I Took A Rivian R2 On A Camping Trip To The Middle Of The Desert

The Rivian R2 is supposedly built for adventure. I put that claim to the test.

Rivian R2 camping review in the desert

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Mack Hogan

By: Mack Hogan

Nov 12, at 12:25pm ET

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Cars are for adventures. That's how I've always seen it. Since I was a kid, my dream machines have always been high-riding, fast four-doors, able to see the country and see it quickly, with enough clearance to explore the most interesting bits.

So the Rivian R2 Launch Package—with its 650-horsepower drivetrain and 9.6 inches of ground clearance—pretty much had my number.

By the time the tester arrived, crowned as it was with an Rivian x iKamper rooftop tent, I was already weak. The media launch for the R2 had already converted me into a die-hard fan. Over twisty mountain roads and wilderness tracks in Utah, the R2 proved to be the go-anywhere multi-tool I've always wanted.

But it's easy to make a car shine on a press launch. The car company runs those shows, choosing the route specifically to make the vehicle look good. Many, many cars lose their charm when I get them on my home turf. So the moment of arrival was one of anxiety.

I had ambitious plans for the R2. The agenda involved a day trip into the mountains for some high-speed canyon roads and a nice work-from-anywhere session in the rooftop tent; a week's worth of errands and around town schlepping; and, most importantly, a 500-mile trek into the Mojave desert for an off-road camping adventure. The R2, with its knobby all-terrains and onboard accommodations, certainly looked the part.

Rivian R2 Performance: Real-World Review

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

I set off on my trip cautiously optimistic. EV off-roading is obviously elite. But it's a more complicated game these days than the old-school method. Charge planning is an essential skill, and the Rivian does its best to assist, with on-board route-planning functionality that's among the best in the business.

Even the best software is based on assumptions, though, and my roof tent guaranteed they would be wrong. The car hadn't had the roof tent on for long, and was likely making calculations without accounting for the extra drag on top. I set conservative stop intervals and leapt into the unknown, charging into the desert at 75 mph and hoping I didn't nuke the range entirely.

Quickly, though, I settled into wide-eyed optimism. The R2 was a quiet and refined long-hauler, making short work of the highway stint thanks in part to its Universal Hands-Free driver assistant. Great seats and a spacious cabin certainly helped.

Efficiency, as expected, wasn't great. I was stuck in the 2.3 miles per kWh range, giving me a real-world range of just 200 miles. But given my 75 mph cruising speed, the big parasail on my roof, and 100-degree heat causing me to blast the A/C, that all seemed acceptable.

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Once I hit dirt, though, things were a lot better than acceptable. The R2 effortlessly blasted through sandy washes, scrambled up rocks, and drifted around corners. Its capabilities may not exceed traditional off-roaders—a Toyota 4Runner or Jeep Wrangler still has more articulation, which is helpful on the gnarliest terrain—but it was far more comfortable on the trail than any traditional truck, and carried far more speed. One section was so bumpy that it snapped the coolant line to my friend's Chevy Suburban's heater core; in the R2, I barely noticed the bumps.

Through all of this open-desert high-speed running, over the treacherous climbs up steep terrain speckled with loose shale, and on the long interstate slogs, the Rivian was comfortable, charming, and fast. It scrambled up everything I put in front of it, leveraging its gobs of torque and favorable geometry to make quick work of challenging trails. In situations where a Subaru Outback would cry uncle, the R2 didn't make a peep.

Rivian R2 Performance: Real-World Review

I loved sleeping in the Rivian x iKamper tent, but if you're worried about range, I would skip it. The extra drag really cuts into highway efficiency.

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

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It drifted through the sand like a rally car and settled onto the highway like a Mercedes. It was quiet, easy to use, and refined in every moment. And it swallowed up camping gear, filming equipment, a few passengers, and all of my provisions without a concern.

As an all-around multi-tool, the Rivian was unflappable. I threw everything I could at the R2 and it never blinked, cementing what I already suspected. For $59,485 as-tested, there isn't a finer adventure vehicle in the world. Some are more luxurious, others can handle rougher terrain. But as an all-rounder, the R2 is in a class of one.