The 2026 Jeep Recon Can Conquer Rocks. Can It Conquer Range Anxiety?
WE TALK CARS
There are few places on Earth where you expect to encounter a 670-horsepower electric vehicle. A Silicon Valley parking garage? Likely. A charging station outside Whole Foods? Undoubtedly. An off-road trail in the middle of nowhere? Not until now. And yet, here I am, driving the all-new 2026 Jeep Recon in Traill-Rated Moab trim as it silently crawls over rocks somewhere north of Healdsburg, California.
And that’s what’s so strange. The silence.
What’s Missing?
Yes, the 2026 Jeep Recon has removable doors (Jeep photos)
Off-roading with an internal-combustion engine means it needs revs. It needs gears. It needs time to gather its thoughts. And then it responds like your noisy neighbor at a condo board meeting. The 2026 Jeep Recon does not. You press the throttle and it responds instantly, like a dog hearing the refrigerator door open. But it’s quiet, save for the crunch of the tires as it traverses the forest primeval.
What Moves It
The Recon uses front and rear electric drive motors, each rated at 250 kilowatts, giving it standard four-wheel drive. Power flows from a 100-kWh, 400-volt battery protected by high-strength steel underbody shields. The result is 670 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque, allowing the Jeep Recon to sprint to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds with the composure of a mountain goat that has recently discovered amphetamines.
Thankfully, the Jeep Recon’s throttle can be used precisely off-road. After all, when you're attempting to put a 5,000-pound SUV's front wheel onto a rock approximately the size of a garden shed, you don't want the accelerator behaving like an on-off switch. Thank regenerative braking and one-pedal driving for providing the required delicacy.
It’s Got The Goods
Yes, the Recon is a serious off-road machine. Riding on the STLA Large platform, it features an electronic locking mechanical differential and an open front differential. It fords two feet of water and has 33-degree approach and departure angles. Its slab sides and tall, square hood make it easy to place on the trail. The double-wishbone suspension provides a great degree of off-road articulation.
And, of course, Jeep allows you to remove the doors, rear quarter glass and the tailgate glass. And you don't need tools. Obviously, somebody at Jeep remembered that automobiles are supposed to be fun.
Less amusing is the tailgate that swings open with a full-size spare tire attached to it. This means loading groceries requires the upper-body strength of a lumberjack. Fortunately, the Recon has up to 65.9 cubic feet of cargo space, plus another 3.0 cubic feet in the front trunk.
Wait. No. Seriously?
And then there’s the rubber duck holder. No, really. It can be mounted onto the modular accessory rail atop the instrument panel also used for mounting cameras and navigation devices. As you know, there’s an entire ecosystem surrounding Jeeps and rubber ducks. So, while humanity has spent thousands of years developing mathematics, philosophy and nuclear physics, one of our great automotive concerns is where a small plastic duck should sit in a Jeep. Then again, the stereo speakers are mounted in the floor, so they continue to work with the doors removed. This is important because you need something to listen to besides your spouse asking why you did this.
The Inside Story
The rest of the interior is a mixed bag. Some surfaces look tough and appropriately Jeep-like. Others feel inexpensive enough to make you wonder whether the parts department was having a clearance sale. Then again, you're going to get dirt and mud in here. Someone will eventually spill something that cannot be legally identified. Better to have an interior that says hose me down than one that says please remove your shoes.
The controls are logically arranged, and the infotainment software is intuitive. The central touchscreen measures 14.5 inches and displays all manner of information about what the vehicle is doing off-road. There’s a front view camera to check out the terrain that you can’t see from the driver’ seat. It’s very useful until the camera shuts off sooner than you'd like simply because the camera system seems to have become bored.
Two Numbers That Might Stop You
And it’s then that you remember that the wilderness has no electrical outlets. And this is the Recon's problem. The Jeep Recon Moab's estimated range is theoretically 222 miles. Your range may differ. And because the wilderness is generally located somewhere inconvenient, you must drive there, drive around and then drive back. And unlike gasoline, electricity has not yet demonstrated an ability to be poured from a red plastic can.
Then we arrive at the other inconvenient number: $66,995. That's the starting price of the Recon Moab, including destination charges but before options. For that money, you could buy a lot of things, like 6,699 rubber ducks, assuming you found a duck wholesaler. Or you could buy an electric Jeep with 670 horsepower that can remove its doors and drive through two feet of water. The last option is obviously more rational.
The Upshot
The 2026 Jeep Recon is a strange mix of the future and absurdity. It has a giant screen, but it also has removable doors. It has sophisticated electric drive, a locking differential and battery management software. But it also has a rubber duck holder. Whether it’s the future of adventure or simply a $67,000 experiment remains to be seen. But at least Jeep hasn't made the mistake of assuming that electric means sensible.
In fact, the 2026 Jeep Recon isn’t sensible at all. It’s fast, capable and eye-wateringly expensive. Its range is limited, its existence is faintly ridiculous, and, naturally, you can take the doors off.
In other words, it’s still a Jeep.