Rivian is capturing attention in the automotive world with its modern vehicles and impressive software features, but there’s a lot more to these cars than meets the eye. While Rivian’s futuristic road map makes headlines, many of the vehicle’s everyday features often go unnoticed. After spending a week driving a second-generation Rivian R1S, I discovered a treasure trove of small software features and buttons that elevate the driving experience. Here are some of my favorite Rivian features that deserve more recognition.
One of the advantages of a car like the Rivian is its heavy reliance on software. Everything inside the car is motorized and controlled by software. While this approach has its drawbacks, it also offers significant benefits. Perhaps the most notable benefit is the ability to personalize the car to your liking every time you get in. This feature shines when multiple people drive the same vehicle. Modern Rivian vehicles use phone keys to identify the driver and adjust settings like seats, drive modes, and even fan positioning based on the driver’s preferences. While it can be a bit tedious to constantly adjust climate controls through software instead of turning a knob, the ability to have your preferred settings automatically applied can be incredibly convenient.
Although the Rivian R1S can’t defy the laws of physics, it does make getting in and out a little easier for shorter individuals. Thanks to its air suspension technology and features like kneel mode, the R1S can lower its suspension to the lowest setting when parked, making it much easier to enter and exit the vehicle. Rivian takes this technology a step further with Camp mode, which utilizes air suspension to level the vehicle as much as possible, providing a more comfortable camping experience inside. Camp mode also optimizes the car’s energy consumption while parked and powering camping accessories.
Modern car software isn’t just about the built-in infotainment system; it also involves how the vehicle integrates with your other devices. While Rivian doesn’t support CarPlay, they’ve made a concerted effort to ensure smooth integration with your other devices. The iPhone widget for the Rivian R1S is particularly noteworthy. This widget allows you to quickly control various settings like locking and unlocking the car, opening and closing the tailgate, and even opening the front trunk. Although I did experience some instances where these settings didn’t respond directly from the widget, this may be due to my use of an iOS 18 beta. Even when the widget didn’t work immediately, tapping on it would redirect me to the appropriate area in the Rivian app to control the desired setting. Overall, I found the Rivian app to be well-designed and user-friendly, providing access to all the necessary settings. The convenience of not having to carry around physical keys, with your phone acting as your key, is also a major bonus.
While it might not be a groundbreaking feature, Rivian has made opening and closing your garage door a more seamless process. You can program garage door remotes directly into your vehicle and then simply tap the button at the top of the interface when arriving home to activate it. This eliminates the need for those bulky remotes that clip onto your sun visor. Online Rivian users have expressed great enthusiasm for this feature, particularly the ability to program multiple garage doors. The system works reliably, rarely failing to open or close the garage door.
This next feature is specific to the second-generation models of the R1S and R1T. Rivian has included a segmented LED light bar at the front of these vehicles, which can be used to indicate the vehicle’s status. The most valuable application is for charging, as it provides a visual representation of the vehicle’s charge level without requiring manual checking. While it’s not difficult to check the charge level in the app, especially with the iPhone widget, the light bar offers a quick and convenient way to assess the charge at a glance.
After a week of driving the R1S, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of all the available features and settings. If you’re considering purchasing a Rivian, I highly recommend dedicating some time to explore every menu, both in the app and within the car itself. Save your presets to your profile and encourage anyone else who drives the vehicle to do the same. By taking advantage of these features, you can fully leverage the power and customization capabilities of Rivian’s software.
