The Rivian R2 Performance on the 21-inch all-season tires is rated at 330 miles of EPA range, and in a real 70 mph highway test this past weekend, mine returned 253 miles from a full charge to dead. That is a 77-mile gap, which is a lot more than I expected when I walked into it.
I spent the weekend in North Carolina with the Out of Spec crew, running a bunch of tests on my R2, and the 70-mph range test was the one I was most curious about. The setup for this kind of test is pretty standard. We charged the R2 to 100%, and we did the same with a Model Y Performance so there was something to sit next to it. The moment charging wrapped, we got on the road with the climate set to 68 degrees on Auto and the R2 in Conserve mode, which is the drive mode you want if you are chasing the best possible number. To keep elevation and wind from skewing things, the route runs in one direction and then turns around and comes back the other way, and you keep doing that until the vehicle has nothing left to give.
On the R2 we hit 0% and it kept going for a little while past that before turtle mode kicked in. Once turtle mode showed up,, the power cut off almost immediately, and I could no longer hold 70 on the highway, so that was the end of it. The final number was 253 miles from 100 to fully dead.
Now, there are variables here that I am not going to pretend away. Wind, traffic, the HVAC running, the weather that day, all of it plays a part, and none of it was controlled in a lab. This was not a perfect environment. But the world is not a perfect environment either, and a number that comes out of a real drive is worth more to me than one that only exists under ideal conditions.
Still, 253 against a stated 330 is disappointing to see written out so plainly. And the part that bothers me is not really about my R2. It’s about the person sitting on the Rivian website right now, looking at that 330-mile figure and building a mental picture of what ownership is going to feel like.
They will not, and that is not a Rivian-specific problem, which is honestly the frustrating part of all this.
My takeaway is that EPA range estimates are not something you should ever plan around. They are generated under conditions designed to make the automaker look as good as possible, and that is true across the board, not just here on the R2. If you are taking a road trip, use the built-in navigation and let it decide where you stop. It plans around real conditions, and it will land far closer to reality than the sticker number ever will.
And to be fair, most people will be completely fine. The day-to-day driving most owners actually do never gets anywhere near the battery’s edge, so this whole thing ends up being a non-issue for them. Where I keep landing is on the EPA itself. The testing methodology and what it allows manufacturers to publish are the real issues here, not Rivian specifically. Until that part changes, we are going to keep running into the same gap with every new EV that comes out, and I do not have much hope that it will change soon.
The fundamental challenge with nearly every EV is highway speed. Where I live, 75 mph is the normal flow of traffic, and that’s how I drive.
The question that matters isn’t the EPA range. It’s the usable range. Almost nobody plans to arrive with 0% battery.
So what does the real-world range look like at 70 mph if you keep a reasonable safety buffer? How many miles are actually available when the battery reaches 20%, 15%, and 10%?
I agree and was quite surprised by the way that Rivian measures range because as soon as 20% hit, the numbers were dropping like flies.
I think what’s important to know jose, is where were you at with 10%, 15% and 20% battery remaining? As a long time and current multiple R1 owner, I went into all of this realistic and expected a solid 20% below EPA for highway speeds.
People don’t arrive with 0% and they also don’t depart with 100% – except at the start of the trip and only if they have L2 charging available. The most practical range number for me on a trip with multiple DC charging stops is distance you get from ~80% to ~10%.
How does this compare to the R1S range? How many miles at highway speed?
Confirms the BS I’ve always said about the 2024 R1T Max Pack and its deceptive 410-mile range. Rivian chooses the sweetest EPA test, and we suffer from misinformation. Very sad.
Hello Jose,
Thank you for doing this. Really appreciate it.
I have been having the same issue with my R1S Tri Gen 2. I purchased it based on the EPA rating of 371 miles. In reality I don’t get even 280; that too at well under 70 miles on highways, and city driving in mild style. HVAV set to 72 degrees Auto. No seat heating/cooling, no load, single passenger. All purpose mode. Getting back to the same point in a fault even terrain so counter any elevation changes, wind speed etc.
Just for context, I got close to the EPA estimates in a R1S dual Gen 1. So it’s most likely nothing to do with my driving style and other conditions.
Isn’t the 330 mi number the combined city/highway range? So even under ideal conditions, the highway range would be less than 330. 254 is a disappointment regardless, but maybe not as far off from comparable certification numbers. As someone who regularly makes a 335 mi point to point drive that’s 99% highway, I’m bummed at how low this number is. Was really optimistic I’d be able to get through that drive in the R2 with nothing more than a quick top up
Jose: I’m interested in how the Rivian R2 outcome of this effort compares with the Tesla Model Y Performance that was tested along side it.
Disappointing. I was looking to purchase but this kills the deal. Time to get my deposit back.
Thank you Jose for continuing the great content (looking forward to seeing more of your R2 experience). This is really helpful for EV shoppers. To newbies, welcome to the world of EPA efficiency ratings. We have all been disappointed in our real world gas MPG ratings in the past too. I’m no expert but thought I would share this here. The EPA EV test is a “balance” of city (45%) and hwy (55%) driving. “Driving cycles: A driver or robot follows strict speed and braking blueprints: City cycle (UDDS): Replicates stop-and-go urban driving with an average speed of 21.2 mph. Highway cycle (HWFET): Replicates smoother highway driving up to 60 mph with an average of 48.3 mph.” Obviously much like gas MPG ratings, this does not reflect how we drive in the real world. Now I’m curious how this compares to the euro test. But some manufacturers exceed their EPA ratings both in gas and EV don’t they?
Jose, thank you so much for putting the R2 through the paces. As a first-time EV buyer, to say this is personally disappointing for me is an understatement. I’m waiting for my R2 number to be called next month, and these numbers certainly make me second guess my decision.
I have a long commute and tack on around 30,000 miles per year. There are just too many competitors with similar/better real world range, much lower cost, and trade-offs I could probably live with for me to give Rivian a pass on this. I love the Rivian looks, ethos, and what the brand stands for. However, I’m not sure the R2 holds up to the adventure-ready machine it was promised to be.
Maybe I’m overreacting, but my dreams of adventuring on extended trips out West definitely seem a little less achievable at the moment.
R2 has a lot of pros but I can totally see what you mean here. I drove 2500 miles and never really ran into issues, I stopped to charge for about 15-20 minutes per stop and was on my way. If you are looking to stop less, then yes I can see wanting something with more range.
Great to hear about your road trip experience, and this gives me hope. Based on past experience, any thoughts on what the winter range hit might be? We get very cold winters where I am from for 2-3 months per year.
There will be a range hit but we’ll have to do more winter testing to see just how bad.
We live at 8000’ in the Sierra Nevada. The colder temp hit is < 10 miles.
Jose, what do you make of the much more
optimistic results of the state of charge people?https://evchargingstations.com/chargingnews/rivian-r2-range-test/
I would really like to see the test run on more R2. Seems like in terms of efficiency yours wasn’t tuned as well as others. What are your thoughts? In your drive home what kind of efficiency numbers where you seeing.
Just like the test we did, different location, elevation, temperature, and traffic. We could run this test a variety of times and get different results every time. The question is how can we get closer to the EPA results while being realistic?
While it is nice to know what the range is at 100% charge, if you are trying to be realistic, you should charge it to 80% and see what the range is with that. Rivian recommends a daily chart charge of 80%. While you say the average person would not have a problem with that range, I tend to disagree. Having to charge up every 3 or 4 days is a great inconvenience. I think rivian needs to consider a better battery and much more range.
Good article.
Really sad about the results, did a quick comparison with the numbers from State of Charge and they are quite similar only with the All Terrain tires.
Now, should I re-think of getting the R2 with it’s average range of 250 miles (from OOO and SoC numbers) or just get it cause it fits my use case for this point in time.
Feels very… Class-action-ey…
I’m a firm believer that the EPA should have a city range and a highway range. They already have it for MPGe, so why publish the combined range?
This is the biggest problem I have with the car. If I want to stay within the 20-80% range and the realistic highway range is 253 miles, then that’s stopping every 150 miles. In the winter, I drive to my ski mountain 2x/month. There’s probably a 20-40% penalty for freezing temps, 6000ft elevation climb, and traveling with a roof box to fit all the ski equipment. So now, that’s probably 90-120 mile range. Now, that’s stopping every 1-2 hours.
A highway test will never come out even close to EPA numbers, especially for an EV. Average driving is not highway. I know you are home now, but another test of mixed driving with an average of 45mph or less would be a good one for Kyle to do. On the highway, you are recovering very little, if not NO regenerative power and burning added power in windshear. Regen is needed to get near to that EPA estimate.
Totally, I gotta do a “city range test” haha
The Model Y beat its EPA in the exact same test…
I think it matters how you drive it as well.
Just because you average 70 miles an hour in a continuous doesn’t mean you’re not jumping off the line at every stop.
That said, my R1 S that I’ve had for three years now consistently gives me close to 300 miles on the highway if I keep it at 70 or under. That is calculated from multiple recharges and using the full kilowatt hours of my battery as reference.
SLOW DOWN!!! EPA range, even the highway range, is not based on 70mph. And everyone knows your range drops significantly as you drive faster. It’s not an EPA problem. It is the author not understanding what the EPA range means.
Did you watch the video? The testers of the car fully understand the EPA numbers and all the issues with them. The test compared the Model Y with the R2 side by side and the range/efficiency on the Y completely destroyed the R2. Additionally, the Y EXCEEDED its EPA rating while the R2 didn’t get anywhere close to its own. Clearly Tesla chose to publish realistic EPA numbers while Rivian used the most optimistic method of calculating EPA.
The EPA ratings are determined based on speeds between 48.3 mph and a peak of 60 mph (not 70 mph).
I believe the point is that the ratings should be more in line with real world speeds. Go even 60 on almost any interstate and have fun praying each car changes lanes and doesn’t rear end you.
I’d love the ratings to be City (35mph) and Highway (70mph) and then do an average. That would be a pretty good “real world” system to help most people understand what range they will get.
Jose, thanks for publishing these numbers. The miles per kilowatt hour is better than my R1S, but the R2 range is still not where I want it to be for long range towing, etc. I got my invite yesterday morning to order my R2. However, I’m definitely going to hold off until they come out with a larger battery and see what the numbers look like then.
Very fair to gather data on what the max range is under those particular conditions but put it in context. The only passenger vehicle I’ve ever had that could do a legit 5 hours 400+ miles non-stop at 80mph was a Bimmer diesel X3. That thing was a soot machine and very few people want to go that long without stopping. For a more apples to apples comparison go to the landcuiser forum and read all the bitching about range anxiety. Toyota claims 24mpg hwy but many report they are getting 18-20. They whinge about class action lawsuits all the time there too. People think they drive gently when they really have lead feet. Rivian could be more transparent (so could Toyota) but if you want to get EPA numbers drive like it and ignore the hostility of your fellow drivers.
I’d be more concerned with the accuracy of the computer.
Once you got going, did the Rivian provide an accurate range so you knew in advance you had about 253 miles?
The Tesla exceeded EPA numbers. Not sure why you would leave that out of the article.
The range stuff is so overblown. I drive around 30,000 miles/year for work, and I have my battery set to charge to 70% every night, which is about 234 miles of range on my R1S. I used a super charger 6 times in 2025 on longer work trips. That’s it. Everyone panics about range, but the vast majority of people won’t ever get anywhere near 0%. Just like the author said. The average commute in the US for work is 32 miles round trip. Let go of the range anxiety, people. Let’s stop over blowing it.
I’d love to see this test repeated for both the 20″ wheels + factory All Terrain tires as well as those 20″ wheels but with an efficient all-season tire. Theoretically, the smaller 20″ wheel size with an efficient all season tire would give the lowest rolling resistance, but Rivian doesn’t offer that combination.
Look, this absolutely sucks. I was 100% buying an R2 and after all of this… it has given me great pause about going through with the purchase. I have a ’19 Model 3 AWD and I was really looking forward to getting close to the EPA rated range considering I never got more than 250 miles on my 310 mile range Model 3.
Just a quick observation though: the OOS video said you all were traveling almost consistently at 70 mph with very little regen because there was almost zero traffic and you got just over 250 miles of range to empty. Doing some quick calcs from the EPA website assuming a 88 kWh usable R2 battery pack:
R2 usable pack is 88 kWh (google search)
EPA states there are 33.7 kWh in 1 gallon of gas (https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=50391)
R2 highway eMPG is 96 (https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=50391)
Therefore 88 kWh / 33.7 kWh per gallon of gas = 2.611 equivalent gallons of gas.
2.611 gallons X 96 eMPG = 250.7 miles of range… exceptionally close to what you got. Could the lack of regen due to traffic have played a part? It’s worth noting when you take the R2 city eMPG of 114 you only get 297.7 miles of range… so regen has got to play a part in all of this.
Just my two cents and this really really sucks a lot!