I did a test drive of the R2 yesterday. I am not a reservation holder for Rivian , but I am for a Scout. I was considering the R2 as a stop gap vehicle as we are getting tired of all the reliability issues we are having with our Wrangle 4xE. Full disclosure: I love the ethos of Rivian—a software defined vehicle that can get better as it grows. Ultimately I was meh with the R2 and my wife hated it! Wanted to share in the hopes that Scout can get it right for mass consumers. The good: great tech, great test drive experience, R2 had tons of torque. The bad: no option to turn “off” one pedal driving. My wife wouldn’t even test drive it on a road—I got her to drive it in a parking lot for 2 mins. She got overwhelmed with all the screen views and nearly had a panic attack from sensory overload. She ultimately felt car sick by the end due to the regen/one pedal behavior that even at low is pretty aggressive. She also hated the moonroof—unable to open…even with the back window roll down its wasn’t open air enough. Lastly she didn’t like how low it sat. While ALL of this is personal preference and some can be addressed with future software updates my hope for the scout (and much of this is already confirmed): a blend of screens and knobs, minimal sensory overload potential from the screens (chill mode). Sitting higher and open air cabana roof. While for us the Rivian isn’t a no—it definitely is a not now. I am even more stoked now for the Scout!
R2 Test Drive
- Thread starter Sockdoc
- Start date
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Thanks for your thoughts. I’m really curious how tall the Scout will be on a normal setup with 33s.
Every once in a while I have this little thought that says get the EREV with 35s, maintenance be damned.
We are so much closer to being able to test drive our Scouts. Only 4 months or so and two years will have passed. It’s going by fast!
Every once in a while I have this little thought that says get the EREV with 35s, maintenance be damned.
We are so much closer to being able to test drive our Scouts. Only 4 months or so and two years will have passed. It’s going by fast!
2 years-hahahaha! Much longer for some but I hear you. Getting closer and closer
Oh I know. I first started talking about them in ‘22 and refused to buy anything till I saw the launch.
I'm having similar thoughts - similarly my wife doesn't like how Rivians look, and I didn't like the tech when I test drove an R1 recently. I just got a notice that my order slot for an R2 will open in October, so as the date gets closer I'll set up a test drive, but my guess at this point is that I'll ultimately cancel the R2 and wait for the Scout
I've don't recall that data being officially released but you can get pretty close by doing some math.
Scout says they have >160,000 reservations. It will probably go up as they get closer to release, when the configurator opens, etc. They will (hopefully) publish quarterly delivery numbers (this is easier with public companies as those numbers are required to be published). At that point one can simply keep checking Scout's website for when a new order can be expected to be delivered. Once that delivery date comes in meaningfully, you can be reasonably assured that the reservation list has been exhausted. Another way is by hanging out here and when folks start reporting their delivery date being earlier than they were told you can infer that Scout is "catching up" with their backlog. By dividing the reservation backlog by the deliveries to that point you can get a pretty good idea of conversion rate.
That’s the way-uh-huh, uh-huh-I like it!
Hello everyone. I went and test drove an R2 today. After test driving that Mach E and getting nauseous I got worried so I wanted to drive another BEV to see what was up. I think I figured it out.
First thing I have to say has nothing to do with the actual experience but parking at the plant.
I’m including @Jamie@ScoutMotors on this one because it was so bad and SM needs to ensure they do not do this.
So I have been to the plant before without issue. There’s two rows of parking right by the entrance that are marked Guest Parking with a sign in front of each space. Have parked there in the past without issue. Well apparently I wasn’t supposed to.
This time I parked my car and security was right there and told me rather aggressively that I could not park there. She said my license plate was not on the list. I informed her that I had an appointment for a test drive and she said it didn’t matter. That those spaces were only for approved guests and if I left my car there I would be ticked and/or towed.
Okay well where do I need to park. She told me I needed to go to an unmarked space in the employee lot and I could park there.
Folks, I was out in the boonies. I tracked the distance to the front door. A third of a mile.
I spoke with the gentlemen at the desk about it as he was getting the person who had the keys for the test drive and he asked “did security yell at you”. I said yes they were not nice. He indicated they have asked for parking spaces for test drives but they keep getting turned down for those.
I took a picture from where I parked. You couldn’t even see the front reception building.
It was not a great way to start the test drive experience to say the least.
First thing I have to say has nothing to do with the actual experience but parking at the plant.
I’m including @Jamie@ScoutMotors on this one because it was so bad and SM needs to ensure they do not do this.
So I have been to the plant before without issue. There’s two rows of parking right by the entrance that are marked Guest Parking with a sign in front of each space. Have parked there in the past without issue. Well apparently I wasn’t supposed to.
This time I parked my car and security was right there and told me rather aggressively that I could not park there. She said my license plate was not on the list. I informed her that I had an appointment for a test drive and she said it didn’t matter. That those spaces were only for approved guests and if I left my car there I would be ticked and/or towed.
Okay well where do I need to park. She told me I needed to go to an unmarked space in the employee lot and I could park there.
Folks, I was out in the boonies. I tracked the distance to the front door. A third of a mile.
I spoke with the gentlemen at the desk about it as he was getting the person who had the keys for the test drive and he asked “did security yell at you”. I said yes they were not nice. He indicated they have asked for parking spaces for test drives but they keep getting turned down for those.
I took a picture from where I parked. You couldn’t even see the front reception building.
It was not a great way to start the test drive experience to say the least.
Okay now onto the test drive.
So a few weeks ago I test drove a Mach E and instantly got nauseous. Like as soon as I hit the start/stop button and it got worse as I drove. Now I don’t know what the sales person had the regen set to on the Mach E but I have my suspicions now.
Okay first I owe a thanks to @SpaceEVDriver and @R1VT for their recommendations on settings and to think about how I press the gas pedal like I’m driving a manual transmission. I drove stick shifts for years. That analogy really helped.
Next, I wore my Piloti driving shoes for this test drive. My walking shoes are Hokas and they have that thick sole, the driving shoes do not. It was much easier to “feel” the gas pedal in my driving shoes than my walking shoes.
Now the Rivian employee who showed me the vehicle was great. She started by having me adjust my seat, which was comfortable, and then showed me how to adjust the mirrors and steering wheel with the little wheels on the steering wheel. I am glad that my Scout will have the buttons on the door to adjust the mirrors. It’s just what I am used to I suppose, but I do prefer that.
She showed me how to use the stalk shifter, easy peasy.
Then she explained how to use the “Hey Rivian” feature.
Next post, my thoughts on the actual drive.
So a few weeks ago I test drove a Mach E and instantly got nauseous. Like as soon as I hit the start/stop button and it got worse as I drove. Now I don’t know what the sales person had the regen set to on the Mach E but I have my suspicions now.
Okay first I owe a thanks to @SpaceEVDriver and @R1VT for their recommendations on settings and to think about how I press the gas pedal like I’m driving a manual transmission. I drove stick shifts for years. That analogy really helped.
Next, I wore my Piloti driving shoes for this test drive. My walking shoes are Hokas and they have that thick sole, the driving shoes do not. It was much easier to “feel” the gas pedal in my driving shoes than my walking shoes.
Now the Rivian employee who showed me the vehicle was great. She started by having me adjust my seat, which was comfortable, and then showed me how to adjust the mirrors and steering wheel with the little wheels on the steering wheel. I am glad that my Scout will have the buttons on the door to adjust the mirrors. It’s just what I am used to I suppose, but I do prefer that.
She showed me how to use the stalk shifter, easy peasy.
Then she explained how to use the “Hey Rivian” feature.
Next post, my thoughts on the actual drive.
This is the settings I started my test drive in.
There is a long two lane road that goes for miles right in front of the factory. So I headed off 15 minutes down the road and then turned around and came back to the factory. The speed varies between 30 mph and 55 mph.
With the shoe change and thinking about it like a manual, the experience was much better. I didn’t have an issue being nauseous.
I then switched to this setting.
That’s when my stomach flipped. It wasn’t the sport mode, it was the low regen. Bad bad. At that point I kept it in sport mode and changed it back to standard regen and I was fine again. So it’s the regen. Low regen is bad for my stomach.
As long as my Traveler has varying regen modes I will be fine. Whew.
There is a long two lane road that goes for miles right in front of the factory. So I headed off 15 minutes down the road and then turned around and came back to the factory. The speed varies between 30 mph and 55 mph.
With the shoe change and thinking about it like a manual, the experience was much better. I didn’t have an issue being nauseous.
I then switched to this setting.
That’s when my stomach flipped. It wasn’t the sport mode, it was the low regen. Bad bad. At that point I kept it in sport mode and changed it back to standard regen and I was fine again. So it’s the regen. Low regen is bad for my stomach.
As long as my Traveler has varying regen modes I will be fine. Whew.
Now, I did try the “Hey Rivian” feature a bunch of times. Uh, way better than I thought.
“Hey Rivian change the temperature to 65”. Instant change.
“Hey Rivian raise/lower the radio volume a little bit”. And it did!
“Hey Rivian change to sport mode”.
“Hey Rivian change to STIFF suspension”. I had the incorrect name for the suspension but it changed it to firm, which is what I wanted it to do.
“Hey Rivian navigate to the Rivian Plant”. That’s the only one I had trouble with.
It changed to this screen
But it didn’t search for the address. I wasn’t quite sure why not. I’m sure it would be easy to figure out.
I know we have buttons in our Scouts, but I’m hoping we get a “Hey Scout” feature.
“Hey Rivian change the temperature to 65”. Instant change.
“Hey Rivian raise/lower the radio volume a little bit”. And it did!
“Hey Rivian change to sport mode”.
“Hey Rivian change to STIFF suspension”. I had the incorrect name for the suspension but it changed it to firm, which is what I wanted it to do.
“Hey Rivian navigate to the Rivian Plant”. That’s the only one I had trouble with.
It changed to this screen
But it didn’t search for the address. I wasn’t quite sure why not. I’m sure it would be easy to figure out.
I know we have buttons in our Scouts, but I’m hoping we get a “Hey Scout” feature.
Last thought, I can’t wait for my Scout.
The Rivian Assistant has gotten so good and it is regularly much easier to use than go to the screen for the features. I have no doubt our Scouts will have something similar, as well as adjustable regen and I'm hoping for the same as well. Also glad to hear your driving experience was much better this time around, but the beginning was definitely not how potential buyers should be treated no matter what.
Wait. You said “Hey Rivian navigate to the Rivian Plant” and the car started playing "I wanna sex you up" by the Color ME Blind?? Seems like Rivian's AI needs some more work.
Ha! That’s just what was in the radio.Wait. You said “Hey Rivian navigate to the Rivian Plant” and the car started playing "I wanna sex you up" by the Color ME Blind?? Seems like Rivian's AI needs some more work.
I’m presuming with the age of your jeep you haven’t had audible controls? Once you learn to use verbal commands it’s one of the easiest ways to get things done. And every generation gets better. To the point you can tell it what station to play and your music changes. Even if it’s heart, Pandora, etc…. Phone calling has grown leaps and bounds. In our Acura they (dealer) set themselves at service. We used to say call service and it would call the dealership. Voice control is amazing and I often wonder why so many people are so against it ???
A few years ago I got a new stereo and I have CarPlay. So anything I can do with Siri on my phone, but I can’t do anything that’s not in CarPlay.
It’s not the use of voice control. It’s the forced use of it. There are many functions that just don’t belong in voice control just as there are many functions that just don’t belong on a touch screen.
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