Video Summary
Here's a summary of the YouTube video review of the 2025 Rivian R1S:The car has a very smooth ride, improved by a software update. Air suspension, fluid, and computers create a smooth ride without anti-roll bars. It’s 850 horsepower Tri-Motor, has 1103 lb feet of torque, and goes from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. It has 371-405 miles range.
The central USB ports were not connected at the factory and were fixed during a service visit. The radio module initially failed as well, and has been corrected. The service schedule for Rivian is one to two months out, similar to Tesla.
The interior is more comfortable than a Model X with high-quality materials. It has seven actual seats. The second and third rows fold flat, something that the Model X could not do. Side steps might need to be added because the vehicle is so high.
The Rivian has a lot of lighting coming in from the top glass panel; a sunshade was added because the sun was too intense. It has a manual charging port door, which may be inconvenient.
The owner misses the text-to-voice feature, as well as the ability to respond to texts, when driving the Rivian. It feels almost like it encourages driving and texting at the same time, which should not be encouraged.
Realistic range estimates on this are pretty consistent; while the Model X is efficient, the Rivian has a more realistic range in the world.
The highway driver assist system does lane centering, acceleration, and deceleration but only does so on pre-mapped highways; it will not steer on city streets. This does make the driver engage more with driving.
The cameras are clear and fantastic. They have a 360-degree camera, top-down view, front bumper camera, rear camera, and side camera views. This is excellent for parking, visibility, and the car’s Gear Guard, which the Tesla’s don’t have.
There are a lot of Radio features; this is a hotspot, so all phones are now covered, plus has an audio system. There are also Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Spotify and TuneIn apps with both FM and old-fashioned radio, too.
Gear Guard has remote viewing cameras, but unlike the Tesla, it has no interior cameras. You can remotely view the cameras. Tesla does not do that.
The Rivian has a fully electric trunk and the car fits in a standard garage.
In the end, the review concludes that the vehicle, while having its issues and minor annoyances, is an overall satisfying and very capable purchase. It's seen as a reliable, useful, and enjoyable vehicle. The reviewer paid $83,450 for the used car, and the MSRP on this as it was configured was $111,700.
