[RIVN - Bob]

Hi - My order for an R1S was placed quite a while ago. I was notified of a First Mile opportunity and signed up for it.
The R1S looked and felt amazing but was a bit disappointing on its road feel due to body roll - both highway and local streets. Further, although my guide had excellent pointers about the vehicle operation, but he seemed to have little knowledge of service. I expected him to be an expert about ALL aspects and since he was not, I became concerned over follow up after delivery. At my wife’s pleading, I reluctantly canceled my reservation. Since then, I have seen my EXACT configuration on the local streets in the area. In these posts, it appears many orders are delivered shortly after the First Mile drive. So, I was wondering was someone offered my vehicle (R1S in White, Gray (Forest Edge) interior, Black Wheels) who now owns it in Parkland, FL ?

 

[lefkonj]

It is definitely possible. I would say the road feel could have been the setup they had you driving in. Conserve, sport, all-purpose all feel really different in my opinion.

 

[RIVN - Bob]

Thanks - hope you love your R1S

 

[JCWCVG]

Wow... it definitely shows people all have different driving experiences. Have my R1S for just over 24 hours.... handles more like our Porsche Cayenne than our old Sequoia....

 

[jandkmaggi]

Ive been a car and driver reader for decades and their test drives though critical are accurate. The R1S they drove had handling issues, head toss , front to back rocking and excessive roll issues. Ive owned 4 different suvs and understand what C&D is talking about. My current Q7 Audi with air suspension has none of those handling issues. Its a suspension tuning thing and im hoping they get it fixed before i take delivery in 24

 

[RIVN - Bob]

Thanks to all the replies. If there are more comments, I’m definitely interested in reading them.

 

[Gsgun]

I went for my first mile drive on Thursday for an R1S. We tried out different modes and it was uncomfortable bumpy in Sports mode. This was also driving on hills in Portland. I don't recall the size of the tires either.

As much as I have read and researched, I didn't realize the R1S is one pedal driving and going down a windy hill the regen disabled notification. Ended up tapping the brakes and felt a weird slide in the back. Steering was responsive and maybe compensated more than I expected.

I asked about service and the guide said they were still figuring it out. He mentioned that tires and alignment are the only real things to think about which also depends on the driving mode (conserve vs all purpose). Overall it was a good experience. I have pre Mar 22 pricing as well with a March April delivery window. Seems like the updates are improving the experience.

There were around 50-60 R1Ts and R1Ss in the lot if anyone is waiting for their rivian to be delivered.

 

[Robb]

When I did my test drive I thought the ride quality seemed a bit harsh - more Toyota Tacoma than Range Rover Sport which was my current vehicle. Picked up my R1T in mid-December and now have almost 5K miles - worth mentioning I live rural in the mountains of Colorado - and I could not be happier with both ride quality and handling. Overall best vehicle I have ever owned including Porsche Cayenne, two Range Rovers Sports, Mercedes SUV, Audis and a few pick up trucks.

 

[Huh?]

I went for my first mile drive on Thursday for an R1S. We tried out different modes and it was uncomfortable bumpy in Sports mode. This was also driving on hills in Portland. I don't recall the size of the tires either.

As much as I have read and researched, I didn't realize the R1S is one pedal driving and going down a windy hill the regen disabled notification. Ended up tapping the brakes and felt a weird slide in the back. Steering was responsive and maybe compensated more than I expected.

I asked about service and the guide said they were still figuring it out. He mentioned that tires and alignment are the only real things to think about which also depends on the driving mode (conserve vs all purpose). Overall it was a good experience. I have pre Mar 22 pricing as well with a March April delivery window. Seems like the updates are improving the experience.

There were around 50-60 R1Ts and R1Ss in the lot if anyone is waiting for their rivian to be delivered.

I did mine two Thursdays ago in Portland - I assume you're talking about Oregon. What hills did you go to? The Rivian guy gave me a very specific route around the NW industrial district. During my drive, guy was continually changing drive modes so I was never really sure what I was in (except when he dropped it in sport mode and told me to floor it - I was more than a bit distracted with the power plus my sons squealing in the back). He also strongly recommended the 20's, which I'm gonna ignore.

But I was surprised how well the R1S handled the potholes, train tracks, etc. Came from a diesel BMW X5 that I did not enjoy driving between the body roll and lack of responsiveness on the accelerator. And between the two lots Rivian has, guessing there were close to 100 vehicles waiting delivery.

 

[dan.calzaretta]

I recently contacted Rivian about the possibility of seeing a vehicle while I'm in the Seattle area. Instead, they offered a drive in Portland, Oregon in early April. What suggestions do people have regarding the first drive? What questions did you wish you would have asked?

I was very happy that they were able to arrange a drive for me as I didn't think this would even be possible!

 

[MarkR1T]

I've learned over a few decades that everyone has unique experiences in vehicles and certain biases are formed from them. Our family has been a sports car and Lexus family (not high end or low end), as well as I've always owned trucks since the day I met my wife in college. My wife just did her first drive experience in the R1S last month and while I went along, I made sure our concierge treated her as if she had never seen or driven a Rivian before. He was the same employee who delivered my R1T a year ago, so he knows the family.

My wife went through everything that was important to her and took the entire hour driving, pulling over, changing settings and asking questions, because this would be her vehicle, not mine. She currently drives an RX450H Lexus and it is definitely more luxurious to her, but she really loved everything about the R1S and she is continuing on with the order.

If someone has a red-flag or two on the First Drive and the ensuing conversation entails cancelling your order, then you probably aren't comfortable with being an early adopter type, knowing there will be issues along the way. My Tundra never had a check engine light, never a trip for any repair of any kind in 165,000 miles, so if that is what people expect for these vehicles, they absolutely are not getting that.

I love my R1T (23,000 miles) and cannot imagine having anything better overall, but that is probably because my biases allow for issues to a certain level, and those challenges do not cause me to panic.

 

[milescrowe1966]

I think my initial test drive was different than my experience since I got the truck. Some of this could have been how the truck was set up. I didn't know enough at the time to understand that part of it. Some of it is because I had never driven a vehicle with air suspension. But since I have owned the truck I have been blown away by how smooth it rides and how well it handles. I experience no body roll and I drive on a lot of curvy roads.

The test drive is 20 minutes and a lot to take in in a short time. This is the most amazing vehicle I have ever owned. It has some bugs to work out. But most of the naysayers on this forum don't even own the vehicle and a lot of them never plan to own the vehicle. The more you drive it, the more you love it.

 

[Titanium91352]

I own both the R1T and the R1S. Ironically, what I like about them most is their handling. I drive up and down a mountain twice a week and in the past used my supercharged Raptor with gusto. But both the R1T and the R1S in sport mode, stiff, high regen is hands down perfect for the winding roads up and down the mountain and the going to soft and conserve mode suits any city driving. To top it off, with the storms we have had on the west coast, Snow mode is a welcomed addition. As far as service goes, on the phone, or at the facility, they are all script readers. Nothing more. I suspect there is one person in the service center that nows the vehicle inside and out and he/she is protected by layers upon layers of script readers where a claim must elevate to the top before a knowledgeable answer is given. Does it bug me, yeah. But so did my discussions with my Raptor service when they would always tell me what the problem is before they checked it only to find out that it was something else but still had me pay for the opinion fix. Not seeing anything out there that competes with the R1S or the R1T in their respective categories, Fun, capable, and styled......what more do you want?

 

[teslaliving]

I have a Tesla S75D with air suspension and find the ride comfort better than the Tesla on our (poorly maintained) back roads and on the highways. The Rivian is a fantastic highway cruiser and its good on the backroads but you know you're driving something heavy.