“You come at the king, you best not miss.” That line, uttered menacingly by Michael K. Williams as Omar Little in The Wire, sums up the situation Rivian finds itself in as it launches the R2. The California-based startup broke onto the scene in 2021 with the excellent R1T pickup, and soon after the R1S SUV, but the R2, with its more affordable price point, is the product that could truly solidify Rivian’s place in the market.
To do that, though, Rivian is taking aim at the undisputed king of EVs, the Tesla Model Y, which is the bestselling EV in the United States. Rivian obviously doesn’t expect to overtake the Model Y on the sales charts overnight, but the R2 had better land at least a few punches, because a swing and a miss in the crucial compact SUV segment could see Rivian wind up like Fisker. To assess Rivian’s latest effort, we lined up a 2027 Rivian R2 Performance against a Tesla Model Y Performance in a battle of high-tech, superquick electric SUVs.
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What We Tested
While Rivian plans to sell a $46,485 base model starting next year, the R2 launched for the 2027 model year exclusively in the punchy Performance trim. Initial versions come standard with the Launch package, which includes the hands-free driving assistance system and a 4400-pound tow package, which on later R2s will cost $2500 and $950, respectively. The example we drove had the standard setup of all-season tires wrapped around 21-inch wheels, with the only option, $2000 Launch Green paint, bringing the total to $61,485. The boxy newcomer faces off against an EV mainstay in the Model Y. The Performance model we tested had but one option, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), so we tacked on three years’ worth of the $99-per-month subscription, $3564, to come in at $63,194. Tesla fits the Model Y Performance with a trailer hitch as standard, and the sporty SUV can tow up to 3500 pounds.
Exterior and Interior
The R2 and Model Y may be direct competitors, but they take on drastically different shapes. The Model Y features Tesla’s signature egg-like silhouette, and while lesser Model Ys are fairly anonymous looking, the Performance looks pretty sharp in Ultra Red paint with black wheels and trim. The Performance also sports a reshaped front bumper and a small rear lip spoiler.
The R2 is more rectangular, essentially looking like a shrunken version of the R1S. Rivian’s ovoid headlights are more distinctive and affable than the Tesla’s front light bar, which has the menacing look of the eyes on Iron Man’s mask. The R2’s front bumper, with an integrated silver skid plate and tow hooks, hints at the Rivian’s more outdoorsy aura.
The different vibes continue inside, despite both automakers heavily favoring screens over physical controls. In typical Tesla fashion, the Model Y’s interior feels bare, centered around the 16-inch touchscreen. The dashboard, door panels, and center console all have a simple, bland design, although ambient lighting injects a bit of pizzazz. The Performance model’s front seats get more substantial bolstering and a fun “warp speed” badge nestled in below the headrest. Build quality and materials quality have improved greatly since the Model Y’s early days, and carbon-fiber inserts imbue the Performance with a sporty feel. But the materials still aren’t as rich as those in the Rivian—Tesla’s vegan faux leather feels slightly plasticky, and the soft-touch surfaces aren’t as plush.
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The R2 looks and feels far more upscale, with a more modern and purposeful design than the austere Tesla. The layered dashboard design is particularly rich: The synthetic leather upper feels like the real deal, tactile wood trim serves as a platform for the touchscreen, and a textured fabric resides below. Hard plastics are well hidden, confined to the lower reaches of the door panels and center console.
In the Tesla, nearly every function, from the climate controls to simply putting the car in drive, is done on the touchscreen, so it’s a relief that Tesla’s display is among the best in the game. The screen is responsive, with an easy-to-read interface. The number of tasks it handles and the amount of information it displays is overwhelming at first, but you quickly learn where the most important functions reside. Still, we prefer physical buttons for things like climate controls, drive modes, and regenerative-braking settings. Shifting between drive and reverse on a screen will always feel a bit odd, and sometimes the Model Y can even shift automatically without any driver input, which is both cool and a little freaky.
Tesla’s infotainment system is absolutely loaded with features, from a built-in dash cam to a web browser and arcade games to pass the time while charging. There’s even Zoom, should you need to pull over to take a meeting, and a Theater app that lets you stream shows and movies while parked. The Model Y also comes with Grok, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence assistant, and the Toybox, which allows for shenanigans such as turning the seats into whoopee cushions, using the interior camera to transform the car into a photo booth and the exterior speakers to play silly sounds, or making the screen into a virtual sketchpad.
Rivian is also reliant on screens but takes a more traditional approach, complementing the 15.6-inch center touchscreen with an 11.5-inch digital gauge cluster. Rivian’s infotainment is clear and responsive, and the interface feels friendlier than Tesla’s slightly cold digital environment, with a furry, cheerful mascot for the Gear Guard security system and each drive mode accompanied by vivid illustrations. Neither Tesla nor Rivian permit phone mirroring, and while Rivian’s navigation system is beautifully rendered, the map didn’t seem as up to date as the applications we normally use via Apple CarPlay; for example, it thought a recently reopened highway exit was still closed, which Apple Maps and Waze had updated on the day of.
We found Rivian’s dual-screen setup more intuitive. The Model Y’s single-screen approach requires you to glance to the right to check your speed, which doesn’t feel as natural as a quick peek down at the Rivian’s speedometer. Both cars also show a camera view along the side of the car when you activate the turn signal, and once again the Tesla’s setup makes you look away from the road for longer.
The Rivian’s digital controls are joined by unique multifunction thumbwheels on the steering wheel. They can be pushed in and to either side, as well as scrolled, to control a vast array of functions from volume and drive modes to fan speed and temperature. The breadth of functionality is initially daunting, but using the thumbwheels is pretty intuitive, and we only needed a weekend to memorize the controls.
Moving to the rear, the Rivian’s back seat is palatial. The tall roof and flat floor combine for oodles of space for your head and legs, and the low beltline and glass roof create an open, airy feeling. The Tesla, by comparison, feels a bit cramped for taller adults, with notably less legroom. The sloping roofline cuts into headroom and substantially eats into cargo space. In our testing, we were able to load 10 carry-on suitcases into the Rivian’s rear cargo hold but only seven in the Model Y. The R2 can also roll down its rear glass into the liftgate, just like a Toyota 4Runner.
Tesla makes up for its less spacious back seat by treating rear passengers to their own 8.0-inch touchscreen. The display can not only adjust the heated seats, climate control system, and the audio, but also can be used to play games or stream video. The R2’s rear occupants get a simpler console with air vents and buttons for the heated seats. Both SUVs provide rear passengers with a pair of USB-C ports, with Rivian hiding them in the front seatbacks.
Powertrain and Performance
Both SUVs pack dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrains. The R2 Performance’s permanent-magnet motors churn out 656 horsepower and 609 pound-feet of torque, and the R2 can decouple the 294-hp front motor via a clutch in the differential. Most of the time the R2 runs in rear-wheel drive, until the rear wheels slip or you demand more performance than the 362-hp rear motor can muster. The Model Y’s powertrain, with an induction motor up front and a permanent-magnet motor at the rear, packs a bit less oomph at 510 horsepower.
Despite the 146-hp gap between the two SUVs, the R2 and Model Y posted remarkably similar numbers at the test track. The Model Y zips to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds with the R2 just two-tenths behind, and the two electric SUVs are neck and neck by the time they reach 80 mph. At the quarter-mile, the Rivian edges in front, completing the run in 11.4 seconds at 126 mph, one-tenth ahead of the Tesla and 4 mph faster. While the R2 tops out at 130 mph, the Model Y keeps going to 153 mph. Both are mega-quick for five-seat SUVs.
The Model Y has a slight advantage in our passing-acceleration test from 30 to 50 mph at 1.6 seconds versus 1.8 seconds for the Rivian, but the R2 is two-tenths quicker from 50 to 70 mph, clocking that jump in 2.1 seconds.
While the acceleration times are extremely similar—and, again, astonishingly swift for five-seat SUVs—the Model Y clearly wins the top-speed race by 20-plus mph.
Things are just as close when it comes to slowing down. Slam on the brakes at 70 mph, and the Tesla comes to a halt in 179 feet; the Rivian needs 178. When stopping from 100 mph, the Model Y holds a six-foot advantage.
Rivian R2
HIGHS: Lots of room inside, sophisticated and upscale design, good ride and handling balance.
LOWS: Noisy suspension, overly strong regen braking, more power than it can use in the corners.
VERDICT: Rivian comes out swinging with a well-designed SUV that drives well and is easy to live with.
The less powerful Model Y’s ability to essentially match the R2’s performance is due in part to its lower curb weight. The Tesla tipped the scales at 4438 pounds, with the Rivian hauling around an extra 547 pounds. This discrepancy also contributes to a big difference on the skidpad. The Rivian, riding on Pirelli Scorpion MS Elect tires, posted 0.81 g, while the Tesla, shod in Hankook Ion Evo AS SUV tires, managed 0.88 g.
We also tested an R2 on the 20-inch wheels and BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A+ tires; it was a tenth quicker to 60 mph and through the quarter-mile. In a surprise twist, the R2 on all-terrain tires also delivered significantly better braking performance, stopping from 70 mph in 166 feet and from 100 mph in 340 feet. Even roadholding improved to 0.84 g.
The Driving Experience
Numbers don’t tell the full story, however, and the Model Y Performance and R2 Performance feel vastly different from behind the wheel. On a curvy back road, the Tesla is much sportier. It turns in eagerly, the tires provide plenty of grip, and the body stays flat and poised. While the steering isn’t communicative, it is accurate, and the whole package feels taut and agile. The Model Y Performance also feels extremely quick in Insane mode, with a launch befitting the warp-speed badge Tesla sticks on the back. The cornering prowess comes with a trade-off, however. The Tesla pairs adaptive dampers with a coil-spring suspension, and even in the softer Standard setting, the ride is stiff, with every bump transmitted into the cabin. It may be an improvement over the previous Model Y Performance, but the ride is still quite firm.