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Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

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Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#71

Post by bdangubic »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #48
Someone1234 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep repeating this uncritically. There is a car-debt crisis, and wages haven't kept up with house/car costs. We have one person saying "well in Californian wages..." and another saying essentially that 50K isn't a lot of money when the average SALARY is $66K/year.

> There is a car-debt crisis To what degree is this caused by car prices versus Americans' compulsion to keep buying new cars? Anecdotally, the folks I know struggling with car payments are almost exclusively in the latter bucket. But I'm open to having my mind changed with data.

I have 2014 Tesla S which which I recently had drive unit and battery replaced ($20k total). my friends all think I am nuts, but they all have $1k+ payments (some for 72m) while I haven’t had a car payment since 2017 and won’t have another one till 2036 :)

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#72

Post by seattle_spring »

Merad wrote: post #64
freetime2 wrote: post #60

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…

The RAV4 Prime is extremely hard to get if you live outside of SoCal and maybe a few other areas. I'm in the southeast and a few years ago the local dealer told me that this entire region is only allocated a few Prime's each quarter. Even today I've never seen one in the wild.

Not only that, but it sounds like dealerships are still hardcore ripping off people who want to buy a RAV4 Prime. $20k over MSRP, refusing to sell without add-ons / warranty, etc.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#73

Post by toomuchtodo »

seemaze wrote: post #57
toomuchtodo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Average price of a new vehicle in the US is $50,000. This is priced appropriately considering total cost of ownership delta against a combustion vehicle. Rivian needs more volume for prices to decline from manufacturing efficiency at scale. https://www.axios.com/2024/12/19/cars-prices-inflation-suvs

A cursory search of the web shows that TCO for EVs in the US is higher than ICE for all but high mileage commuters. Wish it wasn't the case, but insurance alone is a 30% premium.

https://www.atlasevhub.com/weekly-digest/new-2025-update-on-...

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#74

Post by Rebelgecko »

doctoboggan wrote: post #44
ghouse wrote: post #34

Anyone have insights on V2G or V2H capabilities? If we can have open standards to allow my car to interoperate with my home batteries (Franklin, Enphase, Tesla Powerwall or others), we'll all be better off.

I saw on one of the review videos that you can get 2400W out of the R2

At 240v? Or thru a regular plug somehow?

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#75

Post by seattle_spring »

7e wrote: post #6

Length and width wise, it's smaller than a Model Y. It's deceptively styled to look a big boy car, but it's a matchbox. That's why no reviewers will show themselves or anyone else towering over it. It's for those who want a big car, but without all that space. Rivian calls it a mid-size SUV, but that is straight up bullshit.

"straight up bullshit" would be calling a 4runner-sized vehicle a "matchbox". Really highlights how ridiculous American's unnecessary lust is for massive vehicles.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#77

Post by goosejuice »

seemaze wrote: post #57
toomuchtodo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Average price of a new vehicle in the US is $50,000. This is priced appropriately considering total cost of ownership delta against a combustion vehicle. Rivian needs more volume for prices to decline from manufacturing efficiency at scale. https://www.axios.com/2024/12/19/cars-prices-inflation-suvs

A cursory search of the web shows that TCO for EVs in the US is higher than ICE for all but high mileage commuters. Wish it wasn't the case, but insurance alone is a 30% premium.

Model 3 TCO is very competitive for all sedans. But yes, there are a lot of luxury EVs and EVs with questionable reliability.

https://www.self.inc/info/expensive-cars-to-run/

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cos...

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#78

Post by hnburnsy »

freetime2 wrote: post #60

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…

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 with getting service too.

Never buy a first year model and then keep an eye on owners forums before you buy.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#80

Post by dalyons »

freetime2 wrote: post #60

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…

The RAV4 EV capacity is so small, the electric engine so weak (cuts to gas well before highway speed), and the charge speed so slow, that in practice its a 100% gas car. Only a small number of disciplined owners are going to be able to run it as an EV most of the time, as its actually impractical to do so.

It’s a gas car, with greenwashing.

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