Consumer Reports' Latest Survey Brings Good News for Rivian

Every year, Consumer Reports offers a deep dive into what drivers think of their cars and trucks — and chart out the ramifications for all participating automakers. It’s a good way to get a sense of what manufacturers are on the right path forward – and this year, one company known for its EVs finished in the top spot.

That would be Rivian, who received the highest possible satisfaction score on the survey, with 86% of Rivian drivers telling Consumer Reports that they’d buy another vehicle from the same company. By comparison, only 51% of Jeep drivers said the same thing, landing them in last place overall.

Placing just behind Rivian were BMW, Tesla and Porsche; all three scored four out of five on Consumer Reports‘ “Satisfaction Score” metric. (Rivian, meanwhile, scored five out of five.) In compiling the survey, Consumer Reports calculated this metric based on the number of people who replied “definitely yes” when asked if they would buy their current vehicle again if they had the opportunity.

This year’s survey was impressive for Rivian in another respect as well: as Electrek’s Fred Lambert reported, this is the second year in a row that Rivian topped Consumer Reports‘ rankings. Those rankings also have implications for a company that’s about to do a lot of work with Rivian. While they weren’t all the way at the bottom of the list, Rivian’s new strategic partner Volkswagen wasn’t far from the bottom, placing 25th out of 27 overall.

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There’s a lot of uncertainty on the horizon

As Consumer Reports‘ Jon Linkov pointed out, customer satisfaction isn’t the only metric to consider when researching vehicles. “[C]ars that require frequent trips to a dealership repair shop can make owners happy because the new-car warranties take the financial sting out of an unreliable vehicle,” he wrote. This might help to explain the difference between Rivian’s relative positions on this list and where it can be found on Consumer Reports‘ ranking of automakers by reliability.