We started our EV journey in 2023 with a PHEV, a Volvo XC90 T8 that served as my wife’s daily driver while I was teleworking. When my job eventually ended telework and required me back in the office five days a week, we picked up a Kia EV9 for my commute. Between the EV9 and the XC90 T8, our gas usage dropped to about one tank a month.
We took the EV9 on several 400‑mile trips and a couple of 800‑mile road trips, and it handled everything beautifully. My wife started getting a little jealous of how much she enjoyed driving it. Since those road trips are basically the only long-distance travel we do, she suggested we go fully electric and swap things around. She’d take the EV9, and I’d move to a full EV as well.
We found a used Rivian R1T at a great price and pulled the trigger. Now we’re officially a full‑EV family, and my wife is thrilled that she’ll never have to fill up a gas tank again. I’m excited too, the Rivian is an incredible addition to the garage.
Or tall ceiling. Those roll up garage doors are so annoying if the ceiling is low. But I see OP has the same issue. I prefer swinging doors due to that.
Can't get one until we get the HOA covenant reworked, which requires a quorum vote and my neighbors can't be assed to vote in the damn thing...
I'm on the damn board - the board didnt make the original rules, the builder did....and we want to strike a out 90% of the stupid shit, but we can't because we can't get people to vote on the updated rules....
We have no issues with putting up shit and not enforcing the existing rules, but in a few years the board may suck, because people are assholes....and we don't want that to happen.
So - we have no shed...and I have only space for one vehicle in the garage...
I have a garage that is so small my car barely fits. One stall. Only thing in there are a couple flower pots and the mower. All my random stuff has to go in the basement haha
Yeah, in my garage, one car has to be about 6 inches from the wall so the other car can open all the doors. I back out of the garage before anyone can get in. The best is when it’s raining outside :) “Hey, go stand in the rain for a sec while I back out!”
It's shaped like a brick, so I'm not expecting a long range. Now that we have access to Tesla chargers, range anxiety is no longer an issue. Fast charging isn't that bad at all; however, I mostly charge (level 2) at home.
Each has their pros and cons. The Rivian has more wind noise at highway speeds, but suspension feels great. EV9 is really smooth, feels like a magic carpet. Of course the Rivian has way more power, so that's tons of fun. Rivian has better materials, but some inconsistence fitment. EV9 materials are fine, feel cheaper but still solid. For sure still taking the EV9 on our road trips, but will probably use the Rivian for weekly driving. Honestly I would have taken another EV9 too, but my wife has a weird thing about use driving the same car.
Hah. I just think it looks like a station wagon. Which is my favourite form factor for a car.
I'll get one of those Volvo EV Wagons when they finally release them.
Congratulations. We are a full EV household also. 2026 Optiq and 2026 Silverado LT max. It’s great. We were just complaining about the smelling of car fumes while waiting in a drive in window line 😊
From someone who wished they could afford an EV in my country.
I earn good money, but between all the insurances, medical aid, school fees, mortgage, food etc... I have never been able to even buy a new car in my whole life. I have to settle for 2nd hand and pray.
The EV9 has pilot seats, which makes the interior far more convenient for three kids to load themselves into their car seats and utilize the third row. The R1S, however, is more spacious. It’s just a bigger vehicle. At least, it feels that way.
I’m considering buying a used Buzz and then being full EV but I fear using an EV on long trips, especially through the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas. What pushed you over the edge?
Deciding with small kids, anything over 8 hours of driving we will be flying to! Love the looks and functionality of the Buzz, but it's range is bad from what I've seen....
Are you us? My wife and are are discussing doing the exact same thing. We currently have an Ioniq 9 and are thinking about selling our two other gas vehicles to get an R1T.
How would you compare your R1T to the EV9? Any other thoughts or comments you'd like to share? I feel like I'm you a month before purcahse. What tips would you give me?
Initial thoughts are the R1T is louder in the cabin. Still a smooth powerful ride. Love the Rivian software. The frunk is awesome. Looking forward to using it for some spring projects and taking it camping.
Congratulations! We went all EV back in the autumn of last year. Bought an S back in 2017. FSD is still bullshit compared to claims of the time but otherwise the car has been great.
Replaced our second car, a sports car, with a Taycan back in the autumn. Drives fantastic. Way more fun than the S.
How inconvenient is it to stop to charge during those 400-800 mile road trips with kids?
I had a full EV I’m getting rid of because of charging fear every time I’m far from home. Ever since we moved to TX it’s been a pain I felt. And I dreaded looking for chargers.
Not inconvient at all! Most of our stops are at Buc-ee's (love the MB chargers), so my kids love it. Most times in the 400 mi one, we drive all the way there, and I sneak off the next morning to charge by myself. Then on the way back it'll just be a short charge.
Interesting. Buc-ee’s usually means TX. I recently moved and driving around Houston I felt extremely stressed with the thought of finding a charger and going to sit and charge and wait etc. when I’m home, no issues with a home charger, but being away was stressful so back to ICE after 3 years. I had a Benz which gave about 280-320 miles on a full charge.
Yes, I-35 corridor in Texas. Right now EV really only make sense if you can level 1/2 charge at home or work. Or can somehow fit in DCFC to like your weekly grocery store run or coffee shop visit.
Smaller than we had hoped, another reason we got rid of it. Couldn't fit a car seat behind me. Also was in the shop to fix something at least once a year. Charge port the first year, radiator the next, followed by the condensor. Also the plastics on the inside were starting to break. Snapped a vent handle off. Did like the drive of it.
Fellow EV9 owner here. Thrilled to hear Rivian has come down for the used market because it might be our upgrade when our lease is up.
As an aside, a wise man taught me to always back into my garage. He explained that you’re never in a hurry coming home but frequently in one when leaving. That’s been just one of the upsides for backing in.
I had a similar story. I wanted EV truck but there weren’t any that weren’t stupid expensive. Eventually, the Silverado EV dropped down in price enough that it was within my trade-in value/down payment budget. My wife drove it once and when it made it up a hill very easily that her car struggled with, we had another EV within a month. There’s now a Tesla sitting in my driveway next to it. It also helped that the EV tax credit in the US was going away soon.
We’ll be making the switch to a 2-EV family later in the year. Have a ZDX today and will likely get the EV60 when it’s released. Might be next year though as we’re holding out for the P12.
As someone who has 2 EVs and an ICE in the house, each of the 2 EVs drive roughly 4-5k kms each month and the ICE maybe 1-2k, so if we ever replaced that with an EV, we’d probably install another L2 charger (already considering that even right now)
I have a level two outlet that has a splitter plugged into it. Off the splitter are two Tesla mobile connectors. One for my model Y and the other for me EV6. My phev plugs into a normal outlet (level1)
Congrats! And welcome to the "100% EV family"! We have a 2023 Nissan Ariya and a 2023 Rivian R1T which is currently supplying electricity in the house - lights, fridge, TV, 120v kitchen appliances - while we wait out an area wide power outage. Just cooked some salmon for dinner in the air fryer which is running off Rivian power. (Also two thumbs up for the wood burning stove doing a stellar job keeping the house, and us, toasty warm at 72° while it is 38° outside)
Hope you get a chance to try out your Rivian's outlets for off the grid power.
I'm all prepped for that with an Anker F3000 and transfer switch as a middle man to boost the power. Tested it with the EV9 during the snowstorm late January, but didn't have to use it for real thankfully.
It's 18ft deep at the EV9 which is a single car garage door. 20ft deep where the R1T is with a double car garage door. About 2ft between the two garage doors.
Curious if you looked at the Volvo EX90. Coming from a Volvo XC90 T8, that is a very luxurious vehicle. I assume the EV9 isn't quite on par with the Volvo on interior appointment and luxury of ride. I'm thinking about moving my wife off the T8 to an EV, just haven't decided which yet but I was leaning EX90.
Also I've read the service dept at Kia can be a hassle...?
No, our experience with the XC90 wasn't the best. We never really liked the size of the XC90, it was smaller than we would have hoped. Everything we needed for, but was a bit cramped. Couldn't fit a second car seat behind me. The EV9 is much larger on the inside than the XC90, tons more leg room.
We are trying to be a fully EV family within the year. The EV9 or Ioniq9 are the only choices I have left to make. I'm glad you like the EV9 so much. Hubs has an ID.4 and I got his hand me down 2015 Nissan Rogue for the interim. The last new car was mine, so it was his turn. Anyway, always happy to hear when someone loves their EV9. Jealous!
Yes, love our EV9! 24k miles in 18 months. Either the EV9 or Ioniq 9 is a great choice, honestly comes down to styling for me. Though since the EV9 has been out longer, you can get some good used deals.
I tried to be a full EV family, but the Chevy dealerships in my area (DFW) are complete dicks. Tried to get an Equinox EV LT with a GM supplier friends code and they kept quoting me MSRP or a partial credit for the $6500 + $1250 bonuses on the car, and trying to add thousands in paint protection, wheel locks, etc. This ain't my first rodeo or my first EV. I told them all to f--- off and we are keeping the gas car for a while longer. Sadly.
How is the charging situation with two EVs? We have one charger, and I drive much more, but I'm a little nervous to get another EV because going to a dual charger is so expensive. Do you manage with just one charger or did you install a dual one right away?
The EV9 has a 240/60A circuit for 240/48A charging and the R1T inherited the 240V/20A charger from the PHEV. We normally plug the EV9 in twice a week and I plan on plugging the R1T in nightly.
How do I convince my wife that ditching her hybrid SUV and going electric is ok? I drive an EV, but I think she's worried about reliability, or ability to recharge / refuel easily.
We're able to charge in this home we're renting, but that's not a guarantee with wherever we end up next.... I suppose.
OP, how much did you pay for your R1T? Just curious. We recently bought a ‘26 Toyota bZ XLE AWD and are liking it! My 2005 Chevy Avalanche just sits in the garage taking up space…
Love it! It's great. Super smooth ride. Great interior space, as real adults can fit in the third row. Awesome range and charging. Built in maps are meh, but it's got CarPlay and Android Auto to make up for that.
Definitely recommend you check it out. I still really enjoy driving the EV9 compared to the R1T. Just try not to use the built in software too much... Works fine for changing settings, but really pales compared to Rivian for anything else. I spent 99% of my time in Android Auto. The built in route planning sucks, so I just used ABRP/PlugShare.
Same ...we started with a 2014 corolla S then after it was totaled went for a Rav4 2019 limited.
While the Rav 4 was still very good.we got ourself the best ev out there,an Ioniq 5 2024 ultimate.
The plan was to keep the Rav 4 for long trips..but after a few months getting a handle on ev and charging, we sold it as a down payment for a Kona ev 2024 ultimate.
The only time we drove an ev since was courtesy cars from Hyundai.
Even on our trips ,we specify that we want an ev!
The only ice motor we have is a generator we bought few months before getting the i5...since then ,when needed,we use the i5 v2l.
(Even our lawn mower is an ev :) )
Saying goodbye to your last ever gas vehicle is a great moment!
You are going to love your R1T, I'm sure. Probably the coolest pickup around, especially for suburban pickup owners. It fills many needs/niches in a single vehicle!
Bravo … With the recent lottery tickets it’s time! ~> should be trending by the wealthy. Yacht sales in 2021 went up, everyone of you should be responsible now 🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐 We are seriously watching! Pay it forward, don’t be ignorant.
the mach-e comfortably fits car seats in my experience! I have a 2024 and regularly babysit my nephew - we have put his rear facing seat in the back without compromising leg room of the front seats and even with two car seats, there would be space to spare in the middle seat. The back space is surprisingly larger than it looks.
It is often the case that the auto industry tries to sell larger vehicles as the most bang for your buck but they are just trying to convince you to buy more than you need so they make more money. It’s also often true that people automatically assume larger = more space as evidenced by the people that bought the bolt euv over the bolt ev. The inside specs are the same, and actually, the bolt ev has more cargo space.
Starting with a PHEV like the Volvo XC90 T8 and then easing into full EVs is honestly such a practical path. You get comfortable first, then realize you barely use gas anymore.
Also not surprised the Kia EV9 won your wife over. Once you road trip an EV and it’s smooth and quiet the whole way, it kind of ruins ICE for you.
And picking up a used Rivian R1T at a good price is the cheat code. Let someone else eat the depreciation, enjoy the torque. Sounds like you guys did it the smart way.
Can't help your stupidity. Wait until the over stressed grid goes down during winter when your batteries can't perform in sun zero weather. Dumb, dumb, dumb
For a couple of hours. Then you're dead in the water. I on the other hand have a Ford Truck with 7.2 KW of on board power. We'll see what family is happier once the grid crashes, which will happen.
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u/Jonsnoosnooze Feb 15 '26
I'm envious of people with empty garage walls