[babdul]

On the website, the Standard Pack claims to give 260+ miles vs the Large Pack that claims to give 320+ miles. Is it worth it for the extra $6,000??? Or can we just save the $6,000 and go with the Standard Pack?

 

[eHauler]

On the website, the Standard Pack claims to give 260+ miles vs the Large Pack that claims to give 320+ miles. Is it worth it for the extra $6,000??? Or can we just save the $6,000 and go with the Standard Pack?

Save the $6,000 if you don't drive long distances often enough. Standard will be enough for most owners.

 

[babdul]

Save the $6,000 if you don't drive long distances often enough. Standard will be enough for most owners.

Did you place your order? And which one?

 

[JimmyEV]

On the website, the Standard Pack claims to give 260+ miles vs the Large Pack that claims to give 320+ miles. Is it worth it for the extra $6,000??? Or can we just save the $6,000 and go with the Standard Pack?

It really depends on how much driving you do and if you plan on towing anything with your R1S. If you don't drive a lot in a day or go on many long trips or tow anything then the standard pack should do the job, especially if you charge each night at home. If you do a lot of driving and/or want that peace of mind then you might want to look at the larger pack.

 

[babdul]

It really depends on how much driving you do and if you plan on towing anything with your R1S. If you don't drive a lot in a day or go on many long trips or tow anything then the standard pack should do the job, especially if you charge each night at home. If you do a lot of driving and/or want that peace of mind then you might want to look at the larger pack.

debate would be, for the same price (actually lesser than Rivian R1S Explore w/ Large Pack), the Tesla Cybertruck seats 6 people and it claims to have 500+ miles of range which is INSANE! Confused as to which one to prefer??

 

[MY2Rivian]

Reasons to pay the $6k for more mileage:

1. No one ever said I wish I got the smaller battery
2. Piece of mind for the rare or occasional road trips
3. Less worries taking a hit in mileage in colder weather
4. $6k more on an auto loan equals “about” $120/month more on the car payment
   
   Without knowing what the charging infrastructure will be like in ~2 yrs, I feel more comfortable putting my money there.

 

[Yossarian]

As others have indicated, the choice of battery capacity will depend on what you intend to do with the R1S, and the state of the charging infrastructure when you take delivery of the vehicle. With respect to the latter, I think that the current activity expanding the charging network is likely to slow considerably after this year for both economic and political reasons. If that turns out to be the case, range will be hugely important in many driving situations.

Towing is one of those situations. The 320 mile nominal range of the Large battery pack will become far less than that if you're towing almost anything. It is possible, perhaps even likely, that towing even a relatively small camper will mean an effective (as opposed to nominal) range of only about 100 miles with the Large pack. The Standard could mean something on the order of 80 miles.

If you're not towing, not driving long distances and have no plans to visit very hot or very cold parts of the country, the Standard pack will be fine. If you are towing, driving long distances (particularly if you're going through the several charging deserts in North America) or worse, towing long distances, you will probably want even more range than the Large pack provides to tide you over until the time that charging stations become more numerous.

 

[babdul]

Reasons to pay the $6k for more mileage:

1. No one ever said I wish I got the smaller battery
2. Piece of mind for the rare or occasional road trips
3. Less worries taking a hit in mileage in colder weather
4. $6k more on an auto loan equals “about” $120/month more on the car payment
   
   Without knowing what the charging infrastructure will be like in ~2 yrs, I feel more comfortable putting my money there.

But it’s just 60 miles more mileage 🥲🥲

 

[Wandering42D]

debate would be, for the same price (actually lesser than Rivian R1S Explore w/ Large Pack), the Tesla Cybertruck seats 6 people and it claims to have 500+ miles of range which is INSANE! Confused as to which one to prefer??

To that I would say there is no debate (yet); it is extremely unlikely that the cybertruck, even if whatever spec/trim level does in fact have 500+ mile range, will cost less the large pack R1S.

 

[babdul]

To that I would say there is no debate (yet); it is extremely unlikely that the cybertruck, even if whatever spec/trim level does in fact have 500+ mile range, will cost less the large pack R1S.

Hopefully Tesla promises to keep the price mentioned at their launch event with a trim giving 500+ miles range. It would Be a no-brainer

 

[Wandering42D]

Agreed. Any EV with a 500+ range under $100k would...dominate the market. The Lucid is what, 505 mi and costs 170k? And to do it for a pickup, on inefficient tires? I'll be very impressed if they can deliver a CT with that range, at that price, earlier than 2025.

 

[Yossarian]

Hopefully Tesla promises to keep the price mentioned at their launch event with a trim giving 500+ miles range. It would Be a no-brainer

That brings up an interesting question: If Tesla does honor the pre-order pricing, will they also allow you to change configuration at the initial pricing level without penalty?

I frankly want an SUV rather than a pickup, and the R1S was what I initially pre-ordered. At the time, the Rivian website indicated that both the R1T and R1S would be offered with a larger battery than the Long Range. As it turns out, Rivian is only offering the 180 kWh Max battery pack on the R1T and has removed any mention of a larger battery for the R1S from the website. In fact, it's not clear that Rivian will even offer what their reps now refer to as a "longer-range" battery pack for the R1S quad-motor. So to get the range I need for my application (I will be towing a camper over long distances which even though it's small & light, will reduce range by 35 to 40%) I needed to change to the R1T Max.

Though as I said, the SUV is my true preference, I really need the added range of the Max pack, so have no real choice other than R1T Max. At least the Rivian pick-up, unlike the CT, is attractive, so for the present, it remains my first choice. Still, if Tesla honors the initial pricing AND let's me change config from the dual-motor I ordered to the 500+ mile tri-motor without penalty AND actually keeps to a 2023 delivery, I'd have to think very seriously about the CT instead of the R1T.

The looks of the CT are, to say the least, off-putting, and Tesla's reputation for poor build quality is concerning, but more than 500 miles of range is a huge plus. That kind of capacity, even with a 40% hit to range when towing, gives an effective range (80%/20% SOC parameters) of about 200 miles. That makes it possible for me to take my [email protected] 320 almost anywhere in the US and through a large part of Canada too. For a recent retiree with travel plans, that could make a very ugly vehicle pretty attractive.

 

[babdul]

That brings up an interesting question: If Tesla does honor the pre-order pricing, will they also allow you to change configuration at the initial pricing level without penalty?

I frankly want an SUV rather than a pickup, and the R1S was what I initially pre-ordered. At the time, the Rivian website indicated that both the R1T and R1S would be offered with a larger battery than the Long Range. As it turns out, Rivian is only offering the 180 kWh Max battery pack on the R1T and has removed any mention of a larger battery for the R1S from the website. In fact, it's not clear that Rivian will even offer what their reps now refer to as a "longer-range" battery pack for the R1S quad-motor. So to get the range I need for my application (I will be towing a camper over long distances which even though it's small & light, will reduce range by 35 to 40%) I needed to change to the R1T Max.

Though as I said, the SUV is my true preference, I really need the added range of the Max pack, so have no real choice other than R1T Max. At least the Rivian pick-up, unlike the CT, is attractive, so for the present, it remains my first choice. Still, if Tesla honors the initial pricing AND let's me change config from the dual-motor I ordered to the 500+ mile tri-motor without penalty AND actually keeps to a 2023 delivery, I'd have to think very seriously about the CT instead of the R1T.

The looks of the CT are, to say the least, off-putting, and Tesla's reputation for poor build quality is concerning, but more than 500 miles of range is a huge plus. That kind of capacity, even with a 40% hit to range when towing, gives an effective range (80%/20% SOC parameters) of about 200 miles. That makes it possible for me to take my [email protected] 320 almost anywhere in the US and through a large part of Canada too. For a recent retiree with travel plans, that could make a very ugly vehicle pretty attractive.

I agree. I’m in the same boat as you. I do like the way Rivian is designed both interior and exterior. And I’m very interested in getting the R1S. The looks of it is unlike any other EV SUV right now. But the 500+mile range on the Tesla for less than the price of Rivian is what’s appealing.

 

[babdul]

And I guess over time, people will just get used to seeing CT on the roads and the design of it won’t bother as much? Like the iPhone X when it first came out.

 

[EaglesPDX]

But it’s just 60 miles more mileage 🥲🥲

Always go bigger on the battery.

1. EV's live at 75% of battery day to day to slow battery degradation. Don't discharge below 10% and don't charge to more than 85%. I have 270/310 battery left on the Tesla after 85k miles.
2. On trips, charging gets very slow at 70% so again, your are living at that 75% range.
3. EV batteries degrade from day one and sticking to L2 and the 10-85 rule will slow the battery degradation.
4. Cold weather can take 40% of useable battery, combined with the 75% rule, reduced usable range in bad weather by a lot.
5. Resale value.

 

[EaglesPDX]

And I guess over time, people will just get used to seeing CT on the roads and the design of it won’t bother as much?

If it ever gets on the road. It's not really a form/function design. More lets build a wild and crazy vehicle. It will do wonders for reruns of "Damnation Alley", the CT's model. Given global warming trends, by the time the CT comes out, it may be operating in the same environment as its progenitor.

 

[chungachguk]

I think it’s very safe to assume that (a) Tesla will not price CT where the initial predictions were (a CT with faster acceleration and better range will not be the same price as a Model Y), and (b) it’s highly unlikely to have anywhere NEAR 500+ miles of range. Even Tesla most aerodynamic/efficient/most expensive Model S doesn’t come close to 500, and considering how much heavier/less aerodynamic the CT will be, the only way to get to 500 will be to put in a massive battery, and considering the prices of raw battery materials, that’ll almost certainly increase the prices exponentially.

 

[babdul]

Let’s hope for the best!

 

[paulcoble4827]

But it’s just 60 miles more mileage 🥲🥲

And when you one day market this car for sale used, buyers might well say, "Oh . . . you have the little battery". They sure as heck aren't going to say, "Oh, thank God you have the smaller battery."

 

[jack]

Always go with the bigger battery. Whether you take a lot of long trips or not, the bigger battery will charge much faster when you do. the standard pack 260 miles is 80% of the large pack 320 miles, so to get the full 260 miles of the standard pack at a DC fast charger you will have to charge for roughly 1 hour, because charging slows considerably after 70%, whereas the large pack will get to 80% (260 miles) within 30 minutes. The smaller pack could add an additional couple of hours on a 600-700 mile trip.