%2031.jpg "Rivian R2 2026: Specs, Price, Availability")
The Premium model follows in late 2026 at $53,990. Same 87.9-kilo-watt-hour battery, same 330-mile range, but with 450 hp, 537 pound-foot of torque, and a 4.6-second zero-to-60 time. Still dual-motor AWD. Then the Standard Long Range model lands in early 2027 at $48,490 with a single-motor rear-wheel drive, 350 hp, and zero-to-60 in 5.9 seconds. Rivian estimates up to 345 miles on a single charge, which indeed makes it the farthest in the lineup, but only by 15 miles.
That all-important Standard model with the attractive $45,000 price ($10,000 less than a base Volvo EX40, and $5,000 less than Tesla Model Y Premium AWD) comes last, in late 2027, with a drop in range to about 275 miles. All four trims have a native North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector with access to Tesla’s Supercharger network and a claimed 10-to-80-percent charge time of 29 minutes.
But here’s the trouble: The initial R2s will not be technically as good as the models coming six months later or so. Why? Rivian’s new, fancy RAP1 processor, a custom 5-nanometer chip delivering 1,600 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) that powers its coming Gen 3 autonomy, won’t ship on R2 models until late 2026. The EVs also won’t have lidar initially. So this crucially means early R2 adopters get Gen 2 hardware, not Gen 3. L2+ autonomy, not L3.
Now, Rivian is at pains to underline here that the Gen 2 Performance R2 will supposedly be capable of point-to-point driving later this year—but would you want that or rather wait a few months for the Level 3 Gen 3s packing “the most powerful combination of sensors and inference compute in consumer vehicles in North America,” according to Rivian’s senior vice president of electrical hardware? I know what I’d do. I also know what Rivian wants you to do: Ignore this bothersome fact and just hand over the much-needed cash, please. Those sales targets aren’t going to hit themselves.
Better Than Big Brother
Delays in Gen 3 hardware aside, Rivian has sprinkled more than a little magic dust over its R2. The Performance version actually bests the base R1S on power and range, despite that significantly lower price. Yes, the R1S has more space (three rows), and its air suspension can lift it to nearly 15 inches of clearance, as well as level the EV on sloped ground (the R2’s 9.6 inches is fixed), but in almost every other area, the R2 makes a harder argument for the R1S to answer.
Over a couple of days outside Salt Lake City, Utah, I joined a brand-hosted media drive (Rivian paid for WIRED’s travel expenses) and tried out the R2 on highways, mountain roads, and over some moderate off-road terrain.
The very good news is that much of what made the R1 such a hit with critics has been either retained, modified, or adapted here on the R2. The exterior design, for example, immediately mirrors its bigger brother but is cleverly not merely a shrunken version of that EV. The team has managed to reduce size to a length of 185.9 inches while keeping key proportions, so you get a five-seat SUV that is unmistakably Rivian but in no way feels diminutive or austere compared to the seven-seater.
