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Is the Rivian R1S Wheelchair-Friendly? Zack and Cambry Put It to the Test
Our friend Zack Nelson (aka JerryRigEverything) and his wife Cambry recently tried out a Gen 2 Rivian R1S to see if it could replace her Tesla Model X. Cambry’s been a wheelchair user for about 20 years, so accessibility is a big deal — especially when it comes to transferring into the driver’s seat, storing her wheelchair, and hauling kids in the back.
The R1S ticks a lot of boxes. It’s spacious, has a flat interior floor, and way more cargo room than the Model X. But because it rides higher — even in its lowest setting — it’s a tougher transfer than Cambry is used to. She manages it, but it takes more effort than with the lower-slung Tesla.
That said, the R1S offers a big win in one important area: towing. Cambry tows horses, and the R1S’s higher tow rating (up to 7,700 lbs) makes it a better fit for that job compared to her Model X.
The video they posted gives a great look at the real-world pros and cons of driving a Rivian from a wheelchair. It shows what works, what doesn’t, and why small design details matter when it comes to accessibility. Definitely worth a watch.
I enjoyed this video. As a wheelchair user myself, I adore my Rivian R1S. However, there are some small issues that I really would like Rivian to address at some point.
Firstly, I want additional seat memory options. Currently, there is only the driving position and the roomy position. In roomy position, when movement is detected, it starts to go back to driving position. As seen in the video, I need the seat to stay in its roomy position so that I can get the chair in and out. Rivian techs simply suggested turning this feature off, but then I need to manually adjust every time, which includes adjusting the steering wheel. It’s too cumbersome. Quite honestly, this is a big issue for me.
Next, the Driver + in my Gen 1 is so finicky. I almost hate it. I absolutely would love to use it so much more often, but it just cancels itself out, or doesn’t work altogether. Coming from an Audi e-tron, whose Adaptive CC was wonderful and usable on any road, I am unhappy with this feature. I wish they would not ignore the Gen 1 owners and fix the abilities offered. Overall, it could be so much safer and easier to drive in this way.
A nice to have feature would be to customize the steering wheel buttons. As a one-handed driver, I find that I need to move my hand from the hand controls to adjust the music. Or leave the hands from the wheel to adjust anything else. This is just a ‘nice-to-have’, though.
Other than these things, I am absolutely in love with our decision to have a Rivian in our family. It has been one of the best vehicles we have owned. And we have had Mercedes, Land Rovers, Audis, Porsche’s, and more. This beats it all. If these grievances were worked out, I would absolutely be enamored with the Rivian for being a very accessibly friendly vehicle.