Rivian Model Comparison: Price, Performance, Dimensions & Charging

By Karan Singh
Rivian

Rivian has quite a lineup of vehicles, with some available now, and some coming soon – so let’s take a look at their list of models and see what you get with each one.

Rivian currently has the following vehicles in their lineup, and only the R1T, R1S, and EDV/RCV (commercial vans) are available to purchase today. We won’t be covering the Commercial Delivery Van (EDV) as Rivian intends to only ship this to large fleet customers like Amazon, but will be covering the soon-to-be-available Rivian Commercial Van (RCV) instead.

  • R1T – a mid-sized, light-duty pickup truck designed around adventuring.

  • R1S – an SUV based on the R1T, the R1S is a full-size SUV with three rows of seating

  • R2 – The R2 is Rivian’s upcoming mid-size SUV.

  • R3 – The R3 is based on the same platform as the R2, but it’s a smaller crossover.

  • R3X – A performance variant of the R3.

  • RCV – Rivian Commercial Van — available to fleet customers for mid-range deliveries.

  • EDV – Rivian’s original commercial van — only available to Amazon and other large-fleet customers.

Rivian Wave

Prices

Let’s take a look at the starting prices for each vehicle.

Vehicle

Price (USD)

Price (CAD)

R1T

$69,990

$105,800

R1S

$75,900

$111,900

R2*

~$45,000

~$61,500

R3

Unannounced

Unannounced

R3X

Unannounced

Unannounced

RCV 500**

$83,000

$113,500

RCV 700**

$87,000

$119,000

*The price for the R2 is not confirmed, but Rivian says it’ll start around $45,000 USD.

**Pricing for the RCVs must be confirmed through Rivian Fleet Sales, this is an estimate provided by third-party sources.

For the vehicles currently available – the R1T and the R1S, they’re well in the premium pricing category. Fully loading them with options will bring those prices closer to $101,700 USD for the R1T and $108,900 USD for the R1S. Rivian intends to appeal to a larger customer base with its upcoming R2 and R3/R3X, which will be arriving sometime in 2026.

Range and Acceleration

Rivian provides several configurations for its R1 series vehicles, so we’ve provided the EPA estimated range and acceleration in the tables below.

Vehicle / Battery

Range

Acceleration (0-60 mph)

R1S / R1T Dual Standard

270 mi

4.6s

R1S / R1T Dual Large

330 mi

3.5s

R1S / R1T Dual Max

420 mi

3.5s

R1S / R1T Tri Max

371 mi (405 mi in Conserve)

3.1s

R1T Quad Max*

Not Rated

2.6s

R1S Quad Max*

Not Rated

2.7s

R2 Standard**

Not Rated

Not Rated

R2 Large**

300 mi

>3s

RCV 500***

161 mi

Not Rated

RCV 700***

153 mi

Not Rated

* The R1T and R1S Quad Max haven’t been given EPA range ratings at this time, however we expect them to be in the 350 mi range.

** R2 ranges and acceleration are currently estimates.

*** Rivian has kept the motor information for the new RCVs under wraps, but we expect it to be slower than the R1 series, as all variants are FWD only.

Charge Ports

Rivian was one of the first manufacturers to support NACS (North American Charging Standard) from Tesla, and all current R1T and R1S vehicles are NACS capable with an adapter or using Tesla’s Magic Dock Superchargers.

Going forward, Rivian intends to move all its consumer vehicles to the NACS port, including the R1S and R1T sometime next year. Rivian announced this summer that The R2’s charge port will be moved to the rear driver’s side. This will make it seamless for these vehicles to use Tesla’s Superchargers.

Vehicle

Port Type & Location

R1T

CCS, Front Left

R1S

CCS, Front Left

R2

NACS, Rear Left

R3 / R3X

NACS, Rear Left

RCV*

CCS (NACS unconfirmed), Front Left

*The only vehicle without confirmed NACS functionality is the upcoming RCV.

We haven’t heard yet whether the RCV will arrive with NACS or NACS compatibility, but the demonstration vehicles so far have only had CCS ports on the front left of the vehicle. The RCVs are expected to be NACS compatible, regardless of the port type.

Vehicle Dimensions

Vehicle Dimensions are available for most of Rivian’s fleet, except for the R3 and R3X.

Vehicle

Length (in)

Width (in)

Height (in)

Storage Space

R1T

217.1

79.3

78.2

*See Note

R1S

200.8

79.3

77.3

49 ft3

R2

185.6

75

66.9

Unknown

R3 / R3X

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

RCV 500

248.5

103.5

114.7

487 ft 3

RCV 700

278

103.5

114.8

652 ft 3

*R1T: Frunk: 11 ft 3, Gear Tunnel: 12 ft 3, Underbed: 14ft 3

Rivian’s R2 will be produced in 2025, while the R3X is expected to be the first variant of the R3 series and the first orders are expected to be delivered in late 2026.

Rivian and Volkswagen Provide Additional Details on Joint Venture, Now Totaling $5.8 Billion

By Karan Singh
Rivian Wave

Rivian and Volkswagen released an update to their Joint Venture, which was announced in June of this year. In the original announcement, Volkswagen promised to invest $5 billion in Rivian—$1 billion immediately and another $4 billion over time—for an equally controlled and owned joint venture.

“The partnership with Rivian is the next logical step in strengthening our global competitive and technological position.”

-- Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen

The goals were to help Rivian reduce its cost per vehicle, while also helping Volkswagen with software and zonal control technology. This collaboration presents an incredible opportunity for Rivian, positioning its technology and software as the foundation for future EVs developed through the joint venture. Crucially, Rivian retains its intellectual property rights, opening up a substantial new revenue stream for the company.

JV Update

The JV has been updated with a total deal size of up to $5.8 billion now—which is an addition of another $800 million to the original proposal. Rivian and Volkswagen will send engineers to join the JV, which will be co-headed by Rivian’s Wassym Bensaid and Volkswagen’s Carsten Helbing. Both will take on the title of co-CEO at the JV.

“We’re thrilled to see our technology being integrated in vehicles outside Rivian – this is an important enabler to help accelerate EV adoption.”

-- RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian

The primary purpose of the JV is to start working on the electric architecture—that Zonal control—and the software for what Volkswagen calls “next-generation Software Defined Vehicles,” or SDVs. The JV will officially start on November 13th, 2024, with both companies beginning contributions to the JV on that date.

The best part? The JV focuses on more than just one market segment - it includes subcompact cars. That means a mass-market vehicle that’ll be built upon Rivian’s proven tech and software will one day be available - pushed forward by Volkswagen’s mass-market scale.

The JV will be based in Palo Alto, California, as well as some other sites in North America and Europe - for a total of up to four sites. It’ll be a chance for engineers from both companies to get together and figure out how to best leverage what both companies have to offer and build an appealing set of products.

JV Focuses

With the primary focus being on using Rivian’s pre-existing architecture and software stack, the R2 platform is a clear starting point for the JV - one of its key purposes will be to bootstrap the launch of the R2 in early 2026, and then go on to support the R3, and further Volkswagen vehicles sometime in 2027 and 2028.

Scaling Rivian’s technology will be challenging. While Rivian’s tech is modular, flexible, and highly capable, these advanced features come with a high price tag. To make vehicles that are both high-performing and affordable, the joint venture will need to focus on reducing costs without compromising on capability.

Interestingly, the JV also mentions automated driving functions - so we can probably expect Rivian’s Autonomy Platform to be present on these new vehicles as well - alongside a specific focus on OTA updates.

Rivian and Volkswagen have supposedly already built a driveable demonstrator vehicle, a Volkswagen car built to run on Rivian’s hardware and software, which sounds a lot like Scout…

We’re excited to see where this JV goes and how it helps shape Rivian, Rivian’s software platform, and the future of EVs.

A Look at the Features in Rivian’s 2024 Halloween Update

By Karan Singh
Rivian Wave

Halloween is just a day away. Are you ready to sport all of your Rivian’s new Halloween features? Rivian added various features in their annual spooky update with Rivian update 2024.39. This year, Rivian has gone all out, with not one but three Halloween car costumes and various other features.

The car costumes are selectable through the Rivian app when the vehicle is parked - and so are all the other fun features.

Halloween Update

Rivian’s Halloween update this time is the biggest it's ever been. Before we dig into the Car Costumes, let’s take a look at the sprinkling of other spooky features they’ve provided.

New Drive Mode Animations

First up is the drive modes menu. Every drive mode in your vehicle has taken on a spooky look, so pan through your available drive modes while you’re parked to see all the Halloween fun. Look closely because some of the spooky surprises are well hidden. The only mode that doesn’t have a spooky surprise is snow mode.

Camp Mode also got a little something special. The flame of the campfire is lit by some witch’s evil magic and is burning green alongside some pumpkins and crows in the background. And just like last year, pedestrians are zombies - but that’s not all. Motorcyclists and bicyclists take on a new form in the visualization - they’ve come back as headless horsemen.

Rivian has also introduced two additional lock sounds for Halloween, an owl and a crow. While all of the Halloween goodies will go away once the season is over, Rivian has already said that the owl lock sound will come back as a standard lock sound in the future.

There are also two new interior lighting modes, the red Crimson Moon, and the green Foggy Bog. To go with that, there’s a new selection of three songs to play internally, as well as a sound effect board, all done from within the Rivian app.

The best plan is to play some spooky sound effects while your Rivian is parked outside on Halloween night to give some trick-or-treaters a fright!

The Costume Selector in the App
The Costume Selector in the App
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Knight Rider Car Costume

The Knight Rider costume dresses up Gear Guard Garry as Michael Knight and K.I.T.T.'s super intelligence takes over your car in the classic original TV show style. On Gen 2 vehicles, the lightbar up front will mimic K.I.T.T.’s unique red beam scanner, including the sound effect!

The Knight Rider interior screens
The Knight Rider interior screens
Rivian Wave

Over in the interior, you’ll get three unique displays inside your vehicle. On the driver’s display, you’ll see revs, speed, and a ton of other information, while the main display will tell you all about how ready K.I.T.T. is to tackle the bad guys. Finally, the passengers will have access to the tools K.I.T.T. has access to - everything from energy cannons and radars to Missiles and Turbo Boost.

Back to the Future Car Costume

Back to the Future dresses up Garry as none other than Doc Brown, and you’ll get a super cool set of movie-inspired interfaces on the inside of your vehicle. Gen 2 owners can hit the 88 mph button on their driver’s display and engage in Back to the Future-themed interior and exterior lighting, along with sound effects to match.

The Back to the Future Interior Screens
The Back to the Future Interior Screens
Rivian Wave

The driver’s display has all the information you’ll need to get your flux capacitor up and running, telling you all about the plutonium chamber and power you’ll need to hit 88 mph. The primary display will tell you when you’ve got your destination, what time it is now, and when you originally departed. The passengers get to keep an eye on the flux capacitor, and dial in the destination time!

Trunk or Treat Car Costume

Trunk or Treat has Garry as a scarecrow this year and has eight different sound effects and three color themes. That’s also alongside the option to select the thematic music for the interior of your vehicle.

All three interior screens will be haunted by ghosts and static, and Gen1 vehicle owners will get a green animation on the lightbar. Gen 2 owners will have their lightbar match their selected color.

Video Overviews

Jenna Ezarik over on X put together this awesome recap - so go take a look.

And if that’s not enough, iJustine on YouTube also put together this video review.

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