“The very last thing we would like,” Rivian’s design boss Jeff Hammoud informed me as we toured the corporate’s California design studio, “is for individuals to get into an R2 and say, ‘that is only a cheaper model of the R1.'”
That is the attention-grabbing factor concerning the 2026 Rivian R2. To hit its much-touted eventual $45,000 beginning worth—about half the price of a well-equipped dual-motor R1S—Rivian may have merely downsized and stripped out its flagship SUV. As a substitute, firm officers say, the R2 indicators what’s subsequent: an all-new electric-vehicle platform with new batteries, new drive items, and a path towards extra superior automated driving tech.
2026 Rivian R2 Prototype Drive
Photograph by: Patrick George
“The tenet that we had for the R2 is the right way to ship a product that retains the identical DNA of the Rivian model, every thing that resonated with our clients, however at a lower cost level,” stated software program chief Wassym Bensaid.
However Rivian executives stated the R2 is much from a clear break from what got here earlier than. Actually, a lot of this new electrical SUV was formed by classes realized from what present R1S and R1T clients favored, and what they didn’t—and it reveals how EV design is evolving after years of real-world information.
‘A Ton Of Efficiencies’ And Simpler Service
2026 Rivian R2 Prototype Drive
Photograph by: Patrick George
The R2, executives stated, goals to be a greater EV than the R1S and R1T have been, not only a smaller one.
“There is a ton of engineering efficiencies that went into R2 designs,” chief engineer Max Koff stated. “R2, in comparison with R1, is over 2,000 kilos lighter. It is sportier, extra dynamic, extra agile.”
To be able to get materials and labor prices down, Rivian engineers have been laser-focused on lowering the variety of components concerned and discovering methods for some components to serve a number of roles. The R2’s invoice of supplies—the full listing of uncooked supplies and parts wanted to fabricate the ultimate car—is about 50% that of the R1 fashions. Maybe most famously, the R2 has 2.3 fewer miles of wiring all through than the second-generation R1 fashions, representing a major cost-cut.
Photograph by: Patrick George
Koff stated that new structural members are made with high-pressure diecasts, “In order that mainly consolidates what can be a ton of various stamped and welded parts into one smaller, lighter, extra compact design. This improves our effectivity, decreases mass, and it helps us from a tolerance perspective.” The R2’s physique alone is 200 kilos lighter than the R1 fashions, and 23% stiffer general.
The R2’s new 4695 cylindrical battery cells, equipped by Korean battery large LG Vitality Resolution, are additionally a step up, Koff stated. “It is a a lot greater cell. Which means extra power per cell to get to the identical power quantity. It additionally means fewer welds once we’re connecting all of them.”
A lot of digital management items—the battery administration system, the DC-AC converter and so forth—have been consolidated into one location on this new platform. Fewer components, Koff stated, but additionally simpler repairability. “Anytime you might want to service these parts, you do not have to drop the [battery] pack. You simply raise up the rear seat, and get entry to every thing,” Koff stated. And several other beforehand separate management items for the infotainment system have been consolidated into one.
Glove Bins Are Again On The R2—So Are Tissues And Purses
Photograph by: Rivian
Maybe frustratingly, the R1 fashions don’t have any conventional glove field on the passenger facet, however moderately a storage compartment within the heart console. This got here right down to packaging selections: that area is used for different parts as a substitute, as is the case on different EVs, just like the Toyota bZ.
Rivian is now making up for misplaced time by including two containers to the R2. This is not precisely information, however Hammoud admitted it was a direct results of buyer suggestions. “Individuals actually like a glove field,” Hammoud stated. This influenced future design and engineering selections: “We packaged the car and all {the electrical} parts and made certain to construct into that.”
2026 Rivian R2 Prototype Drive
Photograph by: Patrick George
The R2 retains the slide-out heart console as properly. However that is designed to suit the opposite factor clients insisted on: a tissue field. “By some analysis, we had our clients saying, ‘I by no means have a spot for a full-sized tissue field, so that matches completely in there.”
Photograph by: Patrick George
Additionally, by transferring the air vents from under the display to run alongside the sprint, Rivian’s designers stored room for a handbag or a purse—one other extremely requested characteristic. “We determined to maintain it this manner due to the storage alternatives and listening to our clients, particularly our feminine clients, who actually like that heart space to have the ability to put down their bag,” Hammoud stated.
Extra Room For Your Big Water Bottles, Too
It’s no secret that automakers are struggling to adapt to the period of the Stanley water bottle. The Huge Gulp was one factor; the Quencher-level tumblers are a complete different subject. This kind of factor posed a tough problem for Rivian: how do you design an R2 that’s smaller in each dimension than the R1S, when clients are literally asking for more room?
“How can we reduce issues, however nonetheless present a variety of distinctive storage alternatives?” Hammoud stated. “Once we have been designing the door, we added extra storage that we did not have on R1.” The door has been closely redesigned for extra conventional storage, together with an area for giant water bottles.
That included transferring the stereo audio system out of the door completely and into the middle console, which Hammoud stated really improves audio efficiency and reduces vibrations. (Rivian can be resulting from redesign its door handles amid wider security issues within the EV area as of late, in keeping with studies.)
Rivian Software program, 2.0
In all my years spent testing automobiles, electrical or in any other case, I nonetheless are inclined to suppose Tesla’s software program sport is the strongest—outdoors of China, anyway. However Rivian is catching up rapidly. The automaker is extraordinarily proactive at including new software program options with over-the-air updates, helped alongside by vertical integration that enables extra direct management of assorted parts than conventional automobile corporations can obtain.
2026 Rivian R2 Prototype Drive
Photograph by: Patrick George
However Rivian officers say the R2 is a fair greater step-up, software-wise. “We’re addressing a few of the suggestions that we heard from clients, a few of the ache factors you see every day,” Bensaid informed me. Proper now, he stated, you may “slide proper” on the display to deliver up a media menu. “We modified the structure of the working system in order that now we’ve rather more motions, and we’ve the likelihood to slip proper, however then additionally slide left.”
This is not simply an aesthetic change, Bensaid stated; it is now simply simpler to succeed in issues once you’re driving. In addition they added one thing they name a “fish stick” internally: a bar off to the facet that serves as a shortcut for key features.
Getting suggestions from present Rivian house owners was essential, Hammoud stated, particularly for the reason that automaker is prioritizing present R1 house owners for R2 deliveries. However their experiences additionally served as important information as Rivian tries to succeed in new audiences. And if you need one thing particular from Rivian, then Hammoud let me in on the trick.
“We have a really lively Reddit group the place we get a variety of suggestions,” he stated. “We even joke, ‘if you wish to get a characteristic carried out, go complain about it on Reddit.'”
Contact the writer: patrick.george@insideevs.com
