Consumer Reports 10 Most Satisfying Cars and SUVs for 2023 -- R1T & R1S Both Make List

[AllInev]

Unfortunately for me, CR’s predicted reliability ranking for the R1T seems to be spot on. If it wasn’t so great is so many other categories, I’d have this thing listed on Craigslist (not really).

Going in next month for another service session (7 so far in 18 months).

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[CrazyOne]

This is the kind of result that's really hard to explain to non-owners.

Where they see how unreliable it is and they question the sanity of owners who say they'd buy it again.

I'm part of the 12% that wouldn't buy again, but I can see a person would buy it again. If it wasn't for the dreaded tock I would definitely buy it again.

The tock noise it makes on acceleration and deceleration really ruins the what an EV drivetrain offers. I also can't recommend it in good conscience because Rivian states that they all have the tock.

Sure I know that's not really true and that I'm in a small camp of people with fairly early VINs that have the tock, Most owners have a silent or nearly silent drive train so they get to enjoy the silence and smoothness (aside from the motors) of an EV drive train.

Let go of it and you will find happiness

 

[CrazyOne]

Excuse me. Exterior door handles? Seriously? Exterior door handles?!!! This is a thing? I have to laugh Give me a break. Nobody should ever pay any attention to what Consumer Reports has to offer regarding cars. They are clueless!!

Perhaps the lock/unlock issues are listed as exterior door handles? The lock button is usually on the handles for almost all other vehicles. It's a poor description, nevertheless.

Edit: There is no such thing as a perfect car. If you read the full review, it's spot on and I would agree with atleast 90% of it.

 

[lefkonj]

Let me help out here so no one wastes clicks or money on this bird cage liner crap.

CR hates the Rivian's, they have said they are unreliable and undriveable but yet somehow owners absolutely love them and would buy them again. The undriveable part was hysterical because they couldn't get used to the acceleration or regain..... Drive it for a week you will be used to it, not an hour.

 

[Ecupip]

I agree that one of the problems is that they have not spent enough time with the vehicles. They hand them around to multiple reviewers and no one seems to have put in enough time to get used to the braking/regen.

This baffles me, especially if reviewing products and cars is your JOB. My first time in and driving an EV was my R1T. It took me less than 10 minutes to understand and master the braking.

 

[dfacto]

I'm pretty happy with my R1S but I also think the CR report is a generally fair review and appropriate for the average consumer, i.e., their demographic.

As a machine, I think the R1 platform is unrivaled. Period.

However as a luxury vehicle, it lacks polish and has some baffling design choices.

Echoing others: I feel the internal handles are too low. The auto wiper is inconsistent, even after the recently added sensitivity feature. Reverse still is clicky. Steering heating is anemic. Frunk latch is aggressive. Stalk switches are odd (glad for the stalk tho!). Internal plastic trim pieces don't fit perfectly together or some needed to be popped in. Others (steering wheel) need beveling to remove sharp edges. I'd like to see seats fold down to a level cargo area. UI is clumsy (glad for two screens though). Second row screen is overkill (unless it supports video). Etc. Etc.

To be clear: these are nitpicks. But on my $65k Volvo I have no nits on fit and finish. It is also 1/10th the machine that is my R1S. But my R1S is also 30% more expensive at $85k (nearly 60% more at 102k if you're post March 21 preorder) and with that higher price I should make far fewer concessions.

It's a startup. We're early adopters. We expected this. And rivian will improve. I love them and their products.

But that doesn't mean CR is wrong.... (Except on regen. I love the R1 regen and will never go back!). There is work to do and we should expect rivian to do it.

 

[Singletracker]

Intrusive regenerative braking? Really? I really don’t understand how some seem to have such issues with regenerative braking. When I first test drove an R1T (first ever EV drive, BTW), to my surprise, I had the hang of the regen, within a block or two. I loved it, instantly. Besides the power, the regen was the highlight of that test drive. I now have 4500 miles on my R1T and regenerative braking is absolutely one of my favorite features. Every time I ease up to a stop, it puts a smile on my face. Well, sort of Hey, I’m easily pleased 🫤 Some people must have less control over what their right foot is doing than others. Maybe that’s the difference. Or, maybe their driving environment is different. I do think regen encourages a smooth driving style, rather than the manic style you see so often, especially in urban environments.

 

[Chewy734]

Going in next month for another service session (7 so far in 18 months).

Sorry to hear, but I’m surprised you were even able to schedule 7 SC appointments in 18 months! Here, you can maybe get one 5-6 months out!

 

[foxerson]

Intrusive regenerative braking? Really? I really don’t understand how some seem to have such issues with regenerative braking. When I first test drove an R1T (first ever EV drive, BTW), to my surprise, I had the hang of the regen, within a block or two. I loved it, instantly. Besides the power, the regen was the highlight of that test drive. I now have 4500 miles on my R1T and regenerative braking is absolutely one of my favorite features. Every time I ease up to a stop, it puts a smile on my face. Well, sort of Hey, I’m easily pleased 🫤 Some people must have less control over what their right is doing than others. Maybe that’s the difference. Or, maybe their driving environment is different. I do think regen encourages a smooth driving style, rather than the manic style you see so often, especially in urban environments.

100%

The regen is a great feature. I recall watching an interview with RJ a while back in which he was unapologetic about the regen and lack of a “creep mode” when your foot is off the brake. He basically said it’s an EV, it defeats the purpose to simulate the inefficiencies of an ICE vehicle and automatic transmission.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Let go of it and you will find happiness

It's hard to let go of something that is perfect for my use case.

I figured as more Rivians are on the road without the tock then they won't be able to claim "they all tock".

At any rate I'm going to be putting so many miles on it that it will hide any reduction in resale value due to the tock.

And if it lasts long enough then I'll be the one challenging the Rivian in who has cracking going on the most. When it stops or when I get off the couch.

 

[ImAI]

Rivian states that they all have the tock.

a December 22' build here (16xxx VIN) and definitely no tock in one year of ownership and some hard launches which supposedly made the tock appear.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

a December 22' build here (16xxx VIN) and definitely no tock in one year of ownership and some hard launches which supposedly made the tock appear.

In VIN's around mine (6XXX) the amount that had the tock was about 60% (or more) based on some thread polls.

These days we don't even have thread polls as Rivian took care of the issue for later builds. They made a bunch of changes to either greatly reduce it or eliminate it.

The service bulletins at the time were for customers like me who took it in only to be told that they all did it, and it was expected behavior. But, we'd tell them no because we've had other performance EV's that didn't have it.

The entire history of this has always been a 50/50 thing where half the time were told there was no issue, and half the time their was a service bulletin on it.

For most early VIN vehicles the service bulletins either fixed it or mostly fixed it to the point where it was barely perceptible.

It just didn't fix my vehicle.

So its going to be interesting in 6+ months to take it to a different service center to see what they say. Even if they're not able to fix it I'll just put up with it, and continue to pile the miles on.

It's mostly a test to see if they value me as a customer enough to fix the car so it doesn't sound like bones cracking. The worst is when its in Driver+ in stop and go traffic.

 

[kylealden]

Intrusive regenerative braking, Unintuitive controls, Awkward exterior door handles

I understand regen braking isn't everyone's cuppa, but I'm really struggling to figure out the other two. Unintuitive controls I assume is just griping about climate?

But door handles? They're handles, that you pull on. They're leagues better than the "how does Elon think doors should work this week?" Tesla roulette wheel, and more or less "just doors with auto-presenting handles" otherwise. Does anyone really not like these?

 

[Greg Chick]

This is the kind of result that's really hard to explain to non-owners.

Where they see how unreliable it is and they question the sanity of owners who say they'd buy it again.

I'm part of the 12% that wouldn't buy again, but I can see a person would buy it again. If it wasn't for the dreaded tock I would definitely buy it again.

The tock noise it makes on acceleration and deceleration really ruins the what an EV drivetrain offers. I also can't recommend it in good conscience because Rivian states that they all have the tock.

Sure I know that's not really true and that I'm in a small camp of people with fairly early VINs that have the tock, Most owners have a silent or nearly silent drive train so they get to enjoy the silence and smoothness (aside from the motors) of an EV drive train.

I do not understand the "Tock", I have an R1T 2023 Big battery 4 motor Adventure unit. . Is the tock a sound found in earlier units?

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