Two years after revealing what its next-generation affordable EV would look like, Rivian has shared all the pricing, colors and performance specs for its upcoming R2 SUV. And like so many new car launches, it’s complicated.
The bottom line: Rivian’s bid to sell a more affordable EV accessible to a wider market will cost between $45,000 and $57,990 — prices that vary based on performance and other interior and exterior touches.
Rivian will eventually offer consumers several versions of its R2 mid-size SUV. But the first to be available to consumers this spring (we don’t have an exact month yet, but it looks like June 2026) will be its most expensive. The R2 Performance with the Launch Package, a dual-motor EV with all-wheel drive with up to 330 miles of EPA-estimated range, will start at $57,990. Rivian will eventually drop the edition tag and simply sell a performance investment, though it has yet to share pricing details.
Rivian said it will begin production and deliveries of a premium version of the R2 — also a dual-motor AWD SUV with less horsepower but the same 330-mile range — in late 2026 that starts at $53,990.
The automaker will then offer two different standard versions of the R2 — battery range being the main difference here. The R2 “long-range” model is expected to go into production in early 2027 with a range of 345 miles and a starting price of $48,490. A cheaper $45,000 standard version with an estimated range of 275 miles will go into production sometime in late 2027, Rivian said.
Whether Rivian will eventually build this $45,000 version is unclear and will likely depend on how the initial launch of its more expensive versions goes.
Standard fare
Notably, the Rivian is fairly fair across all trims in terms of basics. All R2 trims are built on Rivian’s new mid-engine platform that uses engines developed and built in-house. All come with an 87.9 kilowatt-hour battery and a native North American Charging Standard port – the charging standard that comes from Tesla. Even the battery lineups are pretty close to the R2 trims, with the exception of the cheaper R2 standard version.
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The specs change once you look at horsepower and torque. The performance launch version is the fastest and most capable. The twin-motor version with all-wheel drive makes 656 horsepower and 609 pound-feet of torque and can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. (Not that someone driving a midsize SUV needs to step out of line like that.)
The Rivian takes it down a notch with the premium trim, which is still a dual-motor AWD, but that only produces 450 horsepower and 537 pound-feet of torque. And that translates to a slower 4.6 seconds to travel from zero to 60 mph.
Finally, the standard long-range version is a rear-wheel drive that makes 350 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque. This version has that boost in range to 345 miles. It’s slower off the line, however, with a time of 5.9 seconds to travel from zero to 60 mph. (Rivian isn’t yet sharing specs for the cheaper R2.)
The Rivian R2 SUV is undeniably an existential vehicle for the automaker — and one that the automaker has set significantly high sales targets for this year. It has to be exciting enough to attract consumers, without turning them off with a high price. And it needs to be cheaper to build than its flagship if it hopes to someday be profitable.
For Rivian, that sweet spot wanders a bit but is mostly above $50,000. Whether it is the consumer sweet spot is another matter. The average new car buyer paid $49,191 in January, according to Kelly Blue Book. That puts the R2 just above that average price — and mostly before buyers add bells and whistles to the vehicle they’re configuring.
And there will be plenty of opportunities to add upgrades.
Upgrades for everyone
Prospective R2 buyers will have plenty of options to make the EV their own. And each raises the price. For example, every version of the EV comes standard in a new color called Esker Silver.
If the buyer wants a different paint color, such as the special “launch green” for the launch version, it will cost them. Rivian is introducing three new colors in total: silver, a metallic blue called Catalina Cove, and a metallic gray called Half Moon Grey. It will also allow buyers to choose from the other existing colors.
Buyers who opt for the more expensive Performance Edition and Premium models will get the most “extras,” including a nine-speaker audio system, two mid-woofers, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seats, a heated steering wheel, and 12-way adjustable front seats. Both of these trims will also come standard with a new interior with what Rivian describes as birch wood accents. Both will have a lens hood on the driver’s door, a nod to one of the original fun surprises on their R1 luxury truck and SUV.
While every new R2 will come standard with advanced driver assistance features, there are options to upgrade. Rivian Autonomy+, which offers hands-free driving on select highways, is a one-time fee of $2,500 or $49.99 per month. This is included for those splurging on the performance launch edition.
One last note about the company’s autonomy package. There is a small gap in the material. Let me explain. In late 2026, Rivian will begin shipping R2 vehicles equipped with the right hardware to support greater levels of automated driving that the company previously described as “personal L4,” a nod to the level set by the Society of Automotive Engineers that means a vehicle can operate in specific environments without human intervention.
But this personal L4 can’t happen without the right computer and sensors. Rivian last December unveiled a third-generation “autonomy computer,” or ACM3, that can process 5 billion pixels per second. This computer as well as a lidar sensor will appear on the Rivian R2 in late 2026.
That means it won’t be in the performance launch edition coming in the spring. Barclays analyst Dan Levy noted in a research note this week that many tech buyers may choose to wait for the greater ADAS capabilities of the Gen 3 R2 hardware rather than buy the original R2 with Gen 2 range.
Of course, this more capable (in terms of automated driving) R2 will likely cost more, which could push consumers towards the cheaper versions.
