2026 Rivian R2 First Review

[JHZR2]

Curious, why do you think that? As long as you have the ability to charge at home, or work, EVs can be amazing to own.
When we bought our Model 3 Mid Range in Dec 2018, I considered EVs a toy. After awhile, realized EV ownership was more than a toy; it was viable, it was doable.

After 7+ years of ownership, there are zero ICE cars I would consider (except 911....). The best thing of all is no gas station trips. IMO, this has to be experienced to be appreciated. Hybrids add some flexibility at the cost of complexity and all the ICE requirements. We own one.
On the rare times I go over 250 miles, stopping at a Starbucks or whatever and plugging in gets me plenty to get home. Services include warsher juice and tire pressure checks.

I would buy another tomorrow. I have never been so satisfied with a car purchase. Our '06 TSX is close, as is the Tundra.
I don't like to assume I know others' needs and thoughts, but I do believe EV ownership has to be experienced to be appreciated. That's my experience.

I would talk to EV owners you know and ask their thoughts. Surver after survey report very high ownership satisfaction, and that it continues to grow.

From a recent JD Power Feb 2026 survey, if you choose to believe it:

"Electric vehicle (EV) ownership satisfaction has reached an all-time high in 2026, with 96% of battery electric vehicle (BEV) owners saying they would consider purchasing another EV, defying broader market sales slumps. Satisfaction is driven by improved battery technology, better charging infrastructure, and lower cost of ownership, with BEV owners reporting higher satisfaction than plug-in hybrid (PHEV) owners."

We’ve been through this a million times.

Charging outside the home is excessively expensive. My Honda odyssey has similar cost per mile as a model 3. That’s absurd.

In the home, it’s great if you are off grid. Though more and more places are adding registration fees, since after all, the folks harping about others paying their fair share, should do the same. I can’t wait for a road tax to be levied on home charging everywhere as it should be. With other charging being the equivalent of buying off road diesel in a truck - do it at your own peril and massive fees. Ideally they’ll charge solar too, since that’s also bypassing fair share payments… and solar and evs are generally owned by the haves, so in the interest of the have nots, should be taxed for equity of course.

And none of that even starts to scratch the surface on the impracticality of the short range. Not everyone can charge anywhere or on a schedule that works.

I guess I’m just spoiled with vehicles that have ranges into the 700s of miles real world. Not an imaginary <300 with an explanation of how great it is to sit at a charger somewhere wasting time. To each their own.

But I’m also 100% on board with PHEVs.

 

[JeffKeryk]

We’ve been through this a million times.

Charging outside the home is excessively expensive. My Honda odyssey has similar cost per mile as a model 3. That’s absurd.

In the home, it’s great if you are off grid. Though more and more places are adding registration fees, since after all, the folks harping about others paying their fair share, should do the same. I can’t wait for a road tax to be levied on home charging everywhere as it should be. With other charging being the equivalent of buying off road diesel in a truck - do it at your own peril and massive fees. Ideally they’ll charge solar too, since that’s also bypassing fair share payments… and solar and evs are generally owned by the haves, so in the interest of the have nots, should be taxed for equity of course.

And none of that even starts to scratch the surface on the impracticality of the short range. Not everyone can charge anywhere or on a schedule that works.

I guess I’m just spoiled with vehicles that have ranges into the 700s of miles real world. Not an imaginary <300 with an explanation of how great it is to sit at a charger somewhere wasting time. To each their own.

But I’m also 100% on board with PHEVs.

The vast majority of charging is done at home. I pay annual registration road use fees.
Regarding solar, I bought solar for the house due to the high cost of energy here. It was an investment with an expected ROI. The EV came later and adds to the asset utilization.

What is the impracticality of the short range?

How often do you travel 700 miles? If it is that regular, then yes, ICE makes more sense. On my say 350-400 mile daily trips, I start with a full charge and stop when it's convenient. An ICE vehicle would need to fuel up first so the time spent is not that much different; in fact if you consider an ICE stopping for coffee, bio-break, whatever it comes out pretty close.

I am not sure people sit at Superchargers wasting time. Why would they? The worst for me has been checking email and other tasks. 15-20 minutes goes by pretty fast. Almost every charging session is a shared task. I have definitely wasted time in gas lines.
In a given time span, the ICE to EV fueling comparison is not even close due to home charging.

I posted a survey of EV satisfaction; there are many more. As you say, each to his/her own. EVs are not for everyone, no vehicle is.

 

[buster]

 

[buster]

Charging at home is great. I rarely surpass 250 miles on any one drive. Full tank on the Colorado yields around 350 miles.

 

[JHZR2]

What is the impracticality of the short range?

How often do you travel 700 miles? If it is that regular, then yes, ICE makes more sense. On my say 350-400 mile daily trips, I start with a full charge and stop when it's convenient. An ICE vehicle would need to fuel up first so the time spent is not that much different; in fact if you consider an ICE stopping for coffee, bio-break, whatever it comes out pretty close.

I am not sure people sit at Superchargers wasting time. Why would they? The worst for me has been checking email and other tasks. 15-20 minutes goes by pretty fast. Almost every charging session is a shared task. I have definitely wasted time in gas lines.
In a given time span, the ICE to EV fueling comparison is not even close due to home charging.

I posted a survey of EV satisfaction; there are many more. As you say, each to his/her own. EVs are not for everyone, no vehicle is.

You’re joking, right??!? What is the impracticality of short range????!?

Again, how many times do you have the same conversation?

You’re the one who loves to say how you don’t go to the gas station. Guess what happens when you have more range and a highly efficient ICE? You also don’t spend hardly any time at the gas station. And you also don’t finagle with wires and charging daily.

Which, again, I would do with a PHEV. But didn’t for the pure economy of it, not because I have to. No forcing like with the EV. Because with PHEV if I never did it, I’d just have an efficient hybrid with unlimited range practically speaking.

I’ve rented a lot of EVs. Lots of time wasted at superchargers. And plenty of other folks also sitting there wasting time. Yuck.

No, my use profile doesn’t work. I drive 140 miles, don’t have a charging capability, drive 20-30 in and around, then drive back 140. That would (1) cause me to run through full soc on the battery, which is more degrading, and (2) be on the ragged edge if lucky round trip, and more likely, yes, waste a lot of time supercharging.

I can do it twice in my hybrid or Mercedes diesels and “waste” less than it takes you to plug in your EV, to have fuel pumped (for me, not even getting out of the car) and can do it all over again.

And I own 13 cars. I could buy an EV solely for around town. Whats one more??!? Their resale seems bad enough that I might do that at some point. But the range will still be an annoyance. My two shortest range cars, my s-10 and 135i annoy me on range. Sure I get it that you would plug in the car every time, instead of taking a small gas tank to empty. It’s still another thing to do, another hassle. No thanks.

PHEV for the win. Which was my point about the scout with range extender. Which circles back to Rivian, which is back on topic…….

 

[JeffKeryk]

You’re joking, right??!? What is the impracticality of short range????!?

Again, how many times do you have the same conversation?

You’re the one who loves to say how you don’t go to the gas station. Guess what happens when you have more range and a highly efficient ICE? You also don’t spend hardly any time at the gas station. And you also don’t finagle with wires and charging daily.

Which, again, I would do with a PHEV. But didn’t for the pure economy of it, not because I have to. No forcing like with the EV. Because with PHEV if I never did it, I’d just have an efficient hybrid with unlimited range practically speaking.

I’ve rented a lot of EVs. Lots of time wasted at superchargers. And plenty of other folks also sitting there wasting time. Yuck.

No, my use profile doesn’t work. I drive 140 miles, don’t have a charging capability, drive 20-30 in and around, then drive back 140. That would (1) cause me to run through full soc on the battery, which is more degrading, and (2) be on the ragged edge if lucky round trip, and more likely, yes, waste a lot of time supercharging.

I can do it twice in my hybrid or Mercedes diesels and “waste” less than it takes you to plug in your EV, to have fuel pumped (for me, not even getting out of the car) and can do it all over again.

And I own 13 cars. I could buy an EV solely for around town. Whats one more??!? Their resale seems bad enough that I might do that at some point. But the range will still be an annoyance. My two shortest range cars, my s-10 and 135i annoy me on range. Sure I get it that you would plug in the car every time, instead of taking a small gas tank to empty. It’s still another thing to do, another hassle. No thanks.

PHEV for the win. Which was my point about the scout with range extender. Which circles back to Rivian, which is back on topic…….

No, I am not joking.
In post #78 you wrote, "Thing is, to date I think a pure EV is an absolutely horrible idea in most cases."
That's what my reply was about. EV ownership customer satisfaction is very high. The Model Y, not exactly a cheap car, has been a top seller since its introduction. That's not "horrible".

I have always posted the pros and cons of EV ownership. Like any car, it is about your use case and what you want.
Your use case and what you want do not support EV ownership. My use case does.

Saying "a pure EV is an absolutely horrible idea in most cases" is generalization that does not reflect reality. Owners love them and every major car company is committed to them. That's the reality but does not mean they are right for everyone.

 

[97prizm]

I’ll wait for the scout with the ICE extender. Possibly forever?

Well... word is that it slipped out that the Scout suv is now a 2028 delivery while their truck is a 2030 delivery. Interestingly enough Scout Motors denies this so who knows.

 

[andrew_j]

Not interested in new however I wonder if Rivian suffers toilet level resale like Tesla and others making them reasonable buy.

 

[dogememe]

I had a Volt. Probably the most innovative American vehicle behind the Model S.

Also know someone else who bought one more recently. They love it.

But at the end of the day it’s a gateway drug to EV. Once you get used to driving it as an EV most of the time you start to realize you should have just got a real EV.

 

[buster]

We're in a transition period. EV market share claims have been all over the place and we're seeing PHEV's fill a gap. IMO once battery range improves, EVs will slowly continue to over take ICE in the LR. ICE will be here for decades though if not longer. Aviation and commercial fleets will also be mostly ICE for foreseeable future unless battery tech makes a huge leap.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Not interested in new however I wonder if Rivian suffers toilet level resale like Tesla and others making them reasonable buy.

EV's resale takes a nose dive. You might consider a gently used Taycan, if you want the deal of the century.

 

[alarmguy]

Thing is, to date I think a pure EV is an absolutely horrible idea in most cases. And dropping sales and poor resale seems to validate that.

I own a hybrid, but realized early into ownership that PHEV is where it’s at.

An “EV” that allows that intrinsic range with a smaller, lighter, more optimally loaded engine retains simplicity while also leveraging the far superior energy density of liquid fuels, and not having to try to rewrite the laws of physics and electrochemistry.

I’m surprised.
There are many cars in this country that drive around town, commute to work or a night out on the town in a fast car …vehicles that travel far less than 125 miles each direction every day of the week
For people who can charge at home and use an EV in that manner, it’s a win-win in my book. If the smaller stance of an electric vehicle is for you.
I’m a midsize SUV person.

The flipside of that book for me personally would be long trips because I am not somebody to stop. I love the open road and I will drive as long as it takes to get there. I don’t eat meals and it is possible along an interstate I’ll pull off quick to use the bathroom, but that’s about it.
I’m not going to sit at a charger.

 

[buster]

I never drive more than 200 miles at a time. Even on long trips I will stop before I hit 200 miles. Range anxiety is understandable, but only to an extent. I think it's overblown. How many people do you know that travel more than 200 miles a day? And if you did, and can charge from home, it's a non-issue.

 

[jghall00]

But at the end of the day it’s a gateway drug to EV. Once you get used to driving it as an EV most of the time you start to realize you should have just got a real EV.

Apparently, my daughter's Trax has a coolant leak. Every time I think about cheap ICE vehicles I think about all the stuff I'll have to fix.

I never drive more than 200 miles at a time. Even on long trips I will stop before I hit 200 miles. Range anxiety is understandable, but only to an extent. I think it's overblown. How many people do you know that travel more than 200 miles a day? And if you did, and can charge from home, it's a non-issue.

Same here. Even if I wanted to drive more than 200 miles without stopping, I'm never alone when I travel that far. Someone is going to need a bathroom break or food stop.

 

[buster]

 

[Brons2]

What a wild difference. In my area the car distribution is approximately as follows.

70% Tesla
10% Rivian
10% GM EV
5% Other EV
5% other cars.

AND YES THIS IS A JOKE the real numbers if I look at the cars on the road around me as I walk or drive are probably 7% Tesla, 3% other EV, 90% other cars, but it FEELS like the above distribution.

We live in an area with a LOT of tech immigrants and it would not be an exaggeration to say there's probably 20% Tesla ownership in the surrounding neighborhoods. It's a status symbol for people of a certain nationality.

 

[Torrid]

I’m surprised.
There are many cars in this country that drive around town, commute to work or a night out on the town in a fast car …vehicles that travel far less than 125 miles each direction every day of the week
For people who can charge at home and use an EV in that manner, it’s a win-win in my book. If the smaller stance of an electric vehicle is for you.
I’m a midsize SUV person.

The flipside of that book for me personally would be long trips because I am not somebody to stop. I love the open road and I will drive as long as it takes to get there. I don’t eat meals and it is possible along an interstate I’ll pull off quick to use the bathroom, but that’s about it.
I’m not going to sit at a charger.

We all know I'm that weird EV guy here that fully converted. I don't mind it even for longer trips. Half the time if I get out and plug in and run to get something I have a hard time getting back to the car before it's done charging. Now this is different if you're a person that runs it really low and tries to get back to 80% or more each time, but that is genuinely a waste of time. I used to be the long hauler that will go 700 miles between fill ups, but the last hour of that or more is just a torturous experience just to last as long as the vehicle does.

Even when that's the case, I still think about my daily driving. I'm anywhere between 40 miles and as much as 200 miles a day on occasion. That's easily doable in either one of my cars. I don't want to tow around the dead weight of an engine to drive that when I can just have less complication in the car. I totally get why people love hybrids as a middle stop gap, but as far as driving dynamics go when I want to have fun aside from literal supercars, hybrids are just a worse experience. I hate CVTs and engines constantly turning on and off. I find it annoying. Even the GTI's stop start was completely annoying. That twin clutch was heaven to use though. I know torque converter automatics have massively improved, but I'm just completely opposed to any type of normal automatic. My random ramble, but if it us gas powered I want a manual or a twin clutch at minimum, yet I love EVs. It's getting harder to do, but I want as much simplicity as possible no matter which direction I go.

 

[alarmguy]

We all know I'm that weird EV guy here that fully converted. I don't mind it even for longer trips. Half the time if I get out and plug in and run to get something I have a hard time getting back to the car before it's done charging. Now this is different if you're a person that runs it really low and tries to get back to 80% or more each time, but that is genuinely a waste of time. I used to be the long hauler that will go 700 miles between fill ups, but the last hour of that or more is just a torturous experience just to last as long as the vehicle does.

Even when that's the case, I still think about my daily driving. I'm anywhere between 40 miles and as much as 200 miles a day on occasion. That's easily doable in either one of my cars. I don't want to tow around the dead weight of an engine to drive that when I can just have less complication in the car. I totally get why people love hybrids as a middle stop gap, but as far as driving dynamics go when I want to have fun aside from literal supercars, hybrids are just a worse experience. I hate CVTs and engines constantly turning on and off. I find it annoying. Even the GTI's stop start was completely annoying. That twin clutch was heaven to use though. I know torque converter automatics have massively improved, but I'm just completely opposed to any type of normal automatic. My random ramble, but if it us gas powered I want a manual or a twin clutch at minimum, yet I love EVs. It's getting harder to do, but I want as much simplicity as possible no matter which direction I go.

Didn’t the GTI have a switch to turn off stop start?
My wife’s 2025 equinox has a button on the dash to turn it off. It is one extra button to push when you first start the car though.

I believe that is going away meaning the current administration. I’m pretty sure along with other EPA rules make it unnecessary.

The equinox’s before the 2025 remake had an easy aftermarket bypass to hook up. If it ever comes about that it can be turned off with programming I would be first in line so I don’t have to push the off button every time I start the car.

I know where you’re coming from and you enjoy those road handling sporty cars.

 

[Torrid]

Didn’t the GTI have a switch to turn off stop start?
My wife’s 2025 equinox has a button on the dash to turn it off. It is one extra button to push when you first start the car though.

I believe that is going away meaning the current administration. I’m pretty sure along with other EPA rules make it unnecessary.

The equinox’s before the 2025 remake had an easy aftermarket bypass to hook up. If it ever comes about that it can be turned off with programming I would be first in line so I don’t have to push the off button every time I start the car.

I know where you’re coming from and you enjoy those road handling sporty cars.

There was a button to shut off stop/start on the GTI. I'd push it every time I started the car. The tuner I had could disable it, but it triggered a fault code doing it that way.