You now have one more reason to be excited if you’re the proud owner of the Rivian R1T electric truck or are waiting for the new R1S all-electric SUV. Rivian has finally released its “soft sand” driving mode software update.

Last month, Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe started teasing a new “sand mode” on Twitter, confirming that the brand’s fifth off-road driving mode would be available soon. Now, just in time for summer, Rivian has officially released the sand mode update promising to improve performance in off-road situations.

Whether your adventure takes you to the beach or some sandy plains, you know your R1 vehicle will be up to the task and ensure you don’t get stuck. Sand mode essentially uses some of the many electrical systems in the car to optimize performance, specifically for deep, soft sand.

The Twitter embedded below says it’s coming soon, but Sand Mode is officially available via a software update for the R1T and R1S.

Sand mode — coming in a future OTA update pic.twitter.com/8Q5NwIgImE

— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) April 26, 2022

According to Rivian, all you have to do is tap a button in your R1 vehicle to enable sand mode. Once the button is selected, the vehicle starts “optimizing traction and stability control to make up for the limited traction and increased drag of driving in deep sand, which also helps decrease your chances of getting stuck.”

This new mode will increase drivability and maneuverability in deep sand conditions. Rivian says that several different things happen all at once, intelligently, once a driver enables sand mode.

Your Rivian vehicle will automatically soften driver inputs, control and refine the throttle to help initiate or maintain momentum going through sand, and even slowly increase the throttle to prevent peeling out, digging in, and getting stuck.

Then, during higher speeds, your Rivian adventure vehicle will offer a more aggressive delivery to the system and tires to handle thick sand and lower regenerative braking to ensure the wheels roll smooth and prevent digging into soft surfaces. And finally, the suspension and ride characteristics even change slightly to handle the situation.

Basically, your vehicle can handle any surface now, from soft sand to rocks, roads, gravel, etc. It’s worth noting that last month Rivian’s CEO also suggested a new dog or pet mode is on the way, which will keep the interior temps under control.

Then, users can expect another update soon with “Dashcam mode,” which sounds very similar to Tesla’s Sentry mode and will record your vehicle’s surroundings when in park, thanks to the various cameras on the vehicle.

Source: Rivian