You might expect a brand new car from a startup company to need some bugs fixing, something that could lead to disappointment from owners who jumped in early. But despite delivering its first vehicle only 18 months ago, newcomer Rivian and its R1T truck came top of JD Power’s latest EV satisfaction survey.
The R1T scored 794 points in the premium EV category of the 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study, putting it ahead of the Tesla Model 3 (759 points), Tesla Model Y (754), Audi e-tron (735) and Polestar 2 (724).
And that score also gave the R1T the best overall satisfaction score for any EV regardless of category. The Mini Cooper Electric scooped first place in the mass-market category with a score of 782 points, closely followed by the Kia EV6 (762) and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E (742).
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 (738), Volkswagen ID.4 (735) and Kia Niro (733) all beat the segment average score of 730 points, but Ford’s F-150 Lightning, the Chevy Bolt EV and UEV, and the Nissan Leaf were all rated below average.
Related: Rivian R1T Dies With A Bang After Plugging Into Electrify America Charging Station
For the third year of JD’s EV-specific study, the criteria was narrowed by focusing purely on the first year of ownership. Drivers were asked to score vehicles on 10 factors including accuracy of stated battery range, driving enjoyment, safety and technology features and vehicle quality and reliability. Availability of public charging stations also contributed to the overall score and while premium EV owners awarded an average of 589, mass market EV owners only rated access at 341, due in large part to all of Tesla’s vehicles being ranked as premium.
As with the previous two studies, this one found that the biggest annoyance for mass market EV drivers was infotainment problems, while premium owners were more likely to complain about squeaks and rattles. But one interesting new finding is that ownership satisfaction is higher among EV owners who have used their vehicle for towing.
