Live data from Hacker News

Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

rivian.com

331–340 of 353 posts

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But $45k++ is just wild to me It’s just surprising to me that this is surprising to anyone in 2026. New cars are no longer $20-30k in the US and haven’t been since 2021. Average transaction price is now $50k+, so if companies like Rivian that skip the dealership model charge $45k, it really isn’t that expensive. The only new cars under $30k are sedans and hatchbacks. And most of them start at almost $27-30k for bas…

> New cars are no longer $20-30k in the US and haven’t been since 2021. there are plenty cars in this subrange, its just Americans prefer to spend more on extra features.

You ignored the second half of the statement:

> The only new cars under $30k are sedans and hatchbacks. And most of them start at almost $27-30k for base price not including all the bs dealership fees.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> New cars are no longer $20-30k in the US and haven’t been since 2021. there are plenty cars in this subrange, its just Americans prefer to spend more on extra features.

You ignored the second half of the statement: > The only new cars under $30k are sedans and hatchbacks. And most of them start at almost $27-30k for base price not including all the bs dealership fees.

that statement is factually wrong too

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#333
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of these car reviewers ever take into account build quality and customer issues. Example they all lashihly praised the EX90, but owners struggled for a year with software problems, then found out the LIDAR they paid for is never going to assist their driving and they need a new computer. Same with Rivian, all of today's reviews praise the R2, but ignore the troubles current owners have not just with the car but…

Underrated comment. Everyone commented on the battery life for my model 3 in winter (which is annoying but not a huge deal). The problems with the bushings, the easily cracked (2500$) roof glass, and the lack of spare parts (not as bad as Rivian) were drowned out. Love the car, but wouldn't have bought it for the price I paid (used) if I had known. The R2 looks great but like you said, never buy a first year model. (…

i have that rule and the same exception for the 0. it feels like its "cyber" look done actually right with proper design (i dont let other inferior designs steal the word cyber). i would also add any decently good* ev minivan that is actually available to buy in the us.

*vw buzz fails the good test for no one pedal driving and the price for what you get is outta wack. though lots of the 1st gen ones are still sitting on car lots so maybe that could cross the exception barrier if they go for cheaper.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#334
post #125
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's an EV most of the time Nowhere on the Toyota site did I see anything about range on battery only. Still, I wouldn't mind having one. I settled for a refurbed Leaf and have only needed an ICE vehicle twice, because of cargo capacity, not range.

A friend of mine bought one. It ended up being kind of awful. 53mi of range for a 40kwH battery? That's abysmal. Where's all the power going? He traded it in for a used 2023 Model Y. Does 9-hr road trips all the time. I don't think he's going back.

My refurb had a fresh battery that says I'll get 150 miles if I avoid my normal "enthusiastic" pace.

53mi is weak sauce, but that sounds like the battery was near EOL. I charge mine at home which definitely keeps the wear and tear down.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#335
post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An easily visible one is air intakes. Many manufacturers have shifted to plastic. Peteo-engineering has advanced a lot, but they will still get brittle and break. Interior wise, you can look at things like fabric durability-- lower deniers can be cheaper, but will wear sooner. Springs/foam in seats are another example, but this will vary across manufacturers, models and trims. This isn't exclusive to financial engine…

OK, I went looking for sources and found this[1]: In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency assumes the typical car is driven 15,000 miles (24,000 km) per year. According to the New York Times, in the 1960s and 1970s, the typical car reached its end of life around 100,000 miles (160,000 km). Due in part to manufacturing improvements, such as tighter tolerances and better anti-corrosion coatings, in 20…

There are many other considerations, too. Years ago I scraped Craigslist and Autotrader, grouping cars by generation/make/model/drivetrain to be able to predict longevity based on quantity for sale versus original sales figures. If a model sold 100k per year for 10 years and only 3 were for sale in year 13, that isn't a great sign. Cheap cars will tend to have cheap owners who are more likely to skimp on maintenance, typically leading to more accrued issues and a shorter lifespan for the vehicle. Some cars are just poorly engineered, and the markets are relatively efficient in pricing resale value. The definition of "high mileage" is going to vary by who you ask. Domestics 150k, German 80k, Japanese 200k, Korean 100k. These are subjective averages (some cars like Theta engines, Darts, even late model GM 6.2s have engine failures Leaning on those prior mentioned product mixes, keep in mind that Japanese manufacturers weren't in the American market 60 years ago, so market mix would be wildly different. (Multiple 400k+ mi Toyotas in my family, along with 60 year old GMs, but with aftermarket or rebuilt engines.) The cost of vehicles (and repairs) relative to prevailing wages will impact the repair vs replace balance. Trade publications like Cox/NADA/Adesa/etc. are always cited by financial blogs when mentioning consumer spending/state of economy by average age of cars on the road. Why cars get junked or totaled has shifted drastically, too. Steel bumpers were easy to replace, modern bumper covers with styrofoam backing and aluminum crumple zones, not so much. Tolerances is a vague term in that veiled PR piece on that wiki article. Machining has improved. Tech like direct injection and improved lubrication (synthetics) have done much more in terms of efficiency and longevity. In a lot of cases, manufacturers try to get more and more horsepower from the same displacement by pushing tighter engine tolerances (crank/main bearings, pistons/rings, valvetrain) and things like higher compression ratios and revs, leading to more heat and earlier failure. So while you have better initial engineering, you are closer to the point of failure. For another example, interference engines will grenade themselves if you ignore timing belt maintenance, but in the meantime, you get more horsepower by getting more air into the cylinders.

A v6 Camry or Accord is going to be have more hp, be faster,more reliable at same age, be quieter and get 3x the mpg than nearly any muscle car of the past. Unfortunately it seems that many Americans prefer giant vehicles that place more emphasis on their size (and status) than materially important factors like reliability engineering or fuel economy.

Obviously these are ancedotal examples, they can be confirmed by wasting hours reading about cars and watching mechanic review videos from people who work on them daily (I am partial to the CarCareNut on YT).

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#336

Looks like a great car. As Marques Brownlee puts it [1], this is Rivian's "Model Y fighter". And I personally find the R2 to be much more appealing than a Model Y in terms of size, shape, and interior. But we have been misled so many times about EV prices prior to launch, I think it's important to wait until we see what it actually costs for different trim levels before making comparisons to the Model Y. That $45,000…

Is the RAV4 PHEV still seeing huge markups in the US?

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#337
post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of it. It the motor is smaller, it pulls less current. If it pull less current, you can use batteries which aren't specced for high amps. If use use less amps, you can use thinner cabling and split the batteries up i various compartments. That means heat is more distributed. Less active cooling, if any, is needed, of both batteries and motors. All of the above can translate to less weight, which mean better rang…

Weight has nearly no effect on range of an EV. The YouTube channel Aging Wheels has two good videos on this. Here he talks about towing, and he demonstrates loading the truck to max capacity makes nearly no difference: https://youtu.be/UmKf8smvGsA He also covered an attempted Cannonball run where they stuffed two extra battery packs into a Rivian R1T: https://youtu.be/yfgkh4Fgw98 Real differences makers are smaller w…

That's interesting. It demonstrates that regenerative braking really works. The energy you expend going uphill, you mostly get back going downhill. The energy you expend speeding up, you mostly get back slowing down. His tests were a round trip, so start and end altitude are the same. And he kept a fixed speed on a freeway, so there wasn't much acceleration energy expenditure or energy loss into friction brakes. You don't get drag or rolling resistance back, so that apparently dominates. Those don't vary too much with load.

Nice result.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#338
post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad the roads are small. Smaller roads cause slower driving (well researched). As for the cities, it is unsustainable to use cars as the primary mode of transportation within cities. We do want to make cities greener and largely car-free, because cars for individuals simply do not make any sense in a city. We still need roads for deliveries and occasional transportation of heavy or large goods, but transporting…

an families with multiple kids? They should do what? Come now.

I grew up in a family of 5, albeit a decade after my siblings.

When I visited London with my parents, we went by train. When I was in the cub scouts, one of my memories was a group trip by train. When I went to middle school (years 4-6), it was easy enough for me to walk alone at the end, though mum did go with me at the start; when I went to secondary school (7-11) there was a bus, though eventually I found I liked the (3 mile!) walk.

Today, I find that my local bus route within Berlin to a nearby mall takes me past 2 schools, and at certain times of day the bus will fill with kids and adult supervisors. Sometimes I see people taking Kinderwagen on the bus.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

here another review from my favorite car reviewer Mat Watson (carwow), from what I remember he complains about cleaning rear window wiper, but it feels all in all like paid ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eepauvC5LU

The fact that Rivan gave preview access to a UK car reviewer while ignoring Out Of Spec who literally have 3 Rivians in their 'fleet' shows that Rivian is not yet serious about building a quality, customer-centric EV even though I truly want them to be successful.

Out of spec has 300K subscribers, carwow 10.8M, completely different league/reach

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#340
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I live in an area that gets a ton of snow, and current ADAS features are basically worthless in snow I live in Western Wyoming. While my Subaru won't drive itself in a blizzard, the radar is still useful. My plan is to wait until I have something that can drive itself unsupervised in clear weather. Given that's Waymo today and maybe Tesla in ~5 years, I'm figuring something should be on the market that fits that bi…

What radar? I'm pretty sure that Subaru uses only cameras, no radar. https://www.subaru.com/eyesight.html

Subaru almost certainly uses radars for both cruise control and blind spot detection.

Your link isn't exactly a white paper, here's a Subaru link that mentions radar: https://www.subaru.com/vehicle-info/articles/what-is-adaptiv...

Post reply on HN