The R1S Loaner Life: Charging Tests, Win Streaks, and Drag Racing a Model X

Today I’m living that “loaner life.” My El Capitan R1T had to head back to the service center for some tailgate issues, so Rivian hooked me up with a white R1S. Naturally, I couldn’t just let it sit in the driveway—I had to take it out for a full day of testing, charging, and a little “friendly” competition.

Tesla Supercharging a Rivian Loaner

One of the big questions I had was: Does Rivian cover charging on their loaners like Tesla does? I headed to the West Covina Supercharger [03:10] to find out.

The result? It’s not “plug-and-charge” for free. I tried plugging in directly, but it disconnected after a second [04:05]. I ended up using my Tesla account with the A2Z EV adapter. Even at 64% state of charge, the R1S was pulling a solid 135 kW [04:42]—honestly, that’s a better charging curve than my Model Y usually shows at that percentage.

Rivian Community and the “Winning Streak”

I stopped by the Rivian space in Pasadena for a San Gabriel Valley Rivian Club meetup [06:52]. There were some sweet builds there, including a green quad-motor R1T on Toyo all-terrain tires with custom yellow-trimmed running boards [08:07].

Incredibly, I won a prize for the second time in a row! I walked away with a full outdoor cooking setup [08:44]. Rivian is really trying to tell me I need to go camping more. We’re eyeing a Death Valley trip in November, so stay tuned for that.

R1S vs. Model X: The Showdown

To wrap up the day, I met up with my boy Cobra to compare his 2020 Model X 7-seater with the R1S 7-seater loaner [10:22]. We took a look at his classic Walnut trim—which has way more character than the new stuff—and then decided to settle things on the pavement.

We did a quick 0-60 pull [12:58]. I put the R1S into Sport Mode, and even though Kobra’s Model X is no slouch, the R1S absolutely walked away from it. Now it’s got me wondering… how would the R1S Quad hang with a Tesla Plaid?