2025 Rivian R1S SUVOTY Review: No More Messing Around
The R1S is now the quickest SUV we’ve ever tested in its most powerful configuration. But is it the best?
Pros
- Massive update to a winning formula
- Fixed the ride issues
- Quickest SUV in the world
Cons
- Price has gone up
- No CarPlay or Android Auto
- More buzzes, whirs, and rattles than we’d like
Man, Rivian is not screwing around. The Cyberbeast version of the Tesla Cybertruck makes 845 hp you say? Bam! The new Rivian R1S Tri Motor makes 850 hp. What’s that? Model X Plaid makes 1,020 hp? The refreshed R1S Quad Motor makes 1,025 hp. The knives, so to speak, are out. The 10-cent overview of the second-generation Rivian platform is this: There are now three motor configurations to choose from in Dual, Tri, and Quad, and all of them use the brand’s own motors.
0:00 / 0:00
Efficiency, especially in cold weather, is up across the board thanks to the inclusion of a heat pump, among other enhancements. Updated cameras offer eight times better resolution than before, and the latest version of Rivian’s advanced driver assistance system, powered by a new chipset, is a major improvement.
Speaking of chips, Nvidia hardware and Unreal Engine software are now handling screen processing duties. The number of ECUs has been reduced from 17 to seven, and the processors themselves are more powerful than before. Because of the reduction in complexity, Rivian’s “zonal architecture,” as it’s called, saves 1.6 miles and 46 pounds of wiring per vehicle. (Both the R1T and R1S receive all these hardware and software changes.) Also, Volkswagen just paid Rivian $5 billion for said architecture. In addition, Rivian fitted the R1S with an updated rear suspension setup engineered to improve its oft-panned jittery ride. Are all these changes enough to win over the hearts and minds of the judges?
Not when it comes to advancement in design, one of our six key criteria. This isn’t really a thing when we’re talking about a vehicle like the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, which we don’t want to see changed because it’s an icon at this point. But the R1S hasn’t reached that status, and even though it’s barely three years old, it was something of a surprise that not even one body panel of the latest model was even slightly tweaked. We do like the interior changes, however. Technical director Frank Markus, for one, was duly impressed by the newly updated cabin: “The checkerboard stitching pattern on the seats is fancy. The wood is wonderful. The tartan plaid on the floormats is glorious. This is an SUV I would be proud to show my friends.”
The R1S falls on either side of the engineering excellence spectrum. The bad news is mostly in terms of build quality. We suspect our test vehicles were all early-build prototypes, but there was just so much rattling and so many weird noises that the R1S Tri Motor we brought along on our finalist road loop seemed screwed together worse than the vehicles it was up against. But it drives so well, especially when pushed, and the rear end no longer suddenly steps out, a characteristic that plagued the initial R1S. “I had very little opportunity to drive the first-gen SUV, so I’m not really familiar with the rear suspension issues others cited,” features editor Scott Evans said. “That said, it drives beautifully now, so whatever it was, Rivian has clearly rectified the problem.”
We should mention the four-figure-horsepower R1S Quad Motor is officially the quickest SUV we’ve ever tested, hitting 60 mph in 2.6 seconds and running the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds at 128.2 mph. Dang. If the performance of intended function is to mix a Porsche Cayenne Turbo with a Ford Raptor, then Rivian strikes with the R1S.
This review was conducted as part of our 2025 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.
When I was just one-year-old and newly walking, I managed to paint a white racing stripe down the side of my father’s Datsun 280Z. It’s been downhill ever since then. Moral of the story? Painting the garage leads to petrolheads. I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve always had strong opinions about cars.
One day I realized that I should combine two of my biggest passions and see what happened. Turns out that some people liked what I had to say and within a few years Angus MacKenzie came calling. I regularly come to the realization that I have the best job in the entire world. My father is the one most responsible for my car obsession. While driving, he would never fail to regale me with tales of my grandfather’s 1950 Cadillac 60 Special and 1953 Buick Roadmaster. He’d also try to impart driving wisdom, explaining how the younger you learn to drive, the safer driver you’ll be. “I learned to drive when I was 12 and I’ve never been in an accident.” He also, at least once per month warned, “No matter how good you drive, someday, somewhere, a drunk’s going to come out of nowhere and plow into you.”
When I was very young my dad would strap my car seat into the front of his Datsun 280Z and we’d go flying around the hills above Malibu, near where I grew up. The same roads, in fact, that we now use for the majority of our comparison tests. I believe these weekend runs are part of the reason why I’ve never developed motion sickness, a trait that comes in handy when my “job” requires me to sit in the passenger seats for repeated hot laps of the Nurburgring. Outside of cars and writing, my great passions include beer — brewing and judging as well as tasting — and tournament poker. I also like collecting cactus, because they’re tough to kill. My amazing wife Amy is an actress here in Los Angeles and we have a wonderful son, Richard.Read More
