A friend picked up his Launch Edition R1S (one of the first 10 in Austin apparently). I only got to drive it around the block, but was impressed overall with the vehicle. 835 hp and almost 15 inches of ground clearance (when at the highest setting) in a 3 row SUV is a fairly unique combination.

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Saw a test mule in Laguna Beach, CA this summer. Other than being smaller than I expected (much like the truck), it looked real good.

Trying to decide how much money I'd have to have to spend big dollars on a essentially experimental first run vehicle with no guarantee that the company will still be there to stand behind the vehicle when it breaks.

I think they look good. I saw a gaggle of them and the trucks at Cover 3 in Round Rock last night. They were all dorking out in the parking lot with their headlights. Check out kilt-guy

Any idea what he paid for it?

It was my first time driving any electric vehicle, so it took some getting used to the "one-pedal" driving style. Had to learn to feather off the accelerator, otherwise it felt like you were hard-braking. In looking at the Rivian forums, I saw one R1S that had several trim / panel alignment issues, but this one looked good overall.

JBLHAG03 said:

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Any idea what he paid for it?

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I don't know the exact number, but I do know he put his deposit down in Oct. 2020. So he got the price locked in before the ~$15k increase. I also think that means he will qualify for the $7500 tax rebate. I'm sure he could flip it for a nice profit if he wanted, but I'm pretty sure he's going to keep it.

I think these look freaking awesome. Once the range can get me from Austin to the Valley without having to stop and recharge, I'll strongly consider one.

Profile there looks outstanding.

Hungry Ojos said:

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I think these look freaking awesome. Once the range can get me from Austin to the Valley without having to stop and recharge, I'll strongly consider one.

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Yeah, the range isn't ideal - especially in TX where you have to drive forever to get anywhere to use the off-road capabilities. Their charging network is also very, very limited but hopefully grows quickly. I can't remember the exact number, but I think my friend said the Rivian fast charger could add 240 miles in 20 minutes.

bam02 said:

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Profile there looks outstanding.

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It is a sharp-looking vehicle. I know it has nothing to do with the R1S overall, but I really liked the Launch Green color. It looks very different in different lighting conditions, but always looked good to my eye. I was surprised to see that it had the faintest bit of metallic in the bright sun. Of all the cool features on the vehicle, paint color is pretty trivial - but I thought it looked great.

I like the design.

Also highlights what a failure GM's revival of the Blazer nameplate is.

My first thought on the Rivian SUV is that the profile looks like a full size Chevy Blazer from 30-40 years ago.

Congrats on getting to drive one before they go bankrupt!

Picard said:

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Congrats on getting to drive one before they go bankrupt!

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And that is what would make it tempting to flip it for a nice profit. I think this is the first documented secondary market R1S sale. It listed for $81k (before the $7500 tax break) and sold for $130k. That would be pretty tempting no matter how nice the R1S is.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9lMEwD7G/2022-rivian-r1s-launch-edition

Aston 91 said:

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It was my first time driving any electric vehicle, so it took some getting used to the "one-pedal" driving style. Had to learn to feather off the accelerator, otherwise it felt like you were hard-braking. In looking at the Rivian forums, I saw one R1S that had several trim / panel alignment issues, but this one looked good overall.

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I somehow just heard about this feature on EV's. Never realized that's how it worked.

I think the rivian suv is the best looking electric vehicle, inside and out. Really two things preventing me from buying one. First, price. Second, we're in a townhome in houston with a smaller garage. Wife parks in the garage and would rather not have to deal with plugging it in in the driveway

htxag09 said:

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I think the rivian suv is the best looking electric vehicle, inside and out. Really two things preventing me from buying one. First, price. Second, we're in a townhome in houston with a smaller garage. Wife parks in the garage and would rather not have to deal with plugging it in in the driveway

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Third should be viability as a company. They just cut their entry level trims out of the lineup and raised price on the others because they can't meet production goals.

htxag09 said:

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I think the rivian suv is the best looking electric vehicle, inside and out. Really two things preventing me from buying one. First, price. Second, we're in a townhome in houston with a smaller garage. Wife parks in the garage and would rather not have to deal with plugging it in in the driveway

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I'd definitely want to charge it in the garage. My friend sent me this pic of his charging. I told him it looks like a nightclub in his garage.

Why pay to power all that while it is charging?

RVAg02 said:

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Why pay to power all that while it is charging?

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It was his first time to charge it, so I'm pretty sure he was just playing with the bells and whistles. I would guess you can turn off some of those lights (or will be able to in a future software upgrade). And they're all LEDs, so I doubt they actually draw that much power - but I agree I'd want all the power going through the charger to be charging batteries, not lighting it up like a Christmas tree.

I think they look great and probably are fun to drive, I just can't pay that much for a vehicle.

I really love them - have seen them in person but not driven one.

I like everything about them, except the front end. Definitely has a butter face.

EMY92 said:

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I like everything about them, except the front end. Definitely has a butter face.

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While I agree I feel like it's just one of those things that looks ugly because it's new. Seems every single new body style released (f series, Chevy, etc.) people say how ugly the front end is.

htxag09 said:

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EMY92 said:

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I like everything about them, except the front end. Definitely has a butter face.

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While I agree I feel like it's just one of those things that looks ugly because it's new. Seems every single new body style released (f series, Chevy, etc.) people say how ugly the front end is.

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I wasn't a fan of the front end either, but it's growing on me. I remember when Tesla refreshed the front end of the Model S. I thought the new one looked like a toy car and preferred the older. Now I think the older looks silly with a fake grille on an electric car.

YouBet said:

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Aston 91 said:

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It was my first time driving any electric vehicle, so it took some getting used to the "one-pedal" driving style. Had to learn to feather off the accelerator, otherwise it felt like you were hard-braking. In looking at the Rivian forums, I saw one R1S that had several trim / panel alignment issues, but this one looked good overall.

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I somehow just heard about this feature on EV's. Never realized that's how it worked.

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Teslas have an option to turn on or off "creep", where the car creeps forward when you release the brake as though it's an ICE automatic transmission vehicle. There's no reason that has to happen with an EV so you can disable it and only move forward once you push the accelerator

YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I think the rivian suv is the best looking electric vehicle, inside and out. Really two things preventing me from buying one. First, price. Second, we're in a townhome in houston with a smaller garage. Wife parks in the garage and would rather not have to deal with plugging it in in the driveway

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Third should be viability as a company. They just cut their entry level trims out of the lineup and raised price on the others because they can't meet production goals.

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At least they're actually selling vehicles unlike some other new car companies.

Demuro can be a bit grating but very in depth in showing features and all unique things about a vehicle.

GAC06 said:

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YouBet said:

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Aston 91 said:

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It was my first time driving any electric vehicle, so it took some getting used to the "one-pedal" driving style. Had to learn to feather off the accelerator, otherwise it felt like you were hard-braking. In looking at the Rivian forums, I saw one R1S that had several trim / panel alignment issues, but this one looked good overall.

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I somehow just heard about this feature on EV's. Never realized that's how it worked.

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Teslas have an option to turn on or off "creep", where the car creeps forward when you release the brake as though it's an ICE automatic transmission vehicle. There's no reason that has to happen with an EV so you can disable it and only move forward once you push the accelerator

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I think one pedal driving is more around the regen braking that happens when you let off the gas, so you barely ever hit the brake pedal. Probably controls creep too, but IMO it takes a while to get used to letting off the gas later.

EMY92 said:

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I like everything about them, except the front end. Definitely has a butter face.

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Looks like they spent all of their time designing a badass vehicle inside and out and then someone said "what about the front?" and they all just said "**** it, let the intern do it"

techno-ag said:

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YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I think the rivian suv is the best looking electric vehicle, inside and out. Really two things preventing me from buying one. First, price. Second, we're in a townhome in houston with a smaller garage. Wife parks in the garage and would rather not have to deal with plugging it in in the driveway

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Third should be viability as a company. They just cut their entry level trims out of the lineup and raised price on the others because they can't meet production goals.

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At least they're actually selling vehicles unlike some other new car companies.

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Which new car companies aren't selling cars?

bam02 said:

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techno-ag said:

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YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I think the rivian suv is the best looking electric vehicle, inside and out. Really two things preventing me from buying one. First, price. Second, we're in a townhome in houston with a smaller garage. Wife parks in the garage and would rather not have to deal with plugging it in in the driveway

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Third should be viability as a company. They just cut their entry level trims out of the lineup and raised price on the others because they can't meet production goals.

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At least they're actually selling vehicles unlike some other new car companies.

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Which new car companies aren't selling cars?

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Those that haven't produced them yet. Faraday for one. Canoo for another. Lucid has at least produced a few thousand but they're way short of their targets.

drumboy said:

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GAC06 said:

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YouBet said:

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Aston 91 said:

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It was my first time driving any electric vehicle, so it took some getting used to the "one-pedal" driving style. Had to learn to feather off the accelerator, otherwise it felt like you were hard-braking. In looking at the Rivian forums, I saw one R1S that had several trim / panel alignment issues, but this one looked good overall.

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I somehow just heard about this feature on EV's. Never realized that's how it worked.

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Teslas have an option to turn on or off "creep", where the car creeps forward when you release the brake as though it's an ICE automatic transmission vehicle. There's no reason that has to happen with an EV so you can disable it and only move forward once you push the accelerator

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I think one pedal driving is more around the regen braking that happens when you let off the gas, so you barely ever hit the brake pedal. Probably controls creep too, but IMO it takes a while to get used to letting off the gas later.

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Yes, it was more getting used to the regenerative braking. When you decrease the accelerator input, you're effectively applying the brake. To drive smoothly, you have to slow down the rate at which you let off the accelerator. I think the overall accelerator travel is more than a typical car so it's not as sensitive to small changes in input, but I could be wrong. I'm sure it would become second nature pretty quick, but it was just different than what I've been used to.

Faraday is so fugly… Lucid will pick up and they are just having the initial problems that Rivian has had.

I guess it's a flipper's market

Simply ludicrous. Though, at those prices, maybe the new owners won't mind putting a new $50K battery in it in 4 or so years.

nortex97 said:

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Simply ludicrous. Though, at those prices, maybe the new owners won't mind putting a new $50K battery in it in 4 or so years.

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People were flipping Broncos for $100K, so it happens when demand outstrips production. I can't imagine someone willing to pay that for a vehicle most are getting for just over half the price though.

I believe Rivians and most EV's have an 8 year battery warranty, and $50K sounds way high for a replacement estimate.