Polestar 4 vs Rivian R1T

What's the difference?

VS
Polestar 4
Polestar 4

$78,500 - $107,199

2025 price

Rivian R1T
Rivian R1T

2024 price

Summary

2025 Polestar 4
2024 Rivian R1T
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Not Applicable, 0.0L

Fuel Type
Electric

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Fuel Efficiency
0.0L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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Dislikes
  • Some options should be standard at this price
  • Digital rear-view mirror replaces rear windscreen
  • Can’t stand bottles up in doors

  • Not available in right-hand drive yet
  • Expensive compared to similar-sized utes
  • Rivian is an unproven brand
2025 Polestar 4 Summary

Polestar finally has more than one offering in its Australian model range. Following the Polestar 2 sedan that arrived in late 2021, and the recently launched Polestar 3 large SUV, the Geely-owned marque has just launched the model that is expected to be its top seller.

The Polestar 4 is a medium coupe-style SUV with liftback vibes, and it is set to line up against some of the most popular EVs on the market, including the Tesla Model Y.

Although, as Polestar execs claim, and the price suggests, it’s a more premium offering than the Tesla.

It is loaded with new technology, including a digital rear-view camera that replaces a traditional rear windscreen, which will either appeal to, or alienate buyers. Probably the former given the appeal of new tech to EV buyers.

But can the Polestar 4 snatch attention away from Tesla and the other solid electric SUVs of a similar size? Read on to find out.

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2024 Rivian R1T Summary

Tesla started from nothing to become one of the most recognisable brands across the automotive industry in less than two decades. Rivian is hoping to do the same.

If you haven't heard of Rivian that's okay, it's currently only available in the US market. It shares a lot in common with Tesla, though - a charismatic founder and CEO, a focus on electric vehicles and plenty of hype around the brand.

To find out if the hype is justified, CarsGuide.com.au was able to organise an exclusive preview drive of the brand's R1T electric pick-up in Los Angeles recently. The R1T is one of two models Rivian has entered the market with, the other is the R1S large SUV.

This is a far cry from company founder RJ Scaringe's original vision, the R1 - a mid-engined hybrid coupe sports car. Instead, Scaringe switched focus to the pick-up and SUV markets, which provided a much larger audience and helped attract investment from the Ford Motor Company and Amazon to get the company up and running on an industrial scale.

Rivian is still a few years from making it to Australia, but make no mistake, the company has been committed to global expansion for years. As far back as April 2019 a company representative told CarsGuide it believes there's a good opportunity for the R1T and R1S to find an audience in Australia.

So, with that in mind, we drove the R1T to find out if it has what it takes to make its mark with Australian ute buyers.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Polestar 4 2024 Rivian R1T

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