Rivian R1S Reviews are out - hints at possibilities for an all-electric Wrangler?

[rcadden]

Updated with link to R1S reviews compilation:
https://www.rivianforums.com/rivian-r1s-reviews-are-finally-here/

I know the general feeling about EVs in this forum, but hopefully the "stop putting tech in my Jeep" folks can stand down for a moment to appreciate some of the possibilities that we're starting to see from other manufacturers.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2022-rivian-r1s-preview/

A few specific sections that sound pretty awesome:
"Want to drop the R1S for maximum aerodynamics on the highway and disable the rear motors for maximum range? No problem. Want to jack it up for a ridiculous 15 inches of ground clearance and a 3-foot wading depth? Easy peasy. Just a few taps on the generous central touchscreen and the car repositions itself appropriately, rising or dropping with enough rapidity to seriously disorient your passengers if done without warning."

Imagine switching between a Sahara's smooth ride and better fuel mileage to get to the trail, and then pushing a button to transform into an Extreme Recon Rubicon for the trail. Bananas.


"When the road ends and the trail begins, though, all that is forgotten. EV off-roading is amazing on multiple levels. With all that torque available at any speed, you can just ease your way up and over obstacles, never worrying about falling out of a powerband or stalling. The SUV's four motors send power where you need it automatically, so locking differentials are history, but best of all is the near-silence. Windows-down cruising through the woods feels more like hiking than driving, and that's a lovely thing.

I ran through a very aggressive off-road course with rocky ruts so deep I thought for sure I'd be grinding the half-shafts, yet again and again I was told to aim for the rut and every time I had room to spare. The nine exterior cameras make this process a lot easier, spotting lines and obstacles, though the cameras themselves are disappointingly low-resolution. Blown up to full-screen on the R1S' 15.6-inch central touchscreen, the view outside looks a lot like a municipal streaming weather cam installed in 1998."

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[ExpeditionBuilds]

Updated with link to R1S reviews compilation:
https://www.rivianforums.com/rivian-r1s-reviews-are-finally-here/

I know the general feeling about EVs in this forum, but hopefully the "stop putting tech in my Jeep" folks can stand down for a moment to appreciate some of the possibilities that we're starting to see from other manufacturers.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2022-rivian-r1s-preview/

A few specific sections that sound pretty awesome:
"Want to drop the R1S for maximum aerodynamics on the highway and disable the rear motors for maximum range? No problem. Want to jack it up for a ridiculous 15 inches of ground clearance and a 3-foot wading depth? Easy peasy. Just a few taps on the generous central touchscreen and the car repositions itself appropriately, rising or dropping with enough rapidity to seriously disorient your passengers if done without warning."

Imagine switching between a Sahara's smooth ride and better fuel mileage to get to the trail, and then pushing a button to transform into an Extreme Recon Rubicon for the trail. Bananas.


"When the road ends and the trail begins, though, all that is forgotten. EV off-roading is amazing on multiple levels. With all that torque available at any speed, you can just ease your way up and over obstacles, never worrying about falling out of a powerband or stalling. The SUV's four motors send power where you need it automatically, so locking differentials are history, but best of all is the near-silence. Windows-down cruising through the woods feels more like hiking than driving, and that's a lovely thing.

I ran through a very aggressive off-road course with rocky ruts so deep I thought for sure I'd be grinding the half-shafts, yet again and again I was told to aim for the rut and every time I had room to spare. The nine exterior cameras make this process a lot easier, spotting lines and obstacles, though the cameras themselves are disappointingly low-resolution. Blown up to full-screen on the R1S' 15.6-inch central touchscreen, the view outside looks a lot like a municipal streaming weather cam installed in 1998."

Thanks for the post! Electrics will allow some pretty crazy performance upgrades both on and off-road. I'm looking forward to it! What I really want is an upgraded 4Xe, meaning longer battery range and go anywhere (range) fuel options.

-Steven

 

[Jtclayton612]

As long as they do it better than the R1T. If memory serves some early reviews seemed to have trouble with the off-road mode and extra ground clearance staying on.

I’d absolutely take the magneto 2.0 right now though.

 

[Hpc3]

I'm holding out for the Ford Bronco Raptor Tremor eMustang Lightning myself.

 

[IdahoJOAT]

This is why I went 4xe on our second JLUR, and am finally looking at installing the outlet and level 2 charger.

The J1779 and EVs are only going to become more prevalent.

 

[gregeast]

A motor at all 4 corners would seem to have the possibility to change how an off-road vehicle finds traction.

 

[Remorseless]

TBH, that's basically the WL Trailhawk 4xe, just minus the ICE and a diff motor config. Air suspension for going between heights and IFS/IRS and more range in pure EV mode than the JL 4xe. Personally, I think a PHEV more suits the need of Wranglers than does a pure EV.

Regardless - long as the Wrangler has two doors, straight axles, and you can run it for days and days away from civilization, I'm good with whatever power train they toss in a Jeep.

 

[Reinen]

I'm really looking forward to this. I think the R1T is a good proof of concept but there are obvious improvements to be made. Its 4 motor management is clearly slow to figure things out but it does eventually work out how navigate obstacles. That's logic which will definitely improve. It's also still stuck in an IFS suspension. Having motors in the wheels opens the floodgates to massive game changing suspension changes.

This becomes true full-time 4WD without binding, instant 4WD LO without shifting gears, and suspension with insane articulation like the mars rover. Since it's a Jeep and it's blasphemy to change the grille & hood even though it's unnecessary, that's where a highly efficient propane generator goes along with solar panel storage.

If you think about it, this is really opening doors.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Updated with link to R1S reviews compilation:
https://www.rivianforums.com/rivian-r1s-reviews-are-finally-here/

I know the general feeling about EVs in this forum, but hopefully the "stop putting tech in my Jeep" folks can stand down for a moment to appreciate some of the possibilities that we're starting to see from other manufacturers.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2022-rivian-r1s-preview/

A few specific sections that sound pretty awesome:
"Want to drop the R1S for maximum aerodynamics on the highway and disable the rear motors for maximum range? No problem. Want to jack it up for a ridiculous 15 inches of ground clearance and a 3-foot wading depth? Easy peasy. Just a few taps on the generous central touchscreen and the car repositions itself appropriately, rising or dropping with enough rapidity to seriously disorient your passengers if done without warning."

Imagine switching between a Sahara's smooth ride and better fuel mileage to get to the trail, and then pushing a button to transform into an Extreme Recon Rubicon for the trail. Bananas.


"When the road ends and the trail begins, though, all that is forgotten. EV off-roading is amazing on multiple levels. With all that torque available at any speed, you can just ease your way up and over obstacles, never worrying about falling out of a powerband or stalling. The SUV's four motors send power where you need it automatically, so locking differentials are history, but best of all is the near-silence. Windows-down cruising through the woods feels more like hiking than driving, and that's a lovely thing.

I ran through a very aggressive off-road course with rocky ruts so deep I thought for sure I'd be grinding the half-shafts, yet again and again I was told to aim for the rut and every time I had room to spare. The nine exterior cameras make this process a lot easier, spotting lines and obstacles, though the cameras themselves are disappointingly low-resolution. Blown up to full-screen on the R1S' 15.6-inch central touchscreen, the view outside looks a lot like a municipal streaming weather cam installed in 1998."

The independent suspension front and rear and the air ride both offer some limitations off road. The suspension travel just isn't there compared to the Wrangler or even a Bronco or 4runner. Jacking the suspension all the way up in to off road mode only makes the limited range of motion that much worse as you'll have little up travel and almost no down travel. The instant torque and independent motors at each wheel are awesome, but there are too many drawbacks in the rivian design for serious off roading in my opinion. The Magneto 2.0 minus the transmission in a 4 door with a 400 mile range and I'll order 1 tomorrow.

 

[jessedacri]

The independent suspension front and rear and the air ride both offer some limitations off road. The suspension travel just isn't there compared to the Wrangler or even a Bronco or 4runner. Jacking the suspension all the way up in to off road mode only makes the limited range of motion that much worse as you'll have little up travel and almost no down travel. The instant torque and independent motors at each wheel are awesome, but there are too many drawbacks in the rivian design for serious off roading in my opinion. The Magneto 2.0 minus the transmission in a 4 door with a 400 mile range and I'll order 1 tomorrow.

There's unfortunately almost zero chance a wrangler will get anywhere over ~100-120 mile range stuffed to the gills with batteries unless there's some serious revolution in battery technology in the next 5 years. Not only does the suspension height adjustment on a full independent-suspension Rivian not compare at all to solid axle vehicles, it's not the main issue in terms of aerodynamics that the Wrangler faces. Battery tech just isn't there to get a Wrangler to a respectable EV range unless it becomes the shape of a Rivian or a Cybertruck.

 

[Zandcwhite]

There's unfortunately almost zero chance a wrangler will get anywhere over ~100-120 mile range stuffed to the gills with batteries unless there's some serious revolution in battery technology in the next 5 years. Not only does the suspension height adjustment on a full independent-suspension Rivian not compare at all to solid axle vehicles, it's not the main issue in terms of aerodynamics that the Wrangler faces. Battery tech just isn't there to get a Wrangler to a respectable EV range unless it becomes the shape of a Rivian or a Cybertruck.

A rivian is not all that much more aerodynamic than a wrangler and they will have a 400+ mile range with the max pack. If they go motor on axle, there is a shit ton of space frame trail to frame rail front to back in a 4 door Wrangler, nearly as much as a rivian. Widen the frame out to function as the rock sliders and you'd fit more batteries than a Rivian. 400 isn't that far off in my opinion, especially if they go with a 2wd economy mode. Lay the grill and windshield back a bit and have a perfectly smooth belly/ skid to protect all those batteries and viola massive aero improvement. I argue it's very doable with current tech. Or at least 350 miles. They can fit 185kwh in a Tesla, the 4xe will do 20+ miles on 17.5kwh with the drag and aero penalty of the ice drivetrain. It doesn't take much math to figure 250+ as easily achieved without any redesign.

 

[Mocopo]

I'm still waiting for a review that honestly addresses range for offroading. You lose almost as much as 85% of your battery efficiency when you are constantly in situations requiring high torque, such as towing, or crawling through the rocks.

TFL took a stock 4XE off road and made it 3.4 miles in 4 low before it switched to gas, and it was a fairly easy trail minus a couple obstacles.

TFL 4XE Off-Road Range Test

I can see an all electric jeep in the near future for sure, but I don't see the off road/overland crowd getting on board any time soon. Trailrecon also addresses this in why he dropped his 4XE. So maybe they don't do a Wrangler, but start with something like the Renegade or Grand Cherokee instead.

 

[S2k Chris]

I love my PHEV Wrangler and I don’t see going to full BEV anytime soon. The range just isn’t there, especially in extreme cold weather (late November hunting in northern WI) and I don’t want to deal with the crappy EV infrastructure. But 100% battery power for short trips around town is awesome.

 

[Zandcwhite]

TFL’s wasn't fully charged when they started, from trail recons testing and several others on this forum, it's closer to 50%. Sounds like a lot, but trails, especially rock crawling ones, are short pretty much across the board. The Rubicon is <20 miles. The dusy erishim is 33 miles. Even the Mojave road which requires 0 low range is only 100 miles. We wheel built Jeeps that are lucky to get anywhere near 200 miles on the same conditions. Give me an EV wrangler with a 300+ mile range and I will wheel it all over the country just like the current one with a ~240 mile range. I don't carry extra fuel and it's never been a problem.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

Simple math would deduce it will take a huge 180 KW battery to go 200 miles, which is likely optimistic given the weight penalty of a huge battery, the aerodynamics of a brick, and the drag of 33 or 35” tires. I. don’t see a JL Wrangler EV anytime soon. I love the concept…it just doesn’t work yet.

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