RJ

Looks like we’ll have some extra stuff to check out after the vehicle unveil

This is going to be a wild night.

Here’s my full Rivian R2 Performance review, covering features, design, some things I liked and didn't like, going off-roading, and more: At the end of my weeklong test, it dawned on me that the R2 Performance is a competitor to the Model Y Performance. I say "dawned" because the two vehicles couldn’t feel more different in their overall ethos. The R2 feels at home off-road. It soaks up bumps well, the suspension is well tuned, and it feels like an adventure vehicle. The Model Y Performance feels at home on-road, tackling corners and eating miles with FSD. Exterior: A boxy design might not be the most efficient, but I love the look. I'm a fan of the oval shaped front lights. The side profile and rear also both look great. There is a F1-style light at the top when braking. The 5.2 cu ft frunk is large for a vehicle in this class. The 9.6" ground clearance (3" more than Model Y) gives you a commanding view of what's ahead, but you do get a decent amount of body roll even in firm suspension mode. Fit and finish was good. The 20" Black Sand wheels with all-terrain tires look sweet. Fit and finish was good overall, and the 20-inch Black Sand wheels with all-terrain tires look sweet Interior: I'm a fan of the design. I’ve seen some people say the interior feels cheap, but I mostly disagree. The main touch points use nice textile, wood, and vegan leather trim. One material choice I don’t like, though, is the A- and B-pillars. Instead of textile, Rivian uses a hard, textured plastic designed to look like fabric. It’s also slightly lighter than the all-black headliner, which makes it more noticeable. The entire rear cargo area, aside from the floor, and the tailgate trim are also covered in hard plastic. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on how you use the vehicle. It’s easier to clean and probably better suited for hauling dirty gear, but textile or fabric like you get in the Model Y would do a better job absorbing sound and preventing cargo from sliding around and making noise. The front seats are extremely comfortable, and the lumbar support is great. It's easier to spend hours in them. The heated seats and steering wheel get nice and toasty. The cooled seats are some of the best I've ever experienced, but they are also the loudest. You can hear them at 60 mph. You can also feel like motor humming a bit, although that disappears when the vehicle is moving at speed. The sound system is an improvement over the R1S, but I’d still like deeper, more powerful bass, clearer highs, and better overall tuning for a more immersive sound. The dual glove box/storage setup is fantastic. Since both compartments are lockable, I’d use them all the time. The R2 in general has a ton of storage and little cubbies, with 90 cu ft of total storage space. The dual wireless phone chargers are also some of the best implemented I've seen. They use MagSafe, so your phones stay securely in place even when you’re throwing the R2 around off-road, and there is a little area for the phone camera bumps so the phone is flush. The infotainment system is fast and responsive, aside from the occasional minor lag, and the graphics look crisp. I absolutely love the huge navigation view that fills the screen. I wish I could do this in my Model Y. The Gauges section is also really cool, giving you real-time information like battery and motor temps. The Autonomy system works well, but it’s fairly limited in its current form. Think of it as advanced adaptive cruise control with lane keeping and the ability to change lanes on command. It can’t currently handle stop signs, traffic lights, or city driving. RJ has said an FSD (Supervised) like system is coming later this year, so we’ll see. The current R2s use Rivian’s older Gen 2 autonomy hardware. The next-generation Gen 3 hardware arrives next year and is expected to bring a significant increase in capability. It won’t be retrofittable to Gen 2 vehicles, though, so that’s something buyers should keep in mind. The second row has plenty of legroom and headroom. I was a little surprised that it doesn’t have acoustic windows, but it’s still pretty quiet back there. The full glass roof is nice and doesn’t make the cabin feel excessively hot. The interior lighting is VERY bright, which I love. It does a great job illuminating the entire cabin at night. Efficiency: I had the 20" all-terrain wheels, which are rated for 307 miles of range. Over my weeklong test, I averaged about 250–270 miles of range, or 12–19% below the stated range. During a 50-minute trip, with 85% highway and 15% non-highway driving and no crazy acceleration, I averaged 2.83 miles per kWh at an average speed of ~60 mph. That equates to 249 miles of range from a full charge to empty, despite being in Conserve mode. I had a few other trips with similar numbers. Will be interesting to see the what the winter range is like. If you're someone who doesn't go on long trips often or mostly stays in your area and charges at home, these efficiency numbers probably won't matter to you. Final thoughts: I won’t write out every thought here, you can check out my full review video below for that, but overall, the R2 is a great vehicle. It’s a very capable off-roader while still being a comfortable daily driver. The lack of an FSD-like system is a deal-breaker for me personally since I use FSD for virtually all of my miles. It's the most luxurious and mind-blowing vehicle feature on the market today, but that might not be a deal-breaker for other people, and that’s okay. The fact there there are good EVs available is great for consumers. Thanks again @Rivian for letting me test the R2 for a week!

More info about @Tesla's Cybercab from the rider guide and compliance guides that they publicly released earlier today: • It has 20.2-cu ft (572-L) of rear cargo capacity. • The trunk can accommodate up to 220 lb (100 kg). • Cybercab has a very low 16.5" step-in height. • Cybercab is 55.4" tall, 69" wide (nice) and 5.7" of ground clearance. • Interior legroom is 43.4 inches. • Headroom is 38.3 inches. • Tesla says the trunk can fit 2 checked bags + 2 carry-ons. • It can fit 1 large folded stroller and 1 small folded wheelchair. • Cybercab uses Epic Games' Unreal Engine for UI. • Cybercab has 8 exterior-facing cameras: one above the front grille, one above the rear license plate, one in each door pillar, two near the top of the windshield, and one on each front fender. • There is also a cabin-facing camera, bringing the camera count to nine. • Between rides, the cabin camera checks the vehicle for cleanliness and lost items. • Cybercab also has cabin radar above the dome lights that serves as its Occupant Classification System and determines whether the front airbags should be enabled. • The cabin radar can distinguish circumstances such as an empty seat, rear-facing child seat, forward-facing child seat, booster seat, larger child, or adult-sized occupant to determine airbag status. • Both doors have mechanical releases that work even if Cybercab loses electrical power. • Both seats' backrests can be adjusted independently, but the two seats move forward and backward together. • Tesla says riders should sit upright, feet flat on the floor, properly belted, with the seat reclined less than 35°. • Cybercab's airbag system includes front airbags, knee airbags, seat-mounted side airbags, inner seat-mounted side airbags, and curtain airbags. • Cybercab does not have LATCH/ISOFIX child-seat anchors; compatible child/booster seats have to use the vehicle's seat belts. • Cybercab's front lightbar changes colors during pickup, and the Robotaxi app tells the rider which color corresponds to their Cybercab. • Hip room is 50.1 inches. • Each passenger can independently turn off the airflow from their own vent. • If you log into a media service with your own account, Tesla says your account data is removed from Cybercab when the trip ends. • Cybercab includes USB-C charging ports for passengers. • The touchscreen shows a green indicator whenever the cabin camera is active. Links to both PDFs: tesla.com/robotaxi/riderguid… tesla.com/robotaxi/riderguid…