Consumer Reports 10 Most Satisfying Cars and SUVs for 2023 -- R1T & R1S Both Make List

[foxerson]

R1T ranked 2nd. R1S ranked 6th.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car...tisfying-cars-owner-satisfaction-a2239167129/

Edit: Yes, behind a paywall (sort of). Should be accessible with a free membership signup. Adding screenshots here.

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[Blueassassin]

Paywall.

 

[KeithPleas]

Paywall.

No - membership signup is required but I'm not paying anything.

Both do have great satisfaction but R1T is 22/100 in "predicted reliability" (R1S is 23/100).

And these are the R1T Lows - "Intrusive regenerative braking, Unintuitive controls, Awkward exterior door handles". R1S has the same Lows but adds "Stiff ride, No Android Auto or Apple CarPlay."

Sounds right to me (my R1S has been at the SC for a week).

 

[Supratachophobia]

Paywall.

Unsatisfying.

 

[foxerson]

Paywall.

Added a couple of screenshots to the original post. As @KeithPleas noted, it should be accessible with a free membership signup.

Or, you can read MotorTrend's rehash article here:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2023-consumer-reports-owner-satisfaction-survey/

 

[SteveInBend]

I was going to suggest accessing CR via your local library account but, alas:

This service is temporarily unavailable, please try again later.

 

[Riv_Ian]

And these are the R1T Lows - "Intrusive regenerative braking, Unintuitive controls, Awkward exterior door handles"

Maybe it's because reviewers only drive the vehicle for a short period of time when they're on the initial steepest part of the learning curve, but I don't agree with any of these criticisms. The regenerative breaking I have set on high, it took less than 15 minutes to get used to (with a couple of subsequent events of forgetting the muscle memory). I really love how easy it is to drive smoothly with one pedal driving. The controls layout has to be learnt, but seems logical and well laid out to me. I don't find myself wanting to access a feature that's levels deep in the menu system when driving other than rarely. I would like to see Alexa be more capable and language smart in making selections, but things like looking up a navigation destination and selecting it work better than most built in NAV systems I've experienced. Other than waking up to phone proximity being a bit slow on occasion, the door handle gripe also seems off base.

 

[foxerson]

Maybe it's because reviewers only drive the vehicle for a short period of time when they're on the initial steepest part of the learning curve, but I don't agree with any of these criticisms. The regenerative breaking I have set on high, it took less than 15 minutes to get used to (with a couple of subsequent events of forgetting the muscle memory). I really love how easy it is to drive smoothly with one pedal driving. The controls layout has to be learnt, but seems logical and well laid out to me. I don't find myself wanting to access a feature that's levels deep in the menu system when driving other than rarely. I would like to see Alexa be more capable and language smart in making selections, but things like looking up a navigation destination and selecting it work better than most built in NAV systems I've experienced. Other than waking up to phone proximity being a bit slow on occasion, the door handle gripe also seems off base.

Agree with all these points. My take is that this is exactly why the R1T and R1S rank high in owner satisfaction than the CR ratings would suggest. Most owners move through the learning curve in a week or two thus making many of the CR criticisms irrelevant.

I will say that CR is likely in the right ballpark with predicted reliability. Seems like most owners on this forum have experienced some form of warranty service/repair issue. Predictable for new product from a new manufacturer.

 

[Fozzy]

Since some people are having trouble accessing the list, here are the top 10 vehicles ranked by how many owners would buy them again:

1) Chevrolet Corvette: 93%
2) Rivian R1T: 88%
3) Mazda MX-5 Miata: 88%
4) Lexus NX PHEV: 87%
5) BMW X5: 85%
6) Rivian R1S: 84%
7) Ford Maverick Hybrid: 83%
8) Kia Telluride: 82%
9) Honda Pilot: 82%
10) Hyundai Ioniq 6: 81%

 

[s4wrxttcs]

This is the kind of result that's really hard to explain to non-owners.

Where they see how unreliable it is and they question the sanity of owners who say they'd buy it again.

I'm part of the 12% that wouldn't buy again, but I can see a person would buy it again. If it wasn't for the dreaded tock I would definitely buy it again.

The tock noise it makes on acceleration and deceleration really ruins the what an EV drivetrain offers. I also can't recommend it in good conscience because Rivian states that they all have the tock.

Sure I know that's not really true and that I'm in a small camp of people with fairly early VINs that have the tock, Most owners have a silent or nearly silent drive train so they get to enjoy the silence and smoothness (aside from the motors) of an EV drive train.

 

[ndmiller]

I knew the R1T was better than the R1S by at least 4%.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Maybe it's because reviewers only drive the vehicle for a short period of time when they're on the initial steepest part of the learning curve, but I don't agree with any of these criticisms. The regenerative breaking I have set on high, it took less than 15 minutes to get used to (with a couple of subsequent events of forgetting the muscle memory). I really love how easy it is to drive smoothly with one pedal driving. The controls layout has to be learnt, but seems logical and well laid out to me. I don't find myself wanting to access a feature that's levels deep in the menu system when driving other than rarely. I would like to see Alexa be more capable and language smart in making selections, but things like looking up a navigation destination and selecting it work better than most built in NAV systems I've experienced. Other than waking up to phone proximity being a bit slow on occasion, the door handle gripe also seems off base.

The lows do seem way off from what I expect from actual owners.

Like I expect an actual owner to have more complaints about the lack of consistency of regenerative braking than the intrusiveness of it. I do expect a small percentage of owners to hate regen braking where they want a option for none. In any case Rivian added blended braking in the most recent update to try to fix the consistency issue.

The lack of complaints about the passive entry system is also a bit weird. Rivian has made improvements in it, but its still really inconsistent. Like sometimes I can be way far from my Vehicle before it locks, and other times it will lock just a few feet away right. There are also times where the Fob buttons are really slow in working even with a fresh battery in the fob.

As to the UX/UI - I personally dislike the controls for the wiper and the lights. I simply don't like the kind of switch they used, and how it works. I also don't like having the heated seat control under two button presses. Or the fact that it doesn't simply come on the next time I drive.

In the positive side there have been numerous fixes to things I didn't like so I think this plays a huge role in owner retention.

 

[NY_Rob]

The 1980's called... they want their Consumer Reports back!

No one gives a rat a$$ what CR says any longer, they are as relevant as AOL and Yahoo!

 

[madgrey]

The 1980's called... they want their Consumer Reports back!

No one gives a rat a$$ what CR says any longer, they are as relevant as AOL and Yahoo!

Not a big fan of CR but I don't discount it either. Like any "review" you can look at the methodology and weigh the conclusions based on what you care about. To me, it's just another data point, a big part of which is owner satisfaction, you know, us weirdos.

 

[Fred6v]

This is the kind of result that's really hard to explain to non-owners.

Where they see how unreliable it is and they question the sanity of owners who say they'd buy it again.

I'm part of the 12% that wouldn't buy again, but I can see a person would buy it again. If it wasn't for the dreaded tock I would definitely buy it again.

The tock noise it makes on acceleration and deceleration really ruins the what an EV drivetrain offers. I also can't recommend it in good conscience because Rivian states that they all have the tock.

Sure I know that's not really true and that I'm in a small camp of people with fairly early VINs that have the tock, Most owners have a silent or nearly silent drive train so they get to enjoy the silence and smoothness (aside from the motors) of an EV drive train.

R1T for 2 months, love it. What is tock? Not one problem (yet)

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