Rivian R2 2026: Specs, Price, Availability

The Premium exemplary follows successful precocious 2026 astatine $53,990. Same 87.9-kilo-watt-hour battery, aforesaid 330-mile range, but with 450 hp, 537 pound-foot of torque, and a 4.6-second zero-to-60 time. Still dual-motor AWD. Then the Standard Long Range exemplary lands successful aboriginal 2027 astatine $48,490 with a single-motor rear-wheel drive, 350 hp, and zero-to-60 successful 5.9 seconds. Rivian estimates up to 345 miles connected a azygous charge, which so makes it the farthest successful the lineup, but lone by 15 miles.

That all-important Standard exemplary with the charismatic $45,000 terms ($10,000 little than a basal Volvo EX40, and $5,000 little than Tesla Model Y Premium AWD) comes last, successful precocious 2027, with a driblet successful scope to astir 275 miles. All 4 trims person a autochthonal North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector with entree to Tesla's Supercharger web and a claimed 10-to-80-percent complaint clip of 29 minutes.

But here's the trouble: The archetypal R2s volition not beryllium technically arsenic bully arsenic the models coming six months aboriginal oregon so. Why? Rivian's new, fancy RAP1 processor, a customized 5-nanometer spot delivering 1,600 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) that powers its coming Gen 3 autonomy, won't vessel connected R2 models until precocious 2026. The EVs besides won't person lidar initially. So this crucially means aboriginal R2 adopters get Gen 2 hardware, not Gen 3. L2+ autonomy, not L3.

Now, Rivian is astatine pains to underline present that the Gen 2 Performance R2 volition supposedly beryllium susceptible of point-to-point driving aboriginal this year—but would you privation that oregon alternatively hold a fewer months for the Level 3 Gen 3s packing “the astir almighty operation of sensors and inference compute successful user vehicles successful North America,” according to Rivian's elder vice president of electrical hardware? I cognize what I'd do. I besides cognize what Rivian wants you to do: Ignore this bothersome information and conscionable manus implicit the much-needed cash, please. Those income targets aren't going to deed themselves.

Better Than Big Brother

Delays successful Gen 3 hardware aside, Rivian has sprinkled much than a small magic particulate implicit its R2. The Performance mentation really bests the basal R1S connected powerfulness and range, contempt that importantly little price. Yes, the R1S has much abstraction (three rows), and its aerial suspension tin assistance it to astir 15 inches of clearance, arsenic good arsenic level the EV connected sloped crushed (the R2's 9.6 inches is fixed), but successful astir each different area, the R2 makes a harder statement for the R1S to answer.

Over a mates of days extracurricular Salt Lake City, Utah, I joined a brand-hosted media thrust (Rivian paid for WIRED's question expenses) and tried retired the R2 connected highways, upland roads, and implicit immoderate mean off-road terrain.

The precise bully quality is that overmuch of what made the R1 specified a deed with critics has been either retained, modified, oregon adapted present connected the R2. The exterior design, for example, instantly mirrors its bigger member but is cleverly not simply a shrunken mentation of that EV. The squad has managed to trim size to a magnitude of 185.9 inches portion keeping cardinal proportions, truthful you get a five-seat SUV that is unmistakably Rivian but successful nary mode feels diminutive oregon austere compared to the seven-seater.