Renault Koleos vs Rivian R1S

What's the difference?

To be fair to Renault, when the second-generation Koleos launched in 2016, it was a competitive offering. The problem is, a bunch of medium SUV rivals have been replaced in that time and some of them - Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson, to name a few - are high-quality offerings with an engaging drive and the latest tech and in-car features.

Unfortunately, that leaves the Koleos towards the rear of the medium SUV pack.

It offers solid value-for-money, handles reasonably well and is still one the best-looking SUVs on the road. But beyond that, the Koleos can’t keep pace with those top-notch rivals.

While there are some obvious signs that the R1S is Rivian’s first mass-market vehicle, the good news for the company is that its problems are not impossible to overcome. The suspension needs retuning to improve the ride quality and the multimedia system’s software needs upgrading. But even with those issues the R1S left a positive impression.

This is a very stylish SUV with great space and excellent performance, that also happens to be electric, rather than relying on being electric as its primary selling point.

Rivian has put more effort into the design and finishes than many of its EV rivals and the result is a vehicle that can genuinely compete with the established premium players with more credibility.

The only catch is there’s no clear timeframe for when, or even if, this generation of R1S will make it to Australia. The brand has repeatedly spoken of its hopes of entering the market here without locking anything in, but given the current state of the EV sales it may pay off to wait until the conditions are right for a new, premium player to try its luck here.

An area that Renault has excelled at in the past decade has been exterior design. Under the stewardship of design chief Laurens van den Acker, Renault has transformed from somewhat quirky to modern and sleek.

The Koleos is getting on in years, having arrived in 2016, but it’s still a handsome SUV. A 2020 facelift sharpened its looks further and we reckon it’s one of the best-looking models in the medium-SUV segment.

Piano black inserts around the gear shifter are a nice touch, but the fake carbon-fibre inserts look and feel cheap. It’s all a bit generic.

But the appealing contrast yellow stitching on the seats, gear shifter housing, doors, centre armrest and more breaks up the grey with a little pop of colour.

Design is another area where Rivian has carved out a unique position for itself. Whereas other brands, including Tesla, have focused on simplicity and aerodynamic efficiency, Rivian has given the R1T a unique style that looks interesting, different and most definitely not plain.

The oval daytime running lights make every R1S and R1T stand out from a mile away, even on LA’s busy freeways. The overall design is high quality and manages to strike a good balance between aesthetics, aerodynamics and practicality - even if it doesn’t suit everyone’s personal taste.

The cabin is worth highlighting in particular, because rather than go for the ‘minimalist’ look that so many brands are going for these days, with as little switchgear and different trims as possible to keep costs down, Rivian has opted for something more complex and, frankly, more impressive.

There’s a level of craftsmanship, a great mixture of premium materials (including some striking light wood options) that make the R1S feel like a stylish and relaxed environment inside the cabin. Our particular example had a great mixture of colours, textures and patterns that really elevated the cabin experience.

The technology is also nicely integrated into the design, rather than being the focal point, like so many other modern electric vehicles. It still offers the same level of technology - a pair of screens - but doesn’t rely on them to carry the design of the interior.

It might lack the up-to-date styling of those rivals, but the Koleos is practical and spacious inside and great for family duties.

As with the outgoing fourth-generation Nissan X-Trail, the Koleos is one of the larger offerings in the medium SUV segment, and it’s evident when sitting in the front or rear seating row.

Rearward visibility could be better, with a small rear screen and thick C- and D-pillars impeding vision and creating a blind spot.

The front seats are well supported and comfortable and while the driver’s side is power adjustable, the front passenger seat is manually adjustable.

It has a deep central storage bin with a hidden shelf for coins and more. The Koleos features a sizeable glovebox and good bottle storage in the doors, with room for other items.

There’s a weird fixed cup holder in the centre console. It’s not adjustable and there’s room for two very narrow cups and two larger, but not wide, cups. It’s strange. Interior designers could have used that space better.

The CVT's position indicators are located to the left of the shifter and are thus obscured, so you have to rely on the instrument cluster display to confirm what gear you want. 

The steering wheel looks and feels good, but the controls aren’t super logical. There are old school switches in the console to activate the cruise control and speed limiter, but then to adjust and reset the speed you have to hit buttons on the wheel that are not clearly marked. 

The audio controls are housed on a panel-like stalk to the right side of the steering column, which isn’t ideal. These make more sense if they’re housed on the wheel itself. 

Along with a number of cars we have sampled recently, the Koleos has split analogue and digital controls for the air conditioning. Just integrate it in the screen or have traditional controls - not both!

It has a part-digital instrument cluster which is fine, but there’s no head-up display.

Renault’s 'R-Link' multimedia set-up in the Koleos is old, with dated graphics and a small screen, but the menu layout is clear and logical. 

The Koleos lacks wireless phone charging and it makes do with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The quality of the Bluetooth and CarPlay phone audio is poor and sounds tinny. 

The proximity key that locks and unlocks the vehicle remotely when you walk towards or away from it works every single time. Many of these systems from other brands are patchy at best but the Renault system is faultless. 

The rear seats recline and fold manually 60/40. They’re also surprisingly comfortable. There’s enough bucketing to sink in a bit, and the seats are set high up so kids can easily see out windows.

Space is ample in the second row, with loads of head, leg, toe and knee room, even behind my six-foot (183cm) driving position.

The rear pew has ISOFIX points on the outboard seats, lower air vents, a 12-volt outlet, map pockets, a centre folding armrest with two cupholders, but no USB ports. You have to make do with the two ports at the front.

Open the power tailgate and you’ll find a decent 458-litre boot with all seats in place (maximum 1690L), which is off the pace of its cousin, the Nissan X-Trail (565L), as well as the Toyota RAV4 (580L) and Hyundai Tucson (539L).

A 17-inch steel spare wheel is housed under the boot floor which might explain the lower boot capacity, and there are handy tie-down hooks, a couple of smaller storage nooks and a solid cargo blind. 

The R1S comes standard as a seven-seat SUV, split across three rows (two in the first row, three in the second row and two in the third row). Space across the three rows is fairly typical for an SUV of this size, which is to say generous up front, good in the second row and a little bit tight in the back.

What is good though, is the length of the cabin allows for quite a spacious boot even with the third row in use, which is definitely not something all seven-seat SUVs can claim. Using a direct conversion from Rivian’s specifications that list cargo capacity in cubic feet, the R1S has a claimed 498 litres with the third row in use and up to 1331L with the third row folded down. There’s also 314L under the bonnet and another 144L underneath the boot floor (although that comes at the expense of a spare tyre).

As mentioned in design, Rivian has nicely integrated the technology into the cabin, with the 12.3-inch digital driver display and 15.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen feeling like a natural part of the car rather than a centrepiece. Rivian has also managed to incorporate eight USB-C charging ports spread around the cabin to keep everyone’s devices charged up.

However, while the technology is nice from an aesthetic design perspective, the same cannot be said about its useability. Like Tesla, Rivian has opted to go it alone with its multimedia system and has developed its own Google-based software that is not compatible with either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. That would be acceptable, although still disappointing, if the system worked as well as Tesla’s, however the Rivian system is very slow. It repeatedly took several seconds to load between the various functions, which may not sound like long, but when you’re trying to get back to the navigation so you don’t miss your freeway exit a few seconds can make a big difference.

But, honestly, in this day-and-age, systems like this should work quickly and seamlessly, so it’s an area Rivian needs to improve.

On a positive note, Rivian does have some cool accessories for the R1S including what it calls a ‘Camp Speaker’ which is a US$400 option that it integrates into the sound system but is also removable, so you can pull it out of the centre console and listen to your music if you’re around the campfire or having a picnic.

When we drove the R1T in 2023 Rivian was still in the ramp up stage of production and was limited with what it could offer customers. Fast forward to 2025 and the brand now has both the R1T and R1S available with dual or tri motor powertrains, with a quad-motor powertrain expected by the end of the year.

The R1S Dual Standard begins the range at US$75,900 (approx. A$118,000), the R1S Dual steps it up to US$83,900 (A$130k) and the R1S Tri-motor completes the current line-up at US$105,900 (A$165k). While those prices are definitely in the premium end of the market the R1S is actually cheaper than the Tesla Model X, which is still on sale in the US market, and starts at US$86,630 (A$135k) and stretches to US$101,630 (A$158k).

For more context, the Audi Q8 e-tron starts at US$74,800, the BMW iX from US$87,250 and the Mercedes-Benz EQE from US$77,900.

Standard equipment across the range includes the 12.3-inch digital instrument display, 15.6-inch multimedia touchscreen, dual-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, eight-way power adjustable driver and passenger seat and panoramic glass roof, so it certainly has premium levels of equipment.

We drove the range-topping RS1 Tri-motor which, aside from an extra motor, gets standard 22-inch alloy wheels, a dynamic glass roof, a soft-touch suede textile headliner as well as unique colour and trim options.

The Koleos shares its powertrain with the X-Trail. That means it uses a Euro 5-rated 2.5-litre four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine delivering 126kW of power at 6000rpm and 226Nm of torque at 4400rpm.  

It is paired with a CVT and drives with the front, or all four wheels, depending on the grade. 

The Koleos has a braked towing capacity of 2000kg.

As mentioned earlier, there are currently three versions of the R1S available, each with a different powertrain. 

The Dual Standard AWD has, unsurprisingly, dual motors (one at the front and one at the rear) which make a combined 397kW/827Nm. That’s enough for it to launch 0-60mph (0-96km/h) in just 4.5 seconds. The R1S Dual AWD has the same power, torque and acceleration figures, however it gets Rivian’s Large battery, which we’ll detail below.

The Tri-Motor AWD obviously has three motors, one on the front axle and two on the rear, which naturally provide more power, 633kW/1495Nm. With so much power and torque the Tri-motor is wickedly fast, taking just 2.9 seconds to launch 0-60mph.

If, for some reason, the Tri-Motor isn’t fast enough for you, Rivian has released the details on the Quad-Motor. It will have two motors on each axle providing a staggering 764kW (that’s 1025-horsepower!) and 1624Nm, enough to rocket it from 0-60mph in just 2.6 seconds and across the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds.

According to Renault, the combined fuel consumption figure for the FWD Koleos is 8.1 litres per 100 kilometres. The AWD Koleos sips 8.3L.

After a week of mixed urban, freeway and semi-rural driving, we recorded 11.3L/100km.

Koleos uses 91 RON petrol, has a 60-litre fuel tank and emits 188g/km of CO2 emissions.

Rivian offers three different battery types across the three variants, each with a different driving range. The R1S with the Standard battery (92.5kWh) has a claimed 434km driving range, the R1S Dual with Large battery (109.4kWh) extends that to 530km, while the Tri-Motor comes standard with the Max battery (141.5kWh) that has an impressive 597km of range.

It is worth noting, though, that those range claims are based on US EPA estimates, rather than either the WLTP or NEDC methods usually used.

Charging times vary depending on the type of charger used, in the US Tesla has given access to its network to other EV brands and the Rivian is available with a plug adaptor to use a Tesla charger. The R1S is capable of charging up to 220kW, which means it takes approximately 40 minutes to take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent. 

The drive experience is a mixed bag with some highlights and lowlights.

The ageing 2.5-litre engine is responsive enough from a standing start - it has a 0-100km/h time of 9.5 seconds - but it lacks any real punch and becomes breathless the second you encounter a hill.

It is noisy and revs hard when pushed, with the CVT drone not making for a particularly pleasant aural experience. You’ll hear a fair bit of road and tyre noise in the cabin, too.

The steering is dull and feels quite artificial, but the brakes feel strong.

Unless you’re on a perfectly smooth road surface, the ride is a little busy and the damper tune fails to adequately soften corrugations, potholes and speed bumps. 

It is, however, a more capable handler than expected. The chassis is well sorted, and aside from feeling top heavy with body roll when cornering, it has decent grip and displayed impressive roadholding characteristics, even on a sweeping bend with a loose shoulder surface.

There was a little understeer detected turning into a particularly tight bend.

It can’t match the dynamism of the Kia Sportage or Mazda CX-5, but it does engage the driver to some extent.

The R1S and R1T are Rivian’s first mass-produced cars, and it shows. It’s not all bad news by any stretch, but there are some major issues the brand will need to address in the future if it wants to succeed globally (or even just in the US). 

The biggest issue is the ride, which just doesn’t feel as well resolved as the more established brands that have been designing, developing and building cars for decades. The R1S isn’t bad to drive by any stretch, but the ride is too firm at times and it also lacks control and feels too soft at others. 

All R1S grades come standard with Air Suspension that has multiple levels of firmness and can adjust the ride height. However, in the ‘normal’ setting the ride feels too busy, with the heavy (3096kg) SUV skittering over the imperfections in the road rather than absorbing them. The problem is, if you adjust the suspension to the softer setting it lacks control and has a tendency to bounce over bigger bumps and take a few seconds to settle. This was particularly noticeable on LA’s concrete freeways, but it would be an issue on any road with undulations or joints.

But while the ride needs improvement, the R1S has strengths in other areas - namely performance. The Tri-motor AWD we sampled had immense punch from its three motors and it certainly felt like 633kW and 1495Nm was on tap. We didn’t test its acceleration claim officially, but any take-off could be made into a rapid one with just a squeeze of the accelerator pedal. 

The R1S is also capable of towing up to 3500kg, so it’s a strong and capable SUV too, rather than just a speedy EV.

Another strength is the regenerative braking system. There are multiple settings but we found the lowest regen was the best option, as it still provides powerful regen but is more progressive than the more powerful modes.

The R1S comes loaded with safety equipment across the range, including eight airbags, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist and rear cross-traffic alert.

It also comes with what’s called the ‘Rivian Autonomy Platform’ that includes 11 cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors for mild-autonomous functionality in specific circumstances, such as freeway driving or on well-marked roads. 

The Koleos is covered by Renault’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is stadatd in the meainstream market, now. 

It is available with a five-year capped-price servicing plan, with each service costing $429, except year four which will set you back $999.

The servicing schedule is every 12 months or 30,000km, whichever occurs first.  

Rivian offers a four-year/80,000km warranty for the R1S vehicle as a whole, as well as a separate battery pack and drivetrain specifically. The Standard battery is covered for eight years/190,000km while the Large and Max batteries are covered for eight years/240,000km.

As for servicing, Rivian uses an app-based system, which allows owners to schedule a service at any time via the app and then either have a Rivian technician come to your home for a small service or drop it off at a service centre if it’s a bigger job. The app is also connected to the car, so if the car’s own diagnostic system recognises a problem, it can prompt you to book a service proactively.