Rivian R1T (2020)

The R1S takes the Car of the Year title at the Doug Awards.

That makes it two in a row for Rivian, the R1T took the top spot in last year‘s awards.

 
Rivian Tops Tesla in J.D. Power EV Satisfaction Survey

The Mini Cooper Electric also gets high praise in the survey.

J.D. Power has released its latest Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study, and the Rivian R1T scored the highest, with a 794 out of 1,000, beating the Tesla Model 3's score of 759. Considering how loyal Tesla owners are, that’s surprising, but the Rivian is also a fantastic truck, so it’s not exactly shocking. And owners who were surveyed gave the R1T high marks for driving enjoyment and both interior and exterior styling.'

Considering the Rivian R1T costs more than a lot of people make in a year, it had better be pretty darn good. As far as more mainstream EVs go, the Mini Cooper Electric is apparently the car to get if this survey is to be believed. It wasn’t far behind the Rivian, scoring a 782. Owners said it especially stood out when it came to quality and reliability. The Kia EV6 and Ford Mustang Mach E came in second and third, respectively.

“The electric vehicle landscape is changing quickly, and newer models are bringing in more mainstream, first-time EV buyers,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power, in a statement. “Recent vehicle launches from both new brands and traditional automakers have had a profound effect on what factors are most important in the ownership experience. Today’s EV owners are looking for quality, reliability, driving enjoyment, safety and technology features.”

The study also found a number of differences in the factors mass market and premium EV owners had problems with. For example, while mainstream EV owners had a lot of complaints about their infotainment systems, premium owners complained more about squeaks and rattles. There’s also a big gap in satisfaction with public charging infrastructure, which is reportedly due to the superiority of the Tesla Supercharger network. But with Tesla opening up that network to non-Tesla owners, that gap will probably close over the next couple of years.

jalopnik.com

Rivian Tops Tesla in J.D. Power EV Satisfaction Survey

The Mini Cooper Electric also gets high praise in the survey.
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
Rivian R1S and R1T get new features with the latest OTA update

The beauty of OTA updates for electric cars - when well executed - never ceases to amaze. Rvian just pushed a new software build (2023.06.02) to both of its electric cars - the R1S and R1T. Apart from the usual bug fixes, the company added some new convenience and safety features.

The good old key fob has proximity lock and unlock function has been extensively improved, until now this function was available with the use of mobile phones and the key fob performance was temperamental according to R1S and R1T owners. Not a huge upgrade but very convenient for sure, and the driver will get a prompt on a display when the key fob’s battery needs replacing - very neat.

The bigger and more important upgrade is the move for the sat nav search function to be powered by Google. The navigation will now automatically end guidance when the car senses it is parked near the destination. In addition, it is possible now to swap between charger status pins on the map and view charger information.

Tapping the stalk twice in the Rivian R1S and R1T activates the Highway Assist system and the activation now is much faster - it apparently takes only 1 second. The time for hands-off warning has been increased from 10 to 20 seconds as well.

www.arenaev.com

Rivian R1S and R1T get new features with the latest OTA update

Rivian updated both the R1S and R1T with the latest software and both the vehicles received some new safety and convenience functions.
www.arenaev.com www.arenaev.com

stories.rivian.com

Software Spotlight - Rivian Stories

Read the full details of this software update: R1T Update Details R1S Update Details Vehicle software updates are sent in batches; your vehicle and Rivian app will notify you once available.
stories.rivian.com stories.rivian.com
 
Epic games uses Rivian R1T to showcase Unreal Engine 5.2

The integration of mobile phones and electric cars is increasing with every passing day. While some EV manufacturers - we are looking at you, Volkswagen - believe the late 90s graphics and clunky user interface are fine, companies like Rivian have already understood software matters at least as much as hardware.

Unreal Engine has been changing the world of graphics at quite some speed. It wasn’t long before the automotive industry started using it for its own purposes. It started with a virtual presentation, and marketing materials, but eventually Unreal Engine is making its way into the cars themselves.

Rivian and Volvo were the first companies to partner up with Epic Games and use its Unreal Engine for in-car infotainment. The difference between thir products and VW’s in-house developed graphics and animations is staggering - the UE-powered interface feels decades ahead.

www.arenaev.com

Epic games uses Rivian R1T to showcase Unreal Engine 5.2

During the State of Unreal presentation, Epic showcased the performance of the latest 5.2 Unreal Engine using a 3D rendered Rivian R1T in a life-like environment.
www.arenaev.com www.arenaev.com

 
Rivian Owner Waits 3 Years for R1S, Bricks it in a Snow Bank 2 Days Later

Early adoption of emerging technology is not without its drawbacks.

Most Rivian owners are head over heels for their vehicles (at least according to a JD Power’s EV owners satisfaction poll), but one owner has decided maybe being on the cutting edge isn’t for him after his long-awaited Rivian R1S died after just two days of ownership and one snow storm.

Chase Merrill is a 24-year-old living in the snowy Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. He figured the $85,626 SUV would make a perfect replacement for his 2015 Ford Edge, even if he was initially skeptical of going all-electric. He waited three years to take possession of the SUV. At first, he told Insider, he loved his new R1S, but that love affair was short lived:

Merrill drove his R1S to his family’s shared property in the mountains. He wanted to put his rugged electric SUV to the test, so he drove it on the unplowed, snow-covered road into the property.

At first, the R1S sliced through the snow. Then, a large snowdrift stymied the car, he said.

“I hit about 2 ½-feet of snow and it just stopped right there,” Merrill told Insider. “I had seen all the Rivian marketing campaigns with the cars just eating through the snow so it was kind of like, man this is disappointing.”

Merrill said that he’s dislodged cars from snowbanks before, and enlisted another vehicle to help pull him out. While he was sitting in the driver’s seat, unbuckled, rocking the R1S out of the snowbank, he said that he accidentally triggered a safety feature that got the car stuck between the park and drive gears.

jalopnik.com

Rivian Owner Waits 3 Years for R1S, Bricks it in a Snow Bank 2 Days Later

Early adoption of emerging technology is not without its drawbacks.
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
Rivian Adds a New Mid-Range Drivetrain to the R1T and R1S

Performance Dual-Motor AWD brings 700 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque, along with up to 400 miles of range.

Rivian makes some incredible electric vehicles, with its R1T pickup and R1S SUV standing as shining examples of what electrified off-roading can be. But their performance, engineering, and attention to detail don’t come cheap — Rivians can be optioned into six-figure territory with relative ease. Now, it seems the company wants to democratize its performance by introducing a mid-range variant of its trucks; it just so happens that new variant has 700 horsepower.

Rivian first discussed the Performance Dual-Motor AWD configuration back in December, but this week, the option finally became available to order. It’s available with Rivian’s largest battery, the Max Pack, which pairs with one motor on each axle to put out a claimed total of 700 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque. Despite the big performance numbers, the Max Pack gives Performance Dual-Motor Rivians an estimated 400 miles of range.

This brings Rivian to a three-drivetrain, three-battery lineup. The base drivetrain is the Dual-Motor AWD setup, with a claimed 600 hp and 600 lb-ft, that Rivian says will hit 60 in 4.5 seconds. It can be had with the base Standard Pack battery for an estimated 250 miles of range, the $6,000 Large Pack for 350 miles, or the $16,000 Max Pack for a full 400 miles. For $5,000, buyers can get the Performance Dual-Motor spec, which can only be had with the Large or Max battery for 350 or 400 miles of range, respectively. The top drivetrain is the $8,000 Quad-Motor AWD option (one motor driving each wheel), with 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque. It claims 0-60 in three seconds flat, but can only be had with Rivian’s Large Pack battery, with an EPA-estimated 328 miles of range in this spec.

jalopnik.com

Rivian Adds a New Mid-Range Drivetrain to the R1T and R1S

Performance Dual-Motor AWD brings 700 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque, along with up to 400 miles of range.
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
Rivian adds 700 hp Dual-Motor Performance option to R1T and R1S

Last year Rivian confirmed that its most powerful quad-motor would no longer be available together with the largest battery pack. The Max Pack battery option would only be available with the 600-hp dual-motor powertrain. That meant 164 hp and nearly 300 Nm less and many buyers were left disappointed with having to live with “only” 600 hp.

Rivian took the feedback to its heart apparently and the company just released a new powertrain option. From now on, those who wish to get the Max Pack battery option with the largest range can pair it up with a new powertrain. The new Performance Dual-Motor option comes with 700 hp and 700 lb-ft of torque (949 Nm) which perfectly slots between the quad-motor and the lower-powered standard AWD system.

The new Performance AWD pack can be coupled either with the Large battery pack or the Max Pack option, it is not available with the smallest battery though. With the Large Pack and on 21” wheels the Performance version gets 350 miles rating, changing the wheels to 22” lowers the range to 320 miles.

Max Pack with the 700 hp dual-motor system delivers 400 miles of range when the car is fitted with 21” wheels. On the larger set of 22” rims, the range expectedly drops to 360 miles. That’s really surprising because there is no range penalty for the more powerful drivetrain - both the standard 600 hp and the new 700 hp Performance options have an identical driving range.

www.arenaev.com

Rivian adds 700 hp Dual-Motor Performance option to R1T and R1S

The new Performance option will be offered for both the pickup and SUV vehicles and in terms of power output, it slots right between the quad-motor and standard dual-motor versions.
www.arenaev.com www.arenaev.com
 
Big towing software update is on the way to Rivian R1T and R1S

Rivian holds regular meet-ups with its customers and the company, despite still low production and sales numbers, managed to build up a faithful customer base. At a most recent meet-up in Venice, California, head of software Wassym Bensaid was on hand to answer questions and he gave some interesting answers.

Both Rivian R1T and R1S are incredibly capable when it comes to off-roading skills. The vehicles were designed for adventures and that’s why they can rock crawl without issues, climb 45-degree inclines and tow ridiculous loads. R1T is capable of pulling 11,000 lbs (4,989 kg) while the R1S SUV can deal with 7,700 lbs (3,492 kg).

At the Venice meet-up, the head of software talked about the upcoming updates and future ideas that Rivian is working on. The company is constantly taking its customers’ feedback and implementing it into very frequent OTA updates keeping its vehicles tip-top.

First on the list of upcoming updates is the new integrated dashcam and this one is heading to customers’ cars by the end of this month. Rivian is working as well on keeping the truck bed camera available during towing, the company says it took a while longer to have this implemented due to the fact this particular camera is different from the rest.

The big update Bensaid talked about is coming to the towing mode on the Rivian R1T and R1S. Despite both vehicles being fairly capable, there is always room for improvement. One area the company is looking at is the drivability of the vehicle itself while towing, hopefully, this will result in improved efficiency.

www.arenaev.com

Big towing software update is on the way to Rivian R1T and R1S

During the latest meeting with Rivian customers, the head of software discussed the future updates coming to the electric truck and SUV with towing being the main focus.
www.arenaev.com www.arenaev.com
 
Rivian R1T with Austrian number plates indicates availability expansion

At first glance, there is nothing unusual about a Rivian R1T wearing European number plates. Private imports after all are responsible for a sizable fleet of US cars on European roads. But the fact that this Rivian R1T has Austrian number plates from Gratz, the fact that these are number plates used by manufacturers, and the “test vehicle” stickers - they all point us to a question - is Rivian coming to Europe?

The number plates on this R1T come from Gratz, home to Magna Steyr who already is manufacturing Fisker Ocean among many other vehicles. Magna has been manufacturing Mercedes G-Wagen for decades and the company is perfectly suited to become a manufacturing partner to Rivian.

It turns out Rivian was looking for a Service Center in Berlin recently which initially suggested the company is getting ready to bring the R1T and R1S to Europe. Apparently, though, the service center won’t be used for customer support, at least for a while. The company claims it is only focused on growing its US market for now and it has no plans to expand to other markets.

The R1T with the Austrian number plates was spotted in Stuttgart out of all places - the capital of automakers and OEM suppliers. One place in the world with probably the highest number of vehicle prototypes roaming the streets.

Is it possible that Magna is evaluating the R1T in preparation for production? The CEO of Rivian was adamant when he said Rivian is not planning to bring either of the R1 vehicles to Europe. The company wants to introduce the smaller R2 series EVs at a later stage, once they are officially announced in the US.

www.arenaev.com

Rivian R1T with Austrian number plates indicates availability expansion

Rivian R1T was spotted in Germany with Austrian number plates - and not just any plates. Is Rivian coming to Europe?
www.arenaev.com www.arenaev.com

Snip.jpg
 
Rivian R1T's dual-motor configuration ready to hit the streets

Rivian has recently achieved a significant milestone by producing the first dual-motor R1T electric pickup for a customer. This marks the debut of the in-house Enduro drive unit on the R1 series of adventure electric vehicles.

On May 25, the initial dual-motor Rivian R1T was completed at the manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois. The Enduro drive itself came to be in February, but most of the units produced were installed in the Electric Delivery Vehicles (EDV) being manufactured for Amazon. For the EDV electric van, the Enduro drive unit is utilized in a single-motor, front-wheel-drive configuration, but the R1S and R1T, it is employed in a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup.

Rivian has stated that the start of the production of the dual-motor Rivian R1S and R1T enables additional manufacturing capacity for the R1 line. Simultaneously, the production of quad-motor vehicles, which feature third-party drive units, continues to accelerate.

The Dual-Motor AWD powertrain offers more than 600 hp and 812 Nm in its standard configuration. The Enhanced Dual-Motor AWD, on the other hand, delivers over 700 hp and over 948 Nm of torque. Still, the quad-motor powertrain remains the most potent option, providing 835 hp and 1,230 Nm of torque.

Rivian has emphasized that the dual-motor powertrain is expected to be more energy-efficient compared to the current quad-motor setup supplied by Bosch. The dual-motor option can go up to 644 km (400 mi) for the R1T with the Max Pack battery and 21-inch wheels and up to 628 km (390 mi) for the R1S in the same configuration.

www.arenaev.com

Rivian R1T's dual-motor configuration ready to hit the streets

The first customer is receiving the dual-motor AWD R1T.
www.arenaev.com www.arenaev.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X