Rivian R1S
Shares rank 4 of 15 electric SUVs by recommenders
Owners praise its family-friendly form factor and design, and say it's their favorite car they've owned. Critics report reliability and maintenance problems, and weak infotainment software.
Owners praise its family-friendly form factor and design, and say it's their favorite car they've owned. Critics report reliability and maintenance problems, and weak infotainment software.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Praised design and form factor
“one of their form factors (R1S) is perfect for my family”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “What is happening to jobs? Separating AI hype from reality” “I think it's a brilliant design for a couple of reasons”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 in “Amazon Rivian electric delivery vans arrive in Canada”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Reliability and maintenance problems
“My R1S was a hunk of junk. It was the worst experience I've ever had with a car”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Rivian OS 2” “My R1S was a hunk of junk. It was the worst experience I’ve ever had with a car”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Rivian OS 2” “the quality and constant maintenance issues were unacceptable”
Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV” - Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV”
Other electric SUVs people recommend
The four most recommended other electric SUVs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 139 | 102 | 58% | 12 | 3.2 yrs20 owners | — |
| Rivian R2 | 32 | 23 | 58% | 10 | — | — |
| Tesla Model X | 18 | 40 | 31% | 9 | 3 yrs7 owners | — |
| Rivian R1SThis page | 10 | 6 | 63% | 7 | — | — |
| Kia EV6 | 10 | 6 | 63% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
13 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it went from making me violently sick to pretty nice”
“My R1S was a hunk of junk. It was the worst experience I’ve ever had with a car”
“My R1S was a hunk of junk. It was the worst experience I've ever had with a car”
“one of their form factors (R1S) is perfect for my family”
“the Rivian developed infotainment software is just not very good”
“the Rivian R1S is a particularly inefficient EV”
“$55000 to repair, insurance totaled it out”
“Their reliability just suck.”
“the quality and constant maintenance issues were unacceptable”
“My R1S is my favorite car I've ever owned”
“the R1S is a better pavement princess anyway”
“I was totally smitten last year with the R1S during a test drive”
“I think it's a brilliant design for a couple of reasons”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.