Rivian’s newest over-the-air replace is being pushed out to its R1T and R1S electrical vans, and brings bodily adjustments to the journey and dealing with of all of the autos it’s delivered up to now. 

“One of many main advantages of the Rivian platform is the flexibility to repeatedly improve almost each facet of our autos, together with driving dynamics, a considerable level of differentiation afforded to us by having a software-defined automobile platform,” stated a Rivian spokesperson to Inexperienced Automobile Studies, confirming the content material and timing of the replace. 

Rivian famous that it’s not the primary time it’s tweaked journey and dealing with by way of updates, and that when it’s added new modes, like Smooth Sand and Snow Mode, these have introduced new ride-and-handling profiles. But it surely could be essentially the most sweeping spherical of “retuning” but for a way the vans merely really feel on a day-to-day foundation. 

Rivian improved journey and dealing with updates – software program model 2023.34.0

“We improved journey high quality throughout all three modes and journey heights,” stated Rivian in official launch notes. Rivian factors particularly to “lowered abruptness when driving over sharp street impacts in all three drive modes, and lowered harshness when driving over bumps and dips at car parking zone speeds.”

Additional, Rivian has once more tweaked some journey and dealing with as differentiated by a number of the modes—together with elevated journey consolation within the vans’ All-Objective Smooth Experience mode, and “improved stability between journey and dealing with” of their Sport Mode. 

2023 Rivian R1T

All Rivian fashions have a four-wheel impartial air suspension with a hydraulic roll-control system. Air springs are significantly sophisticated as every journey top will yield totally different traits, so Rivian seemingly faces a frightening map of prospects, and it’s not stunning it’s tweaking the system strain and maybe anti-roll habits. 

Rivian can be rolling a develop into this newest replace that may give drivers a bit of extra reassurance they’ll arrive with the expected battery state of cost. Drive modes for the electrical vans are actually additionally represented in Rivian’s mobile-app-based journey planner. As you intend a visit, you possibly can choose which mode you’ll be utilizing and the charging stops and ranges can be deliberate particularly for that mode, along with all the opposite variables for the route already thought of. 

2022 Rivian R1T

Automakers like Tesla, Rivian, Polestar, Porsche, Ford, and others who’ve already been embracing whole-vehicle over-the-air updates have preached a mantra that it permits steady enchancment of the autos even after they’re delivered. 

Whereas that has already resulted in varied tweaks to EV propulsion, like extra vary for the Taycan, higher vary prediction for the Lucid Air, or an elective efficiency increase for the Polestar 2—or utterly retuned brake habits for Mannequin 3. Rivian is displaying that the precise tuning of autos’ journey and dealing with additionally doesn’t finish at supply. 

It additionally underscores one thing new for homeowners of such autos. On this new world of frequent updates, don’t assume you must settle for attributes you don’t like. Ship a word to the automaker and it simply would possibly change.