Rivian’s new R2 lives up to the hype

For the last week, I tried driving Rivian’s new R2. One of the first things I noticed was a feature that nearly didn’t make it into the car. The haptic “Halo” controls on either side of the steering wheel are Rivian’s answer to a common complaint about modern cars: Drivers miss physical knobs and buttons. But they also added cost to a vehicle designed to be as affordable as possible. (The two circular dials, which control everything from temperature and fan speed to the stereo, also come with a learning curve; more on that below.) In the end, Rivian kept them because they were a direct response to customer feedback. They’re one example of the balancing act behind the R2, improving the experience while finding ways to make the vehicle cheaper to build. The Halo controls were “one of those areas where we decided to spend more money,” says Jeff Hammoud, Rivian’s chief design officer. “That was one I fought for—it was an increase in cost, but from a user experience standpoint, from a differentiation standpoint, it was really important.” [Photo: Rivian] The high-end Performance version of the R2 starts at $57,990, about $25,000 less than Rivian’s original SUV, the R1S. The Standard mod…