Rivian leads the industry in owner satisfaction, with Tesla coming in third — making it two all-electric automakers in the top three.
Consumer Reports has released its latest owner satisfaction survey results. Rivian is taking the top spot for the second year in a row, an impressive feat for a relatively new automaker.
I’ve owned five electric vehicles, including the Rivian R1T, following my experiences with a Tesla Model S and, most recently, a Tesla Model Y. The R1T is… okay. I appreciate Rivian’s effort to bring more options to the EV market—competition is always a good thing. However, if Tesla ever replaced their CEO, I’d consider going back, though I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
As for the R1T, my complaints are areas where improvements are definitely possible: -Phone Integration: There’s no support for text messaging, and the lack of CarPlay feels unnecessary—just include it if full integration isn’t an option. They want to charge you for Spotify or Apple Music integration instead of just giving us free CarPlay. -Front Trunk Design: The space is useful, but the high lift-over makes accessing it awkward—a poor design choice. -Air Suspension: The system resets to Auto after you walk away, which leads to constant, unnecessary adjustments and strange noises. -ADAS System: The advanced driver-assistance system feels underwhelming. Adjusting speed via the steering wheel buttons is frustratingly unintuitive—you have to select left or right buttons instead of simply scrolling up or down. -I have many other nits but now I’m just rambling. Call me Rivian if you want the complete list.
There’s potential here, but these design and usability flaws keep the R1T from being a great vehicle in my opinion.
You are Rivian :)
Out of curiosity and if you feel like sharing, what other 2 EVs have you had? Which would you say you were more satisfied with? I have only had in the past few months a model Y and in general I’m pretty happy with it, but there’s some small issues here and there (and that’s ignoring the CEO issue).
I have test driven a model 3 and a Polestar 2, the first feeling too small for my comfort and needs and the second somehow felt crowded and uncomfortable in the cabin despite how good it looks.
My favorite was the Model S…the charging experience with Tesla (outside of California) is the easiest. My first EV was a BMW i3…it had a lot of flaws but it gave me the electric bug. I went from the i3 to Model S. But doing renovations on my home, it just wasn’t practical (although I have fit a 10’ board in it). I sold it and bought a full size gas pickup…but was missing the electric, so I bought a used Fiat 500e for next to nothing. Truck was just too big for me, and after running over a little Nissan Versa, I felt it was time to dump the truck. I ordered the Model Y with hitch option in early 2021 and took delivery in July ‘21. I would have kept it if the CEO had kept quiet. I’ve test driven the Hyundai Ionic 5…really liked it. I was also close to buying a Kia EV9 GTline, but in both circumstances, the dealership experience turned me off. Arranged to lease a Lucid Air…and on my way to pick it up, they let me know they gave it to someone else, even though I had already worked up the numbers and made the appointment to pick up. I kept driving to the Rivian location and took delivery (the next day)of the R1T.
Thanks for expanding on the details! I’ve been quite curious about the ioniq line, but they are harder to find around here and dont really want to buy new. I wish we had rivian around here these parts, maybe some day…