them feel three dimensional. And it's that attention to detail that's really going to sell this vehicle. Now, the proportions, they're going to be very different than the Model Y. Even though it's about the same size as the Tesla, it's got a really long, flat hood. And these wheels, they almost look comically large. And they are pushed way out to the extreme edges of the vehicle. That should help with cabin space, as we're going to see in a second. One other thing that I appreciate-- the charge port is now located back here on the driver's side. And because it has an NACS charge port, you can plug it in at Tesla Supercharging stations. It's important to have it here because this is where the charge port is located on Teslas. Now, you can back into a space and not be at weird angles or take up multiple spaces like you have to in some other vehicles. Then you might get into a fight with someone. We don't want that. One other thing that I want to point out is here on the driver's door. If we pop this open, there's a little thing that pops out right here. And this is actually a 1,000 lumen flashlight, which is going to be a great addition for a campsite. However, I wish it was a lightsaber instead. These Oreos on the steering wheel, they are making me hungry. Much like the exterior, the interior, it's going to feel very much like the R1S. But the biggest change is going to be these controls here on the steering wheel. Now, Rivian calls them halos. And they don't just spin up and down, they are very multifunctional. They go in and out, and they also go left and right, which means that you can do a lot of different things with them, for better or worse. Now, all the little clicky noises that you can hear, those are all artificial. And they actually change. So if I'm on something like the temperature, where there's a lot of different settings, lots of clicks. But if I want something like the fan speed, where there's much fewer settings, the clicks are fewer and far in between. This was clearly a system that Rivian spent a ton of time on. I can see some engineer just sitting in some back room somewhere working for hours and hours on precisely how this is going to feel. But to me, it does feel a bit complicated and busy. And there are times, especially when you're trying to click left and right, that it doesn't quite register. Now, the nice thing about it is that I'm now able to control things like the climate controls or the speed for the adaptive cruise control all through this screen in front of me, without having to go through the main screen at all. And that's good. I think that Rivian will continue to refine how these things work, and they'll just get better over time. But for now, they do have a bit of a steep learning curve. Now, if you're liking what you're seeing so far out of this R2, your current set of wheels can give you a head start towards your next new car. Just head over to Edmunds.com/SellMyCar to get an instant cash offer. Now, unlike Tesla, Rivian has stuck with a two-screen setup. So you're getting the screen here, as well as an instrument cluster. I really like having one of these. It's just an easier way to show the driver information. Now, a lot of stuff does still run through this screen. And we have to say that Rivian does a great job with all of their graphics. This little stripey thing on the ground reminds me of where we were filming earlier. And everything is very snappy and fast. This screen is great to use. I particularly like using the navigation system. It's very good at showing charging stations when you're on to your next destination. And this is also the easiest way to see Tesla superchargers that this vehicle can actually charge at. You don't have access to all the Tesla Supercharging stations, so if you look one up on your phone, you might end up at one where you can't actually plug in and use. Now, the screen, though, has kept my biggest pet peeve with the Rivian and with some other vehicles as well. And that is if you're using the climate control and you want to change where the vents are aimed, you have to, then, do that through the screen. I can never quite seem to get them pointed exactly where I want. Just a regular vent is a way easier solution. Rivian has made great strides with its screens since we first tested the R1T's launch edition, which was a part of our one-year road test fleet. But it still doesn't offer Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. So, if you don't like the screen, you're going to be stuck with it. We like giving consumers options, so I do wish that they were here, no matter how good this setup might feel. One other thing to call out about these screens. We really like the surround view camera system here on the R2. It's very clear and high resolution. And, backing that up, you're also getting an integrated dash cam. So in case you get into an accident, you're going to have evidence to back you up. I haven't found a secret message from the Princess of Alderaan yet, but I'll keep looking. Up front here, I really love the design in the materials choices that Rivian has made here in the R2. You're getting real wood here on the dash, cloth here. And this leather is technically synthetic vegan stuff. But, to be honest, it feels almost as good as the real thing. There are a bit of hard plastics around this interior, but that's a nod to the lower price point of this vehicle. But it's all tucked away in places that you're not really going to touch often, so I like the way that they hid those. The seats are also super, super comfortable. They're great for a long drive, like the range test that we just did in this vehicle. And they come with tons of adjustments as well. If there's one thing, though, that this interior does best, it might be small item storage, because you're not getting one, but two glove boxes. And I love that you can open them without having to go into the screen to do so. There are a pair of cup holders that fold out from here. You're also getting another lower bin down here. And down here is an open space that's great for a bag or a small purse. And you're also getting a pretty decently sized center console with a pair of USB-C ports in here. One other detail that I really enjoy about the Rivian is the front door pockets on both sides. They actually fold out a little bit. And I know we've all experienced putting something in the front door pocket of your car and having to reach around and fish for it. And it's just in a space that's a little bit too tight. And then you scratch the back of your hands on the door. Not here in the Rivian. Since it folds out just a touch, you can grab anything out of there really easily. This back seat is also really nice. As you can tell, it's extremely spacious. I'm just under 6 feet tall, 5'11 to be exact, and as you can see, plenty of legroom and headroom. But even if I was Wookiee sized, I wouldn't have a problem fitting back here comfortably. Our editor in chief is 6'4, and even he had plenty of room. You're also getting pretty good features back here-- heated outboard seats and air vents that, look, you don't have to adjust through the screen. Now, the downside is you're not getting that screen that you get in the back of the R1S to change temperature and fan speed. You're going to have to ask the people up front to do that. But, if you're related to them, they should be willing to help you out. Now, you're also getting a pair of USB ports, one in the back of each seat. And Rivian will also sell you an accessory here to mount an iPad, so you can plug-in the iPad, hang the iPad here, and just let your kids veg out for a few hours to give you some peace. The natural recline of this seat is also nice, and it gives you a good view of this glass roof. Now, glass roofs can be great for making the cabin feel airy, but they can also be bad on a warm day. But today, it's quite sunny out, and it's hot, and if you touch this glass, it's actually not that warm at all-- does a great job at keeping light in, heat out, so you can stay comfortable no matter what row you're sitting in. That's a neat party trick. Can't do that in a Tesla, at least without a hammer. Lowering that rear glass is a great way to get access to the cargo area if it's full of stuff and you don't want to open the hatch. But opening the hatch does give you a better view of all the cargo space that this thing has-- nearly 30 cubic feet behind its back seat. Fold those down, it goes up to nearly 80. And if you add in the frunk and underfloor storage, you're getting just over 90. Just tons of storage space in this vehicle. Tons of room back here. The only disappointing thing is that the 40-20-40 split folding rear seat, you can't actually lower those seats from the back here. You're going to have to walk around to do it, because there are no levers or power switches to drop them down. But that's a minor price to pay for all the room that you're getting. Before we wrap things up, I just wanted to let you know that we bought our very own R2 that's going to join our one year road test fleet. So, to keep up with that, be sure to and subscribe. And if you have any questions about the R2 or an idea of what vehicle we should fully test next, let us know in the comments below. We do read them all. After a full day of testing, I came away very impressed by this vehicle. But, if anything, it makes me more excited for the other versions of the R2 that are going to be coming soon. This is based on the R2 performance. It costs just over $60 grand. But a premium version is coming. It's got a little bit less power, starts at around $55,000. And that will be a better buy, I think, for most people, because, honestly, you don't really need 560-plus horsepower. But the one that I'm really excited for isn't going to come until 2027, unfortunately. That's the R2 standard. They're going to offer a single motor version of it that's going to start at right around $45,000, so much cheaper than this vehicle. But we had a chance to see a mock up of it at Rivian's design studio. And we were impressed that there doesn't really seem to be a drop-off for that version when it comes to materials and what you're getting in the cabin. That's the one to wait for, I think. This car, it really is a jack of all trades. It'll do everything for you pretty well minus turning off the garbage compactors on the detention level. We can't wait to put this thing up against a Model Y, and that's going to happen pretty soon. So stay tuned. And the Edmunds rating will help pick the winner of that showdown. Thanks for watching.