We made Car and Driver's Best EVs Built in America List

louisdeg · Dec 3, 2025

https://www.caranddriver.com/rankings/best-electric-cars/american-made

Rivian R1T R1S We made Car and Driver's Best EVs Built in America List Screenshot 2025-12-03 at 7.10.48 AM

Hereforthesnacks · Dec 3, 2025

Damn - #6 and below Kia?

MrMusAddict · Dec 3, 2025

Hereforthesnacks said:
Damn - #6 and below Kia?

Still the best truck on their list.

R1S is missing because the competition is starting to eek ahead with either better pricing or better use-case fulfillment.

Wouldn't be surprised if R2 made number 1 next year.

Great Gatsby · Dec 3, 2025

I truly don't understand Car and Driver. The Lucid Air is a fantastic driver's car with great range and charging speeds. The Model 3, people how they feel about Tesla, is also a fantastic car to drive with great efficiency and good charging speeds and range. I'm ok with those two where they are. But the range on the Korean offerings (and driving dynamics, to an extent) are not great and not made up by their charging speeds. They seem to have written off the R1S after their original test drive. The Lyriq has a great ride but not engaging to drive with mediocre range and atrocious charging speeds. So...what is this based out of? Range, efficiency, driving dynamics, software, charging speeds, space? Don't tell me it's based on how they drive. I dare anyone to drive an EV9 or a Lyriq and then an R1S and tell me the EV9 or Lyriq is the more fun vehicle. I just don't buy their rankings.

mkhuffman · Dec 3, 2025

The R1S is #2!
https://www.caranddriver.com/rankings/best-suvs/electric/range

Hereforthesnacks · Dec 3, 2025

Great Gatsby said:
I truly don't understand Car and Driver. The Lucid Air is a fantastic driver's car with great range and charging speeds. The Model 3, people how they feel about Tesla, is also a fantastic car to drive with great efficiency and good charging speeds and range. I'm ok with those two where they are. But the range on the Korean offerings (and driving dynamics, to an extent) are not great and not made up by their charging speeds. They seem to have written off the R1S after their original test drive. The Lyriq has a great ride but not engaging to drive with mediocre range and atrocious charging speeds. So...what is this based out of? Range, efficiency, driving dynamics, software, charging speeds, space? Don't tell me it's based on how they drive. I dare anyone to drive an EV9 or a Lyriq and then an R1S and tell me the EV9 or Lyriq is the more fun vehicle. I just don't buy their rankings.

The Korean cars charge at 800V. They are insanely fast.

Great Gatsby · Dec 3, 2025

Hereforthesnacks said:
The Korean cars charge at 800V. They are insanely fast.

They don't charge anywhere near as quickly on Tesla chargers, which are still the best option. The advertised range is also not great, with real world numbers not exactly matching them.

Source: I owned an EV9. Advertised at 280ish miles when I bought it. Could maybe get 230 miles on a full charge? Not very impressive though charging times were nice, it still meant more stops on my roadtrips. I can comfortably get 280-320 miles on my RIS quad.

savethemanual · Dec 3, 2025

mkhuffman said:
The R1S is #2!
https://www.caranddriver.com/rankings/best-suvs/electric/range

That's a different list....longest range.

NeedSumCoffee · Dec 3, 2025

Great Gatsby said:
I truly don't understand Car and Driver. The Lucid Air is a fantastic driver's car with great range and charging speeds. The Model 3, people how they feel about Tesla, is also a fantastic car to drive with great efficiency and good charging speeds and range. I'm ok with those two where they are. But the range on the Korean offerings (and driving dynamics, to an extent) are not great and not made up by their charging speeds. They seem to have written off the R1S after their original test drive. The Lyriq has a great ride but not engaging to drive with mediocre range and atrocious charging speeds. So...what is this based out of? Range, efficiency, driving dynamics, software, charging speeds, space? Don't tell me it's based on how they drive. I dare anyone to drive an EV9 or a Lyriq and then an R1S and tell me the EV9 or Lyriq is the more fun vehicle. I just don't buy their rankings.

I disagree with the Model 3 being #2. If anything it should be the Model Y. It is basically the same price, but more functional with extra storage.

Also I easily see how the EV9 got #3. It is the only 3 row EV that's actually affordable and worth buying. It is only $60k brand new and functional 6 seat captain chairs and lot of other amenities. Same configuration on the Model X is $110k and R1S runs $85k and cannot be equipped with captains chairs. It obviously isnt the best 3 row EV, but in its price range, it has no competition. It does have ridiculously fast charging with EA chargers and Apple Carplay (that Tesla and Rivian refuse to do). It is in a family segment, where cupholder count and functionality typically ranks higher in importance than driving dynamics. I do honestly believe its the best bang for your buck family EV on the market.

Hereforthesnacks · Dec 3, 2025

Great Gatsby said:
They don't charge anywhere near as quickly on Tesla chargers, which are still the best option. The advertised range is also not great, with real world numbers not exactly matching them.

Source: I owned an EV9. Advertised at 280ish miles when I bought it. Could maybe get 230 miles on a full charge? Not very impressive though charging times were nice, it still meant more stops on my roadtrips. I can comfortably get 280-320 miles on my RIS quad.

That’s odd. We get about 290 out of a 270 rated battery during the mild Cali winters. The R1S dual large end up around 250 around here.

One’s miles literally may vary lol. Charging at EA means spending maybe 15 minutes for 80%.

iansriv · Dec 3, 2025

Until the much rumored Reliant Regal EV comes out, I am sticking with my R1.

Great Gatsby · Dec 3, 2025

NeedSumCoffee said:
I disagree with the Model 3 being #2. If anything it should be the Model Y. It is basically the same price, but more functional with extra storage.

Also I easily see how the EV9 got #3. It is the only 3 row EV that's actually affordable and worth buying. It is only $60k brand new and functional 6 seat captain chairs and lot of other amenities. Same configuration on the Model X is $110k and R1S runs $85k and cannot be equipped with captains chairs. It obviously isnt the best 3 row EV, but in its price range, it has no competition. It does have ridiculously fast charging with EA chargers and Apple Carplay (that Tesla and Rivian refuse to do). It is in a family segment, where cupholder count and functionality typically ranks higher in importance than driving dynamics. I do honestly believe its the best bang for your buck family EV on the market.

Having driven both, the 3 is a better driving car than the Y and gets better range. For most though, as you said, the Y makes mores sense. The Y should also be on this list, but don't even want to get into that.

I'd agree with your assessment if the criteria was value, but It's clearly not. Does not appear as if budget is the deciding factor - Lucid is #1. Having owned an EV9, I can't see how one comes away with the EV9 as a winner if money is not a factor. Kia offers more goodies, but as far as software, range, power, wow factor and driving dynamics are concerned, the Rivian should be higher on the list. Just my opinion though. Clearly we all differ. I just strongly disagree with C&D.

Hereforthesnacks · Dec 3, 2025

Great Gatsby said:
Having driven both, the 3 is a better driving car than the Y and gets better range. For most though, as you said, the Y makes mores sense. The Y should also be on this list, but don't even want to get into that.

I'd agree with your assessment if the criteria was value, but It's clearly not. Does not appear as if budget is the deciding factor - Lucid is #1. Having owned an EV9, I can't see how one comes away with the EV9 as a winner if money is not a factor. Kia offers more goodies, but as far as software, range, power, wow factor and driving dynamics are concerned, the Rivian should be higher on the list. Just my opinion though. Clearly we all differ. I just strongly disagree with C&D.

Funny enough, the EV9 gets more wow factor than the R1 around here. It’s silly stuff like the fact that your passenger can recline and put their legs up on the extending footrest while you drive that surprises people. I agree that the EV9 is not in the same luxury range as the R1 though. But, you definitely turn heads when people get into one.

NeedSumCoffee · Dec 3, 2025

Great Gatsby said:
Having driven both, the 3 is a better driving car than the Y and gets better range. For most though, as you said, the Y makes mores sense. The Y should also be on this list, but don't even want to get into that.

I'd agree with your assessment if the criteria was value, but It's clearly not. Does not appear as if budget is the deciding factor - Lucid is #1. Having owned an EV9, I can't see how one comes away with the EV9 as a winner if money is not a factor. Kia offers more goodies, but as far as software, range, power, wow factor and driving dynamics are concerned, the Rivian should be higher on the list. Just my opinion though. Clearly we all differ. I just strongly disagree with C&D.

They dont really do a good job explaining why they gave it a 10/10. The only information they provide is

We've ranked the best vehicles based on roughly 200 data points encompassing acceleration, handling, comfort, cargo space, fuel efficiency, value, and how enjoyable they are to drive.

Also range and charging on the EV9 are same/better than my R1S. Im on 34" AT tires but at 70mph & Conserve mode, I only get about 270mi of range on full charge and charging 10% to 80% take about 45min. The EV9 AWD also gets around 270mi on a full charge but 10% to 80% is only 20-25min.

I agree with you completely, that its clearly shouldnt be on the list if money wasn't a factor, as its lacking in power and driving dynamics. But if they do factor in value, then it is in a class all on its own. But they did give the R1T a 10/10 score as well, technically tying it with the EV9. C&D does rank the R1T as the #1 EV Truck with main negatives being lack of CarPlay and cost, so I dont think they are snubbing it. Like the recent Doug DeMuro review, I think most acknowledge its incredible... just out of the price range for most consumers.

https://www.caranddriver.com/rankings/best-pickup-trucks/electric

jwanderson88 · Dec 3, 2025

The ink is barely dry on the "least reliable" list. Whiplash.

We made Car and Driver's Best EVs Built in America List

louisdeg

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Hereforthesnacks

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MrMusAddict

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Great Gatsby

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mkhuffman

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Hereforthesnacks

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Great Gatsby

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savethemanual

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NeedSumCoffee

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Hereforthesnacks

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iansriv

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Great Gatsby

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Hereforthesnacks

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NeedSumCoffee

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jwanderson88

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