Rivian is a company that makes electric vehicles. Here they’re talking about how you reserve and order a Rivian online instead of going to a typical car dealership.
A reservation is like putting down a deposit to get access to buy a car later. In this case, paying $100 helps secure the right to order the Rivian when it’s time.
Body-on-frame means the car has a strong “skeleton” frame, and the body is attached to it. It’s common on trucks and some SUVs because it’s built to take more strain.
The Suburban is a large SUV made to fit many passengers and a lot of luggage. It’s designed for everyday family use and long trips. People mention it when talking about what a “big, practical SUV” is like.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a tough SUV that’s typically built with a separate frame. The host uses it as an example of the same general construction style.
Unibody means the body and the main structure are built as one piece. It can make the vehicle feel tighter and more efficient, but it’s a different design approach than a separate frame.
Electric vehicles are cars that use electricity stored in a battery to move instead of gasoline. The host is saying there’s usually a learning curve to figure out the car’s controls and screen-based features.
Term
system and the software
EVs use lots of computer software to control features and show information on screens. The host is saying you may need a little time to learn how to use the menus and controls.
This is the Lucid Air, a luxury electric sedan. People talk about it as a premium EV with strong range and comfort.
Concept
driving comparisons
“Driving comparisons” refers to evaluating cars by how they feel and behave during real driving—often using demo drives or test drives—rather than relying only on specs or reviews. In this segment, it’s used to frame whether the Rivian R2 matches expectations set by other EVs.
Sport mode is a button setting that tries to make the car feel more responsive and “aggressive.” In this case, the speaker didn’t feel much difference, so it didn’t seem truly sporty.
The Corvette C8 is a newer Corvette generation from Chevrolet. It’s famous for having the engine in the middle of the car, which helps it feel quick and handle better.
They mean the waiting list for getting a vehicle. People get slotted based on how long they’ve been waiting, and the speaker thinks there’s a system behind it.
They’re saying the reservation/queue spot can’t be transferred to someone else. If you can’t take the vehicle when offered, you’d have to buy it first and then sell it yourself.
Range is how far the electric car can go on one full battery charge. If you drive aggressively, you usually get less distance than the optimistic estimate.
Gas mileage is how efficiently a gas car uses fuel. If you drive hard, you usually get worse mileage and spend more fuel.
Term
stop lights
Stop lights are where you have to slow down and then accelerate again. That start-and-stop driving can use more battery than smooth, steady driving.
Term
pass and forget
“Pass and forget” means you overtake decisively, then stop thinking about it and just continue driving. The idea is to make the pass quickly and move on.
The EQS is an electric version of a luxury Mercedes sedan. It’s made to be very comfortable and quiet while driving. It’s also typically a very expensive car because it’s built with advanced luxury and electric technology.
The S-Class is a high-end Mercedes sedan focused on comfort. It’s built to feel smooth and quiet, especially when driving on the highway. People bring it up when they want to talk about luxury ride quality.
The ML-Class is a Mercedes SUV that’s built for everyday comfort and practicality. It’s a mid-size luxury vehicle, not a sports car. The podcast mentions it as a past Mercedes model someone owned.
Bigger wheels (like 21-inch) can make the car feel more responsive when turning. But they can also make the ride a bit less cushy because the tires usually have less “squish.”
A sporty suspension is set up to help the car stay more stable in turns. The speaker is basically asking whether this car’s suspension tuning really makes it feel like a performance vehicle.
The Porsche Macan is a luxury SUV from Porsche. The speaker is saying the electric Macan drives in a sporty way—good cornering—while still riding comfortably.
This means the car’s scheduled maintenance point where you change the oil after a certain number of miles. They’re pointing out that the dealer’s price for that routine service felt excessive.
A certified used car is a used vehicle that’s been inspected and approved by the brand or dealer. It often comes with extra promises, but it doesn’t always include freebies like oil changes.
They’re talking about discount coupons that the dealer/brand offers to lower the final price of service. In this case, it helped reduce the oil-service quote.
Audi is the car brand being discussed. The speaker is talking about what Audi recommends for service timing and how that compares to what they’ve been doing and what dealerships charge.
Transmission fluid is the liquid that keeps the gearbox working smoothly. It helps moving parts move with less wear and helps the car shift gears properly. It also needs periodic service, depending on the car.
Labor rate is what a shop charges per hour for the technician’s work. Even if the job is quick, the hourly rate and the time they estimate can make the bill add up fast.
A “service slip” is the receipt or work order that lists what the shop did and how much each part or service cost. It helps you see what you’re actually paying for.
“Dealer add-ons” are extra charges the dealership adds on top of the main service. The speaker’s point is that these extras can make the bill much bigger than you expected.
“Certified pre-owned” means the used car was checked and approved under a program, usually with extra warranty coverage. It’s not just any used car, so warranty rules can be different.
Here, “warranty” means the guarantee that certain repairs will be covered. They’re asking whether you can get that covered service at different dealerships or only where you bought the car.
An independent shop is a regular mechanic business that isn’t tied to one car brand. The point here is that you can often get the same maintenance done for less than a dealership.
A manufacturer’s service center is a shop that works directly with the car brand’s own service process. The hosts suggest it can make warranty maintenance easier because it matches the rules from the maker.
Additives are extra chemicals a shop may suggest adding to your oil. The host’s point is that many of them don’t actually help much and can just be a way to charge more.
An oil change is maintenance for gas engines where old engine oil is replaced with new oil. Electric cars don’t use engine oil the same way, so they typically don’t need oil changes.
A “10,000 mile service” is a maintenance visit planned for when the car reaches about 10,000 miles. The point here is that you can still be charged for scheduled service even if some gas-car items don’t apply to EVs.
Term
oil change place
An “oil change place” is a quick-lube shop that does oil service. The hosts are warning that if you pick the wrong shop, you might pay more than you expected.
LIVE
He is Robin Leach. He is Jada Markin. This is Karki's
Good day to our listeners on Karki's this week's version of Karki's with Jada Markin and Robin Leach
Jay is gonna start this show because he's had a very interesting
experience
Possibly purchasing a Rivian which he's been talking about for some time. So let's Jay. Let's go and hear about it
First of all, where did you do this?
so
I signed up, you know, Rivian is
Just like Tesla it's a there are no dealerships are a bunch of stores around the country and I went online and registered and paid my
$100 and that buys you a
buys your reservation
and
Like the right to order a vehicle and I know people who've
Been on that list for over a year close to two years now ever since they've announced the
Rivian R2. So the R2 is the second
model in the Rivian lineup the first one being the R1S and R1T so the two vehicles
The SUV and the pickup truck which are two larger vehicles that we've seen on the roads here for for a few years now
And and people who have them love them and we both know people who have them and the reviews are overall pretty pretty good
Nothing but good actually the R1 is a body-on-frame
vehicle so a little bit like like a Chevy Tahoe or suburban like
Toyota Land Cruiser the R2 is a more is a car like
a
Unibody so totally different
Design but the looks of the vehicle is is identical. Anyway, so I you know, I signed up paid the hundred dollars and
and as part of that you can go and and
schedule a demo drive at one of the Rivian centers, which is so I wanted to do one
over the weekend or before the weekend and so I went online and
the only available
Or the most convenient time slot anyway was at Rivian center down in white planes and
Rivian just like Lucid and Tesla I believe have stores in the Westchester Mall in white planes
Which I had not been in a mall in some time
So just that was a pretty unique or unique again experience of going in a brick-and-mortar
Shopping mall that actually looks pretty modern and up-to-date
The Rivian store was nice that
Got in the store was greeted very nicely and I had a 6 30 p.m. Reservation on Friday and
got there about 15 minutes beforehand chit-chat with the sales guy and
Who actually came with me on the test drive most people?
actually
Get the keys to the vehicle and are let loose on their own for some reason maybe I didn't look trust
Are you they saw me and the guy said no, I'm coming with you and I was I was like okay good
I want you to come with me because I have a lot of questions
I don't know the area. I want you to take me on you know certain roads and so we went off and
It was a it was a
Interesting drive to say the least
You were driving attention. Yes, I was driving right from the start
But you know and I I'm not familiar with you know Rivian like Tesla like a bunch of other
Electric vehicles, you know, there's a whole
There's a learning curve and how to you know use the system and the software
So I you know having it only, you know, I thought would be 10 15 minutes turned out
I had a half an hour in driving the vehicle
I you know, I was assisted by this salesman and getting all the functions to
Work the way I wanted them to
And overall it's a it's a it was a pleasant experience
I've driven a few electric vehicles never owned one
But I've driven I've driven a Tesla s I've driven a Tesla y I've driven a Chevy bolt
I've driven an Ionic 5 and more recent
Mercedes eq s
I've driven the lucid air I have and I've driven I've driven a few
portion mccanns
Quite extensively actually and and fairly or not fairly that the mccann was my reference
My comparison point and it is not a fair comparison because you know the the Rivian are to
Retails for depending on the version between 50 and $60,000
Whereas the mccann is anywhere north of $90,000 so
Comparison, you know, it's the same size vehicle
But not at all the same price range
Well, how about driving capable driving comparisons? So
You know, I'm also part of a I I've been on Facebook and a bunch of
Rivian enthusiasts and
R2 want to be owners and Rivian are one owners and a bunch of people who've
Who've commented on their experience with both the Rivian R1 and also, you know
Their impressions after driving the R2, you know, like like me in the demo drives
So I was I was quite excited and car and driver and other magazines have test driven the R2 and everybody loves it and
I
Have to say I don't love it. I mean, I it's a
You know very competent vehicle. I think it's gonna. It's it's gonna be huge
sales
The direct comparison is the Tesla why and a lot of people who are test driving the R2 are people coming out of a Tesla
Why and all of them love it
Why I just compared as a driving experience
Compared to the mccann. That's just no comparison in in my mind, but you know, I like driving cars and
Jay, can I say to our listeners does it does it compare?
What what compares favorably to it the?
Mccann in other electric vehicles a Tesla
Nothing nothing nothing. Okay, so so you can't know I know and I'm I'm being totally honest about it
I think it's a it's a very competent vehicle. It did everything well. It is comfortable
I can see that people who are taller and larger are very comfortable in that vehicle. It's actually
When you sit in it, it has that that spacious feel and it reminds me a little bit of my tour egg in the sense that
It's a it's a big vehicle big seats
But I drove it in sport mode so you can put the steering and the suspension in sport mode and
Neither of which felt really very sporty, but then again, it's not a sports car
I mean, I'm being unfair in trying to compare to
To a to a sporty vehicle. I was just hoping I also drove the all their demo
drivers are
the performance version of the car and
And it's a 650 horsepower car. I mean we're talking zero to sixty and three and a half seconds and
Even though it felt very quick
I'd be hard-pressed to say it was any faster than the than the mccan or
Or even well the mccan is the mean that mccan's are quote-unquote only
400 and 500 horsepower respectively
And and they felt at least as fast
I
Did they are at least as fast you're saying that
The question is is three and a half seconds fast enough for any car. No, don't get me wrong
It's the car is plenty fast enough. Okay, there was absolutely no need to have a faster car
I got passed on a non-ramp on 287 by a brand-new Corvette C8 and
I told the guy sales guy next to me. I said, hold on
I have to take this guy on and so it went through the corner tried to follow the Corvette
Accelerated on the on ramp
Only to find out at all the Rivian demo vehicles are governed at 80 miles an hour. So I
Lost the race
What did you keep where you keep up until you got the 80?
Kind of yes. Yeah
So it's a very competent vehicle there's a lot of room in it it the pricing is right on the money
And I'm sure they'll sell a ton of them. I think in the end. It's just not for me
But again not bashing the vehicle at all
The the purchasing experience I think is is is pretty interesting. I mean you get on the list
I'm now waiting for my
Timeslot so I will get an invite sometime in the foreseeable future
I don't know if it's days or weeks, but I will get an invitation. I will get an invitation
I will be given a date as
To when I will be able to order the vehicle. So in the next few days or weeks, I will get an email saying hey
Sometime in February of 2027 you will get an invite to order your vehicle
So let me interrupt you for our listeners
So that means that if you decided you wanted to buy one you are down far
It's far down on the list of people waiting to buy an R2 so that it you're telling me that February of
27 might be a realistic time you could get it not it might be but I
Again, I see people posting on Facebook
Who are who?
Either got the reservation their time slots already
although they signed up not too long ago and others have been waiting a much longer time and
Are waiting or have to wait a much much longer. So I don't know if there's any rhyme
I'm sure there's a rhyme and reason to to to the wait lines
but
I'm actually hoping I don't have to make a decision to purchase anytime soon because even if I were to purchase a vehicle and I'm
At this point inclined not to purchase it
You know, I I don't need the vehicle until sometime next year so
Your place in line to me. No, you could know nope cannot do that. Okay, that is something you cannot do
I would have to purchase the vehicle and then sell it to you
So you can it it's not transferable. Okay. Did you tell us that you have driven an R1?
So after driving the R2 I
Asked them if they had an R1 s the SUV it just so happened it was out on the road and
But there was a an R1 T so the truck version of it isn't so I drove the R1 the truck version and
I I thought it drove very much the same way
I do not feel any noticeable difference. Although they're very two very different vehicles
So I think that the R2 the R1 s is known to to to drive
have a pretty nice ride and
So I think the R2's that the ride in the R2 is good. There's no doubt about it
And and it I thought the art that the truck drove very much in a similar way
And it feels the same the space inside the cabin feels very much the same
So the R2 is a little smaller. It rides very well
And again, it's it's a it's a
Competent vehicle. I think at that price point. They'll sell a gazillion of them, but it's just not for me
Did you happen to look at the range that the vehicle you tested had on it? Yes?
I think we left with about 200 miles range
I
Drove it in sport mode and we came back and there was a like a hundred and fifty mile range and then we looked at the consumption
And and and you could see on the graph that the day's consumption
So all the test drives and then mine and then you know when I drove it
That was definitely a peak in consumption like I I
Consumed about twice as much energy as anybody else. Well, you've changed the Corvette up to 80 miles an hour
So that's going to draw a lot of power in a very short order, correct? Correct
Yeah, but you know you do that with a with a gas-powered car too. I mean if you drive
Powered car, you know hard you're gonna get half the gas mileage you're getting with it when you're driving it, you know
conservatively so
Well, this goes to a comment I can make insert here for our listeners in a bet. What what are we?
When we're buying our electric cars driving like as opposed to when we didn't have an electric car, are we actually chasing
Racing speeds in short order and doing zero to sixty starts from stop lights
No, it get that gets old very fast and you can serve the
Electricity to get maybe get the 300 miles that
Theoretically might be gettable if you didn't jab at the accelerator to the floor every time you started up
Um
Yeah, the zero to six season in in in three seconds, you know those those
Things get old very quickly. I mean I think
From my driving an electric vehicle
My experience is that it's nice to have the power when you need it
Like if you want to make a pass it makes passes very safe because you just hammer it and get get the pass done
And that's it and pass and forget
I just think it's nice to be as smooth as possible
And and that's the thing the electric vehicle is smooth and quiet in a way that no gas car can be
So I think that's that's how you drive an electric car, and I think that's how people drive in general
So
You know, and I've done a bunch of drives to New York and back driving electric vehicles
So, you know always kind of mindful of the range
and and
Just drive normally and
Can I interrupt for our listeners? How would you say the Rivian R2 compared to your Mercedes SQ?
Whatever it was electric vehicle, you know, I haven't driven the EQS in a while
But again the EQS is also a 100000 dollar vehicle now. I know that but but just how does it drive?
I don't care what the price is
It's the EQS is from to me
Probably the best ride. I mean the EQS is like driving in the s-class Mercedes
I mean comfort and ride do not get any better than in those vehicles period
And and here's the thing and then this is where I always go, you know
if you look at the price of used vehicles and
specifically electric vehicles you can get
2023
Mercedes EQS is lucid airs
For a fraction of the price of what they cost new
And to me that's still the way to go. Oh, by the way, I also had a long conversation with somebody who has a lucid air
So the sedan lucid that's been on the market for a few years and he has the
second to most powerful version. It's like around 850 horsepower and
This person is not a car guy like we are but has owned before that owned
Several Mercedes class essence. So, you know, he came from a luxury vehicle luxury Mercedes into a
lucid and
Absolutely loves it and gets 500 miles of range with his lucid and
You know to him that's that's that is the best driving vehicle period
Understood and appropriate. Now. How does this drive compared to your touring or how does your touring drive compared to the R2?
Riding it
Very much the same way and again, my my touring is not a
No, no, no, I know just forget about the car price and what it is. No, no, no, it's just it's not a sporty vehicle
Yeah
Expecting the R2 to be a sporty vehicle or were you expected to be a utilitarian type?
Well, that's the thing. I guess I I expected the performance version of it to be somewhat
Sporty especially in sport mode and with 21-inch wheels and tires
And it just isn't and that's fine again. It's totally fine. It's gonna it's gonna be you know
Mode as opposed to being rigid in sport mode as well
Do I think you'd be alluding to if you were thinking for a sporty suspension?
Performance aspect to that vehicle going around corners even like our you know, but then this is where like a Porsche Macan
electric Macan
ticks all the boxes because it handles it handles
Like a sports. I mean, it's it's it's very tight in handling and yet
It's comfortable both the seats and the ride are comfortable hard to explain
But it's just just the way it is. But again, you're talking 100 grand versus 15 and 60 grand
Anyway, it's so much for that experience. What do you have for us Robin?
Well here I
Read a motor
Latest stuff on was to have one headlined as follows
2025 Kia 4 I like this year-long review. Why does a $25,000 car need a $275 oil change?
Boy, is that a grabber of a headline for somebody like me?
I and and for our listeners, this is that this happened to me
I think I think it was electric. Oh, maybe it was gas because they had an oil change
Why yeah, I need a $275 oil change. I would equate that kind of price to Audi's
Mercedes BMWs vehicles when they go into the dealerships for their periodic
similar oil change situation you used to be able to drive into a oil non dealership oil change and you'd get a
6995 estimate for an oil change in sort of normal driving cars
You can still do that was wonderful to read Jay and you should read it, but he was griping about
it
oil changes now costing between two and 300 dollars for standard cars as
as standard as a Kia a VW and on the like and I recently had one of my
Audi's go down to an Audi dealer for its
40,000 mile oil service and it was quoted to me to be
425 dollars and I started walking at that and then hold on hold on for just a second. Why
Why do you bring your Audi to an Audi dealership?
Well, because it's under it's a certified used vehicle and
Unfortunately, it didn't come with two free oil changes and a certified use
Age which was 30 plus thousand miles when it was purchased, but it did I did I will say I got the whole thing down to
275 dollars because of certain coupons
I discovered were available through the Audi system that would apply to my vehicle
But one part of it was an or a brake fluid change which ended up being
Under a hundred dollars, but was quoted on it on the service thing
Which would have put it up to 700 dollars as 300 and 25 dollars to change brake fluid, which?
Incidentally, Audi recommends every two years. I have not changed oil
brake fluid in many of my vehicles since I've owned them and
That includes a
2014 Jeep with now with a hundred and thirty-five thousand miles now
I'm either neglecting something that Jay you may want to come on on should be very important or else
We are being charged excessively at intervals that don't need to be followed in a two-year situation
As opposed to maybe a mileage thing like a 100000 miles you should change
I
Think transmission fluid or something in some of these newer cars
Is a happy medium there's a happy medium. I think changing fluids and especially oils is
Brake fluids is is a good thing now doing it every
Every other oil change is kind of ridiculous. I think you
Dealerships are gonna take advantage of you well every day of the week
Let's go let's look at the next part of that part when you walk into a new car dealership service center
The first thing I look at is
Something up on a wall which tells you what their labor rate is for an hourly rate
And I will tell you my limited knowledge is mainly limited to Audi
I can't equate a BMW and a Mercedes like kind visit and and viewing
But I believe this service rated at the Audi dealer that I was you dealing with like a hundred and 85 dollars an hour
So how long does it take to change your oil?
Well minimum oil changes at the Jeep dealer that I get my oil changes done there at is at least an hour
I've gone and sat for those because I don't I
The dealerships are all too far away for you to just so go down and have somebody come down and bring you back
And then bring you back to pick the car up. So I have never seen it come out in under an hour and 15 or 20 minutes and
So I was I dropped the Audi off at this time because I just wasn't gonna wait and
Because they said something like three hours to do everything they wanted to do for 40,000 miles
But still for a Kia
if the dealers are
Enabling themselves. Oh for part of it was for putting in fluids that the author of this article said cost eight dollars the bottle at
a
Auto parts store and to pour it in and all that and I think he was trying to hit
I don't know what his service slip was broken down
But it was 75 dollars for the charge for this special liquid that was supposed to be added to the oil
You know all these little things add up. So I would say to listeners if you are
Buying newer cars these days and you are using you and you're gonna give it proper
Interval needed service like oil changes. You're no longer going to get at least a new car dealers
Just for under a hundred dollars. All right, we live in a remote area where there are not many dealers
Right, I mean there's one in Millerton a Ford dealer in Millerton
But other than that you have to go to Torrington or you have to go further away
Right, so a lot of people in our area
Tri-state area
Are gonna go to independent shops and I think it's important
Hold on well
You're only getting charged that kind of price because you're going into those dealerships
My whole point is I remember over ten years ago. I helped my daughter buy her first
certified pre-owned Subaru and
We bought it in Long Island and and so my question to the the sales guy was like, okay
So the warranty applies, you know, do we have to come and service it here?
Can we have it service at any Subaru dealership and this and the sales guy was very honest and kind of knew he's never gonna
See us again. He says you not only do you not have to come here? You don't need to go to any
Subaru dealer you can go to any independent shop
Long as you can just as long as you can demonstrate that you have followed the guidelines
The manufacturers guidelines you can even do the oil changes yourself if you keep a
Notebook and and documented
So you need the whole point
The whole point of driving to a dealership to have your oil changes because you want free coffee or a bottle of water and
And and and a fireplace going on in the middle of summer
But other than that, there's not really much of a reason to go to a dealership to get an oil change
But that's just not the way I think
My attitude about if you're gonna buy a car new you should at least use the dealership service or the
manufacturers service centers of the same car
Throughout the warranty period of your vehicle, especially since a lot of them are offering two free two or three free oil changes for the first
36 30,000 miles or so. I know VW does that
but aside from that it's just that I was a shock that that's what a
Car is what I consider to be as simple as a key and maybe it isn't simple
The cost only $25,000 needed oil change that it was being billed out at
$275 for this particular
Car that this particular author had for this magazine's motoring period of time and so I think it's just
to a far listeners use
You say they I don't know what the listeners are generally paying. What do you pay for your touring to get an oil change?
Not $275
Right. Okay, and and also I would say to our listeners
Look at what they're giving you for the money that they're gonna say they're gonna charge you for the charge
Are they're gonna be additives put in most additives aren't needed as this author said they are gimmicks to make profit
And you you he I don't know why he never knew enough about this to question it
unless he was doing an article for this particular reason that to
See just how much he could learn about what dealers are trying to do to the customer once they buy a car
And a car lesser than let's say the BMW
Mercedes Audi level of vehicles are lucid level of vehicles and and there was a comment about
An electric car that this magazine tried out that they they were charging for an electric car doesn't need any oil changes
But it does it was good to mention that
chaotic services and I don't know what you do, but he was complaining about an alleged charge for an electric car
Some 30, you know 20,000 mile or 10,000 mile service
There was over $200 and he couldn't figure out what that was being what was being charged. What was being done to?
Authorize 200 plus dollar bill at the end of it
So I guess it's just the reality of of being
2026 and going forward
for our listeners that the costs have gone up along with the cost of purchasing cars and
Even use cars may if you go to the wrong
Oil change place you may get maybe you get ripped off. Yes, Jay
I you know, it's all about finding a shop that you trust and and and sticking with it
I mean, I know I go to a shop where
the guys know my cars and different people work on different my different cars and
I mean, you have that too. You you you work with independent shops for some of your vehicles and and the guys
know your cars and and
This last dialogue for our listeners is that it used to be easy to go get they were you'd see
Signs out on new car dealerships oil change
6995 5995 and that was as recent as maybe five to eight years ago, which is not not recent but
Cars go some cars will go 7500 miles to 10,000 miles with
Synthetic oil changes required and they all have computers
He mentioned the fact that the car had a computer in it
Which didn't didn't turn on to say you need to take it into oil change until he had gotten
7500 miles on it and that I think he said the dealer stick around the windshield for the next oil change was something like
5,000 miles with that. I think we'll wind up this
edition of car keys with J. DeMarken and Robin Leach car keys with Robin Leach and J. DeMarken is produced at the facilities of
WHDD
91.9 FM Robin Hood radio comm sharing Connecticut
She's a baby
About this episode
Robin Leech and Jay de Marcken swap notes on Jay’s Rivian R2 demo drive and the surprisingly involved reservation process. Jay paid a $100 online to secure a place in line, then booked a slot at a Rivian center inside a Westchester Mall. He praised the R2’s comfort, spacious feel, and competence, but didn’t find it as exciting as other EVs he’s driven—especially compared with his McLaren reference point. He also hit the R2’s 80 mph governor during a spirited attempt to keep up with a Corvette C8, and discussed real-world range, power use, and how EV driving should be smooth rather than constantly chasing acceleration.
