Ben Gjebre from the YouTube channel Gjeebs has owned a Tesla Model Y for over four years now and over that time has used his channel to share his thoughts on the vehicle, both good and bad. Last year he branched out from Tesla and has been driving a Rivian R1T for 6 months now. He has a few complaints, but like with the Model Y, most of his time behind the wheel has been positive.
The size of the Dual Motor R1T has been ideal for his family of 4. Although to accommodate a rather large rear-facing car seat, the front passenger seat has to be pushed up pretty far. “My wife and I are both 6 feet tall, so we’re a little smooshed in the passenger seat,” Ben explains. “It’s better than the Model Y, you have a little bit more space. But if you’re taller, just know that you’re potentially going to have a little bit of an issue.”
Ben says that the size of the truck and its versatile design give it a broad appeal. “I’m not someone who ever wanted to own a truck. And that’s what I think Rivian has done extremely well. They’ve produced a package and a brand that brings people in that would have never thought of owning a big SUV or a truck.” The air suspension, performance and off-road capabilities appeal to a market different from the average truck buyer.
He makes good use of the R1T's gear tunnel for storing golf clubs, groceries, or other small items without taking up any space in the back seat or the truck bed which he only utilizes for lugging oversized items.
The interior also gets high praise for its high-quality materials and some very clever touches such as the ability to stow away the cup holders in the center armrest when not in use. The seats are another high mark and keep you cool thanks to the air ventilation. Although they are more firm than the seats in a Model X or Cybertruck, they’re plenty comfortable for long drives.
The air compressor is a mostly great feature to have, although he doesn’t like the actual functionality. When he sets the pressure to the vehicle’s preferred 48 psi, it doesn’t seem to automatically shut off once that psi is reached. Instead, it continued to fill his tire, on one occasion getting up to nearly 60 psi before he realized what had happened.
The air suspension on the other hand he absolutely loves. “Here’s what I really like. The car has a feature called ‘Kneel’. You put the truck in park, it will lower itself to a comfortable height so that everyone can get out.” It is also nice having the ability to go into off-road mode with just under 15” of ground clearance.
Ben has specific preferences regarding the different drive modes in the R1T, but the ‘Sport’ mode is definitely the most engaging. “It’s insane! 3.5 seconds to 60. But when I put it back into normal mode or all-purpose mode I can get 341 miles of range out of this.”
He recommends keeping the vehicle ‘Ride Feel’ in ‘Soft’ mode rather than ‘Firm’ for most driving scenarios. “In firm, this is like a go-kart with no suspension on it. It is the stiffest car I think that I have ever driven.”
That’s a lot to love, but like any objective car owner, he has run into a few issues. One minor gripe is that one of his rear headrests will not lock into place, making it difficult to adjust for taller passengers. The other one does work properly so this is something that will need to be fixed by Rivian. He also finds the subwoofer in the back passenger door to be quite annoying since it will rattle excessively from time to time.
The proximity sensor for the key fob has been frustrating him as well. When he passes by his garage door with keys in his pocket, he can hear the vehicle lock and unlock itself. It’s a minor complaint, but he prefers the functionality of his Tesla Model Y which requires touching the door to unlock it.
The biggest disappointment with the vehicle is probably the steering. “The feel through the steering wheel. The disappointing part is the NVH. You would think you were driving like a Honda Civic with the way that it feels.”
The full video has a lot of additional details about his experience driving both the Rivian R1T and the Model Y. So if you’re considering picking up a Rivian and want to hear his complete overview, be sure to click the full video above.
