Saw My First R2 In Miami Today

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

In the carpool line at my son’s preschool. I talked with the owner who said he reserved it day 1. Vin was in the low 700s so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of the first in all of Florida. It was, of course, the maxed out launch edition but it was sweet. Fit and finish looked great and would be the perfect size for me as a dad to have room when I need it but not needing to have something so large as the R1 category.

I say all this to say that seeing it in person really was a wake up call and drove home the fact that Lucid is really losing out by not getting the Cosmos to market sooner. I understand the reasons of getting it right before release but they should have been all over that midsize segment sooner. It’s been the hottest segment for quite a while now. Hopefully they can make it happen successfully.

 

[fadooly]

In this day and age late does not mean late , it means your the newest technology

It is about bring something different, innovative, advanced and desirable

 

[The_Don]

I have to say, I really like the R2 but the range on it is rough. Being in the Northeast, driving with any pace in the winter (e.g. when I go skiing) will result in very underwhelming range. I really was considering it, but between that and the mediocre charging rate it's kind of a non-starter for me.

 

[Sid432]

I’m also a Day 1 reserver of the R2. I received a notification yesterday that I can now order a Rivian. However, they have the standard model scheduled for next year. The estimated lease for the R2 performance ($57k) is $879, while my gravity on order is less than that.

 

[Leftlane]

In this day and age late does not mean late , it means your the newest technology

It is about bring something different, innovative, advanced and desirable

Okay Elon.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I saw my first R2 yesterday in Scottsdale Arizona. I was on the way back from walking at the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall where there is the Lucid showroom. I also live near the Rivian showroom. The car had paper license plate so I don't think it was a demo but a real sold car.7

 

[DeaneG]

We often drive past a Rivian R&D facility and a Rivian showroom on our way to our favorite pizza-by-the-slice place. They and the surrounding streets are hopping with R2s. To my eye they are very appealing, reasonably priced, compact adventure vehicles, a crisp and tidy conventional truck-type SUV.

 

[drno]

Day 1 reservation holder as well. Was invited to order an R2 several weeks ago. I haven't. Was deciding if I wanted one or to lease a gravity or wait for something else.


Seen the R2 since released at SXSW twice, demo'd, etc. It's compelling. I feel like they went into too much cost cutting on the interior. Didn't like the hard plastic inserts at all. Light interior looks much better than the black abyss. Trouble with the Halo wheels on demo drive, but chalk that up to inexperience. But didn't find it very intuitive. If they had kept the base R1 interior and put that into the R2, would have made a huge difference.

 

[erigion]

I'll say this about the R2, the rear headrests are absolutely terrible for adults.

 

[cajual]

Sometimes I feel like I must be crazy or something, but the Rivian design language does not sit well with me. The interiors, the exteriors, nothing looks welcoming, interesting, or thoughtfully appointed. They are like big moving boxes full of plastic with two bug eyes for headlights. I've *never* seen a Rivian and thought "wow, that's a nice vehicle". They scream Honda.

 

[DeaneG]

...I've *never* seen a Rivian and thought "wow, that's a nice vehicle". They scream Honda.

In the eye of the beholder, I guess. They're selling really well.

 

[Northpointe]

Sometimes I feel like I must be crazy or something, but the Rivian design language does not sit well with me. The interiors, the exteriors, nothing looks welcoming, interesting, or thoughtfully appointed. They are like big moving boxes full of plastic with two bug eyes for headlights. I've *never* seen a Rivian and thought "wow, that's a nice vehicle". They scream Honda.

The same could be said about the Jeep brand. But at the end of the day the only thing that matters is sales.

 

[cajual]

I'm not sure how much of it is "selling well" versus cannibalizing R1 sales and pulling from Tesla as the only real mid-sized competition. Curious how Rivian design language matures when other manufacturers start getting into the fray.

Cadillac Lyriq & Optiq sell decently well for being more expensive, and they aren't software defined cars. I don't think Rivian has published actual R2 sales figures yet either, so it's all presumptive at the moment I believe.

As others have said, Rivian might be the first to the line to compete with Tesla, but in the world of technology and electronics, money is spent on the latest. Excited to see the EX60, iX3, GLC, and eventually Cosmos hit the market.

 

[Bdr100]

Yes, the Rivian design language may not appeal to some but I can tell you that it appeals to a very large chunk of people. The only thing holding back on R2 sales is it’s poor range.

 

[martinjlm]

I'm not sure how much of it is "selling well" versus cannibalizing R1 sales and pulling from Tesla as the only real mid-sized competition. Curious how Rivian design language matures when other manufacturers start getting into the fray.

Cadillac Lyriq & Optiq sell decently well for being more expensive, and they aren't software defined cars. I don't think Rivian has published actual R2 sales figures yet either, so it's all presumptive at the moment I believe.

As others have said, Rivian might be the first to the line to compete with Tesla, but in the world of technology and electronics, money is spent on the latest. Excited to see the EX60, iX3, GLC, and eventually Cosmos hit the market.

I think we have different ideas of what a software defined vehicle is. In the auto industry (recently retired auto exec / automotive consultant and analyst) we have considered a software defined vehicle to be a vehicle that is addressable remotely for the purposes of adding or modifying function of propulsion, infotainment, or mechanical systems.

GM EVs are indeed considered software defined vehicles. Their EVs are capable of modifying the vehicle via OTA. Before I got my Lucid I had an Equinox EV that was OTA updated a couple times. The fact that they tend to do less of this and in some cases divert vehicles to visit dealership service for a reflash is more an issue of growing pains / learning curve with fitting OTA business models to antiquated dealership service bay profitability norms.

 

[erigion]

I'm not sure how much of it is "selling well" versus cannibalizing R1 sales and pulling from Tesla as the only real mid-sized competition. Curious how Rivian design language matures when other manufacturers start getting into the fray.

Cadillac Lyriq & Optiq sell decently well for being more expensive, and they aren't software defined cars. I don't think Rivian has published actual R2 sales figures yet either, so it's all presumptive at the moment I believe.

As others have said, Rivian might be the first to the line to compete with Tesla, but in the world of technology and electronics, money is spent on the latest. Excited to see the EX60, iX3, GLC, and eventually Cosmos hit the market.

Rivian's earnings call yesterday makes it pretty clear that the R2 is selling well. They're now projecting 67-70k total deliveries for 2026. This is almost a 30k jump from 2025 deliveries, and this is with R2 deliveries only beginning in June. I'm sure some R1 sales were cannibalized by the R2 but they're definitely attracting new buyers.

 

[prgarg]

I think we have different ideas of what a software defined vehicle is. In the auto industry (recently retired auto exec / automotive consultant and analyst) we have considered a software defined vehicle to be a vehicle that is addressable remotely for the purposes of adding or modifying function of propulsion, infotainment, or mechanical systems.

GM EVs are indeed considered software defined vehicles. Their EVs are capable of modifying the vehicle via OTA. Before I got my Lucid I had an Equinox EV that was OTA updated a couple times. The fact that they tend to do less of this and in some cases divert vehicles to visit dealership service for a reflash is more an issue of growing pains / learning curve with fitting OTA business models to antiquated dealership service bay profitability norms.

GM also allows access to the Google ecosystem, so app and software options are abundant in their vehicles. Rivian and Tesla decided against that but they offer a very strong portfolio of native apps. Lucid is stuck in the middle, living in software purgatory land.

 

[RajD]

R2 is going to sell extremely well. But the reason why is not really the car. It’s the marketing and image of Rivian ownership and adventure wannabe culture. It’s so powerful that even though the R2, -which admittedly has good packaging and styling - has very poor range, slow charging, and is listed as the worst reliability of any car brand by CR, it doesn’t matter. Their cult like following is reminiscent of Tesla in that way, although Tesla range and efficiency has always been excellent. I can’t wait until winter sets in and R2 owners realize their winter range is less than 180miles in a $60,000 car.

But then Lucid has the opposite problem. Terrible marketing, no image or identity of brand in any way ,subpar ownership experience, but has the best EVs overall wrt range, efficiency, charging, packaging, speed, in the market imo except for FSD.

 

[The_Don]

It's honestly too early to tell if the R2 is selling well. While their sales numbers are certainly jumping, I think Rivian would probably say a success would be 150,000 to 200,000+ R2s sold annually. They haven't yet ramped production enough for those numbers to even be possible. We'll get a clearer picture in 2027.

Edit: To be clear, I'm saying those numbers would make it a success because they are probably what it takes for them to achieve profitability. Economies of scale!

 

[martinjlm]

R2 is going to sell extremely well. But the reason why is not really the car. It’s the marketing and image of Rivian ownership and adventure wannabe culture. It’s so powerful that even though the R2, -which admittedly has good packaging and styling - has very poor range, slow charging, and is listed as the worst reliability of any car brand by CR, it doesn’t matter. Their cult like following is reminiscent of Tesla in that way, although Tesla range and efficiency has always been excellent. I can’t wait until winter sets in and R2 owners realize their winter range is less than 180miles in a $60,000 car.

But then Lucid has the opposite problem. Terrible marketing, no image or identity of brand in any way ,subpar ownership experience, but has the best EVs overall wrt range, efficiency, charging, packaging, speed, in the market imo except for FSD.

Reviews I'm seeing show R2 getting real world 270 miles on a full charge at highway speeds. Way below their EPA rating but who isn't? (lookin' at you, Lucid). The range isn't great but it isn't very poor either. It's middle of the pack and I'd say some kudos are earned in that it is shaped like a brick but still has pretty decent efficiency. The tests also show R2 getting 2.9 - 3.1 mi/kWh at 70 mph. That in my opinion is the real measure of efficiency. Charging rate is again pretty much in the competitive set. Not leading by any stretch of the imagination, but not lagging.