The Rivian R2 could become the company’s breakthrough mass-market vehicle — the equivalent of what the Model Y has been for Tesla, tech reviewer Marques Brownlee said after driving a prototype of the electric SUV.
However, he warned that it will all depend on the pricing Rivian announces.
The EV maker said on Tuesday that pricing, options and specs will be revealed on March 12.
Brownlee, known as MKBHD, tested a near-final R2 prototype on public roads, as part of the selected media invited to drive the SUV for the first time.
“If the base $45,000 version of the R2 with 300 plus miles of range and decent performance and all the same character and the same great setup and packaging is still a good product — which I think it will be — this I think can be their Model Y, for lack of a better comparison,” Brownlee said.
“I think this can be their actual entry into that mass market vehicle,” MKBHD added.
The Tesla Parallel
Brownlee drew a direct comparison to Tesla‘s evolution from its expensive flagship sedans to its mainstream crossover.
“Tesla announced that they would be discontinuing the Model S and Model X pretty recently,” the reviewer recalled.
“And while that was sad, it actually isn’t that much of a surprise because the volumes of those cars were super low, they were expensive, and they were flagships, but most of their volume now is in the cheaper Model 3 and Model Y,” he said.
The R2 represents “the same opportunity for Rivian to scale up as a company,” Brownlee added before comparing the Model S/X with Rivian’s R1T and R1S.
“They’ve got R1T and R1S, but the R2 would be half the price and offer a lot of the same DNA.”
Drives Like an R1S
Brownlee’s central question was whether the R2 could match the driving experience of Rivian’s flagship vehicles at half the price.
“R1S and R1T are flagships for a reason. They are all of the DNA and all the adventure and all of the sort of overkill that most people don’t actually need,” he said.
“R2, the challenge for them is to put a vehicle together that gives you a lot of the same experience and feels just like an R1S — actually, it looks a lot like an R1S — but it’s half the price,” MKBHD added.
The reviewer, who has millions of followers on social media, said the R2 matches the premium R1S driving experience.
“It really feels just like R1S on the road. If you put me in this and didn’t tell me that it was an R2, I would probably just believe I was in an R1S,” Brownlee said.
Smoother Than Model Y
Brownlee praised the R2’s ride quality, noting it addressed a common criticism of Tesla‘s competing crossover.
“I think a lot of people were complaining about with the first Model Ys, where they’re a little too firm and a little too crashy. This is definitely much more smooth,” he said.
The R2 is similar in size to the Model Y — about an inch shorter with comparable height and width — but offers more interior cargo space due to its boxier shape.
“The Model Y is obviously proportioned differently and has a much more sloping roofline. This has much more interior cargo space because of the shape,” Brownlee noted.
Much More Efficient
Despite lacking major aerodynamic improvements over the R1, the R2 proved substantially more efficient in Brownlee’s testing.
“My miles per kilowatt hour number is close to five right now over the last 15 minutes of driving. That is almost twice as high as I normally see on my R1T,” he said.
“Without a ton of aerodynamic change, it is actually significantly more efficient,” he added.
No Air Suspension
The R2 uses passive coil springs and semi-active dampers instead of the R1’s active air suspension — a key cost-cutting measure.
“The challenge not having air suspension is how do you create a far enough difference between the all-purpose mode and the sport mode,” Brownlee said.
He found the default all-purpose mode “soft, a little on the cushier side,” which he preferred, while sport mode delivered noticeably firmer handling with heavier steering.
The default driving mode uses rear-wheel drive for efficiency, engaging the front motor only when needed. Sport mode maintains all-wheel drive continuously.
Price
While impressed with the prototype, Brownlee emphasized that Rivian‘s success hinges on pricing.
“If they can nail this price, which they’re saying it will start at $45,000, and then go up from there, if they can actually deliver something this compelling at that price, it’s going to be awesome,” he said.
He cautioned about the vehicle margins the EV maker will be able to achieve with the new model.
“As long as their margins are good, I don’t know if their margins are amazing on the $45,000 version,” he said.
The dual-motor prototype Brownlee tested — with 650-plus horsepower and 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds — will likely cost significantly more than the base price.
“From $45,000 to $55,000, this is a very compelling vehicle. I haven’t driven many things that I prefer over it in the past year in this price,” he said.
“EVs have been expensive for a while and it’s hard to make things in this price bracket that are really good. But I think they got something good here,” MKBHD stated.
