Rivian on Thursday delivered what was anticipated—the R2 electrical SUV. And then it stole the R2’s stage with merchandise that followers, traders, and EV consumers didn’t know they wanted: the Rivian R3 and R3X.
A short while after the reveal, I famous that whereas loads of followers had been testing the R2, there was a frenzy across the R3. And Rivian executives themselves appeared filled with enthusiasm about these compact EVs—together with Rivian’s head designer Jeff Hammoud.
“The thing I most love about R3 is I’ve asked quite a few people, what kind of car would you call this? Is it a hatch or an SUV? And nobody really has an answer, and that’s great.”
Hot hatch, rally automotive, path runner? All of the above
“When I was first talking about this with RJ we were going through the conception of it and the conversation we had was just, like, I don’t want to fall into a segment, I want people to just say it’s an R3,” recalled Hammoud, in a Q&A session with media. “And I think we’ve achieved that.”
Hammoud added that with the high-performance R3X model, the purpose was merely one thing that’s actually enjoyable. “Hopefully you guys look at it and agree that, like, I don’t know what it is but I just want to drive that.”
Rivian R3X
To me, it’s laborious to imagine the R2 and R3 share so many frequent cues—even their front-end look—as they impress as fully totally different design statements and personalities. The R3 follows within the footsteps of eccentric hatchbacks just like the Lada Niva and Golf Country however may additionally win the hearts of many Subaru Crosstrek homeowners.
The R3 household measures 170.3 inches lengthy and rides on a 110.2-inch wheelbase. That makes it about 15 inches shorter than the R2, which is in itself about 15 inches shorter in size than the R1S.
Today, that’s within the neighborhood of the size of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Volkswagen ID.3, Renault Megane E-Tech, or MG4, amongst EVs. And likewise, it’s successfully in the identical dimension class because the Toyota Corolla hatchback, the Volkswagen Golf, the Škoda Octavia, the Ford Focus, or the Seat León. But it appears extra thrilling than any of them—or, in fact, an American-market Bolt EV or Leaf.
We’ll have to attend a bit. If the R2 arrives in early 2026, an R3 may observe comparatively quickly after. Unfortunately, the timeline for the next-generation Bolt EV and Leaf is not wanting a lot better. And whereas Rivian confirmed that it desires to make the R3, it did not verify when it would take reservations or the place, for positive, it is likely to be bought.
Rivian R2
Range and battery particulars but to return
These fashions share the 4695-format cylindrical cells, packaged inside a structural battery pack. Rivian didn’t but communicate to vary for the R3, however Hammoud did communicate a bit to charging. The autos proven Thursday all had their NACS cost ports on the rear proper quadrant, underneath a tidy little flush cowl.
“We did a lot of research and specifically in left-hand-drive countries in Europe,” mentioned Hammoud, when requested why it’s there. “We saw a lot of people charging cars on the street, and you’d see anything from charging cables wrapped over hoods to get to the other side, and we wanted to solve that.”
Rivian R3
“The other thing is, building off our current charging network, it’s in the front driver’s side. So if you’re gonna flip the car back into the space, essentially the exact same location.”
Putting the port there, Hammoud mentioned, additionally means much less wires, much less weight, and fewer value—for the entire R2/R3 household
Which leads to some extent. According to Hammoud, though the R3 and R2 don’t have shared sheetmetal, there are loads of shared factors between the interiors of those two fashions that make it simpler from a producing standpoint. Same steering wheel, our display methods, the middle console, the seat frames.
Rivian R2
R2 design didn’t come really easy
While from the sound of it the design of the R3 was enjoyable, the R2 design course of sounded extra fraught as described by Hammoud—because it tapped into the expectations of those that cherished what they noticed within the R1 however needed one thing extra inexpensive or extra sensibly sized.
The R1 was designed by means of addition, Hammoud recalled, however the R2 concerned much more debate about what it didn’t need R2 to subtract, and what the important thing issues had been that it wanted to hold over. That’s no shock; Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has mentioned at a number of factors that the follow-up can have much less complexity than its R1 lineup and be a lot simpler to construct.
Rivian juggled wheelbase size and the location of the glass roof in order to maximise rear headroom and spaciousness, whereas European pedestrian safety requirements performed a task, too, requiring a line along with the hood, which was then integrated into the design itself.
As Green Car Reports lined with the debut yesterday, the Rivian R2 lands in early 2026 with a goal worth round $45,000, beginning with single-motor rear-wheel drive however stepping as much as two- and three-motor AWD variations providing a spread of greater than 300 miles (much less in base kind, it’s since been mentioned), and in some instances 0-60 mph occasions beneath 3.0 seconds. The group ended up with an general size round 185 inches lengthy and using on a 121.1-inch wheelbase, with an general top of 66.9 inches and width round 75 inches.
Rivian R2
According to Hammoud, the R2 builds off the profile of the R1S, though the general proportions of the car are “a lot more athletic” with very quick entrance and rear overhangs. As proven it had 32-inch all-terrain rubber, and the truck’s 25-degree strategy angle, 27-degree departure angle, and 9.8-inch floor clearance gave it a stocky, trail-ready look.
Meanwhile, shorter autos can pose extra of an aerodynamic problem, and so getting that half proper for maximizing vary with smaller battery packs was in fact a precedence. “We had been working very carefully with our aerodynamics group, doing CFD (computational fluid dynamics) evaluation actually early on, based on Hammoud, to grasp the important thing attributes required for vary. In the R2’s case, a kind of is the way in which the roofline drops toad the again, bringing airflow by means of a pass-through spoiler.
The huge subtraction gadgets are the suspension, not having the ability to increase or decrease. That’s not coming to R2, though they made positive to present it a tune that might work for on- and off-road and permit the aptitude by way of floor clearance. The R2 gives a floor clearance of 9.8 inches, whereas the R1S, with its adjustable air suspension and as much as 14.9 inches, is safe in its prime off-roader spot for the model.
And there are not any plans for a 3rd row within the R2. “To have a third row for R2 would make the package very tight.”
Rivian R2
Lots of innovation inside R2
That mentioned, there’s some critical innovation within the packaging within the R2—just like the entrance and rear seats that fold absolutely flat, permitting sufficient steady size to move very lengthy mission gadgets like 16-foot baseboard trim with it resting on the liftgate’s rim (the glass rolls down). Once that window’s down, don’t overlook in regards to the little desk good for drinks or the superb bits as you gear up in your out of doors exercise of alternative. And canine are possible going to like the breeze from the pop-out panel home windows in again.
On the journey entrance the R2 boasts a completely new form of bike-rack system that may be put up with one particular person and saved away rather more simply. Rivian plans to supply each a mattress to take a seat on that flat ground and a rooftop tent, and a revised camp kitchen is within the works.
R1S advanced split-tailgate setup was one of the vital troublesome gadgets to unravel for R2. Owners actually just like the R1S tailgate and “being able to sit there and basically have a little awning there to cover you if it’s raining,” he described, but it surely’s value and complexity. So Rivian’s answer, with a one-piece liftgate, was a pull-out tray you can sit on.
Interface-wise, the steering wheel and its massive rotary dials had been touted in a number of situations. With it, two haptic-twist controllers throughout the wheel use differing types and ranges of haptic suggestions relying on what you’re scrolling by means of or choosing in the mean time.
Rivian R3
Rivian R3
Rivian R3
R2, R3, R3X made for a similar meeting line?
“A lot of work went into designing R3 and R2 together to make sure as a platform, a lot of the components are shared, a lot of network architecture is obviously shared,” mentioned Hammoud, and that extends to manufacturing and the availability chain.
R2 wlll be just a little extra dynamically centered towards on-road efficiency than R1, Hammoud summed, whereas R3 would be the most centered on-road of the three.
Hammoud pointed to the world behind the rear wheel of the R2 and famous that when the car will get broken that’s simply an injection-molded half and straightforward to interchange. And, he mentioned, there are additionally loads of shared factors between the interiors of the R2 and R3 that makes it simpler from a producing standpoint—like the identical steering wheel, display methods, heart console, and seat frames.
Essentially through the time Rivian was revealing the R2, R3, and R3X on Thursday, the corporate confirmed a whopper of a producing announcement. It will pause building on its $5 billion Georgia manufacturing facility, which had up till then been set for a 2026 ramp and an eventual 400,000 autos per yr, in favor of a “capital efficient launch” first at its Illinois plant, for deliveries beginning in early 2026.
With Rivian’s mentions of Europe, plus its very well-received R3 household, it would very nicely have some new priorities after this previous week.
Source: www.greencarreports.com