The Fisker Ocean, the Nissan Ariya, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Volkswagen ID.4, the Tesla Model Y, and the Chevrolet Blazer EV are all competitors.
The R2 looks like a smaller, two-row R1S and has an off-kilter look. The R3, on the other hand, is shaped like a raised hatchback and has the unique Rivian front and rear style.
There are two battery packs, two types of all-wheel drive (dual or tri-motor), and one type of rear-wheel drive. Rivian thinks that all of the combinations will have a range of more than 300 miles. Power is still unknown.
The R2 will be on sale in stores in the first half of 2026. The R3 and R3X will follow. Rivian announced the R2 SUV and R3 crossover while it was having money problems. It says these two new electric cars will sell more than its flagship R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV in terms of price and profit. Rivian says that the R2 and R3 are both built on a brand-new mid-size platform that lowers the costs and complexity of production while also making the vehicles smaller. The new types should be better for city driving than the R1T and R1S, which are bigger. Here are some of the things we learned at the official launch event. More details will be coming soon.
Styles from the past
In terms of style and lines, the R2 is the more streamlined of the two new cars. It looks a lot like the three-row R1S SUV, but it’s smaller. From what we saw during the video, the R2 looks less stable than the R1S. Its hood is taller compared to its body, and its rear overhang is shorter than that of its bigger sister. The style as a whole, though, stays very clean and modern.
People love the R2’s look with its classic pop-out rear quarter windows and Rivian’s signature yellow accents. The back window can also be fully retracted, allowing you to store longer items and get inside without opening the liftgate.
The R3 and the more powerful R3X are advertised as crossovers, but they look a lot like the famous Volkswagen Golf Country from the 1990s. That car was a better, four-wheel-drive version of the famous hatchback. The sportier R3X is different from the R3 in more ways, such as having bigger fenders, fatter tires, front tow hooks, a back spoiler, and more. The R3 works better for living in the country than in the city. The R3 and R3X both have a rear liftgate with a backup access point, just like the R2. However, the R3 and R3X’s rear glass is raised instead of dropped, which is different from the R2.
Most likely, some of the balance problems are caused by the R2 and R3’s bigger front trunks and better front crash safety features.
Large rooms inside
The outsides of the two new SUVs are very different, but the insides are a lot alike. Both the R2 and R3 have very roomy cockpits, with openings under the big touchscreen and in front of the center desk. Rivian made not one but two glove boxes because a client asked for more space to store things. The glass roofs on both types should also make the cabins look bigger on the inside.
We are worried about the changes Rivian made to the steering wheel for its new SUVs, the R2 and R3. The steering wheel now has touch-sensitive scroll wheels built into it. Even though we’ve had bad experiences with touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel of several cars, we will only judge once we’ve had a chance to use the feature ourselves.
Rivian also made sure that all of the seats could be folded flat, even though both cars had back windows for carrying long things. This should make it easier to fit a lot of different things, and when the SUVs are stopped, the inside can be turned into a place that looks like a tent for camping in the car without having to buy an extra thing.
Powertrains that work well
Full information about the new powertrains will be released later, but the R2 and R3 will come in two all-wheel-drive versions, one with three electric motors and the other with two. They will also come in a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive version that is the same as the bigger R1 models. A tri-motor system is built into the fast R3X.
For all models, there will be two battery sizes to choose from. The batteries will have new, denser 4695 cells that the company says will greatly increase power. Rivian says that any motor configuration will give the car at least 300 miles of range on a single charge, but the exact range numbers are still unknown. Rivian says that both cars will come with an adaptor for connecting to CCS charging stations as well as a normal North American Charging connection. This will allow them to work with the newest Tesla Superchargers. Rivian says that the R2 and R3 are made to charge from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes. However, they don’t say what the highest charging rate for DC fast charging is.
Rivian thinks that these new SUVs, which have 11 cameras and five radar systems, will start a new era of technology that will allow cars to drive themselves. However, there was yet to be a date given for when these devices would be installed.
Cost, When it Will Come Out, and How Much It Will Cost
Rivian says the R2 will cost about $45,000, which is a lot less than the R1T and R1S, which cost more than $75,000 and $70,000, respectively. Keep an eye out for the exact price of the R2 when it goes on sale. In the past, many low-cost EVs have been promised but have yet to show up. If Rivian’s plans go as planned, it should be available in the first half of 2026. However, people who want to buy one can put down a $100 deposit right away and get it back later. The price difference between R3 and R2 is unknown, but it will be sold after R2. They are one of likely the most expensive versions of the R3 when it goes on sale.
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