Rivian has ranked first for the third consecutive year in Consumer Reports‘ Owner Satisfaction ratings, which evaluates vehicles based on performance, comfort and usability.
Consumer Reports surveys “tens of thousands” of vehicle owners each year through its ‘Annual Auto Surveys,’ which in 2025 covered about 380,000 vehicles.
These surveys measure owner satisfaction and vehicle reliability.
Despite its high score in satisfaction, consumers have rated Rivian as the least reliable brand in 2025.
Highest Scores in Satisfaction
According to the surveyed consumers, 85% of Rivian owners would buy the company’s vehicles again, granting it the highest score among the 26 automakers evaluated.
BMW ranked second, with a 71% rate. Tesla follows closely, ranking fourth with a 69% chance.
The Elon Musk-led company is the only other electric vehicle manufacturer considered in the survey, and leads when it comes to ownership and driving, with Rivian placing second.
Rivian, on the other hand, is the most comfortable vehicle, with the most easy to use infotainment and controls.
The EV maker prides itself on its software-focused vehicles, which led to a partnership and an investment of over $5 billion from Volkswagen — currently seen as the worst in usability.
The legacy automaker invested over €12 billion in Cariad, its software subsidiary. However, Cariad’s role in software development now is to only oversee the group’s partnerships with Rivian and XPeng.
Rivian aims to offer a “seamless digital experience” for vehicle owners, as several executives have noted before.
In the future, it also plans to license its software to other automakers beyond the Volkswagen Group.
Tesla ranks sixth in usability. When it comes to comfort, the company is not included in the top five, and the least comfortable vehicles are from Acura.
The company is, however, second when it comes to cabin storage, behind Stellantis‘ Ram Trucks.
Lowest Scores in Reliability
The Rivian R1S scored 29 points, while the R1T scored just 18 points — making it the second-worst model for reliability, only ahead of the GMC Acadia at 14 points.
The 2026 R1S is priced from $76,990, while the R1T begins at $72,990. The prices were updated on Thursday, as Several features that used to be optional add-ons are now included as standard.
On average, Rivian vehicles rank 26th for reliability, with an average score of 24 points— less than half of Tesla‘s 50 points, which ranks 9th overall.
According to Consumer Reports, the Model 3 is “the most reliable electric car in our survey,” while the Model Y is “the most reliable electric SUV and the most reliable electric vehicle overall in this year’s survey.”
The Model Y, Tesla‘s best-seller, scored 81 points.
The company has launched more affordable, Standard iterations for both models in the US in September.
The Model 3 Standard has launched in Europe this Friday, after the entry-level Model Y entered the continent in October.
Tesla‘s Cybertruck, however, scored just 34 points, which, while low, is still higher than both Rivian models.
The company has issued multiple recalls for the truck due to faulty parts in the past two years.
One involved a cantrail panel that may detach, affecting all vehicles produced up until February 2025.
Previously, an issue with the accelerator pedal pad, which could come loose and cause unintended acceleration, affected all 2024 models.
