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Consumer Reports is out with its annual owner satisfaction survey, showing Rivian to be far and away the most-loved car brand according to owners. The rating comes soon after Consumer Reports strangely listed the R1S as one of its “least favorite cars we tested in 2023.”

Consumer Reports does an annual survey of its readers, with 330,000 responses from owners of all sorts of vehicles in the 2021-2024 model years. In the past, electric vehicles have ranked well in the survey, and this year is no different, with Rivian topping the list by a commanding margin.

In this year’s rankings, Rivian was the only brand, out of 29, to reach a satisfaction score of 5 out of 5. Six other brands got a 4 out of 5 score, with the biggest chunk of brands receiving a score of 3.

Beyond the satisfaction score, Consumer Reports also asked owners if they would buy from that brand again. In this survey Rivian again ranked the highest, with an 86% score, 9% higher than Mini’s 77% second-place score. And that 9% gap is a big one – it’s the biggest gap between places on the list, with other brands largely being clustered close together, only a percent or two away from each other.

This isn’t the highest “would buy again” score that Consumer Reports’ has ever had, as Tesla has ranked over 90% in the past. Tesla’s score is down significantly from its peaks, which could be a reflection of several factors – slipping service quality, annoyance with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s nonsense, or just simply a move from catering to a smaller and more evangelistic early customer base to becoming a mass market company.

That last factor probably does help Rivian in these rankings, as the company is still rather small, and thus will tend to have a customer base that identifies more fully with the brand and its early mission statements. It also helps that Rivian produces only two vehicles, so its brand score is more a representation of how good those two vehicles are, rather than an entire product line (which, for some other larger brands, might include a few good cars and a few stinkers).

When breaking down owner satisfaction into different categories, Rivian excels in most of these individual categories as well. Rivian shows up as one of the most satisfying vehicles in comfort (alongside several luxury brands), driving (alongside Tesla, sportscar brands, and a couple luxury brands), cabin storage (though well behind Ram), and ownership cost (fuel, maintenance, and so on – where electric cars and Asian automakers did well). The only category that Rivian didn’t rank near the top of is usability of the interface, perhaps due to the car’s heavy use of a digital touchscreen-based interface instead of analog controls.

It’s also true that Rivian’s vehicles have been exceptionally well-reviewed by, well, basically everyone. We loved the R1T and the R1S (Seth owns one, and loves it), and so has basically every other outlet. In fact, the earliest reviews were so good that when I talked to a fellow journalist about how positive they were, they expressed suspicion: “usually there’s at least someone who says something bad about a car, but I’ve heard nothing negative about the R1T.”

Well, except for Consumer Reports. The company’s Talking Cars podcast recently noted that the R1S was one of its “worst cars of 2023”. They stated that the car was too expensive, and was “undriveable” and “nauseating.”

The problem, to Consumer Reports, was that the throttle is too twitchy both on and off throttle. Letting off throttle for regenerative braking felt “lurching” and “unsettling” to the reviewers. They stated that they found it “odd” that owner satisfaction is so high.

So… why the disconnect?

So why would Consumer Reports’ reviewers have such a different take than Rivian’s owners, and than other EV reviewers as well? I think I’ve got an idea.

The issue here seems to be a matter of throttle response. Electric motors can respond more quickly than internal combustion engines can, so it’s possible to build an electric vehicle that responds much more quickly to throttle inputs. For inexperienced drivers or passengers, this can be jarring, especially in the beginning, as cars will feel much more twitchy for any driver with an unstable pedal foot.

If drivers are used to accelerating and coasting (which you shouldn’t do in a gas car anyway – the most efficient driving method is to maintain a steady level of throttle whenever possible), this can make EVs seem jerky. This style of driving is common in an ICE car, because outside of highly-tuned sportscars, ICE cars just don’t respond very quickly to throttle inputs. And the problem usually can be solved by more experience driving an EV, and recognizing that it’s important to have a steady throttle foot to reduce the jerkiness of the drive experience.

For exceptionally powerful EVs, this is even more the case, because smaller throttle inputs produce larger jumps in power. With the Rivian’s quad-motor setup, regenerative braking can also be very strong, and so letting off the accelerator quickly can produce a jarring braking motion.

Some electric vehicles moderate throttle inputs for this reason, either adding a delay or smoothing out inputs to make for more gradual acceleration and deceleration – both the Fisker Ocean and Chevy Blazer EV, which I’ve driven recently, do this. Frankly, I find the “delay” method to be the nauseating one – it means the car is making decisions, instead of me, and those decisions happen at a time that’s not predictable to me, leading to a jerkier ride. This was the worst spot, to me, in my reviews of both of those vehicles.

VW Group vehicles have a different method – they only allow for light regen off-throttle, and instead use blended brakes to engage higher regen when pressing the brake pedal, only activating friction brakes if you push the brake pedal deeper. But this means “one pedal driving,” which is so popular among EV drivers, is not really possible in these cars.

These solutions are different than the one Rivian has taken, which is to just give you strong regen all the time and let the driver have control over what the vehicle is doing.

The Rivian’s regen is adjustable, but less so than some other vehicles. Some vehicles like the Chevy Bolt have easily-adjustable regen by using paddles on the back of the steering wheel (and the Bolt’s is probably the best regenerative braking system out there all told). On the Rivian, you need to change the setting on a screen menu and there’s no way to turn it all the way off. This has in fact been an area of criticism for Rivians, as some have called for more adjustability to the regen system (and they’re probably right).

This strong regen does tend to shock newer EV drivers, or people who don’t drive EVs full time. But among the longtime EV owners I know, almost all of them prefer strong and responsive regenerative braking, and have learned to moderate their throttle inputs effectively to ensure proper command over the vehicle and also maintain a smooth ride. And I notice the same as a passenger in an EV – it’s usually a smoother ride when the driver is more EV-experienced than when they’re more used to gas cars.

So this could explain it – for a reviewer who doesn’t drive EVs full time, who has a lifetime experience driving relatively unresponsive gas cars before moving to one of the most torquey and responsive cars on the road today, the shocking difference in how quickly power is available could make it hard to adjust. Heck, I had this issue when I drove my Tesla Roadster to test out a Plaid Model S – despite being from the same brand, and the Roadster being incredibly responsive, the Model S still knocked me for a loop with ~4x as much horsepower as I was used to.

Meanwhile, for Rivian owners, who are used to their vehicles, they don’t see what the problem is. The vehicle responds as they expect it to respond, they’ve gotten used to it, and they love the instant availability of torque, the feeling that the vehicle is almost reading your mind as it’s electric motors respond more quickly than any big diesel truck you’ve experienced.

So, this is something to keep in mind for electric vehicle test drives in general – regen could be shocking to you to begin with, but if you take some time to get used to it, to get some practice moderating your throttle inputs in a way that you haven’t had to do before with most gas cars, maybe you too can reach a new level of satisfaction with your car – just like the Rivian owners in this survey have.

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Block bets on lending expansion after stock slump

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Block bets on lending expansion after stock slump

In this photo illustration, the logo for the US tech firm “Block” is displayed and reflected in a number of digital screens on March 03, 2023 in London, England. 

Leon Neal | Getty Images

With its stock down more than 30% this year and revenue growth slowing, Jack Dorsey’s Block is going bigger in lending.

The company on Thursday said it secured approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to originate loans through its banking subsidiary, Square Financial Services, allowing it to offer small-dollar consumer loans directly rather than relying on external banking partners.

It’s an expansion of Cash App Borrow, the company’s short-term lending product. But it comes at a time of increased concerns surrounding consumer credit, with President Trump’s expansive tariffs and widespread government job cuts raising talk of a potential recession.

Transaction losses in Block’s lending segment jumped 39% last quarter, and while the company claims its underwriting model is strong, small-dollar lending is inherently risky.

“Cash App Borrow is designed to provide short-term cash flow in a simple and accessible way when alternatives are notoriously expensive and difficult for consumers to navigate,” Block said in the press release. The company added that the average Cash App Borrow loan was under $100 and about a month in duration.

Block didn’t immediately provide a comment.

In getting approval to operate the lending business out of its own bank, Block says it will be able to offer the product nationwide.

Last month, Block reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street expectations, with revenue growing just 4.5% from a year earlier. The stock plunged 18%, its worst one-day drop since 2020.

Around the same time, Block rolled out Afterpay, its buy now, pay later product, on the Cash App card. Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja told CNBC that the launch aimed to provide customers with more credit options, and positioned Cash App as a banking alternative for some customers. Block acquired Afterpay, which competes with Affirm, for $29 billion in early 2022.

Also this week, Block announced a big investment plan in artificial intelligence.

The company said on Wednesday that it will deploy Nvidia’s AI systems with its latest Blackwell chips to power open-source AI research. Block didn’t say what specifically it’s looking to achieve through its AI buildout, but noted in the press release that it will “start exploring novel solutions for our customers.”

WATCH: Block shares drop after earnings

Block shares drop after reporting earnings and revenue miss

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Kia’s first electric van looks even better in person [Video]

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Kia's first electric van looks even better in person [Video]

Kia is launching its first electric van, the PV5, later this year. If you liked how it looked in pictures, wait until you see it in real life. A production PV5 was spotted in Korea for the first time, giving us a closer look at the futuristic van. See it for yourself in the video below.

Kia’s first electric van spotted in Korea

After teasing it for what seemed like forever, Kia finally took the sheets off the PV5 at its 2025 EV Day event last month.

With its hard-to-miss futuristic design, the PV5 is a near replica of the concept shown at CES last January. The mid-size electric van is set to kick off Kia’s new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) strategy.

The PV5 will initially be available in Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis Cab setups, but with “unprecedented flexibility,” you can expect to see more options soon. Two of the first will be the PV5 Crew, with additional cargo securing options and a Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle (WAV) version.

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After that, Kia will follow it up with Drop Side, Box Van, Freezer, Box, and Prime variations. It plans to launch a Light Camper conversion.

Kia PV5 spotted in Korea (Source: HealerTV)

With sales kicking off in the second half of 2025, Kia’s electric van was spotted in Korea for the first time without camouflage. A new video from HealerTV gives us a better idea of what to expect when the PV5 hits dealerships later this year.

The PV5 maintains its techy, almost ahead-of-its-time design. Two exterior body colors were shown: white and a darker grey or black. As the reporter notes, it actually looks like an upgrade from the concept.

Kia did what it could at the back so it didn’t look like a bus, giving it more of a rounded overall shape. You can see how it stands apart from most MPVs you see today.

Like the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, Kia’s PV5 looks more like a minibus. At 4,695 mm long, 1,895 mm wide, and 1,899 mm tall, Kia’s passenger electric van is slightly smaller than the European ID.Buzz model (4,712 mm long, 1,985 mm wide, 1,937 mm tall).

It will be available with 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh battery packs, good for up to 400 km (249 miles) WLTP range. The PV5 can also fast charge (10% to 80%) in about 30 minutes. In comparison, powered by an 84 kWh battery, the ID.Buzz now offers up to 293 miles WLTP range.

Kia will launch sales in Korea and Europe later this year, followed by other global markets in 2026. Pre-orders will open soon, so check back for prices.

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Podcast: Trump’s Tesla ad, cheaper Tesla model, Mercedes CLA EV, and more

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Podcast: Trump's Tesla ad, cheaper Tesla model, Mercedes CLA EV, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Trump making an ad for Tesla, upcoming cheaper Tesla models, the unveiling of the new Mercedes CLA EV, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

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