Within the Rocky Mountain city of Salida, Colorado, journey calls. Rafting in the summertime, snowboarding within the winter, biking and brewing yr spherical, it’s a gateway to excessive mountain enjoyable at 7,000 toes above sea degree. 

It’s additionally a spot the place Rivians outnumber Teslas, at the very least two to at least one. So it appeared upon my arrival with the 2023 Rivian R1S, the three-row SUV counterpart to the R1T journey pickup truck. I got here to play with my brother-in-law and sister, who within the final yr had relocated to Salida, and who within the final month had changed their Twin Motor Tesla Mannequin 3 with the R1T. 

Rivian’s outsized presence in a single small nook of the world proves that it’s interesting to its goal demo, the outside fanatic. With an air suspension offering 15 inches of floor clearance, and a Quad-Motor system enabling 10 drive modes, together with 5 off-road picks, the Rivian siblings epitomize the perfect mixture of no-compromise adventuring and eco-friendly exploring. 

Rivian R1T, inexperienced, vs. Rivian R1S, silver

Salida’s house to fewer than 6,000 individuals, however host to a whole bunch of 1000’s of vacationers. It additionally hosts a Rivian Journey Community, with 4 DC fast-chargers rated at 215 kw, and three 11-kw Stage 2 chargers, all powered by 100% renewable vitality, in response to Rivian. 

My household’s R1T would carry the paddle board, their mattress would maintain the interior tubes, and their gear tunnel would maintain most of our in a single day gear on our tenting journey. No method we may have performed that of their Mannequin 3. 

However first, I needed to traverse the Rockies at nightfall throughout a torrential downpour that smothered the peaks and washed out the single-lane highway.

This was not the journey I envisioned. 

Rivian R1S leans into regular highway situations

I set out from the ranching city of Berthoud, Colorado in a Rivian R1S Quad-Motor with the Journey Package deal that features 20-inch wheels wrapped in 34-inch Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain tires. With this configuration and the 135-kw Giant pack, the EPA estimates a variety of 274 miles with a completely charged battery pack. I had 84% capability left and 188 miles to my vacation spot, in response to my journey laptop. 

Since Rivian doesn’t provide Apple CarPlay or Android Auto compatibility, I obsessively checked the gap in my telephone’s Google Maps towards Rivian’s estimate at site visitors stops via Boulder. My final EV highway journey within the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV 580—one of many few different three-row electrical SUVs on sale now—taught me to reduce dangers and keep away from variables past my management. By each estimates, I might have about 40 miles to spare. However I’d be climbing about 1,700 toes complete earlier than dropping again into the Salida valley. And there are all the time variables. 

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

To begin, I saved it in Sport mode, one of many 5 core drive modes together with Preserve, Snow, All-Goal, and Off-Street, which has one other 5 drive modes starting from Rally to Rock Crawl to Towing. 

These 5 core modes alter the air suspension accordingly, with 5 extra settings that the motive force can override, from 15.0 inches of floor clearance all the way down to 9.5 inches at its best. 

The driving force can manually alter three different drive settings, as properly: experience high quality might be Agency or Delicate; regen might be Excessive or Normal; stability management might be set to On, Lowered, or Off. That is performed via a 15.6-inch touchscreen that blends horizontally into the 11.8-inch digital instrument cluster in an oblong sprint trimmed in wooden. A small band of icons under the speedo within the cluster exhibits all these settings in a fast look, so the bigger touchscreen can be utilized for navigation or surround-view digital camera angles or most different car features. 

There’s so much to play with however inside an hour of driving it, I had the perfect setup for front-range cruising: Sport mode with the experience Delicate and regen Excessive. With that massive battery feeding two motors on each axles, the R1S makes 835 hp and 908 pound-feet of torque. It shoots to 60 mph in about three seconds, nevertheless it didn’t pin me to my seat and make me query my lunch. And all that torque shifting about 7,000 kilos brought about the all-terrains to scrabble at launch.

At velocity, the facility remained plentiful nevertheless it was by no means darting ahead too abruptly and the Excessive regen setting by no means grabbed too exhausting. It was easy, for probably the most half. Being inconsistent on the accelerator brought about little shudders, as if it had been asking me what’s up, man? 

Rivian R1T, inexperienced, vs. Rivian R1S, silver

Rivian R1S vs. R1T variations

Rivian says the R1T and R1S are the identical from the B-pillar ahead and although they share the identical mechanicals, there’s a distinction in experience high quality. 

The R1S measures 16.3 inches shorter in size and has a wheelbase that’s 14.6 inches shorter. The double wishbone entrance and multi-link rear suspensions are the identical, as is the hydraulic anti-roll system that successfully acts like a variable anti-roll bar for the entrance and rear axles. This permits for some massive articulation off-road and limits the quantity of physique lean on-road. In back-to-back testing with the R1T, the R1S SUV had barely extra hop to it on pavement and the lean in turns felt extra pronounced. 

On winding roads I used to be much less inclined to push it tougher. Sport mode in Agency quelled some bounce and lean, and relative to different three-row SUVs, it dealt with extra like a sport wagon. 

Till the storm. 

Rivian R1S navigates the storm

Tridents of lightning revealed thunderheads smothering the tree line. At solely 6:30 p.m., it was darkish sufficient and raining exhausting sufficient to blur the lane markings and scatter the occasional headlights or taillights. 

I set it to All Goal mode then stopped fiddling to pay attention. It felt so stable and planted, all 4 wheels staying squarely on observe, that I pressed on, skipping the turnouts the place different vehicles had stopped, satisfied that the situations would solely worsen as evening got here. 

The increase in confidence got here from the expertise as a lot because the drive system. Regardless that my telephone had no service, the graphics on the map show remained robust as ever and the vary and battery estimate modified with the modes and the terrain. 

All through my five-day journey, I grew extra impressed with the accuracy and reliability of Rivian’s in-house software program and interface. I’ve examined sufficient EVs to depend on battery % cost solely, however having a corresponding and correct mile vary eased all types of hysteria. This made an enormous distinction in consolation when toggling between modes and suspensions, driving via a downpour, and contemplating the steep elevation modifications and 50-degree temperature fluctuations. 

I arrived with 25% battery cost left, or 80 miles in Preserve mode. The one anxiousness I skilled was from the climate. 

Charging the Rivian R1S

I charged it in a single day within the comforts of my sister’s storage. They’d repurposed their Tesla 240-volt, 48-amp wall unit with a J1772 adapter. With that setup, the R1S charged at a max fee of 11.5 kw, which is the best output of three potential amperages, for about 25 miles per hour. (The bottom is 32 amps at a fee of seven.7 kw, or about 16 miles per hour.) 

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

A number of days later, earlier than leaving, I charged it without cost in downtown Salida. The seven Journey Community ports sit within the shade of a Safeway grocery store, proper off an outdated railroad line turned bike path. We adopted the hoots and hollers coming from the Arkansas River raging via downtown, then strolled round for a chunk, so I wasn’t capable of verify if it delivered 140 miles of vary in 20 minutes, as Rivian claimed. It charged loads quick, nonetheless, at a max energy of 178.4 kw regardless of the 95-degree warmth. It went from 65% to 95% in 45 minutes, offering 42.3 kw of complete juice. 

Totally rested and almost totally charged, we set out for our tenting journey. 

Off-roading within the Rivian R1S

It solely took about 20 minutes to climb out of Salida and swap from Sport to Off-Street mode on a dusty jeep highway. I switched to Rally mode that reduces stability management, the higher to spit rooster tails on the R1T sag wagon behind me. 

We explored a narrower, rockier, deeply rutted path untraveled by vehicles. We aired down the tires and clambered right into a gulch, straddling boulders with our 15.0 inches of floor clearance in Crawl mode and articulating off-set staircases due to the air suspension. It was nothing too excessive with the R1T nonetheless laden with toys. The one site visitors we encountered had been single-driver off-roaders needing to perch on the ledge to allow us to go. 

2023 Rivian R1T

That’s, till we encountered one path person that wouldn’t allow us to go: an enormous bull, main a cattle herd alongside a trickling creek. There was a showdown. We waited soundlessly. They populated the path, swatting flies, chomping cud. It stared, its mates stared, as if drawn by the Rivian’s robotic eyes. We made a 15-point turnaround and headed out. 

It was simpler within the R1S as a result of the turning radius is sort of 4 toes smaller. Because of the shorter wheelbase and shorter rear finish, the R1S makes for a greater off-roader on paper with a departure angle of 34.3 levels (30.0 within the R1T) and a greater breakover angle of 29.6 levels (26.4 within the R1T). They will each ford greater than three toes of water however we didn’t take a look at it. Solely factor they’ll’t do, it appears, is overtake a herd of cattle. 

2023 Rivian R1S

Tenting within the Rivian R1S 

As soon as we decamped, unpacked the toys, turned up the camp speaker that stows so neatly beneath the middle console, and began lightening the load in our coolers, I set the R1S to Camp mode. Already in Kneel mode, it routinely adjusts the suspension to make for as even a flooring as potential. I selected the “Keep on” setting to have the local weather management alter from the 90-degree day to the 50-degree evening. It additionally saved the middle show on as a form of nightlight. 

2023 Rivian R1S

A “Camp Courtesy” operate turned off all the outside lights and noises, so I may relieve myself in the course of the evening and never trouble anybody. It ran the local weather management at a quieter degree as properly, and the flood lights within the aspect mirrors lit up the world surrounding the truck. It was significantly better and fewer obtrusive than headlights. The flood lights could possibly be adjusted individually, too, however had I wanted it, I might have opted for the LED flashlight hidden within the door like a Rolls-Royce umbrella. 

2023 Rivian R1S

With the second row energy folded down from the cargo space, and the third row folded down with pull straps, I climbed up on my pad and camped contained in the R1S. A full air mattress would have been higher to soak up the gaps within the two rows, nevertheless it was roomy sufficient to suit two, and it was drier, quieter, and local weather managed, not like my sister and her hubs of their tent. Not tenting, not glamping, Riviamping. With the glass roof overhead, I nonetheless slept beneath the celebs.  

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

2023 Rivian R1S

Coming all the way down to Denver: R1S effectivity and vary

There have been a few issues that would use a tweak within the R1S. The wi-fi telephone charger on the finish of the armrest console doesn’t maintain a constant cost, partly attributable to its broad measurement but additionally as a result of bounciness of an off-road-minded SUV. The instrument cluster is clear and brilliant, however restricted in how it may be set. 

I used to be capable of get a greater concept of peak effectivity of the R1S on the sunny return journey to Denver, which Google Maps clocked at 147 miles. I saved it principally in Preserve mode with Excessive regen to check its best mode. With 91% battery left, the journey laptop steered I had 311 miles of vary remaining, which is far increased than the EPA-rated max vary of 274 miles. I arrived with 53% battery cost left and 184 miles remaining. That figures out to 2.87 miles per kwh. I descended about 1,800 toes complete, probably serving to increase the vary.

The nice vary determine was principally attributable to Preserve mode, however this isn’t advisable. 

Rivian tells homeowners to restrict Preserve mode to when it’s most wanted. It cuts the facility from the rear axle and the lowered suspension tweaks the entrance wheel alignment for larger stability. All of the drive energy strikes via the entrance wheels and the slight little bit of destructive camber results in extreme tire wire. Moreover, some Reddit customers, as reported by The Drive, discovered the entrance wheels toe-in on their ahead path, which chews up the entrance tires much more. 

In a pinch, it’s good to know the assorted methods to optimize vary, however the up-to-the-second vary estimates are the true winner right here. 

The R1S I examined price $99,150, together with vacation spot. Inexpensive Twin-Motor fashions are on the best way. The R1S doubles as a household hauler, camper, and off-roader, all with out spewing any tailpipe emissions. You’ll be able to’t do all that in any Jeep, or some other electrical automotive. I nonetheless choose the truck, however for a household eager on getting misplaced, the R1S does all of it.

Correction: An earlier model of this story stated the closest Tesla Supercharger was 105 miles away in Colorado Springs. There’s a Supercharger close to Salida in Poncha Springs.