Last year, Polestar announced its most practical EV yet in the Polestar 4. But this week, during the vehicle’s North American debut at the New York International Auto Show, we finally got an official launch price and a chance to check out its most controversial feature.
Positioned as a slightly smaller and more affordable version of the Polestar 3, the company's latest EV SUV has a lot riding on it as it looks to be Polestar's most appealing mainstream offering to date. The good news is that while the cost was initially said to be around $60,000, launch pricing actually comes in slightly below that. The Polestar 4 starts at $56,300 (including destination) for the standard long-range single-motor version with around 300 miles of range while the dual-motor AWD variant with around 270 miles will set you back $64,300.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Granted, that’s still significantly higher than many of its rivals including the Tesla Model Y which starts at $43,900 (before federal incentives) or the Hyundai Ioniq 5 at $47,400. But after talking to Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath, I got the sense that the company is kind of OK with that, as they view the 4 as a more approachable but still very premium offering among EV SUVs.
On the outside, the Polestar 4 retains the rakish good looks we’ve seen on its larger sibling but with a few twists. Its nose is a bit pointier and more sloped, and it’s a bit less complicated too as it doesn’t have a front wing like the 3. The Polestar 4 is still based on the low-slung coupe-like SUV shape that’s all the rage right now. However, to ensure that rear-seat passengers have ample room, Polestar has forgone a rear window entirely, opting instead for a simple sheet of metal along with cameras and a rearview mirror with an embedded display.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
At first, this might seem like a step too far, even for an EV that might not be beholden to the same burden of tradition as gas cars. But Ingenlath explained that there are a lot of advantages that come from this design change. By not having a rear window, Polestar was able to push the rear seats back further while maintaining ample headroom despite the sloping roofline, which creates a spacious cabin. I had no trouble climbing in and out and even with the front seats pushed as far back as possible, I still had ample legroom in the back. Furthermore, unlike most cars, the Polestar 4’s rear seats can recline, which adds even more of a loungey feel.
Another major advantage is one of practicality. As it is, the rear windows on a lot of coupe SUVs are so small they don’t provide much in the way of useful visibility. And that’s before you consider any passengers or luggage that might further obstruct your view. By replacing the rear window and mirror with a camera and a display, the Polestar 4 can offer an unobstructed perspective out of the back of the car. But perhaps most importantly, the idea of a car not having a rear window isn’t really unheard of, as there are thousands of cargo vans on the road today without a viewport in back.
So while the idea might still seem nerve-wracking, Ingenlath remains confident. He simply asked customers to “try it.” He added “There's so much about psychology and people being naturally opposed to change. But innovation is about asking what have been the rules in the past that don't necessarily need to be the rules in the future.”
The company’s Scandinavian heritage shows through with a streamlined interior. That said, Ingenlath said the goal isn’t minimalism for minimalism’s sake. By creating a new fabric made from recycled plastic bottles called Soft Tech, Polestar was able to line the cabin with a sustainable 3D material that allows ambient lighting to shine through while still being quite durable. Up top, the fixed glass roof is electrochromic, which allows it to switch from transparent to opaque with the touch of a button.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
One thing that stuck out to me was that like all of Polestar’s vehicles, the 4 feels like a designer’s car. As someone who got his start in the industry creating cars for VW, Audi and others before becoming the CEO of Polestar, Ingenlath said the company really cares about small details like the font and typography. You can see this in things like the text on the driver’s side door, which features both the name of the car and the size of its battery, resulting in a label that’s both pretty and informative. Alternatively, there are features like the ambient lighting, which uses a naming standard based on planets in the solar system (blue with a hint of green for Earth, red for Mars, etc.). Ingenlath said “We simply love what we're doing, and we love indulging that passion. And we have to find the people who share the same passion for that type of quality and technology.”
Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to take the 4 out for a drive just yet. But as the competition among EVs continues to increase, it’s clear Polestar is carving out a niche as a manufacturer that embraces innovation through its vehicles. With pre-orders going live sometime in April and deliveries slated for Q4 2024, it shouldn’t be long until we get a chance to experience how the Polestar 4 feels on the road.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/polestar-4-first-look-when-no-rear-window-makes-for-a-better-car-150052884.html?src=rss
If you're in North America, a Tesla staff member will show you how the automaker's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology works before you can take your car home, according to Bloomberg. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly issued a memo that requires Tesla stores in the region to install and activate its latest Full Self-Driving software and then take customers on a short test ride before handing over a vehicle. He added that "almost no one actually realizes how well (supervised) FSD actually works" and that he's making the demonstration a "hard requirement," even though he knows it will slow down delivery.
To enjoy Tesla's FSD technology, you'd have to pay $12,000 to unlock it on top of what you paid for the car itself. It comes with all of the company's Autopilot features, as well as the ability to use autosteer on city streets and to activate your vehicle's capability to identify stop signs and traffic lights so it can automatically slow your vehicle to stop on approach. Still, $12,000 is a big chunk of money. If you're on the fence about shelling out that much, Tesla might be hoping that the demonstration could give you the push needed to make you say yes.
Tesla has been the subject of criticism and formal investigations over the years due to its Autopilot and FSD technologies. In 2022, the California DMV filed a complaint against the company for using advertising language that makes it seem like its vehicles are capable of full autonomous driving that doesn't require the supervision of a human driver. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated dozens of Tesla crashes where Autopilot or FSD were involved, including collisions with emergency vehicles. Following in the footsteps of the NHTSA, the Department of Justice also started looking into Tesla's Autopilot and FSD features
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-will-reportedly-take-customers-on-a-test-drive-to-show-off-its-full-self-driving-tech-062212069.html?src=rss
Last year, at the IAA show in Berlin, BMW gave us a first look at what it calls the Neue Klasse, a "new class" of sedan that would not only drive BMW into its electric future, but also create a platform with greater efficiency and driving dynamics than we've yet seen from the German brand.
Now, the company is showing us an evolution of that concept. A taller one at that, to see just how that same idea for future electrification would apply to an SUV. In keeping with BMW's naming conventions, this one's called the Neue Klasse X. The styling is somewhat predictable in that regard, since it is a taller version of what we saw in the Neue Klasse sedan.
What's more interesting is what we can see on the inside, with a more-functional interior that gives us a look at BMW's Panoramic Vision, a heads-up display that spans the entire windscreen. That, plus cool ambient lighting and other interesting features, including the large language model voice assistant they demoed at CES. We're about a year away from seeing this at dealerships, but you can take an early sneak peek with us from a preview event right now.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bmws-vision-neue-klasse-x-concept-gives-us-a-peek-at-bmws-future-suv-081517652.html?src=rss
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its final pollution emissions standards for the auto industry on Wednesday. The regulations, which include a looser timeframe than those proposed last year, mandate that by 2032, most new passenger car and light truck sales in the US must be electric or hybrid.
Earth is on a disastrous trajectory with climate change, and no amount of baseless conspiracy theories or talking points from the oil and gas industry, Donald Trump or anyone else will change that. Only phasing out fossil fuels and emissions will beat back its worst effects. The Biden Administration’s EPA is trying to do that — while throwing a bone to stakeholders like unions and automakers to navigate the landmines of today’s political realities.
The final rules present a timeline to wind down gas-powered vehicle purchases, making most US auto sales fully electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or advanced gasoline by 2032. The transition begins in 2027 but moderates the pace until after 2030. That’s a key change from last April’s proposed standards, which called for EVs to make up two-thirds of vehicle sales by 2032.
The shift was an election-year compromise for Biden, who has to balance the crucial battle against climate change with 2024 auto union endorsements. Labor unions had pushed for the more relaxed pace out of fears that a more aggressive transition, like the EPA proposed last year, would lead to job losses. EVs typically require fewer assembly workers than traditional gas-powered vehicles.
Last year, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain withheld support for Biden’s reelection due to concerns about the EV transition. But (perhaps after hearing assurances about the revised rules) the UAW endorsed his reelection bid in January.
“The EPA has made significant progress on its final greenhouse gas emissions rule for light-duty vehicles,” the UAW wrote in a statement about the new rules published by the EPA. “By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building ICE vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions.”
Contrary to what online misinformation or your uncle may tell you, the rules — aimed at the auto industry and not consumers — don't make gas-powered cars and trucks illegal. Instead, they require automakers to meet specific emissions standards throughout their product lines. The rules apply to new vehicle sales, not used ones.
The EPA says the final rule will lead to $99 billion in benefits and save the average American driver $6,000 in fuel and maintenance over the life of their vehicles. Other advantages include avoiding 7.2 billion additional tons of CO2 emissions through 2055 and offering “nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society.” The reduction in fine particulate matter and ozone will allegedly prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055 while reducing associated health problems like heart attacks, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
“Three years ago, I set an ambitious target: that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission,” President Biden wrote in a statement supplied by The White House to Engadget. “I brought together American automakers. I brought together American autoworkers. Together, we’ve made historic progress. Hundreds of new expanded factories across the country. Hundreds of billions in private investment and thousands of good-paying union jobs. And we’ll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead. Today, we’re setting new pollution standards for cars and trucks. U.S. workers will lead the world on autos making clean cars and trucks, each stamped ‘Made in America.’”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-epa-reveals-final-auto-industry-regulations-to-try-to-keep-the-world-habitable-195612588.html?src=rss
A lot of EVs aren’t that fun to drive, built as they are to glide around a highway like a swan on a river. Sure, like the swan’s manic paddling, there’s a lot of hardware and software sweating in the background to maintain that serenity. But the feeling can be so soporific that you wind up lusting for the day full autonomy comes and puts us out of our misery.
Except, of course, if you’re driving a new Lotus.
You see, when you’re driving an electric Lotus, there’s a sense of cognitive whiplash you don’t often get these days. EVs are quick and have plenty of torque thanks to their electric motors but they rarely have anything close to a personality. But even when you’re driving its new two-plus ton SUV, you’re capable of zooming around a race track as if you were driving a go-kart. It’s this unity of electric smarts and old-school drivability that Lotus hopes will return the perpetually beleaguered manufacturer to its former glory.
Lotus
Lotus Cars
If you’re not a car person, I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing Lotus was a big name in manufacturing and F1 – emphasis on was – responsible for many innovations that shaped how we build, drive and race cars today. “We talk about [having] this pioneering and rebellious spirit,” says Mike Johnstone, Lotus’ new VP of Commercial Operations. For the last 75 years, Lotus has been a left-field car manufacturer, with customers who want something that is “not necessarily part of the status quo.”
Lotus is a company defined by, and proud of, its idiosyncrasies. It’s idiosyncratically based in rural Norfolk, a hundred miles or more from the rest of the UK’s automotive industry. It’s idiosyncratic co-founder Colin Chapman (pictured, above), whose famous mantra was “simplify, then add lightness.” It’s idiosyncratic technical innovations, like monocoque bodies, ground-effect aerodynamics and the early use of carbon fiber. Its cars' idiosyncratic obsession with perfect handling and speed rather than creature comforts.
It was this idiosyncratic reputation that made it a draw for pop culture figures who wanted to stand out from the crowd. Patrick McGoohan chose a Lotus Seven to be The Prisoner’s car in 1996 because it showed a “touch of the rebel.” The Avengers’ Mrs. Peel drove a Lotus Elan, while James Bond drove a Lotus Esprit underwater in The Spy Who Loved Me and a Turbo Esprit in For Your Eyes Only. And Richard Gere drove a Lotus Esprit in Pretty Woman because Porsche and Ferrari, who were asked first, objected to the film’s subject matter. I doubt Lotus has ever uttered the phrase “brand safety” with a sincere face.
Since Chapman’s death in the early ‘80s, Lotus has become a byword for stagnation, passed from one corporate parent to another. Its model line suffered: It sold the Elise from 1996 until 2021, while the Exige was in production from 2000 to 2021. Its newest car pre-Geely was the Evora, and its 12-year lifespan made it the youngest and freshest ride in the range. All three were discontinued in 2021 when the Emira made its debut as the company’s last gas-powered car.
Lotus remained alive because of its small but passionate fanbase, which happened to include a number of automotive executives. But while demand for its own cars waned, the rest of the industry continued to rely on its expertise in making cars drive well. Lotus’ fingerprints are visible in so many high-profile cars, from the DeLorean DMC12, Aston Martin DB9 and even Sinclair’s C5. More importantly, the first Tesla roadster was developed on Lotus’ platform, with the first run of cars built at its Hethel, England base.
In 2017, Geely — the Chinese EV giant that owns Volvo and Polestar — bought a 51 percent stake in the company. It’s spent the last few years and a considerable amount of cash to push the company into the 21st century. The existing gas-powered product line was cleared out, the HQ revamped and a new electric-only facility built in China. I was able to visit the company’s Hethel plant to see the fruits of this investment, and also to try all of the new vehicles. The headline-grabbing model, of course, is the Evija, the company’s $3 million all-electric hypercar.
The Evija
Lotus Cars
Emeya, Eletre, Emira, Evija, Evora, Exige, Elise, Elan, Esprit: It’s tradition, or something, that all Lotuses have incomprehensible faux-Latin names beginning with an E. The Evija will, hopefully, lodge itself in your memory as the company’s hypercar, of which only 130 will be built. One of the first is owned by former Formula One world champion Jenson Button with a Brawn GP paint job in honor of his 2009 win.
Lotus opted to put a lot of hardware in the middle of the car behind the two seats to retain that mid-engined weight distribution. The body is a single piece of carbon fiber, and it’s obvious to all that this is a race car first, with Lamborghini-esque styling. To save weight, there’s little sound dampening, so you can hear the roar of the gear, and the road, as you slice through the air. Put your foot down and you’ll hear the power unit spin up to push juice to those four wheel-mounted 500W motors.
What comes out the other side is eye-bleeding acceleration and enough g-force that you feel your lunch shift from one side of your stomach to the other. Yes, other EVs can go quickly, and some accelerate ludicrously fast, but the Evija is playing in different water. For car people, Lotus has always been synonymous with fast-twitch driving dynamics and slightly lackluster reliability. But the Evija feels mature, solid, stable and able to harness all of the pure grunt that only an electric motor can provide.
I’d go further and say that the Evija is terrifying, especially when Karl Eaton, one of the minds behind the vehicle, took me around the track in one. He waited until the car reached 201 miles per hour to start explaining all of the smart choices embodied in its design. I didn’t recall much of what he said at the time since I was trying to keep all the fluids in my body.
The Eletre and Emeya
Lotus Cars
Of course, the Evija is the standard bearer for Lotus as a luxury EV maker that stands out from the crowd. It’s not likely you’ll have a few million lying around, but its existence will make you aware of the relatively more reasonably-priced options in its lineup. The Eletre is the first real Lotus EV, priced around $100,000 and again, something of a departure from the norm. Whereas Lotus prides itself on making zippy, mid-engined sports cars, this is a two-and-change ton SUV that just happens to be as capable on a race track as its E-named predecessors.
On my first few laps around the track, I drove the Eletre like a high-sided SUV, which is to say, gently. After all, I didn’t want to flip this thing over when I’d need to save three years worth of paychecks just for a chance to look at the sales brochure. My co-pilot kept urging me to go harder, and eventually I did, realizing that Lotus has done something amazing. It’s a car that you can fling around a track and feel like you’re Lewis Hamilton, and then drive it home without missing a beat.
Lotus Cars
The Eletre is already on sale, but we won’t need to wait a decade to see what follow-up Lotus has planned. Next on the docket is the Emeya, a luxury hyper-grand tourer based on the same platform as the Eletre. You can see the shared design language and the emphasis on active aerodynamics in the body to help the cars zoom around the corners. There are gaps and vents all around the body to help push air past the cabin and keep all four wheels planted on the road.
As for the interiors, Lotus is a company that has traditionally avoided fripperies like comfort and ease of use. These, after all, aren’t conducive to Chapman’s mantra of simplifying and adding lightness. But the Eletre and Emeya have gloriously un-Chapmanesque cabins full of luxurious materials and physical dials and switches more reminiscent of a high-end camera. When you look at the price and see that the luxurious excesses of this cost the same as a Tesla Model X, you feel as though the incumbents need to get a lot better quickly.
The Spirit of Lotus
Lotus Cars
You could argue that Lotus is just a badge under which Geely can slap components it’s using elsewhere. But Mike Johnstone said the parent company has no interest in diluting what makes Lotus Lotus. “More than 99 percent of all of our development is done ourselves,” said Johnstone, “where we benefit [from being owned by Geely] is access to a supply chain.”
Much has been made about what Lotus’ role in the automotive firmament should be in the new world of electric vehicles. Colin Chapman’s famous principles were to simplify and add lightness so aren’t bulky EVs, shorn of their gas-powered engines, an insult to his memory? Thankfully, I only needed to cross the road that runs alongside Lotus’ Hethel HQ to ask an expert: Chapman’s son, Clive (pictured, left). Clive is the head of Classic Team Lotus, a heritage brand that keeps the company’s former gas-powered F1 cars working. Despite the shared name and proximity, there’s no financial relationship between Lotus and the Classic Team.
Clive showed me around the facility, which maintains those classic F1 cars and races them at heritage events, like the Historic Grand Prix at Monaco. If you’re a one-percenter with an old Lotus, you can also send it here to be restored by specialists. On the upper floor, there’s a collection of classic Lotuses of every stripe. It’s a rare and beautiful sight to see. I asked Clive how his father would feel about the shift to electric. “Dad was never sentimental,” said the younger Chapman, and directed me to a pristine Lotus 56 in the collection. He explained that his father was never wedded to one technology or philosophy, despite what some Lotus fans may claim. The Lotus 56, after all, was equipped with a gas turbine engine more commonly seen in aircraft than vehicles, but Colin Chapman was very interested in the speed advantage it could have offered.
It seems that what mattered to Colin Chapman then is the same as what matters to Lotus now: Pushing automotive design forward, no matter how unusual the method. Before I tried any of Lotus’ EVs on its test track, I tried the (gas-powered) Emira and used that as my benchmark. My expectation was that the subsequent cars would all pale somehow in comparison to the last “true” Lotus to be made at Hethel. And yet, the new cars, despite their batteries and electric motors, are just as lithe and energetic as ever. This, I suspect, is why Lotus has a good chance of making a mark in the new world, because it remains enough of that uncompromising spirit to stand out from the crowd and make sure that, for those who need it, you can still feel connected to your car.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lotus-secret-weapon-is-evs-with-personality-140013839.html?src=rss
Rivian owners can now use Tesla Supercharger stations to juice up their electric trucks and SUVs, after a software update issued during the weekend. The company first announced the integration last year, along with plans to include Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports in forthcoming vehicles. These ports won’t start showing up until 2025, so Rivian has also started a program to send Tesla-made NACS adapters to current customers.
The adapters will be free of charge, which calls to mind the move Ford made last month as it continues to transition to the NACS charging standard. Rivian will send out one free adapter per customer, based on the vehicle’s VIN number. The company hasn’t announced whether this is a limited time offering or how much additional adapters will cost. As a comparison, Ford will begin charging $230 for these adapters in July.
Rivian owners can select Tesla Superchargers as a charging option via the vehicle’s infotainment system or the manufacturer’s smartphone app. Everything is handled by Rivian, so there’s no need to download or use the Tesla app to pay for charging. Rivian’s chief software officer, Wassym Bensaid, told The Verge that this will give customers access to over 15,000 more DC fast chargers across the country.
The move to incorporate NACS charging into its vehicles will not impact Rivian’s proprietary network. The company still plans on installing thousands of DC fast chargers at hundreds of locations throughout the next few years, as part of its growing Adventure Network.
It wasn’t so long ago that Tesla’s Supercharger network was exclusive to the company’s vehicles. Those days are gone. Just about every major automobile manufacturer has announced plans to join the NACS party, including Subaru, Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota and Lexus, among many others.
As for Rivian, the company says customers can access most V3 Tesla Superchargers using the adapter, but only some V2 chargers. The just-announced Rivian R2, R3 and R3X vehicles will all come with factory-installed NACS ports.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rivian-owners-can-use-tesla-superchargers-now-once-they-get-their-free-adapter-170804461.html?src=rss
Rivian officially revealed the R2 electric SUV during a livestream held Thursday afternoon. We knew the followup to the well-regarded R1 was coming, and we even got some leaked specs earlier this week, but now we’ve heard it from the electric horse’s mouth. The company also surprised view R3 and R3X, however, came as a complete surprise, harkening back to Steve Jobs and his famous "one more thing" conference enders.
As previously suspected, the R2 is a compact SUV that looks quite fetching. All versions of the five-seat electric vehicle get at least 300 miles per charge, thanks to newly-designed 4695 cell and a much larger battery pack that makes up a large portion of the bottom floor. Owners will also get plenty of refueling options. It comes with a NACS chargeport, so it'll work with Tesla Superchargers. The company's also building its own charging network, called the Rivian Adventure Network, with plans for 600 locations within a few years.
Rivian
The R2 has plenty of get up and go, with three motor layouts to choose from. There's a standard single-motor rear-wheel drive model, a dual-motor all-wheel model with motors in both the front and back and the beastly tri-motor version, which features two motors in back and one in front. That last model can go from zero to 60 in three seconds, though the metric likely shrinks when considering the other two versions.
There’s a robust infotainment center up front, though the layout of these digital elements are subject to change as we get closer to launch. Also up front? The R2 sports two gloveboxes, whereas the R1 line lacked even one. There's also two scroll wheels on the steering wheel, complete with dynamic haptic feedback. The car's self-driving features have gotten a major boost here, thanks to 11 cameras throughout and five radars, including a long-range front-facing radar.
Rivian
Prices start at $45,000 for the standard single-motor version, which is in line with what company CFO Claire McDonough has been promising. Though slightly smaller than the R1, the R2 is still pretty roomy. As previously stated, it fits five people and boasts an open-air design with quarter windows that pop out and a rear glass window that drops and opens. Seats on both rows fold flat, so owners should be able to transport longer-than-average gear like surfboards. Just like the R1 line, there's a roomy front truck, otherwise called a frunk, for additional storage. The R2 is available for preorders now, with deliveries starting in 2026.
Rivian
The R3, on the other hand, looks to be even more compact than its newly-announced sibling. It features a shorter wheelbase than the R2 and an overall tighter design. It'll also be available in three models, including single-motor, dual-motor and tri-motor versions. There's no range data available, but it does feature the same battery pack as the R2.
The R3 also includes some of the same open-air design features as the R2, with an automatic rear lift and a rear-facing glass window that pops open for storage. This window can adjust to multiple heights to accommodate oddly-shaped items. There's a pair of gloveboxes up front and an interior design that prioritizes sustainable materials.
Finally, there's the dune buggy-esque R3X. This is a high-performance vehicle, with only a tri-motor design available. It boasts a wider stance and more ground clearance than the R3. As a matter of fact, it doesn't really look like the R3 at all, with its "rugged and playful" interior made from cork and anodized metal, among other materials.
Rivian
Rivian hasn't announced any pricing or availability information on the R3 or R3X. It did, however, tease some forthcoming accessories for the company's entire fleet of vehicles. These include a tent that fastens to the roof, bike racks and additional rear storage options.
Now, the bad news. Rivian itself has been experiencing some issues. The company announced back in February that it would be laying off 10 percent of its salaried employees and job cuts have already started. The EV maker laid off around 100 employees at its Normal, IL factory this week.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rivian-reveals-the-45000-r2-electric-suv-and-its-siblings-the-r3-and-r3x-185640727.html?src=rss
Rivian officially revealed the R2 electric SUV during a livestream held Thursday afternoon. We knew the followup to the well-regarded R1 was coming, and we even got some leaked specs earlier this week, but now we’ve heard it from the electric horse’s mouth. The company also surprised view R3 and R3X, however, came as a complete surprise, harkening back to Steve Jobs and his famous "one more thing" conference enders.
As previously suspected, the R2 is a compact SUV that looks quite fetching. All versions of the five-seat electric vehicle get at least 300 miles per charge, thanks to newly-designed 4695 cell and a much larger battery pack that makes up a large portion of the bottom floor. Owners will also get plenty of refueling options. It comes with a NACS chargeport, so it'll work with Tesla Superchargers. The company's also building its own charging network, called the Rivian Adventure Network, with plans for 600 locations within a few years.
Rivian
The R2 has plenty of get up and go, with three motor layouts to choose from. There's a standard single-motor rear-wheel drive model, a dual-motor all-wheel model with motors in both the front and back and the beastly tri-motor version, which features two motors in back and one in front. That last model can go from zero to 60 in three seconds, though the metric likely shrinks when considering the other two versions.
There’s a robust infotainment center up front, though the layout of these digital elements are subject to change as we get closer to launch. Also up front? The R2 sports two gloveboxes, whereas the R1 line lacked even one. There's also two scroll wheels on the steering wheel, complete with dynamic haptic feedback. The car's self-driving features have gotten a major boost here, thanks to 11 cameras throughout and five radars, including a long-range front-facing radar.
Rivian
Prices start at $45,000 for the standard single-motor version, which is in line with what company CFO Claire McDonough has been promising. Though slightly smaller than the R1, the R2 is still pretty roomy. As previously stated, it fits five people and boasts an open-air design with quarter windows that pop out and a rear glass window that drops and opens. Seats on both rows fold flat, so owners should be able to transport longer-than-average gear like surfboards. Just like the R1 line, there's a roomy front truck, otherwise called a frunk, for additional storage. The R2 is available for preorders now, with deliveries starting in 2026.
Rivian
The R3, on the other hand, looks to be even more compact than its newly-announced sibling. It features a shorter wheelbase than the R2 and an overall tighter design. It'll also be available in three models, including single-motor, dual-motor and tri-motor versions. There's no range data available, but it does feature the same battery pack as the R2.
The R3 also includes some of the same open-air design features as the R2, with an automatic rear lift and a rear-facing glass window that pops open for storage. This window can adjust to multiple heights to accommodate oddly-shaped items. There's a pair of gloveboxes up front and an interior design that prioritizes sustainable materials.
Finally, there's the dune buggy-esque R3X. This is a high-performance vehicle, with only a tri-motor design available. It boasts a wider stance and more ground clearance than the R3. As a matter of fact, it doesn't really look like the R3 at all, with its "rugged and playful" interior made from cork and anodized metal, among other materials.
Rivian
Rivian hasn't announced any pricing or availability information on the R3 or R3X. It did, however, tease some forthcoming accessories for the company's entire fleet of vehicles. These include a tent that fastens to the roof, bike racks and additional rear storage options.
Now, the bad news. Rivian itself has been experiencing some issues. The company announced back in February that it would be laying off 10 percent of its salaried employees and job cuts have already started. The EV maker laid off around 100 employees at its Normal, IL factory this week.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rivian-reveals-the-45000-r2-electric-suv-and-its-siblings-the-r3-and-r3x-185640727.html?src=rss
The consumer electronics industry has changed radically over the past two decades. AR/VR devices have come and gone and come again, smartphones have grown from filling our pockets to dominating our lives, and the tendrils of connected services now touch everything we touch.
Yet, for me, the most exciting to watch has been the development of technology that moves us. I mean that literally: cars and scooters and e-bikes and all the other wild and wonderful modes of transportation that have grown wings or wheels over the past few decades.
A love for all that stuff has always been at my core. Many moons ago, before my time as editor-in-chief of this site, I served as automotive editor. In the late 2000s, that mainly meant pondering what was happening in the world of Ford Sync or writing about flying car concepts that, today, are still very decidedly grounded.
An excellent perk was getting to drive many early EVs, though it didn’t always end well. In 2012, I made an aborted attempt to get from Portland to Seattle for an emissions-free Engadget Show episode. The poor Mitsubishi i-MiEV we’d borrowed wasn’t up to the task.
But then along came the Tesla Model S. At the time, I knew it would be significant. Everyone in the industry knew it would be significant, but it’s only in looking back more than a decade later that we can truly appreciate just how significant it was. In the rear view mirror, we can also see what a shame it is Tesla has barely moved the needle since.
A preview in Fremont
In the (long) lead-up to that car’s eventual late-2012 release, Tesla invited me out to a supposed grand reopening of its Fremont factory. The place was unbelievably massive and virtually empty. Tesla officials were proud to show off the numerous giant presses that would stamp out Model S components.
Other Tesla employees were dutifully feeding into those presses metal sheets, which came out the other end as flat as they went in. The presses were there and they were a-pressing, but the dies that formed the parts were absent. This event, like the many Tesla events to come, was somewhat lacking in substance.
Still, the time I spent chatting with Peter Rawlinson had a huge impact on me. Formerly of Lotus and Jaguar, Rawlinson was the chief engineer at Tesla at the time. He and I talked for ages about the advantages of low-slung battery packs and the torque behavior of electric motors. It’s all standard stuff these days, but back then, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to learn. (You can enjoy some of his insight in a series of videos here.)
Early Tesla EVs had two-speed transmissions. I asked Rawlinson whether there was a third gear for handling reverse.
“No,” he said. “We just spin the motor backward.”
That seems like such a simple concept now, but that moment caused a small-yield explosion between my ears. I spent the remainder of the day pondering the myriad other unforeseen implications of this switch to electrification. Nothing else happening in the industry was nearly as exciting as this.
My review
I got a quick go in a Model S at that Fremont event, a lap or two around Tesla’s test track, but I’d have to wait until early 2013 before I could take one for my first proper review of the Model S. It was a Performance edition, with an 85kWh battery pack and a $101,600 sticker price.
I picked it up in New York City and drove it home to Albany, NY. Along the way, I got a preview of what would become another unfortunate Tesla theme: an uncomfortable relationship with the media.
Before I’d made it far, I got a warning light on the dash. I called Tesla PR to ask what to do.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’re watching you,” they said. “It’s fine.”
I didn’t feel fine. I’ve been reviewing devices for decades, and I always assume some degree of logging is involved, but this seemed a little more ominous.
(Over the years, it only got more so. In a later review of a Model 3, I complained the auto high-beams were terrible on country roads. Tesla PR asked me when this occurred so their engineers could pull up the footage from my drive.)
Warning light extinguished, Big Brother now visible in the back seat, I got back to enjoying the car. After having reviewed the Tesla Roadster two years before, a beautiful mess of a slapped-together machine, the Model S was something entirely different. It was calm, it was composed and it wasn’t nearly so drafty. I made the 165-mile drive home with 23 percent to spare, this in January on a 24-degree day.
That is pretty poor by today’s standards, but remember, the most common EV of the day was the Nissan Leaf. In 2013, the Leaf’s range was EPA rated at 75 miles. The Model S was on another level.
But it wasn’t perfect. I was not a fan of many of the interior materials and design choices in 2013, and I would have been so disappointed to know things really haven’t improved since.
I also found the handling underwhelming, but my biggest complaint was the lack of advanced driver assistance systems. That Model S didn’t even have adaptive cruise. Autopilot was still years away, and the ongoing debacle of Full Self Driving much further afield.
And yet I still gave it a glowing review, and it deserved it. I was suitably impressed, as were plenty of others. I recently spoke with several buyers of these early sedans, and most were totally enamored with their cars, despite many teething issues. (So many broken door handles...)
However, it probably goes without saying that many of the folks I spoke with are less enamored of Tesla’s CEO than they were back then. Between that, the racially abusive work environments, and the constant anti-worker behavior, cheering for Tesla is a lot more complicated than it used to be. That is a true shame.
The evolving landscape
The seismic forces generated when the Model S dropped still echo through the industry. You can feel them in virtually every premium EV on the market today.
And yet it’s in those other EVs that the bulk of EV innovation is happening. If you look at what Peter Rawlinson did with the Lucid Air, a sedan that goes over 500 miles on a charge, it’s easy to imagine what could have been had he not parted ways with Tesla. The on-road performance of the Porsche Taycan, the off-road prowess of the Rivian R1T and the minimalist cool of the Volvo EX30 are raising the bar.
Tesla has been more successful than any other manufacturer at getting more EVs into more driveways and at getting more chargers into more places. Tesla made EVs viable and desirable. You have to respect it for that. Lately, though, the company’s greatest achievements have all focused on cutting costs and minimizing complexity, often at the expense of quality and, indeed, safety.
Look at today’s Model S and you still see the car that was released in 2012. It’s quicker and has more range, sure, but it is the same platform and basic design I reviewed over a decade ago. Pondering the time wasted on vanity projects, like the Model X, and vaporware, like the new Roadster, it’s hard to not feel the ache of missed potential.
To celebrate Engadget's 20th anniversary, we're taking a look back at the products and services that have changed the industry since March 2, 2004.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tesla-model-s-shook-the-industry-but-its-echo-is-fading-160010877.html?src=rss
The consumer electronics industry has changed radically over the past two decades. AR/VR devices have come and gone and come again, smartphones have grown from filling our pockets to dominating our lives, and the tendrils of connected services now touch everything we touch.
Yet, for me, the most exciting to watch has been the development of technology that moves us. I mean that literally: cars and scooters and e-bikes and all the other wild and wonderful modes of transportation that have grown wings or wheels over the past few decades.
A love for all that stuff has always been at my core. Many moons ago, before my time as editor-in-chief of this site, I served as automotive editor. In the late 2000s, that mainly meant pondering what was happening in the world of Ford Sync or writing about flying car concepts that, today, are still very decidedly grounded.
An excellent perk was getting to drive many early EVs, though it didn’t always end well. In 2012, I made an aborted attempt to get from Portland to Seattle for an emissions-free Engadget Show episode. The poor Mitsubishi i-MiEV we’d borrowed wasn’t up to the task.
But then along came the Tesla Model S. At the time, I knew it would be significant. Everyone in the industry knew it would be significant, but it’s only in looking back more than a decade later that we can truly appreciate just how significant it was. In the rear view mirror, we can also see what a shame it is Tesla has barely moved the needle since.
A preview in Fremont
In the (long) lead-up to that car’s eventual late-2012 release, Tesla invited me out to a supposed grand reopening of its Fremont factory. The place was unbelievably massive and virtually empty. Tesla officials were proud to show off the numerous giant presses that would stamp out Model S components.
Other Tesla employees were dutifully feeding into those presses metal sheets, which came out the other end as flat as they went in. The presses were there and they were a-pressing, but the dies that formed the parts were absent. This event, like the many Tesla events to come, was somewhat lacking in substance.
Still, the time I spent chatting with Peter Rawlinson had a huge impact on me. Formerly of Lotus and Jaguar, Rawlinson was the chief engineer at Tesla at the time. He and I talked for ages about the advantages of low-slung battery packs and the torque behavior of electric motors. It’s all standard stuff these days, but back then, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to learn. (You can enjoy some of his insight in a series of videos here.)
Early Tesla EVs had two-speed transmissions. I asked Rawlinson whether there was a third gear for handling reverse.
“No,” he said. “We just spin the motor backward.”
That seems like such a simple concept now, but that moment caused a small-yield explosion between my ears. I spent the remainder of the day pondering the myriad other unforeseen implications of this switch to electrification. Nothing else happening in the industry was nearly as exciting as this.
My review
I got a quick go in a Model S at that Fremont event, a lap or two around Tesla’s test track, but I’d have to wait until early 2013 before I could take one for my first proper review of the Model S. It was a Performance edition, with an 85kWh battery pack and a $101,600 sticker price.
I picked it up in New York City and drove it home to Albany, NY. Along the way, I got a preview of what would become another unfortunate Tesla theme: an uncomfortable relationship with the media.
Before I’d made it far, I got a warning light on the dash. I called Tesla PR to ask what to do.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’re watching you,” they said. “It’s fine.”
I didn’t feel fine. I’ve been reviewing devices for decades, and I always assume some degree of logging is involved, but this seemed a little more ominous.
(Over the years, it only got more so. In a later review of a Model 3, I complained the auto high-beams were terrible on country roads. Tesla PR asked me when this occurred so their engineers could pull up the footage from my drive.)
Warning light extinguished, Big Brother now visible in the back seat, I got back to enjoying the car. After having reviewed the Tesla Roadster two years before, a beautiful mess of a slapped-together machine, the Model S was something entirely different. It was calm, it was composed and it wasn’t nearly so drafty. I made the 165-mile drive home with 23 percent to spare, this in January on a 24-degree day.
That is pretty poor by today’s standards, but remember, the most common EV of the day was the Nissan Leaf. In 2013, the Leaf’s range was EPA rated at 75 miles. The Model S was on another level.
But it wasn’t perfect. I was not a fan of many of the interior materials and design choices in 2013, and I would have been so disappointed to know things really haven’t improved since.
I also found the handling underwhelming, but my biggest complaint was the lack of advanced driver assistance systems. That Model S didn’t even have adaptive cruise. Autopilot was still years away, and the ongoing debacle of Full Self Driving much further afield.
And yet I still gave it a glowing review, and it deserved it. I was suitably impressed, as were plenty of others. I recently spoke with several buyers of these early sedans, and most were totally enamored with their cars, despite many teething issues. (So many broken door handles...)
However, it probably goes without saying that many of the folks I spoke with are less enamored of Tesla’s CEO than they were back then. Between that, the racially abusive work environments, and the constant anti-worker behavior, cheering for Tesla is a lot more complicated than it used to be. That is a true shame.
The evolving landscape
The seismic forces generated when the Model S dropped still echo through the industry. You can feel them in virtually every premium EV on the market today.
And yet it’s in those other EVs that the bulk of EV innovation is happening. If you look at what Peter Rawlinson did with the Lucid Air, a sedan that goes over 500 miles on a charge, it’s easy to imagine what could have been had he not parted ways with Tesla. The on-road performance of the Porsche Taycan, the off-road prowess of the Rivian R1T and the minimalist cool of the Volvo EX30 are raising the bar.
Tesla has been more successful than any other manufacturer at getting more EVs into more driveways and at getting more chargers into more places. Tesla made EVs viable and desirable. You have to respect it for that. Lately, though, the company’s greatest achievements have all focused on cutting costs and minimizing complexity, often at the expense of quality and, indeed, safety.
Look at today’s Model S and you still see the car that was released in 2012. It’s quicker and has more range, sure, but it is the same platform and basic design I reviewed over a decade ago. Pondering the time wasted on vanity projects, like the Model X, and vaporware, like the new Roadster, it’s hard to not feel the ache of missed potential.
To celebrate Engadget's 20th anniversary, we're taking a look back at the products and services that have changed the industry since March 2, 2004.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tesla-model-s-shook-the-industry-but-its-echo-is-fading-160010877.html?src=rss