Rivian R1S

The verdict: A stylish, state-of-the-art and brilliant-to-drive electric SUV, the Rivian R1S takes all of the good parts of the company’s debut pickup truck and puts them in a family-friendlier package. 

Versus the competition: Featuring much more conventional good looks than many of its rivals, the R1S is competitively priced and chock full of excellent features, but it suffers from some minor assembly-quality issues that established automakers don’t.

You may think we could just copy and paste my review of the 2023 Rivian R1T pickup truck into this space, simply changing around some words to make it apply to the R1S SUV you see here, but that’s not the case — the R1S is more than an R1T pickup with a permanent bed cap. While Rivian’s luxury SUV obviously does share a lot with the pickup, it’s also shorter, has a different layout, sees some alterations to its packaging, adds a third row of seats and has a different mission. After a week with a top-spec R1S with an off-road All-Terrain Upgrade Package, I’ve learned that not only is the R1S different from the outstanding R1T pickup, it’s even better.

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How the Future Should Look

Contrary to the Tesla Cybertruck and Elon Musk’s opinion that “the future should look like the future,” it is, in fact, possible to look futuristic and modern without looking ridiculous. That’s the R1S in a nutshell: sleek, modern and totally different from its competitors in the details, with a standard of usability and conventionality that hasn’t been discarded in order to “look like the future.” Its upfront styling is shared with the R1T, but the R1S is 16.3 inches shorter, with a 14.7-inch-shorter wheelbase. Appearance options are the same as those on the R1T: street tires on 21- or 22-inch wheels on the standard on-road version, or knobbier off-road tires on smaller 20-inch wheels with the All-Terrain Upgrade Package, which is what was on the R1S I drove. 

The styling is fantastic, with Rivian’s distinctive light-bar front end intersecting two vertical hoop running lights. There’s also a sizable frunk under its long hood; Rivian says there’s 11.1 cubic feet of cargo space in there — suitable for a couple of roll-aboard suitcases — under a power-operated lid. The R1S’ shorter dimensions also help its looks; the truck’s longer wheelbase gives it slightly awkward proportions, which is not something that afflicts the sleek two-box look of the R1S SUV. There’s sufficient chrome brightwork to keep the R1S’ styling interesting, and everything looks clean, chunky and futuristic in ways that don’t feel dystopian or pulled from a sci-fi movie. 

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How the Future Should Drive

If the R1S looks how the future should look, it also drives how the future should drive. There are three powertrain options, all with all-wheel drive standard. First is a Dual-Motor AWD variant, which has one motor on each axle. It makes 533 hp and allows an estimated 0-60 mph time of just 4.5 seconds. Yes, folks, that’s the base model’s performance. Upgrade to the Performance Dual-Motor AWD system and you get 665 hp and a second faster to 60 mph, Rivian says. If you go all out with the Quad-Motor AWD version, which places two motors on each axle, it delivers 835 hp and a 0-60 time of 3.0 seconds flat.

Range varies depending on which model you choose, which wheels and tires are equipped, and which of the SUV’s three available battery packs is providing the juice. Lowest on the list is the Standard pack, which grants 260 miles of range in the base Dual-Motor R1S. This model’s range increases to 352 miles with the Large battery pack and 400 miles with the Max pack. The Standard pack isn’t available with the Performance Dual-Motor version, which likewise has a 352-mile range with the Large battery and 400 miles with the Max. The Quad-Motor model only comes with the Large pack, which brings a range of 321 miles. 

Adding the All-Terrain Upgrade Package, which adds a bunch of underbody protection and knobbier wheels and tires, also affects range. On the base Dual-Motor and Performance Dual-Motor models, it can’t be had with the Standard battery pack, meaning you must select the Large battery (which delivers 307 miles of range) or the Max battery (355 miles). On the Quad-Motor model, the All-Terrain package comes only with the Large battery pack and brings 274 miles of driving range. 

My test vehicle was a Quad-Motor vehicle with the All-Terrain Upgrade Package, so it had 835 hp on tap and a predicted range of 274 miles on a full charge, but in my testing, I regularly saw the R1S predict over 300 miles of range on a full charge. (Bear in mind that actual range will vary depending on driving style, environmental conditions, cargo loads and more.) 

Of course, range is not the big draw of the R1S’ powertrain; its performance is what sells it. And what performance it is: Acceleration is ungodly fierce with all of that power on tap, throwing everyone back in their seats with a rush of silent, continuous thrust. There’s no transmission in the R1S, so you won’t feel any shifts — and it’s amazing how quickly you get used to such a thing. It also feels luxurious; driving something with a powertrain this silent really adds to the Zen experience of the vehicle, making it feel even more upscale and special.

Handling in this R1S, however, was less thrilling despite the air suspension raising and lowering the vehicle as needed. I’m chalking this up to my test vehicle’s off-road tires and suspension. Also, the steering is fairly numb and lacks feedback. Given I already tested an R1T with the All-Terrain package, I wish this R1S could have arrived without it, but such was not the case. Suffice it to say you will pay a penalty in road noise and handling response when opting for the All-Terrain upgrade. Unless you plan on actually driving your R1S off-road regularly — or absolutely cannot live without the slightly more butch look of those meaty off-road tires — stick with an on-road tire and wheel set for better performance and greater range. 

That said, the smaller wheels and thicker-sidewall tires of the All-Terrain Upgrade Package do help in the ride department. In my time with it, the R1S’ ride quality was excellent, absorbing bumps without upsetting body motions or disturbing passengers at all. From a driving standpoint, the R1S is generally excellent — but I hope to soon drive one in on-road spec for comparison. 

Not Really How the Future Should Feel

Perhaps one of the few areas where my R1S test vehicle stumbled a bit was interior assembly quality. The design of the interior is not the issue; the layout, shapes, colors and look of the cabin’s dash, doors, consoles and seats are exemplary. It looks modern and luxurious inside, with an air of upscale sophistication that’s lacking from competitors like the Mercedes-EQ EQS SUV. Unfortunately, the execution of the interior shows that Rivian still has some production-quality issues. Close inspection of the woodgrain trim, for instance, revealed poorly applied veneers that were already cracking at the corners, as well as other trim issues throughout the interior that you shouldn’t have to accept in a $100,000 vehicle. 

Then there’s the lack of buttons. Rivian has followed the increasingly popular trend of putting everything in the touchscreen — even the vent-positioning controls, which is just silly. It’s probably cheaper to manufacture given there’s no tooling for various buttons and mechanisms, but putting everything in a touchscreen makes it difficult to use at a glance — and, thus, a distraction while driving. Thankfully, Rivian’s multimedia system is clear, easy to use and generally well done. We do miss Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, however; neither is available in any Rivian (for now). 

The R1S’ interior is basically the same one you’ll find in the R1T pickup, at least from the backseat forward. The SUV’s occupant cabin is identical in terms of space for the first two rows of seats: same headroom, same legroom, same comfortable seats front and back. The big difference comes behind the second row, where the R1S adds a third row of seats big enough for a full-size adult on a brief drive or longer ones with kids. There’s excellent cargo room with the third row folded, so if the extra seating isn’t really important to you, you’ll be perfectly fine with the cargo room in the R1S. As mentioned before, there’s also that more-than-acceptable frunk that can be used for things like groceries, muddy gear or extra suitcases. The design and layout of the R1S’ interior is excellent, and as soon as Rivian can sort out its production execution, it will be truly top-notch.

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Priced Appropriately

Rivian is a luxury brand, so its offerings are luxury-priced. That said, the price of the new R1S isn’t outrageous for what it is — and it’s fully in line with what much of the rest of the industry charges for luxury electric SUVs. A 2024 R1S starts just under $80,000 for a base Dual-Motor model with the Standard battery pack, ranging up to just a tick more than $104,000 for a Performance Dual-Motor with the All-Terrain Upgrade Package and Max battery pack. That’s a lot for any automobile, but it’s easily as much as you’d pay for a BMW iX or Mercedes-EQ EQE SUV, neither of which has a third row. The Rivian is priced competitively with the Tesla Model X but comes in considerably less than a Mercedes-EQ EQS SUV, which both do feature a third row.

What makes the Rivian R1S a better choice than these models? Style, function and smoothness. The R1S works extremely well, seats five people quite comfortably (seven in a pinch), has one of the less offensive multimedia touchscreen control systems in this class — and based on my testing, seems to overdeliver on its anticipated driving range. A lack of dealerships puts Rivian at a retail disadvantage versus its competitors (except in states that prevent Tesla from having stores), but this hasn’t yet proven to be a huge roadblock for determined buyers. That determination will pay off handsomely for anyone looking at the R1S; it’s definitely worth considering.

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