Rivian R1S wins vs. other EV “SUV” - according to me

[Jac]

While I’m completely committed to my R1S preorder as my next vehicle, I finally sat down and did a barely-objective comparison of the Rivian vs. other EV “SUV” offerings comparing seven key factors on a five point scale (5 highest and 1 lowest.) The seven factors I assigned scores for were: Fun, Service Center Access, Company Strength, Price, Practicality, Warranty, and Range.

Besides the R1S, I considered: Polestar 3, Lucid Gravity, Acura ZDX, and Lotus Eletre.

Overall, I was relieved to find the R1S came out on top leading with top ratings for being practical and having the best warranty - but also strong ratings for fun, service access (20 miles away in my case), price (pre-March 1 in my case), and range.

I was surprised to see Polestar 3 and Acura ZDX score just behind the R1S, albeit with different strengths than the Rivian. There is a Polestar dealer very near my house and I gave the Polestar 3 4‘s in several categories. The Acura topped the R1S in the company strength factor and I scored it well based on what we know today for price, practicality and warranty, but I assumed this 2024 Acura EV with GM tech will only warrant a 2 for the fun factor.

If you haven’t done a similar exercise it can solidify your thinking about waiting for your Rivian delivery.

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[moosehead]

Other categories that warrant their own rating include performance, cool factor, quality, sports utility, design, American manufactured. All of which are noticeable standouts for Rivian, IMO.

+1 to the service center proximity. Takes the pucker factor way down for early adopters. The Denver RSC crew is tremendous.

 

[mkg3]

....did a barely-objective comparison of the Rivian vs. other EV “SUV” offerings comparing seven key factors on a five point scale (5 highest and 1 lowest.) The seven factors I assigned scores for were: Fun, Service Center Access, Company Strength, Price, Practicality, Warranty, and Range.

Besides the R1S, I considered: Polestar 3, Lucid Gravity, Acura ZDX, and Lotus Eletre...

Well, you did say "according to me" and "barely-objective"

With all due respect, it is biased and super subjective in all 7 factors.

Fun - people enjoy different things
Service Center Access - depends on where you live and does dealership count as service center? (Polstar is serviced by Volvo dealer)

Company Strength - what category is being considered? Financial, technical, EV experience? Both Polstar and Lotus are Geely owned with significant backing and shared engineering know-how. So which? Or all?

Price - Ok I'll give you this but it should be $/criteria ratio for comparison sake

Practicality - again people have different use cases so practical for who?

Warranty - Most EV companies offer very similar so unless you're comparing to legacy mfg, its not a discriminator.

Range - Ok but only Rivian has a real world range to compare at this point from your list

Further, qualitative range of 1~5 ranking is not the most effective way to compare. Often, the scale of 1-3-9 are used to clearly separate the attribute score. The better way is, of course, quantitative value comparison rather than qualitative.

Finally, why these vehicles? Both Polestar and Electre are Cyanne comparisons. There are Wagoneer EV, EV9, and even Hummer SUV

Just say'n...

 

[Riviot]

Besides the R1S, I considered: Polestar 3, Lucid Gravity, Acura ZDX, and Lotus Eletre.

Rivian fanboi here but how about some vehicles actually available today? Say Tesla model X or Y, Ford Mustang Mach E, Audi e-tron, BMW iX, Mercedes EQS, Volvo XC40...

 

[Jac]

Rivian fanboi here but how about some vehicles actually available today? Say Tesla model X or Y, Ford Mustang Mach E, Audi e-tron, BMW iX, Mercedes EQS, Volvo XC40...

Tried to imagine myself driving the Audi, BMW or the Mercedes and just couldn’t do it. For me, the Tesla and Ford weren’t even remote considerations. My wife drives an ICE Volvo XC40 and loves it. Guess it boils down to what you drive is a reflection/extension of your self image.

 

[Riviot]

Guess it boils down to what you drive is a reflection/extension of your self image.

Definitely reflects my self image.

Courtesy of @mabowden

 

[Jac]

Well, you did say "according to me" and "barely-objective"

With all due respect, it is biased and super subjective in all 7 factors.

Fun - people enjoy different things
Service Center Access - depends on where you live and does dealership count as service center? (Polstar is serviced by Volvo dealer)

Company Strength - what category is being considered? Financial, technical, EV experience? Both Polstar and Lotus are Geely owned with significant backing and shared engineering know-how. So which? Or all?

Price - Ok I'll give you this but it should be $/criteria ratio for comparison sake

Practicality - again people have different use cases so practical for who?

Warranty - Most EV companies offer very similar so unless you're comparing to legacy mfg, its not a discriminator.

Range - Ok but only Rivian has a real world range to compare at this point from your list

Further, qualitative range of 1~5 ranking is not the most effective way to compare. Often, the scale of 1-3-9 are used to clearly separate the attribute score. The better way is, of course, quantitative value comparison rather than qualitative.

Finally, why these vehicles? Both Polestar and Electre are Cyanne comparisons. There are Wagoneer EV, EV9, and even Hummer SUV

Just say'n...

You make lots of good points. Factors that matter and weighting will vary from one person to the next and which vehicles to include in the analysis will vary as well. My point in posting was really that the exercise is kind of fun and can clarify why your back-up option might make sense for you even if it excels in different ways than your preferred choice.

 

[Jac]

Definitely reflects my self image.

Courtesy of @mabowden

Don‘t forget to floss.

 

[mabowden]

Don‘t forget to floss.

That's why they give you a gear guard cable

 

[mabowden]

While I’m completely committed to my R1S preorder as my next vehicle, I finally sat down and did a barely-objective comparison of the Rivian vs. other EV “SUV” offerings comparing seven key factors on a five point scale (5 highest and 1 lowest.) The seven factors I assigned scores for were: Fun, Service Center Access, Company Strength, Price, Practicality, Warranty, and Range.

Besides the R1S, I considered: Polestar 3, Lucid Gravity, Acura ZDX, and Lotus Eletre.

Overall, I was relieved to find the R1S came out on top leading with top ratings for being practical and having the best warranty - but also strong ratings for fun, service access (20 miles away in my case), price (pre-March 1 in my case), and range.

I was surprised to see Polestar 3 and Acura ZDX score just behind the R1S, albeit with different strengths than the Rivian. There is a Polestar dealer very near my house and I gave the Polestar 3 4‘s in several categories. The Acura topped the R1S in the company strength factor and I scored it well based on what we know today for price, practicality and warranty, but I assumed this 2024 Acura EV with GM tech will only warrant a 2 for the fun factor.

If you haven’t done a similar exercise it can solidify your thinking about waiting for your Rivian delivery.

Honestly, for all the critical aspects of Rivian on these forums, My experience has been pretty great. You do have to tamper your expectations and realize that a new auto manufacturer will have quality issues, but overall I'm still amazed by this truck. There are only a few shortcomings (and some are shared with the other EV options): Infotainment (this truck desperately needs carplay), Charging network, Service center's ability to scale with customer base

 

[tgo10000]

There really aren’t great competitors, probably BMW iX is the strongest in terms of what you get if you don’t need three rows, it’s a great EV, great range/efficiency, driving dynamics. I’m not into badges so I just care that it’s a good EV.
The Volvo looks promising.
Polestar is disappointing I’d reserve if the nearest location wasn’t 380 miles.
R1S actually exists, I don’t have to futz with dealers and is a great vehicle. That’s a win.

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