Rivian Quad Max
Four all-new Rivian-designed oil-cooled motors, one per wheel — 764 kW / 1,025 hp peak, 1,198 lb-ft. The Gen 2 Quad replaced the Bosch units entirely with in-house hardware, adding real performance gains rather than just rebadging: +190 hp, +290 lb-ft over Gen1. In-house design also enabled the conserve-mode rear disconnect that the Gen1 Quad couldn't do. 0–60 in 2.5 seconds with Launch Mode — 0.1 sec quicker than the Cybertruck Cyberbeast. ECU count dropped from 17 to 7, wiring harness shed 1.6 miles. The 2025 R1T ran Pikes Peak in a fully stock configuration (race seat, roll cage only) and set the production electric truck record at 10:53.883 — driven by Rivian senior performance test engineer Gardner Nichols. Too new for long-term reliability data beyond the headlight recall 25V-085.
1,025 hp. Seven seats. Yosemite charger.
Four in-house Rivian motors, 764 kW, 2.6 seconds to 60 in a three-row SUV with 43 inches of fording depth. The Cybertruck can match the 0–60 time but seats five and won't ford a river. The Hummer EV has comparable off-road credentials but weighs more, seats fewer, and misses by 0.2 seconds on the clock. The R1S Gen2 is the end-game family SUV argument for buyers who spend weekends at Joshua Tree rather than a valet queue. Build quality substantially improved over Gen1. Still accumulating long-term reliability data on the in-house motor architecture.
Engine Weaknesses 1
Same NHTSA Recall 25V-085 as Tri Motor. Affects early Gen2 production (April 2024 – February 2025). Free control module replacement.
Symptoms: Headlights fail to illuminate on cold startup
Vehicle Weaknesses 4
Isolated reports of complete HVAC system failure on early Gen2 R1S vehicles. Some cases required complete HVAC system replacement with parts sometimes on backorder. Typical launch-production teething issue for a heavily revised model.
Same recall as Gen1 R1S. Affects 2025 vehicles that had suspension work before March 2025. Free repair.
Particularly critical in the R1S with three rows: children in the third row cannot operate the hidden emergency release during power loss. Rivian has committed to redesigning this for the R2. Interim fix: tie paracord to the release cable.
Gen2 R1S has the same electromagnetic door handle system as the R1T. Squeaks on actuation. Rivian acknowledges the problem and is working on replacement handles.
