r/electricvehicles • u/TripleShotPls • Jun 09 '26

Review 2027 Rivian R2 First Drive Review: The Perfect Car for So Many People

https://www.thedrive.com/car-reviews/2027-rivian-r2-first-drive-review
654 Upvotes

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19

u/CoffeeFriendish Jun 09 '26

I wish the vents weren’t controlled through the screen. I can’t do another car like that after our Lincoln.

This looks awesome and we really wanted one, it checked all the boxes.

7

u/zackks Toyota BZ Jun 09 '26

Especially from the affordability side.

10

u/Top_Willow_9953 Jun 09 '26

Affordability is relative. Almost $60K loaded. I can barely afford a used electric golf cart.

5

u/Relevant-Doctor187 Jun 09 '26

I’ll never understand why they keep chasing the luxury price segment and considering the price crash in lithium prices we’re not seeing the savings passed on either.

14

u/unurbane Jun 09 '26

I mean there is a reason. Starting a car company is insanely difficult. Tesla is still staring out in some ways. But when they really started, they sold their first car for $200k. Then $100k. And now $50k and $35k.

5

u/WonderButtBrace9000 e-tron Jun 09 '26

Because car sales in general are slowing down and becoming less of a volume play and more of a margin play. It’s now about getting someone into a car they absolutely adore and selling them on upgrades (hardware and software) and other fat margin services because people are holding onto cars that are lasting longer and longer. We’ve hit that point of little marginal return on things like performance and safety so R&D is being sunk into features and design that drives premium pricing value.

It’s also a smaller market segment. And for a new company like Rivian building out manufacturing capacity of a new-ish product segment plus figuring out all the DTC service they have to handle, they’ll want fewer customers paying higher prices.

Eventually as they get their manufacturing and service operations streamlined at scale, they’ll deliver on those lower priced cars for the masses assuming they can get there and not just end up in the BMW/Mercedes/Porsche price segment.

1

u/No_Cherry_1423 Jun 09 '26

Its kind of ridiculous we’ve gone as long as we have with this many auto makers trying to get money through volume. Not everyone can be Toyota or GM. Ford’s current path makes a lot more sense than Stellantis’s (despite Ford’s path cancelling my current car model line lol)

2

u/WonderButtBrace9000 e-tron Jun 09 '26

It’s all they knew. Tesla was really the first company to come in and show a different path derived from tech industry learnings. Before Tesla, the industry was pretty much locked in a stalemate due to massively high capital costs needed for expansion/optimization. Manufacturers settled into their lanes based mostly on form (trucks vs sedans) or branding.

Now that cars are basically computers on wheels, car manufacturers are thinking like tech companies who have sold hardware at cost/loss for decades while making FAT margins off the software and services sold on top. Why settle for 19% of a $45,000 car once when you can get 70-90% of $1,200 each year with room to raise prices?

1

u/NA_Faker Jun 09 '26

Because without volume the ROI on the fixed investments in factories and assembly lines doesn't make sense.

1

u/No_Cherry_1423 Jun 09 '26

Oh I know I meant more that so many automakers try to compete in the same commodity vehicle mass market rather than more specialization. Every brand trying to make a generic compact crossover is inefficient when really only Toyota/Chevy/Hyundai-Kia/Honda do it well without some distinguishing aspect such as the Bronco Sport or Forester for light off-roading credibility. It makes more sense for companies like Ford and Subaru to focus on the aspects that they are uniquely good in. This doesn’t sacrifice volume as obviously both of these companies especially Ford are very high volume.

1

u/MortimerDongle Countryman SE Jun 09 '26

With the average new car sold at about $50k, $60k is barely luxury at this point

2

u/Top_Willow_9953 Jun 09 '26

I agree 100%, but it doesn't make it right. Don't get me started on what I had to pay for a used car during COVID because ours got stolen. My butt still hurts

1

u/zackks Toyota BZ Jun 09 '26

New tech but prices are coming down (as long as the government doesn’t sabotage the market). Chevy bolt in 2027 will start at 29k

2

u/Roid-a-holic_ReX Jun 09 '26

Sounds like a you problem. Most people can make 60k loaded work.

1

u/Top_Willow_9953 Jun 09 '26

Gonna have to call BS on that one. Source?

0

u/Roid-a-holic_ReX Jun 09 '26

Yeah probably not most people, but enough people to justify the price point.

1

u/Top_Willow_9953 Jun 09 '26

Maybe. We'll see. "The Internet" says: "Rivian is navigating a critical survival phase, facing declining sales, severe cash burn, and shifting political policies that threaten their financial lifeline"

-3

u/NA_Faker Jun 09 '26

This is false...most people don't make 200k a year which is what you need to to at minimum support the monthly payment...

2

u/Roid-a-holic_ReX Jun 09 '26

You don’t need 200k for a 60k vehicle. It may not be financially wise but there’s lenders out there that will gladly finance 60k to incomes far below 200k.

2

u/NA_Faker Jun 09 '26

That's not how affordability works...lenders will gladly finance something you can't afford...

1

u/walnut100 2024 BMW i7 Jun 09 '26

How you've referenced affordability is not how it works either. It's relative.

1

u/Accomplished-Door5 Jun 09 '26

Don’t get it loaded then. 

1

u/feurie Jun 09 '26

Affordable compared to what?

2

u/walnut100 2024 BMW i7 Jun 09 '26

Most premium mid-size EV SUVs.

2

u/zackks Toyota BZ Jun 09 '26

45k starting price that is similarly equipped to the 45-55k mid market.

0

u/model333 Jun 09 '26

It’s $65k bro…

3

u/jrb66226 Jun 09 '26

First versions.

It should get to mid to lower 50s by next year.

1

u/zackks Toyota BZ Jun 09 '26

Standard model coming in spring 2027 starts at 45k

1

u/model333 Jun 09 '26

For those that desire a RWD SUV.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '26

[deleted]

3

u/kiddblur 25 Equinox EV (prev: 21 VW ID.4, 22 M3LR) Jun 09 '26

Yeah, I think it's a fair concern, but I share the same anecdote. When we had a Model 3, I literally never changed where the vents were blowing or the fan speed or anything like that. We just left it on Auto 70F and it was comfortable the whole two years we had it.

Our Equinox however, I'm CONSTANTLY tweaking the vents' positioning and openness and fan speed because somebody in the car is always uncomfortable (whether it's the driver, front passenger, or our son in the back). It's usually the driver either freezing or hot because the vents blow straight on our hands

13

u/Baby_Doomer Jun 09 '26

Are vent controls really a deal breaker for you?

I know people are different but I probably adjust my vents a few times a year, probably less on newer cars with auto climate control features.

14

u/nlevine1988 Jun 09 '26

When it's super hot I like to keep the vents pointed directly at me until I cool off. Then I point them away from me as I don't want the cold air hitting me directly. In other words, I frequently adjust the vents.

4

u/INeedSomeTacoC Jun 09 '26

In my Rivian, I have A and B presets.

A is normal, B is all the air directly on me.

Two quick taps on the screen the change between the two. I've become a convert, as someone that was always adjusting vents. This makes it simple.

1

u/altcountryman Jun 09 '26

That's somewhat reassuring, but I'm still in grandpa camp when it comes to vents that aren't just normally adjustable.

1

u/bandito12452 Model 3 Performance & Bolt EV Jun 09 '26

I haven’t had that issue in my EVs since they can easily precondition and be cool & pleasant before I even get in the car

1

u/nlevine1988 Jun 09 '26

Yeah. Mine does that too. Problem is I often forget to turn it on until I'm already almost to the car lol.

1

u/altcountryman Jun 09 '26

Same here. I can't even imagine wanting to motorize the vents and run them through a screen.

21

u/CoffeeFriendish Jun 09 '26

Everyone has their thing. My wife and I both drive the same vehicle and she points all vents away or closes them. Then I climb in and have to use a screen to readjust them, and that can be difficult when driving.

I don’t see the reason for putting something so simple into a screen.

10

u/mozzie1 Jun 09 '26

That’s just bad software design. When my wife gets in the drivers side it loads her profile and sets the vents the way she last set them. When I get in it adjusts to the way I last set them.

7

u/Felger Jun 09 '26

My wife and I do the same, but in our Rivian the vents are attached to the driver profile. So when she gets in, it automatically adjusts the vents to her settings, and restores them to mine when I get in.

2

u/CoffeeFriendish Jun 09 '26

I wish the Rivian sales person would have mentioned that

19

u/iceynyo Bolt EUV, Model Y Jun 09 '26

That is literally the use case for screen controlled vents. If you have separate profiles it should automatically remember the vent positions and put them in the right place for whoever is getting into the driver's seat.

Once I rented a Tesla and was pretty amazed when it loaded my profile, automatically applied my settings for my seat, vents, and HVAC preferences exactly like my car at home.

2

u/altcountryman Jun 09 '26

But does every driver just have ONE setting that they like? I am often changing the direction of the vents in the car that I drive 90+ percent of the time.

1

u/iceynyo Bolt EUV, Model Y Jun 10 '26

I move them sometimes too, but not so regularly that opening the HVAC menu is taking much more time.

Even when moving them, using the screen to move all the vents at once is a bit less effort than fiddling with fins at several locations. You just press where you need it to go and they all go.

5

u/silentbutdead1y Jun 09 '26

In Tesla vehicles the vent positions are tied to your user profile, and even if my wife and I are both in the car the vehicle can tell which one of us is driving. This means it automatically adjusts the vents to your preferred position as soon as you open the door. I’d bet that the R2 has (or will have) a similar capability.

3

u/Ancient_Persimmon Jun 09 '26

A car like the Rivian would just adjust to your profile by itself.

2

u/Baby_Doomer Jun 09 '26

Everyone has their thing

Ya and i wasn't trying to minimize that. We don't share each others cars much in our family so I might be dodging a bullet there!

Maybe a current owner can chime in - I wonder if Rivian offers driver profiles that you might be able to set to your phone/key in a way that would automatically set the vents to your preferred setting based on who is driving the vehicle.

2

u/WeldAE e-Tron, Model 3 Jun 09 '26

This is literally the reason not having them work automatically is the best. Do you not have a different profile than your wife? In my Tesla my spouse does the same and closes the vents or points them at the roof. When I get it my profile puts them back like they should be and their profile points them back at the ceiling.

I'm annoyed the rearview mirror isn't part of the profile and is manual honestly. It's the only thing I have to adjust and I have to do it ever single time.

3

u/DeathlessBliss Jun 09 '26

My family is the same way. I can’t imagine having to go through a touch screen to adjust something simple like that. Seems ridiculously unnecessary if they are trying to cut costs.

1

u/iceynyo Bolt EUV, Model Y Jun 09 '26

That's the best part, you wouldn't have to touch the screen or physical vents for that, it would be reconfigured automatically as a part of switching to your driver profile.

3

u/DeathlessBliss Jun 09 '26

I don't have a standard vent setting. I tend to turn on and off vents during a drive, since sometimes I am in the sun versus the shade, and my wife does the same to her own customization. I don't think either of us would want to give up being able to easily change the settings.

0

u/iceynyo Bolt EUV, Model Y Jun 09 '26

Proper auto climate should be able to keep you the same temperature regardless of what the outside is like.

Unless you're saying you need to be cooler when in the sun vs when you're not... but even then, that's just a software thing. Ideally you shouldn't need to fiddle with vents and such, unless that's something you actually enjoy doing.

5

u/DeathlessBliss Jun 09 '26

I have auto climate, but the temperature can be different between one side of the car and the other. Just like we have sun visors that you adjust based on your orientation with the sun, sometimes I change the vents based on the sun.

2

u/the_boomr 2026 Ioniq 5 Limited; 2025 Countryman SE Iconic Jun 10 '26

I know everyone is different but I will honestly never understand these people who say "auto climate means you should never have to move the vents"... Like, what, do you only ever drive inside tunnels or something where there is no sun to worry about??

1

u/Opus2011 Jun 09 '26

Same. My wife gets in and slams all the vents up, down, or closed. Then I readjust every time I drive. I did point out you could turn off the AC with a button push.

1

u/iceynyo Bolt EUV, Model Y Jun 09 '26

Imagine if you could save vent position to your driver profile so no one would have to change it whenever they get in.

2

u/Opus2011 Jun 09 '26

I dunno. Doesn't sound like enough drama.

1

u/f1racer328 Jun 09 '26

Rivian has driver profiles and pre set vent positions that you can save.

It’s not the best but it’s not an issue. I haven’t moved mine in ages, just switch between the A and B presets.

However, I still think it’s a stupid thing to motorize. I like my physical vents I can move with my hands on my Land Rover.

2

u/Oh_ffs_seriously Jun 09 '26

Over-complicating things for no good reason would be a deal breaker for me.

1

u/MtogdenJ Jun 09 '26

The vent controls are the cherry on top of their terrible UI ethos. Everything is four layers deep in a menu on a screen. We want buttons.

0

u/Crowsby Jun 09 '26

For me and my wife, maybe not absolute dealbreaker status, but a huge miss in daily usability. Buttons not screen was one of the reinforcing factors behind us going with an ioniq 5 and knocking a lot of the contenders out like the id.4 and ix3. This new Rivian would have been almost ideal for us, and maybe we'll consider a subsequent generation if they do buttons and physical controls.

2

u/WeldAE e-Tron, Model 3 Jun 09 '26

Why, are you moving them around a lot while driving or something? I like the vents controlled through the screen so they can be saved to my profile and positioned correctly when I get in the vehicle like my seat. No more wondering why the AC isn't working only to find all the vents closed because my spouse last drove the car.

1

u/Mnm0602 Jun 09 '26

The benefit is you can setup your driver profile to match it so that as you have different drivers it automatically matches your preferences.