Rivian's latest update offers hands-free highway driving

Electric vehicle company Rivian is rolling out new software today. The lead feature is Enhanced Highway Assist, which controls steering, acceleration, and braking on compatible highways. It relies on an infrared camera in the rearview mirror to ensure that the driver is still paying attention to the road, even though their hands don't need to be on the wheel. This resource is only rolling out to Rivian's Gen 2 vehicles; the blog post did not address whether it would also come to Gen 1.

There's also a new driving mode for Rivian's Performance Dual-Motor lineup. Rally Mode is now available as one of the Off-Road Mode options. When enabled, the vehicle will provide heightened responses to steering and throttle on a range of terrains. Several Dual-Motor vehicles are also getting the option for a post-purchase performance upgrade that introduces three new drive modes: Rally, Sport and Soft Sand. This performance upgrade is a one-time cost of $5,000.

Both Gen 2 and Gen 1 are getting other elements of the software update. Side mirror auto-tilt when the car is reversing, allowing a driver better visibility of their wheels and the curb when parallel parking, and tire puncture detection are part of the package. Rivian is also adding an option to change wheel type in the mobile app's Settings menu to receive more-accurate driving range estimates.