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What's The Best EV We've Ever Tested?

Name: What's The Best EV We've Ever Tested?
Uploaded: 2026-07-10T18:07:06Z
Duration: 42 min 5 s
Description: It's a question we get all the time. So on this week's episode, we're answering it and a bunch of other reader questions.

It's a question we get all the time. So on this week's episode, we're answering it and a bunch of other reader questions.

IEVs Podcasts: Your Questions Answered

42:05

Photo by: InsideEVs

Mack Hogan

By: Mack Hogan

Jul 10, at 2:07pm ET

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"What's the best EV you've tested?"

It's a natural first question that Tim and I get when people learn that we cover the electric car industry for a living. There's a ton of nuance to what makes a vehicle good or bad, and what vehicles are good versus what we like, but nobody wants to hear about that. They want the bullet-point answer: What's the best? Or, alternatively: Which would you buy if you had unlimited money.

So on today's episode of the Plugged-In Podcast—give it a listen here—we tell you. I'm not going to spoil Tim's answers. I only spoil things for Tim when it's absolutely necessary or, you know, funny to me specifically. But I will spoil mine, because there are a lot of other great reader questions we get to today.

2026 Rivian R1S Quad Pebble Beach

The 2026 Rivian R1S Quad Pebble Beach

Photo by: Rivian

My answer won't come as much as a surprise if you follow my work here. I love trucks, I love taking my EV on off-pavement adventures, and I love modern software-defined EV tech. So my answer for my favorite EV is definitely a Rivian of some sort.

My first instinct is to say the R1S. While I prefer the looks and dynamics of the R1T, my favorite thing about electric adventuring is that you can use the car as a portable, climate controlled sleeping space. The best public land near me is all in the desert, and I find the ability to run climate control in a pinch to be a huge benefit. I typically don't, but even still, I far prefer sleeping in the back of an SUV with the windows down and screens over them to sleeping in any ground or roof tent.

Gallery: 2027 Rivian R2: First Drive

2027 Rivian R2: First Drive On- and Off-Road

Source: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

But I don't think the R1S is my answer. Because even in a blank-check world, I don't love overcomplicated or oversized vehicles. With its trick hydraulic suspension and 7,000-pound curb weight, the R1S qualifies as both. More to the point, the new, cheaper R2 is everything I love about the R1, in a more compact and simpler package. I love the drop-down rear glass, I love the more agile driving dynamics, and I prefer the ride quality. So as my favorite EV, I think I'd have to say it's the R2.

For the best EV, I'd argue it's a toss-up between the R2, the Tesla Model Y, and the Tesla Model 3. Tesla's software game is better, and despite my distaste for the way the company has rolled out and promoted Full Self-Driving (Supervised), it's still better than Rivian's alternative. Teslas have historically been more reliable, too, and way more popular so far.

I Had High Expectations For The Rivian R2. It Still Blew Me Away

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"Best," though, is always a flawed metric. You can't capture all of what makes a car good or bad in one term. When it comes to favorites, though, my list is long. To add some runners-up: I love the Cadillac Vistiq, I was blown away by the driving dynamics of the Polestar 3, and I think the Volvo EX60 is one of the most pleasant daily drivers in automotive history. I adored the BMW iX when it was around, and I have a strong suspicion that the new iX3 will catapult itself to the top of my list when I finally drive one later this year.

What do you think?

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Point is: There are a lot of great EVs these days. My favorites tend to be Rivians, because my greatest dreams involve cross-country off-pavement electric adventures. But with so many automakers drastically improving their efforts year after year, I don't expect anything to hold onto my top spot for long. There are just too many great cars to choose from.

Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com

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