[Farhadfzr]

Hi everyone,
I’m a relative late arrival by some standards, put in a deposit in November for my wife’s next vehicle/our next family hauler.
First, like everyone here I’m excited about what Rivian is doing: building an uncompromised electric SUV/adventure truck, that really checks all the boxes for our family. I’ve also been reading and listening to many podcasts available out there and I’m very impressed by the culture at Rivian and what RJ and his team have been building for many years. Their team culture to me is the “anti-Tesla” in many ways. This is how you build a sustainable team.
I’m also very encouraged that many of the executives are gear heads. They have tinkered with cars, they know and love and value the essence of ideal car performance and vehicle dynamics principles.
I’m curious about the make up of Rivian fanatics (I assume most people here!) I find most Tesla owners either aligned mostly with digital tech and/or ambivalent about the driving experience. Wondering, and would love to hear folks on this forum’s stories and automotive loves.
Rivian is building more than an appliance. And they’re marketing their work in a special way too. I’m a gear head, and the more I learn about them, the more excited I get about my wife’s R1S and the future of the company.
Cheers,
FF

 

[eHauler]

Welcome to the forum @Farhadfzr.

Were you two always set on the R1S or debated the between it and the R1T?
Or any other new vehicles?

Another blow to Tesla is terrible build quality. Something I hope won't be a problem here.

 

[R99]

Welcome @Farhadfzr! It's pretty clear that Tesla operates like a tech company than a car company. The same applies to a lot of Tesla fans. Rivian is building a kind of lifestyle brand by focusing on off-roading, overlanding, and the outdoors. I've always been a car guy and while I respect the technology Tesla has made it's just not for me.

How did you and your wife spec out your R1S?

 

[Farhadfzr]

Thank you guys for the love...
I had known about Rivian since probably before most people on this forum... but I did not know the details about the company. So when I read on one of the auto magazine sites in November that Rivian was working on autonomous driving tech with Amazon, I realized this was not going to be another Fisker, Nikola, Lordstown, and dare I say Lucid. Then I tried to learn as much as I could about the company. The car business is brutal, margins are small, and customers fickle. You can not argue with me that if Musk walks away from Tesla, the company will survive as is today more than 1-2 years. Having Amazon’s support gives so much strength to Rivian, to do it their way and stay close to their founding principles.
As for our journey, I signed up originally for the non-adventure, got the off-road added, and 20 inch wheels. I also started to watch “Long Way Up” with my wife as a hint. On Christmas Day I presented her with the paperwork and she picked the rest: full adventure with Ocean interior and dark 20’s. This thing will be a beast!
Her current family hauler is a 2012 Ford Raptor with 37 inch tires and a camper shell, with 120K miles on it. We require interior space (not like Tesla X. We have a 150lb dog and 2 kids), ground clearance (to get up the mountain in deep snow and to go on trails and off-road to our favorite lake in the Sierras), and power because I’m a gear head I built a Shelby Cobra 6 years ago and that has about 500 hp, and my daily driver which I track sometimes is a Camaro ZL1 1LE with a tune and ethanol enabled, making more than 750 hp and ft/lb. So not your typical customer, but bottom line most SUV’s these days are either raised smallish sedans (like the X) or an overweight, slightly taller minivan. And in comparison, you cannot say this is an expensive truck/SUV. There’s great value here even in its base trim.
As for other options, nothing felt right. A hybrid MDX isn’t rugged enough, a Tahoe or Yukon are underpowered and more expensive similarly equipped, and she didn’t want to have a 20ft truck like the Raptor anymore. The great thing about electric is you don’t pay an efficiency penalty for more power. I’m looking forward to getting more than 11mpg And looking forward to learning more from this group.

 

[R99]

Thank you guys for the love...
I had known about Rivian since probably before most people on this forum... but I did not know the details about the company. So when I read on one of the auto magazine sites in November that Rivian was working on autonomous driving tech with Amazon, I realized this was not going to be another Fisker, Nikola, Lordstown, and dare I say Lucid. Then I tried to learn as much as I could about the company. The car business is brutal, margins are small, and customers fickle. You can not argue with me that if Musk walks away from Tesla, the company will survive as is today more than 1-2 years. Having Amazon’s support gives so much strength to Rivian, to do it their way and stay close to their founding principles.
As for our journey, I signed up originally for the non-adventure, got the off-road added, and 20 inch wheels. I also started to watch “Long Way Up” with my wife as a hint. On Christmas Day I presented her with the paperwork and she picked the rest: full adventure with Ocean interior and dark 20’s. This thing will be a beast!
Her current family hauler is a 2012 Ford Raptor with 37 inch tires and a camper shell, with 120K miles on it. We require interior space (not like Tesla X. We have a 150lb dog and 2 kids), ground clearance (to get up the mountain in deep snow and to go on trails and off-road to our favorite lake in the Sierras), and power because I’m a gear head I built a Shelby Cobra 6 years ago and that has about 500 hp, and my daily driver which I track sometimes is a Camaro ZL1 1LE with a tune and ethanol enabled, making more than 750 hp and ft/lb. So not your typical customer, but bottom line most SUV’s these days are either raised smallish sedans (like the X) or an overweight, slightly taller minivan. And in comparison, you cannot say this is an expensive truck/SUV. There’s great value here even in its base trim.
As for other options, nothing felt right. A hybrid MDX isn’t rugged enough, a Tahoe or Yukon are underpowered and more expensive similarly equipped, and she didn’t want to have a 20ft truck like the Raptor anymore. The great thing about electric is you don’t pay an efficiency penalty for more power. I’m looking forward to getting more than 11mpg And looking forward to learning more from this group.

A Raptor, Cobra, and Camaro. I'm jealous of you and your wife's garage! . Are you planning on trading in the Raptor for the R1T?

 

[Farhadfzr]

Lol thank you, hoping to keep the Raptor and rotate it into my commute and for occasional pick up kind of work, and the R1S will become the family flagship. We’ve had the Raptor for over 8 years and I would love to keep is going as long as I can and maybe upgrade things as parts break down and need replacement.

 

[R99]

Lol thank you, hoping to keep the Raptor and rotate it into my commute and for occasional pick up kind of work, and the R1S will become the family flagship. We’ve had the Raptor for over 8 years and I would love to keep is going as long as I can and maybe upgrade things as parts break down and need replacement.

I don't blame you at all, Raptors are a lot of fun to drive. Great choice on the R1S. Which battery pack are you planning on getting?

 

[Farhadfzr]

The 300. Not planning on doing major towing. The extra $ and weight and wait won’t really be needed for us. 300 miles covers any round trips we do; a 400 mile drive to LA would need a stop for 300 or 400 batteries and would be once every few years anyway. R99 and eHauler, what are your stories?

 

[eHauler]

Lol thank you, hoping to keep the Raptor and rotate it into my commute and for occasional pick up kind of work, and the R1S will become the family flagship. We’ve had the Raptor for over 8 years and I would love to keep is going as long as I can and maybe upgrade things as parts break down and need replacement.

Ford said the electric F-150 will have better power, torque and hauling power than the Raptor. Quite impressive if you ask me and it seems the R1T is around those specs. What are the odds you'll keep it with electric pickup specs coming so close?

 

[Farhadfzr]

Those are all true, but the Raptor is already paid off... and I love it. And I love this v8 more than any new raptor that costs a lot more and performs better. In the end if I needed a truck that I needed for frequent towing, I would probably get a diesel 250 honestly. The jury on real life towing range at least to me is still out. Once the 400 R1T comes out we will know more, and Tesla has made promises too. That’s a segment of the market which honestly I’m not sure at this time needs to be conquered.

 

[MilesK]

Those are all true, but the Raptor is already paid off... and I love it. And I love this v8 more than any new raptor that costs a lot more and performs better. In the end if I needed a truck that I needed for frequent towing, I would probably get a diesel 250 honestly. The jury on real life towing range at least to me is still out. Once the 400 R1T comes out we will know more, and Tesla has made promises too. That’s a segment of the market which honestly I’m not sure at this time needs to be conquered.

If it was the V6 Raptor I'd say move on but that V8 is glorious haha. It'll be cool to see how your R1T performs on and off-road next to it.