Rivian’s R3 Crossover Looks Like the Smallish SUV of My Dreams
The R3 is the EV we didn't know we needed.
Rivian isn’t messing around.
At the big reveal of its anticipated R2 electric SUV, the fast-growing EV startup had not one, but two more surprises in store for us. The first of said surprises is the R3, a smallish crossover EV that borrows from the R2’s boxy-but-smooth design language.
The first thing you’ll notice about the R3 compared to its newly released brethren, the R2, is that it’s notably smaller. The R3 carries the moniker of a “crossover” which is always confusing, but the main thing you need to know is that the wheelbase is about five inches shorter than the R2.
You could call it a hatchback, but the rear glass actually lifts up, and like the R2 there’s still storage in the front trunk (frunk, if you will).
Rivian R3 Crossover Specs
We don’t know everything about the R3 yet, but we do know that it will come in three motor variants: single, dual, and tri.
If just the idea of an even smaller R2 isn’t enough to get you excited, Rivian also says that the R3 will be even cheaper than the R2 which — for an electric SUV in America — is pretty affordable.
Rivian wasn’t content with just having one, one more thing announcement either. It also introduced the R3X, which is like the R3 but more of a rally car. Again, the details on the R3X are slim, but one thing that we do know is that it comes in this eye-catching green color with orange accents.
Rivian’s R3X green color —I want, I want it, I want it.
And other than those details, we’re still relatively in the dark about both the R3 and the R3X. There’s no official word on when either will be available for preorder or purchase, but for reference, the R2 is coming to customers in the first half of 2026. Given that timeline, there’s a chance we may have to wait quite a while to see the R3 and R3X IRL.
The R3 Appeal
I don’t know about you guys, but I love a small SUV. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the R3, but my initial reaction — and seemingly all of social media — is that Rivian knocked this one out of the park. The body is still characteristically Rivian while adding a dose of curvy- but-angular, goodness, and the price (if it actually ends up being what Rivian says it will be) is more than right.
Bring on the era of smallish SUVs — your move, Tesla.
