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Jimmy teamed up with Scott Lunt, who runs the YouTube channel Rivian Dad, for a full walkthrough of the Rivian R1S, the SUV sibling to the R1T truck Jimmy has been living with for the past year. The pairing made sense. Scott owns both an R1T and an R1S himself and has built his channel around a simple question, whether a family can actually go electric and still take the kids into the mountains. The R1S had also just picked up the highest score Doug DeMuro has ever given a vehicle on his channel, electric or otherwise, which was reason enough on its own for Jimmy to want to see it in person.
Nearly Identical Twins, Until You Look Closer
From the front, the R1S and R1T are almost impossible to tell apart, sharing the same pill shaped headlights and light bar. The giveaway is up top: the truck's roof is painted, while the SUV gets a silver trim piece that stands out from a distance. Move further back and the differences show up for real. The R1S is a three row SUV that seats seven and runs about 18 inches shorter than the truck, which makes it a noticeably easier size to live with for anyone put off by the R1T's bulk. Ride height is fully adjustable from the touchscreen, ranging from roughly eight and a half inches at its lowest up to just under 15 inches at its highest, and the system also adjusts itself automatically as you drive, dropping down at speed for aerodynamics and rising on demand for off roading.
Same Cabin DNA, A Couple of New Quibbles
Climb inside and the R1S feels like familiar territory for anyone who has spent time in the R1T. The wood trim, front storage, and wireless charging pad all carry over, including the pad's biggest weakness, since Scott confirmed it is still too slippery to reliably charge a phone without wires plugged in as a backup. The portable speaker that doubles as a lantern and the built in flashlight both made the trip over too, both already put to use on past camping trips. Unlocking works three ways, with a phone, a key card, or a carabiner style fob. Scott's real complaints were narrow but pointed: phone charging is inconsistent, there is no glove box anywhere in the cabin, and there is no grab handle on the A pillar — a tradeoff made for airbag placement. The second row reclines further than the R1T's, adding a bit more legroom to an already comfortable seat. The third row, reached with a button release on the second row, fit Jimmy comfortably at just over six feet with the seat pushed back, though it gets tight with two adults side by side. The seats fold down automatically but do not unfold on their own, requiring a walk around to the back and a manual release, and a small lever tucks itself out of the way cleanly when the third row is in use, a detail both hosts appreciated.
Storage Built for Road Trips
The tailgate turned out to be one of the R1S's better surprises. It is rated to hold up to 500 pounds, works as a bench for hanging out or sitting at a campsite, and includes a panel that folds flat so heavy gear can slide across it smoothly instead of catching. Underneath sits a spare tire, worth noting since Teslas skip spares entirely to save weight, along with the same air compressor and inflation cable system from the R1T that already proved itself on a prior off road trip. The rear cargo area adds adjustable tie down tracks and a 1500 watt household outlet, and the front trunk is roomy enough that it swallowed most of the family's camping gear on one trip, freeing the cabin from the usual pile around everyone's feet. The one thing that does not carry over from the truck is the gear tunnel, traded here for the extra row of seats.
Behind the Wheel
Jimmy took the R1S out for the drive portion, and it felt instantly familiar coming from the R1T: zippy off the line, with the same one pedal regenerative braking that meant he never touched the brake pedal during the drive. That instant torque came up again as a real world safety asset, with Jimmy referencing a recent drive in the R1T where the same acceleration let him quickly get clear of a driver who appeared to be falling asleep at the wheel. Compared with the Tesla the family recently sold, the cabin stayed quieter at speed, with mostly just wind noise up to 80 miles per hour, and the SUV pulled harder than the Tesla ever did, one more data point behind that decision. Ride quality was the one area where the R1S gave something up, feeling noticeably bouncier over rough pavement than the more planted R1T. In exchange, the shorter wheelbase made it more nimble through tight turns and gave it better breakover and departure angles, meaning the family hauler actually out performs the truck on some off road measures. On paper it backs that up: zero to 60 in about 3.2 seconds, a touch quicker than the R1T, with a couple more miles of range. The one shared complaint with the Tesla was the climate control, which both hosts felt was more over engineered touchscreen than it needed to be.
The Freshly Charged Verdict
Both deep dive hosts came away convinced the reputation is earned. Scott, whose channel is built around proving an EV can handle real family life, sees the R1S as validation of that whole premise. Jimmy, with four kids of his own, saw the same appeal from a different angle: minivan level seating with sports car acceleration and genuine off road capability in one vehicle. It is, in their words, an entirely new class of vehicle, and after spending real time in it, it is easy to see why Doug DeMuro handed it his highest score yet.
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