Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write: the most capable off-road vehicle Jeep just announced doesn’t have an engine. The 2026 Recon is fully electric, fully Trail Rated, and apparently capable of hitting 60 miles-per-hour in 3.6 seconds while also crawling over the kind of terrain that voids warranties.
Yes, this isn’t some lifestyle crossover masquerading as adventure gear. The Recon is the first fully electric SUV to earn Jeep’s Trail Rated badge, which means it’s been certified to handle the kind of terrain that makes your insurance adjuster nervous. We’re talking 33.8-degree approach angles, 9.1 inches of ground clearance, and an electronic locking rear differential that you can engage with a switch flip. The things that matter when you’re pointing your bumper at a rock garden in Moab.
But here’s where it gets interesting: 650 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque. Instant. No waiting for turbos to spool or transmissions to downshift—just immediate, overwhelming thrust the second your boot touches the throttle. Jeep claims 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds, which is absurd for something designed to crawl over boulders. It’s like giving a Sherman tank the heart of a Formula 1 car.
The party trick that’ll make purists smile? You can still take off the doors. No tools required, just like the good old days. The same goes for the rear quarter glass and swing gate glass. Jeep even moved the speakers from the doors to under the seats so you’re not sacrificing your Alpine audio system for that open-air experience. It’s the kind of thoughtful engineering that suggests actual Jeep people designed this thing, not just EV evangelists.
Design-wise, Jeep has threaded the needle between heritage and future-forward. The illuminated seven-slot grille is by no means traditional (EV’s don’t really need grilles, after all), but it looks sharp without veering into TRON cosplay. The body lines are chunky, upright, and honest. Wrangler-inspired LED taillamps sit next to a full-size spare hanging off the rear swing gate—something no other EV currently does.
Inside, there are recycled materials throughout, including a non-leather synthetic called Capri on the seats. 65.9 cubic feet of cargo space is available with the rear seats folded, plus a front trunk big enough for a carry-on. The two-tiered center console has a wireless charger up top and room for tablets or small bags below, because adventurers also need to charge their devices and carry their stuff. The cabin is anchored by a horizontal dash with a passenger grab handle that seems to say, “Hold on, things might get weird.” There’s a modular accessory rail for your GoPros and GPS units (or a duck holder, Jeep notes, because apparently Ducking is now a corporate-recognized hobby).
And because Jeep knows its audience, there’s a dizzying array of exterior colors, from earnest earth-tones to the “I camp but also TikTok” vibrant hues. The Moab trim adds an anti-glare hood decal, topographical Jeep badging, and the kind of black cladding that makes you feel invincible even when you’re just parallel parking.
The tech package is impressive without being obnoxious. A 12.3-inch driver display pairs with a massive 14.5-inch horizontal touchscreen—the biggest single screen Jeep’s ever installed. But crucially, they kept physical knobs for volume and tuning, because nobody wants to navigate through three menu screens when they’re bouncing over washboard roads. The new Trails Offroad app includes pitch and roll mapping for routes across the U.S. and Canada, while TomTom-powered Dynamic Range Mapping helps you plan charging stops on longer expeditions.
Now, the practical specs: 230 miles of estimated range on the Moab trim at launch, stretching to 250 on later trims. That’s not Tesla Model X territory, but for an actual off-road rig with 33-inch tires, it’s respectable. DC fast charging gets you from 5 to 80 percent in about 28 minutes, or roughly 100 miles in 10 minutes. Plan your routes accordingly.
The Selec-Terrain system offers five modes including a Rock setting that tailors throttle response for technical terrain and adds hill hold so you can transition from brake to gas without rolling backward. There’s also Selec-Speed Control for steep descents, letting you focus on steering while the vehicle maintains your set speed. It’s the kind of stuff that separates legitimate trail rigs from mall crawlers.
At $65,000 to start, the Recon slots in as a serious proposition—not cheap, but competitive for the capability you’re getting. Production begins early next year at the Toluca Assembly Plant, with initial availability in the U.S. and Canada.
The question isn’t whether an electric Jeep can work. It’s whether this signals the future of overlanding: silent motors, instant torque, and just enough range to get you into the backcountry and back out again. Based on these specs, Jeep might just be onto something. Now we wait to see if it can actually deliver when the rubber meets the rocks.
The post The Electric Jeep Recon Is Here to Prove EVs Can Actually Go Off-Road appeared first on Outside Online.
