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Jeep's First Electric Off-Roader Is Fun, Capable, And Already Behind The Curve: Driven

The Jeep Recon gets the off-road formula right, but 222 miles of range and $66,695 to start are tough to overlook.

2026 Jeep Recon Moab First Drive Review

Photo by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

Jeff Glucker

By: Jeff Glucker

Sep 9, at 12:01am ET

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If you truly enjoy off-roading, you should find the appeal of piloting an electric vehicle in beautiful, serene environments. Away from the noise of the daily grind, the silence of an EV allows you to more deeply soak in the world around you. That’s what Jeep hopes you’re daydreaming about when you picture its new Recon and the places it can take you.

And the good news is that the Recon can take you well off the beaten path. Heck, you can get there with the doors off and windows out, just like a Wrangler. But you’re going to be eyeing that remaining range indicator for a fair portion of your adventure.

The 2026 Recon arrives with strong styling and a healthy dose of Jeep heritage intact. But the 222-mile driving range, 400-volt EV tech, and $66,695 starting price might leave potential buyers seeking other options.

Pros

Heritage-Inspired Styling Works Well
The Doors Come Off!
Tremendous Power On Tap

Cons

Wonky Suspension Tuning
Relatively Low Driving Range
Overpriced By $10K

Inspired By XJ

2026 Jeep Recon

2026 Jeep Recon Moab

Photo by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

When you cook up a design for any new Jeep product, there are a few "must-include" items. You need a seven-slot grille on the nose, you need to attempt to highlight potential off-road capability, and if you can include a few nods to the past even if we’re looking at the future, all the better.

Per Jeep, the Recon styling inspiration arrives courtesy of the XJ Cherokee. That beautiful box on wheels helped usher in an era of right-sized vehicles built for family-friendly off-roading. Jeep pushes the Recon to market with a similar idea, and the styling works.

2026 Jeep Recon

Photos by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

2026 Jeep Recon

Photos by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

The brow sits prominently over the squared-off circular lights and aforementioned grille. There’s great fender work at all four corners. And the wheel-and-tire package suits the Recon well. The standard 18-inch wheels look just fine, but the optional upgrade 18-inch rollers look even better.

Since we’re only dealing with one trim at the moment, all of the off-road goodies on the Recon Moab are what you’ll find at your local dealer lot as well. That means 33-inch all-terrain tires, front and rear tow hooks, skidplate protection underneath, and a one-touch power roof overhead.

Take The Doors Off

2026 Jeep Recon

Photo by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

For the true Jeep experience, however, the most ardent fans should be excited by the doors and windows. You can remove all four doors; it’s quite easy. There are no tools required, in fact. Simply pull back the interior cover that hides the wiring connector, disconnect the connector, flip out the check-arm pin, and pull the door up and off its hinges.

The front doors weigh 70 pounds each, while the rear doors weigh 60 pounds each. So taking them off sheds an extra 130 pounds, and turns you from Recon into Recon Superleggera. Keep going, though, by also removing the rear glass.

Doing that is even easier, as each piece of glass features two twist knobs that unlock the glass. Simply pull the glass out, and store it in the included storage bag. Now you have full open-air Jeep motoring.

You can remove all four doors; it’s quite easy. There are no tools required, in fact.

You’ll have no issues reading the screens, either. Jeep made sure the 12.3-inch digital cluster and 14.5-inch center screens are completely visible sans glass. Thankfully, the HVAC controls are always visible on that center screen, which is the largest single display ever fitted to a Jeep vehicle.

Oh, and if you have the doors off and want to listen to your tunes, don’t worry. Jeep removed the speakers from the doors and moved them inward under the center console. So you can let the sounds of nature in, or blast your music out. And to keep prying hands out when your doors are off, that center console is lockable.

Jeep offers two interior color options: black with a dash of white or a lovely tan. Both versions are comfortable, offer tons of storage options, and feature trim that looks and feels just as good clean as it will once you get it dirty.

True Trail-Rated Capability

2026 Jeep Recon

Photo by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

Jeep won’t slap a Trail-Rated badge on a vehicle unless it earns it, and the Recon has done just that. There were over 1.2 million miles of testing conducted in locations across the country, including some of the more celebrated and difficult trails on the Rubicon.

Those efforts give the Recon solid off-road cred. There’s 9.1 inches of ground clearance, a 33.8-degree approach angle, 33.1-degree departure angle, and 23.3-degree breakover angle. A forward-facing camera helps you view any trail obstacles, while optional steel rock rails help slide over such obstacles.

Helping you over the obstacles are a pair of 250-kW electric drive modules: one up front and one in the rear. Together, they deliver 670 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque. That’s a downright delightful amount of shove, and it’s immediately noticeable behind the wheel.

Jeep quotes a 0-60 mph time of just 3.6 seconds. I asked if that was on the same all-terrain tires as the Recon Moab, and the answer was an emphatic yes. That leads me to believe that you could go even quicker without the doors and glass.

2026 Jeep Recon

Photo by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

Not that you need to go more quickly. The Recon does drive rather wonderfully on 75 percent of your on-road commute. Once the road gets curvy or bumpy, however, things start to fall apart. To balance on- and off-road capability, the suspension must allow a certain amount of travel and movement. As a result, there’s a lot of secondary and even tertiary movement during spirited on-road driving.

That’s, of course, not the mission of the Recon, but Jeep does tout it as sporty. I found the suspension damping better suited to off-road shenanigans than to on-road use. That said, the actual steering feel was great. You’re not babysitting a Wrangler, and it’s a recirculating ball setup here. Instead, the Recon delivers confident on-center feel and proper steering weight.

Once your journey requires more juice, you can stop at any station since the Recon features a CCS native port, but can charge on a NACS system with an adapter. Jeep says you’ll need 28 minutes to go from 5 percent to 80 percent on a DC Fast Charger. If you’ve got a Level 2 setup at home, that same run takes 6.8 hours.

Still, there are no solid axles that some Jeep fans might find more familiar. Instead, the Recon utilizes a double-whisbone setup. In order to put the setup to the test, Jeep built a unique off-road course deep in Northern California ranchland.

The Recon does drive rather wonderfully on 75 percent of your on-road commute. Once the road gets curvy or bumpy, however, things start to fall apart.

Rain had fallen earlier in the day, but by the time I arrived at the course, the only water splashing about was courtesy of a makeshift river crossing. In the Recon, this is a simple affair as the Jeep features a fording depth of up to two feet. Point the nose into the drink, let the front settle, and then keep moving forward at a steady pace.

More challenges await on this course, as Jeep was keen to show off the Recon’s articulation, rock crawling, and overall trail driving ability. Maneuvering across the rock garden was simple enough, given that the SelecTerrain system features a Rock mode. Yet the throttle proved a bit touchy in spots, which could lead to some lurching and jumping. It was harder to be as precise as you could in a Wrangler Rubicon, for example.

Out on the rest of the trail, however, the Recon was rather delightful. Open the top, let the sun shine in, and actually hear the noise of the wilderness around you. That double-wishbone setup helped smooth out any bumps on the trail. Just be mindful of any steep descents. That’s where you’ll most certainly notice the overall heft of the Recon when you go to hit the brakes.

After all, this electric box clocks in at 6,112 pounds. Don’t go loading it up too heavily either, as the gross vehicle weight rating sits at just 7,000 pounds. That means you’re working with a payload of 850 pounds. Add a driver, some passengers, and a bit of gear, and you’re there in an instant.

And you’ll definitely notice when you glance at the indicated range remaining.

Needs More Range, Lower Price

2026 Jeep Recon

Photo by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

There’s no getting around it: the Recon needs more range. This Moab trim, which remains the only one on sale at the moment until the Overland arrives next year, delivers 222 miles. Jeep says the Overland will jump to 240 miles. That’s slightly more acceptable, but the magic number for the average consumer feels like something closer to, or at least 300 miles.

Yes, I’m fully aware that the average commuter would be more than okay with 222 miles of range. Especially if they’re charging up at home each night. But an electric vehicle that wants you to take it on adventures should have enough juice for you to get to and from the adventure—or at least something more reasonably in line with that idea.

2026 Jeep Recon

Photos by: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

2026 Jeep Recon

Take, for example, the Rivian R2. While not as capable off-road as the Recon, the R2 offers more than enough off-road can-do for the average buyer. On the low end, the R2 offers 275 miles of driving range, but higher-end models offer 330 miles or more.

The real kick there is that the R2 also starts nearly $10k under the price of the Recon. Jeep can hand-wave that away by pointing to the off-road features, and it has a point. But buyers of an electric vehicle, off-road ready or not, will lock in on two things: range and price.

Verdict: Great Idea, Room For Improvement

Gallery: 2026 Jeep Recon Moab First Drive Review

2026 Jeep Recon

Source: Jeff Glucker | Motor1

The 2026 Jeep Recon Moab starts at $66,695. Add a few options, and you’ll arrive at $75,000 with little effort. That’s a large ask for a vehicle with relatively low range, already outdated electric tech, and extremely niche marketability.

Still, Jeep has made sure the Recon is a real Jeep. You can go play in the dirt, ramble across a river, or scramble over a rock garden, and you can do it all with the doors off.

What do you think?

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Comments

The Recon looks great, has decent on-road manners, and offers plenty of room inside for people and things. But I fear the market may already be moving on from this one before it’s even given a chance to evolve and improve.

Word is, however, that a gas- or hybrid-powered Recon is already in the works. And if you want to tell me something is inspired by Jeep heritage, then a straight-six would look damn good in the nose of this thing.

Competitors

Competitor Reviews

I Drove The Rivian R2, The Model Y's First Real Threat

The Subaru Trailseeker Is An Electric Adventure Wagon: Review

2026 Jeep Recon Specs

Motor Dual 250-Kilowatt Electric Drive Modules

Output 670 Horsepower / 620 Pound-Feet

Drive Type All-Wheel Drive

Speed 0-60 MPH 3.6 Seconds

Maximum speed 112 Miles Per Hour

Weight 6,112 Pounds

EV Range 222 Miles

Seating Capacity Five

Cargo Volume 65.9 Cubic Feet (Behind Front Seats)

Base Price $66,695

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