Drew Dowdell

You have a Rivian?

Yesterday, Rivian announced that drivers of Rivian R1T and R1S vehicles are now able to charge at most Tesla Supercharger locations.  Like Ford EV drivers, Rivian owners will receive a free NACS to CCS adapter. The Supercharger network has been integrated into Rivian's navigation and charging app, enabling "plug-and-charge" simplicity without needing to pull up an app.  Billing for charge sessions at Tesla supercharger stations is handled automatically through the Rivian network. Starting in 2025 with the Rivian R1S and R1T, Rivian vehicles will adopt the NACS charge port, enabling drivers of those vehicles native access to the Supercharger network and other NACS chargers without an adapter. The Rivian R2 and Rivian R3 will be equipped with the NACS port from the start of production. Rivian announced in June, 2023 that they would adopt the NACS adapter and enable Tesla Supercharging access. They are the second automaker to do so, following Ford enabling Supercharger access earlier this month. Rivian has also been busy building its own Rivian Adventure Network, a series of charging stations focused on more remote locations where Rivian drivers might access like national parks.  Currently, the Rivian Adventure Network is limited to Rivian drivers, but later this year Rivian will be opening access to all electric vehicles. The Rivian NACS to CCS adapters begin shipping in April. In the meantime, Rivian drivers might borrow a Ford NACS to CCS adapter from a friend. View full article

Those use cases will necessitate the purchase of something with a long range, like 300+. But even still, two hours at 11.5kW would put 50 - 70 miles of range back in the car. You might need to make one 10-minute DCFC stop if you had a really busy day, but otherwise, you could make it.

I could see settling on three charger rates, but definitely not one. A Bolt or Kia EV4 type vehicle simply does not need 19kW home charging. It would be an excessive cost to retrofit a house and the number of buyers who actually use that rate would be pretty close to zero. That would be like insisting that the Corolla has to have a 6.2 liter. It's excessive and doesn't fit the use case. Now, if we settled into 7.5kW, 11.5kW, and 19.4kW as a standard, that would probably achieve what you are proposing while still giving cost flexibility. It would allow for entry-level EVs to get the lower cost / lower speed charger while allowing the larger vehicles or premium vehicles to have faster home charging. For example, the EV6 could have a lower cost 7.5kW charger while the Genesis GV60 on the same platform could get the 11.5kW charger because it is a premium brand and higher cost vehicle. Then any large EV with or near a 200kW battery could have the 19.4kW charger, but even then, unless it is a newly built house or a commercial fleet, it will still probably charge only at 11.5kW, as that's about the max that the vast majority of homes are wired to do. Unless you're driving an EV with a 200kW battery to 10% every day, an 11.5kW charger can "fill" an EV to 80% overnight with room to spare, so most people (including me), won't want the extra expense of spending extra money just to say my EV charged faster while I slept. Either way, it will be ready for me when I need to leave at 7 am.

Most houses aren't capable of 19.2kW charging anyway, and I'm not convinced it is necessary. @ccap41 kinda just proved it. He said that 70 miles of driving is more than their typical norm. Charging overnight at 1.2kW still got them back half of that overnight. As long as ccapp41 and his wife are diligent, they could probably continue on L1 charging indefinitely for around-town driving. Even the slowest of L2 chargers would be more than sufficient with nightly charging. This inexpensive L2 EV charger with 7.6 kW for $199 at Amazon would take the EQE from 10% to full in about 10 hours. I know that as car fans we always want the most power all the time, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. 7.6 kW is more than enough for average use since you'll only be charging to 80% daily anyway. The only time 19.2kW is really needed is if you're running a Lightning or Silverado EV , or something with a 200kW battery, in contractor duty, and draining the battery fully every day. When I get the Silverado EV, I'll probably get the Tesla Universal Wall Connector, which only does 11.5kW but will have both connectors built in. But since I don't drive long distances daily anymore, it won't be a big deal that it has a lower power output. The advantage for me is that if the EValanche is CCS and the R2 or Prologue is NACS, I'll have both adapters built in. Albert only drives about 20 miles round trip per day, so he can get away with charging once or twice a week and can even L1 charge if need be. Even at just a 48 amp circuit, I may have to figure out some things with my other appliances because even though I have 200 amp service, we'd be uncomfortably close to the max.

How long do you have it?

See if turning off Eco Charging helps the time. That’s Mercedes being “smart” and charging at a slower rate because your grid isn’t green right now. If you bought one you’d want to put an L2 box in.

Assuming 12 hours of charging overnight, you'll get about 108 miles of range back, that might get you pretty close to full. Not terrible.

Woof! You are in a charging dead zone. Even your fast charger is slow at 50kW max. (There Buick/GMC dealer). I see a bunch listed as “Coming Soon” and your Walmart will get them also. So it isn’t forever.

What's your zip?

They are keeping the Malibu going at Fairfax as a way to keep the lights on and volume at that plant. The XT4 that is also built there doesn't have the volume to support the facility on its own... though with XT4 sales numbers where they are, I can't imagine anything coming out of Fairfax being that profitable. My guess is they have future plans for the plant and they're keeping it going just enough because it would cost too much to idle it and then bring it back later.

You need to cruise down to Pittsburgh! I want to take that front plate off though

@Robert Hall wins the "treat yo'self" of the month... and probably of the year!

Absolutely! I think this is going to be a hit the way the Neo-Beetle and Neo-Mini Cooper were. But with real practicality, this might have more longevity as a model.

Rivian seems to be gaining. They have over 70,000 reservations on the R2 already and there's still a backlog of R1S and R1T.

I don't think pricing has been announced yet, but it's going to be pricey.

I ended up putting a reservation deposit down for the R2 for Albert. I'm iffy on the no-carplay part, but he's pretty low tech, so as long as there is a music solution for him, he'll be fine.

This is what I see

In a surprise move at the 2026 Rivian R2 reveal today, Rivian also unveiled another smaller crossover, the Rivian R3 and R3X. Based on the same platform as the Rivian R2, the smaller R3 will be even less expensive than the $45,000 R2, but we don't have an exact price yet. Like the R2, it will have two battery sizes and be capable of ranges over 300 miles with acceleration to 60 under three seconds. The R3 will be available in single-, dual-, and tri-motor configurations. The R3 has a 5-inch shorter wheelbase than the R2 and strays away from the boxy SUV character of other Rivians, reminding this author more of a lifted 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit in the side profile. Despite its smaller size, the R3 keeps many of the features of the R2, including a large frunk, front and rear seats that fold flat, and a rear glass that opens independently of the hatch to allow carrying larger items. Aiming for a more performance-oriented image, Rivian also introduced the R3X, a tri-motor variant that features wider tires and more ground clearance. The Rivian R3 will be built at Rivian's new factory in Georgia, which is not yet online. We will have to wait until closer to launch to find out when you can buy one or how much it will cost. View full article