Just like that, the Tesla Model Y has a serious challenger.
Rivian sent shockwaves when it dropped the electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Now, the aftershock has arrived in the form of the smaller Rivian R2. This more compact SUV keeps many of our favorite features from the R1, but comes at a lower price and in a smaller package. Best of all, it still has excellent range and performance, and may bring driving automation tech that’s beyond anything Tesla’s delivered to date.
The R2 arrives with styling like a shrunken R1S, coming in lower, narrower, and shorter on an all-new platform. Its structural battery pack uses new cells that pack enough energy to give the R2 more than 300 miles of range with all three of its drivetrain options. There’ll be a single-motor, rear-drive version; a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive model; and a performance tri-motor with dual rear motors that’ll do zero-to-60 mph in under three seconds.
Much of what made the R1 a hit was its original approach to design and use of space, and the R2 continues that trend. It too features a frunk and panoramic sunroof, but introduces pop-out rear windows behind the second row and roll-down rear glass to circulate fresh air. That lowering rear glass also allows storage of longer items, as do the fold-flat second and first rows. Rivian also adds dual glove boxes for the front row, and retains the flashlight that docks in the driver’s door and wide range of outdoor accessories.
On the tech front, Rivian sticks with its Amazon-backed infotainment setup that’s controlled in part through scroll wheels with haptic feedback on the steering wheel. Rivian says the R2’s 11 cameras and five radar units drastically increase its automated driving capabilities, which CEO RJ Scaringe suggested will allow not just hands-free, but eyes-off highway driving capability. That’s right up there with the U.S.’s driving assist tech leader Mercedes-Benz. Get ready to see Rivians light up turquoise.
The Rivian R2 is meant to be Rivian’s volume seller, at least until the adorable, even smaller R3 drops. That means it needs a price to compete with the swelling—and possibly oversaturated—market of electric crossovers. It has one: It’ll start at an estimated $45,000 and is planned to go on sale in the first half of 2026. Production will be handled at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois factory and reservations are open now.
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