The Cupholders On Rivian’s New Captain’s Chairs Are Delightfully Simple Pleasures For Parents - Jalopnik
Rivian If you saw my family in public, you'd think we were preparing for a trek across the Mojave on foot. My wife and both my kids, eight and four, each ca...
Rivian
If you saw my family in public, you'd think we were preparing for a trek across the Mojave on foot. My wife and both my kids, eight and four, each carry around water bottles big enough to hydrate a baby elephant, all day long. And I know that isn't unusual, since I see the same thing from every other American family, wherever I go. Which is why the pop-out cupholders on the Rivian R1S' newly offered captain's chairs look like godsends to me.
That probably sounds silly, so I'll explain. Both my kids are young and small enough to need some sort of car seat. The four-year-old is still in a proper child seat, while the eight-year-old is in a booster seat, both of which have cupholders. None of them are large enough to hold a Yeti or Owala or any of the other obnoxiously wide-diameter bottles they have, though. Those water bottles are then either in their laps or tucked between the seats and their legs, which means they inevitably end up falling on the floor, rolling around. So not only do I have to hear them clanking around under the seats but it also means I have to listen to the incessant begging for me to stop and get them while I'm driving at highway speeds, and hunt for them every time I get my kids out of the car. It's a tedious addition to the rest of parenthood, which is exhausting enough.
Why not just use the car's cupholders?
Rivian
The obvious solution might seem to be using the car's cupholders. Use either the cupholders on the doors or in the center fold-down armrest, right? Well, that almost never works. I drive a lot of different cars for this job, everything from hot-hatches to supercars, and massive three-row SUVs, and almost none of them have cupholders that work. They're either too narrow, out of reach for small human arms, or both. And god forbid they go without a sip of water for the 20 minutes it takes to get them to their grandparents' pool.
Center armrest cupholders are usually the best, since they're usually within reach. They aren't always wide enough to fit bigger bottles, but they're usually my best bet. The problem is that many family vehicles now come with captain's chairs, like my 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. And I get it, captain's chairs are super convenient when loading people and stuff into the third row or trunk, and they're comfy. I'd rather have them and deal with the lack of cupholders, than have a bench seat. But without that center armrest cupholder, bottles be flyin'.
Rivian
Rivian solved the problem, though. The automaker says that captain's chairs were the number one requested feature from Rivian R1S customers, and now the 2027 model has them as an option for $1,500 (though depending on trim and what color you want, you might be forced into additional packages). Built into the sides of those captain's seats are pop-out cupholders that look large enough to fit big bottles. And they seem heavenly for someone like me.
Excitement for such a simple addition might seem dumb, but I'm always almost absurdly delighted when I get in a new test vehicle with cupholders that work for my kids. And Rivian's look like the best ones I've seen yet. So thank you, Rivian. I can't wait to buy an R1S when I can finally afford a used one in 10 years.