Last week, Rivian told everyone it was launching the new R2 SUV. Then it blew everyone away by casually dropping the R3 and R3X, a lifted off-road hatchback with a design aping a number of automotive legends from over the years. The surprise announcement took the car world by storm. Since then, a handful of prototypes have been spotted out on the roads, and they’re already turning heads.
The R3 may not be due to hit the market for a few years, so you’d be forgiven for thinking it just exists as a visually appealing concept. However, the prototype R3s are real vehicles that run and drive. They have a well-realized exterior design and look gorgeous out in the California sun. However, as noted by journalist Jason Cammisa on Instagram, they are still very much in the development phase. Having driven the prototype R3 and R3X, he notes that the model still has some way to go before it’s production-ready.
Regardless, in the real world, the R3 is already turning heads. One member of the Utah Rivian Club saw the vehicles on the street in Laguna Beach, California, and shared the footage to Instagram. The R3X prototype looked resplendent with its rich, deep green finish as it was being loaded into a truck. A second video from the same post shows a pale blue R3 cruising along a beachfront road. The videos give us a great sense of proportion, indicating that the R3 fits into the compact category quite comfortably.
The response to the live sightings has been revealing. With the videos being cross-posted on Twitter, praise poured in for the retro-inspired design. Commenters praised the color choices and the shape, while comparisons were once again drawn to cars like the Lada Niva and previous models of the Volkswagen Golf. The feeling was perhaps most positive over at Rivian Forums, where several users were adamant they would secure an R3X as soon as they became available.
The R3 has clearly resonated with something deep and real in the broader automotive community. I’ve seen this first-hand. I post about cars all the time on Twitter and I seldom crest a double-digit number of likes. My passing comment on the glory of the R3X received ten thousand likes in two days.
Spotted in the streets of Laguna. pic.twitter.com/N9cIdv7suy
— Rivian (@Rivian) March 10, 2024
What is it that ignites people so much about the R3? It could be the classic lines or the way Rivian has given them a modern twist. Or it could be that it’s a smaller, hatchback-like EV that looks cool to boot. Its very design seems to suggest that maybe this is not just a fashionable, cutting-edge EV, but it’s one that you could actually afford, too. It was this same concept that propelled the Ford Maverick to near-universal adulation on launch, only to be spoiled when nobody could get one because they all sold out too fast.
The Rivian R3 is still years away from production. That’s why I think it’s so great that it’s been spotted in the wild already. You can put up a still display at a press event and tell the public you’re going to build something. They might even want to believe you. But when you get out and drive the cars in public, people can see for themselves that the product is the real deal. Doing so in front of a gorgeous sunny backdrop like Laguna Beach? Well, that’s just intelligent marketing.
Image credits: utahrivianclub via Instagram screenshot, Rivian
I just figured out why I love it so much. It looks like a cheap and cheerful little hatchback, and to me that means basic, no nonsense, no frills, just a little car that can be fun by being engaging to drive, because it is small and simple.
I really hope they don’t “save money” by putting everything into the screen and making it a tech gadget instead of a car. I don’t want a tech gadget.
Everything is on the screen in Rivian. They have stalks for some stuff and scroll wheels on the steering wheel, but most is in through the screen.
The R3 still has a gauge cluster and thus the ability to display info and things there. That alone (and the aforementioned stalks) mean it’s a huge improvement over Tesla.
That being said, give me a volume knob and a few actual buttons. I’m open to the idea of liking the current control design where lots is located on the screen, but I’m very skeptical.
Based on the videos from the launch event, it is going to be a screen-intensive layout. But they do have some neat multi-use controls on the steering wheel that might help make up for it. They also seem to have avoided the impulse to make things that shouldn’t be electronic (like the glove box) into powered/digital controlled features.
I suspect I’m going to buy one of these to replace my Golf Alltrack. Gimme a dual motor R3 in the dark green color of the R3X. So long as the price isn’t out of control and efficiency is good it’s mine.
Please say the green interior of the R1 will be available on the R2 and R3.
I like the looks, but I’m not the customer for this. Which is fine because I really don’t want a glass roof.
Rivian! You fools! Take my money now! This two year wait crap is no good!
By the time it’s out to production for a year or two I would likely be the perfect buyer for it.
It’d also give enough time to ensure that Rivian will be around for the long haul (or sold to another company that is).
Can the R3 make it to production with the taillights on the moveable tailgate? Because they look fantastic as is.
If they have a redundant light/reflector underneath, they could make it work. The Lincoln MKC/Corsair has extra lights on the bumper to get around that law. So where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Whoa, am I excited for an EV?
It looks really, really, really good. I will be fascinated to see if the pricing ends up being semi-reasonable.
The Maverick, the new Prius, and now this thing. Every time we get a glimpse of a US-bound vehicle that’s compact, practical, affordable, efficient, and doesn’t look like garbage, the hype train goes absolute bananas.
It makes you wonder if America’s obsessive codependent relationship with luxobarges is starting to wane. I mean, probably not, but one can dream.
They’re kinda like modern AMC Eagle’s when you think about it.
This is not a bad thing.
I wholeheartedly agree with you!
This is why I like them. I shop for those Eagles a bit, then I talk myself out because I don’t want to deal with an old AMC. I’ve bought one new car in my life, and I think this is going to be the second.
I’ve never had a new car and I’d be okay with this.
I retract my vaporware take from last week. This thing is way further along than anticipated.
I thought it was a shell, then people saw it driving. I agree it’s much further along than I thought as well. I believe their delay is their limited production capability and not enough capital to really jump start it. They still have to be very frugal and deliberate in their spending.
I was in the same camp, now eating crow
I think you nailed it, this is just a great looking car that might be affordable. What VW used to do.
I think it’s a very refreshing form factor in many ways, which is why it’s so attractive. Like, it’s NOT A SMALL BLOB CROSSOVER. I think that alone helps it stand out, but the design itself is just super resolved, and honestly comes off with some strong late-SAAB concept car aspects. Yes, it has those great Giugiaro references, but it doesn’t apply them in a way of just stealing styling, it gets the overall concept behind that design and applies it in a thoroughly contemporary way in a new, thoroughly resolved context. I think the reboot first gen mini is a terrific design, it captured many styling elements of the old models while really making a new form, I think the R3 here is like that but without any of the cheeky overt retro callbacks. Rivian doesn’t have a history to fall back on, but they have really really good design to move forward with.
Pleeeeeaaase do a hot hatch of this. I don’t want a CUV, SUV, none of that. I just want a little hatchback EV.
Isn’t that what the R3X is to be?
Ugh, terrible timing. This car is so totally my jam! But I’ll be in the market for a new small-ish EV/PHEV next year, not in 2027. Maybe if I just put myself into cryo-sleep for the next three years, then I won’t need a car until this is available….
Yeah, if 2027 is their target, they’re going to be quite a bit behind the 8-ball. By that time the Ioniq5 will be in its 2nd generation, the Niro probably close to its 3rd, the EX30 and Optiq will be out, and the Bolt should be back. Not counting any PHEVs of a similar size class that may come out by then. That space is gonna get crowded pretty quick.
I unabashedly love this thing. My inner child wants to push it around the carpet making vroom-vroom noises.
If the rumors of Lucid’s Model 3-fighter are true, the next decade of EVs could be pretty. interesting.
If rumors of Lucid’s Model 3 fighter are true… Lucid will have another car I won’t buy because of Saudi ownership…
I’ve admired the R1T and R1S from afar for a while, but the R2 and R3 may actually be obtainable for me. It’ll be hard to hold back and not jump on one as soon as possible.
This is what I like about Rivian among EV startups. They don’t show a product until they have a product. They aren’t taking deposits on vehicles that are still in early development. They didn’t announce vehicles that don’t have practical prototypes. They aren’t promising borderline impossible abilities or joke features. It seems like a real company, offering real vehicles, with about as much integrity as we can expect from a corporation.
I’m really digging this car. It reminds me of the cars I drove in college. It’s moved to the top of my wish list for my next EV if they actually make it. However, I’ll probably order it will all of the things. I like all the cameras and cross-traffic warnings and a nice stereo. Saves me on insurance and is safer.
I don’t think there’s any doubt they’ll make it. It’s just a question of what the exact specs will be, how much it’ll cost, and what the wait time will be.
As long as the price is equal to or less than an R2, I’ll likely be slapping down a deposit on an R3 the second the link goes live.
I am so tired of all the restomods (Kimera, Integrale Futurista, etc etc) – but this, this is great, because it has the same sensibility but isn’t derivative while not requiring hacking up a classic shell. What would you call this style, neo-restomod?
Isn’t restomod something old? Restored and modified? Like a 68 camaro with a big LS?
Not sure, but a lot of folks are referring to those cars as restomods. Singer and Kimera and so on; not sure what else they ought to be called. And they do use classic shells and chassis numbers.
Right. Singer takes an actual old car and then restores and modifies it. Rivian is a new design, nothing old. Neither restored nor modified. I don’t know anything about Kimera, though.
Yeah, I was saying this design gives the same vibe as a restomod while being new. Thus, I can enjoy the design without knowing that something real was destroyed to make it.
I look forward to seeing them on the streets in a few years, and can only hope this is an early sign of a return to simple unadorned car designs
I hope they work out all the issues before these go into production because if tjey do, and the price is decent, they will sell tons of these. This could be the car that truly establishes them as a player.
I like everything about the Rivian except the headlights, the lights do not work for me at all.
It is time for them to redesign by now.
Edit: though they probably can’t quite afford to yet.
This design language has only been on the market since 2021.
But it was shown off in 2018 and the novelty has quite worn off.
i think the analysis is a bit flawed here – as evidenced by their introduction of all these new models sporting the same light and fascia design, they are going for a brand identifiable design language, not novelty. It probably evolves along the way, but I’m serious how, as it’s such a dialed in Industrial Design kind of aesthetic they went with. Something that will be fun is seeing how these brand new car brands evolve their design language since they have no history to show an evolution
Analysis? You flatter me sir. I will still look forward to the R3/R3X if it ever comes out, it could become my first electric car.
Outside the car-nerd world, this is still a pretty fresh design. Even if we’ve been saturated with this language since 2018 when the first prototypes were revealed, most people (even among enthusiasts) have only been exposed to it for the past couple years and they’re just now starting to see them on the road with any kind of frequency.
The newer EV companies are showing us the 6 year refresh cycle isn’t as necessary as we always thought. Gone are the days of adding a new chrome strip and expecting people to trade in their 1954 Murica Mobile for the 1956 model. With the major leaps and bounds in drivetrain technology, consumers in the EV space are prioritizing technical development over minor styling tweaks. And then factor how heavily design is influenced by practical matters like aero efficiency…
Rivian is a new brand and they need to establish their look and feel. Even established automakers will maintain key design elements for literal decades – Mazda has used their Kodo design language since 2010 and Cadillac started their Art & Science language in 2003.
Hot take – I think the double kidney grill and Hofmeister Kink are played out. Somebody should tell BMW to change things up.
They’re different. People are always complaining about all cars looking the same. I’m not sold on them, but they’re cool in a quirky way the way the Beetle’s face was, or the deformed cockroach look of the Saab 900. I’m into it.
Something different than the current, or past 2 decades’ trends, is certainly welcome (unless it is something truly moronic like the Cybertruck).
They’re weird but I can live with them.
They’re weird, and that’s why I love them.
(Also, they’re one of the safest headlight designs on the market.)
I just like that it’s a friendly face. Most new cars look like ‘roided out alien space insects. They try to compensate for bloat with randomly placed creases, aggressive arches, and fourteen sets of unnecessary headlights.
Any idea how big the R3 is? It looks like a chunky hatch, but is it actually massive, pulling the same visual trick as the Ioniq 5?
That was my question as well.
A quick search gives a 115.5” wheelbase & 67” tall.
Definitely not first gen Rabbit sized
Thanks, and apologies, I didn’t realise size details had been released. It’s a pet hate of mine asking questions that are easily google-able.
No onus!
I tend to complain—then later realize I could’ve just used the thing I’m complaining on.
<face-palm emoji>
Someone on the Rivian forums calculated it at around 161″ in length. The current VW Golf is 168.9″ so color me impressed if that’s true.
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/r3-r3x-dimensions-161-4-in-length-59-5-in-height.24983/
The current Golf is a lot larger than the “classic” Rabbit or Golf. They used to be around 152 inches long. I owned a ’78 and and ’81 diesel rabbit at one time.
Top sleuthing by that guy! If he’s right I want one!!
Ditto! I can honestly say this is the first EV that’s come out that I would actually consider owning. Of course I would want to lower it, sitting up high isn’t really my thing, but I bet the aftermarket will have a solution to that within a couple years of its release.
It’s described as a “Compact.” So, that would put it between 13 – 15 feet long, 5.8 – 6 feet wide, and 4.5 – 5 feet high.
I had no idea American designations of compact, sub compact etc had actual dimension constraints!
I think that the classes are determined by the interior volume as defined by the EPA. Check out Federal Register Reference 47 FR 49814 if you want some fun.
All I see is Rivian doing the Golf Country redux that VAG doesn’t have the balls to make.
No surprise there, considering it’s VAG…
HA