Some things go together like gasoline in a diesel. Like an off-road EV. The reason being there’s not much electricity available off-road or (usually) even close by, so when you run out you’ll be in something akin to the position of the chick who pumped unleaded regular into the tank of her boyfriend’s diesel pick-up.
Gas (or diesel) serves off-road because it’s portable. As in you can take more with you, in addition to what’s in the tank. You have probably seen off-roaders with jerry cans strapped to their sides. You cannot strap a jerry can of kilowatts to the side of an EV off-roader. That is why fully charged range – more specifically, its lack – is a make-it-or-break-it thing when it comes to EV roaders. It is why the Jeep Recon was broke-backed from the get-go.
Jeep announced this EV off-roader four years ago – at the height of EV Fever, which was something like Diaper Mania in that for a couple of very strange years, it seemed almost everyone was convinced of the necessity and desirability of both. Both fevers have cooled a lot since then. Unfortunately for Stellantis – Jeep’s parent – it is much easier to stop “masking” than it is to chuck an EV of-roader that took years and lots of money to develop and bring to production. How do you stop a conveyor belt once set in motion? What do you do with the load that’s already almost at the end of the belt?
Well, you try to offload it, looks like.
Pity the Jeep stores that must try to offload what’s been offloaded onto them.
So far this year, Jeep stores have sold 47 of them. If you do the math, that works out to about 1 of them per month in each state so far this year. It makes the Ford Lightning (RIP) seem like a Charlie Sheen winner. Maybe more power will do the trick? Jeep has upped the output of the three-ton-plus Recon’s electric drivetrain by 20 to 650 and it can get to 60 in just 3.6 seconds. The problem is it can’t get very far. On (or off) road. The best-case, fully-charged range for this device is 230 miles. Less than that (222) if you opt for the off-roadiest Moab iteration. By the time you get to where the off-roading is, there probably won’t be much charge left to get back.
The best part? It starts at $65,000. The Moab iteration lists for $68,990.
Now, this thing is basically a four-door Wagoneer with removeable doors and a battery and motors rather than an engine and a gas tank. It is interesting to compare the one with the other. The Wagoneer comes standard with more than twice the range (450 miles in city driving and 636 on the highway) because the roughly 26 gallons of gas it carries contains more energy than the 110.5 kWh battery pack the Recon has to lug around. In order for the Recon to have the kind of driving range you’d want to go off-roading – enough to get there, go off-roading and get back with a comfortable margin in reserve – it’d need a battery pack even larger (and heavier) than the one it has, which would likely push the curb weight to 8,000 pounds or more (i.e., as heavy as a Rivian) and that would (Catch 22) decrease the range as well as increase the price.
Why even fool with this?
The question answers itself. The country was in the grip of unprecedented foolishness four years ago. This is not to deny the current foolishness, of course – but it is a different kind of foolishness. We may be embroiled in a catastrophically stupid, evil war – and gas and diesel do cost a lot more – but at least we’re not “masking up” and not many people are interested in EVs anymore, no matter how quickly they get to 60, because of how long it takes them to get going, at all, once they run out of charge. This is a big problem on-road, because even though there are places to recover charge, it takes an unacceptably long time to recover even a partial charge. Emphasis on “unacceptably.” Because people do not have to accept it. There are alternatives – vehicles with engines that don’t force you to wait an unacceptably long time to get a full tank.
Most people choose the better alternative when they have the choice.
Adding salt to the slug – so to speak – is that the unacceptably long wait comes with a much higher price tag, too. The Wagoneer, for instance, lists for $59,945. Thats about $10k less than the base price of the Recon. This plus the inability to risk going off-road for fear of getting stuck off-road – and not because of the mud – no doubt explains why Jeep stores have only offloaded about 47 Recons so far this year.
The sad thing is that the Recon likely would have sold well if it didn’t have a battery and motors. It’s a fun-looking rig that could have been fun. Easily removable doors are fun. The Sky One retractable top is fun. Off-roading is fun. But that fun is cold-showered by the gimpy range. It is not much fun to be running out-of-charge an hour or more from the nearest place to charge.
Arguably, what Jeep ought to do is what Dodge did when it finally understood that a battery-powered Charger wasn’t much fun, either – no matter how quickly it gets to 60.
Put an engine in that thing, pronto.
It might actually sell then.
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is: EPautos 721 Hummingbird Lane SE Copper Hill, VA 24079
We know how terrible the range drop is when you tow with electrics – would be interesting to know what the range drop is if you actually off road with one of these things!
At least six U.S. advanced/microreactor test units have reached first criticality in 2026. These “small modular reactors” are being funded by Silly-Con valley types who are hoping to get their massive data centers online before the rug is pulled out from under them. Unfortunately (fortunately) there’s too much red tape in extending the grid to these new use cases, so they’re looking to run these buildings “off grid.” Because apparently it’s easier to build an experimental nuclear power plant than it is to get a new transmission line right of way.
One Tesla supercharging station in a small town like Moab isn’t going to have much impact. Enough “fast” charging stations to replace all the gas stations in Moab (I count 21 on Google Maps), and offer the equivalent number of pumps, which on a holiday weekend may mean a 15 minute wait, will mean every building on Hwy 191 will have to have at least one “fast” charger. Where are they going to get that power? Not from the grid, that’s for sure.
Hopefully, it has an ICE-generator-on-platform option, mounted by the spare tire on the back.
You might only be able to roll along at 5 MPH, depending on charging efficiency, but it’ll give the owner plenty of time to contemplate nature….
Or trading the Evil Vehicular beast for an ICE ride….
YMMV….
This thing should ship with a yacht winch and a mile of cable so you can slowly yank yourself home… you’re probably gonna want to add your own aux battery system to power that, the main battery will obviously already be dead…
Honestly don’t know why any man in his right mind would spend that money on such a ridiculous “off-road vehicle”. You could buy a new-ish 90hp tractor for that price, go wherever the hell you wanted to, avoid paying road taxes but still have a tag to drive govt roads, and while you’re at it, bonus, you can drag a one ton box blade and actually make a road as you go offroading!
Hell, even if you were an immature man, I still don’t see how this “Jeep” is better than a whimsical splurge for something like a CanAm ATV, a used tow trailer and an old used anything with a tow hitch which all together would cost less, be easier to resell, and leave you with some gas money to go nuts for a month in Utah.
I am too old to be interested in off-roading any more. My brother assures me that his Rivian 4×4 EV has the finest air suspension for driving on back roads and can ford deep creeks. Old joints and backs don’t need all that banging around. I think EV’s could provide a superior comfortable solution here.
Theoretically 4 high torque electric motors, one at each wheel, with all kinds of computer controlled sensors would be the ticket to the ultimate stump-jumper. I think EV’s could provide a superior solution here too.
A Jeep Wrangler “hellcat” is all for show anyway. City slickers don’t like having to scrape off mud and manure.
Christ, they just won’t stop:
Automotive News Video | Land Rover’s $138,000 Range Rover Electric
‘JLR’s first battery-powered Range Rover, is expected to reach dealerships by December.’
So what / who cares? There must be at least three dozen
peopleflakes nationwide, waiting to pounce on this p.o.s. Idiots could have a V8 for a lower six-figure sum. But no-o-o-o-o …In other dystopian news:
Tesla bets on Cybercab robotaxi, Roadster halo car as business shifts to autonomous vehicles
‘CEO Elon Musk is promising one exception to its autonomy focus: a new Roadster that could be its last manually driven car.’
Why the future of connected vehicle ownership starts with real-time intelligence
‘As connected vehicles become more sophisticated, automakers must verify driver identity, streamline digital onboarding [sic] and maintain accurate ownership records throughout the vehicle lifecycle.’
Seriously, f*ck them with a sharp stick! You know where this leads: if your license is expired, or your insurance has lapsed, your ‘smart’ vehicle won’t start. Death to the stinking auto industry. Annihilate the enemies of the people!
Oh wait, sorry folks, the price just went up while you were reading this:
‘Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc’s first electric Range Rover will start at £154,070 ($208,420). Orders are now open for what is one of the most expensive electric SUVs on the market and almost £50,000 more than the standard combustion-engine version.
‘The new model will gauge the high-end market for a large electric vehicle amid uneven [sic, LOL] demand for battery-powered cars, including among luxury automakers.
‘JLR will be able to mitigate any swings in demand [sic, LOL] as the electric version is being made on the same production lines at its Solihull plant in the West Midlands as the combustion and hybrid Range Rovers.’
https://tinyurl.com/24wrwyfw
Their mush-mouthed confabulation and circumlocution tells you that these curry-breathed clowns already are in deep poop.
Flush twice, it’s a long way to Blackpool!
OMG! Can we please, please make it stop! Once again I am glad to be old, won’t survive into the coming hellscape.
Running out of charge on a highway with cell service and tow services is an entirely different experience than running out of charge on a rocky hillside 50 miles from nowhere. Also, miles of range really changes when you climb a rocky hillside and can’t just regen brake down the other side…
Having said that, there may well be a market for a quiet vehicle for running through parks and forest roads, but a 6000 lb plus weight is going to ruin those same trails.
Realistically though, the market for this is the AWFL, and the drawbacks dont matter because they’re at worst something to chatter inanely about at wine bars.
Polaris makes an electric UTV/ATV. Starts at 34K. haha!!!!
80miles of range, double haha!!!
Lots better than 200K though.
And the Chinks make em for about 10 grand, so there’s that. Polaris is one of my former customers who i refuse to do work for anymore. Very very big corporate, complete with HR boss grrls.
I would find the added weight almost as objectionable as the near invisible range.
Sure, it has it’s drawbacks but adding extended rubber ducky capacity might tip the scales.
I was camping in the Smokeys a couple weeks ago when the Gatlinburg Jeep invasion hit. I had never heard of it before. It was kinda like an automotive speshul limpics. We did not stay.
“Put an engine in that thing, pronto.
It might actually sell then.”
Yes, I suppose there are some who would pay $70k for a vehicle originally designed as a kit for the military over a century ago. Hopefully they won’t reproduce.
Moab = mother of all busts?
Dolly’s dead, man. Let it go…
Can’t help it. Why ya think I go to the produce section?
Mimi De Jour: “Is this some kind of bust?”
Frank: “Yes, it’s very impressive… But we just want to ask you a few questions.”
https://youtu.be/1S2wjSvX2D8?si=WPkiuUO5BcFKG2zP&t=22
With that kind of range, how exactly does one get a Moab out to … Moab, Utah?!
What is it with EVs and members of that church based in Salt Lake City whose members tend to live in less densly populated areas of the country and, as part of their faith, are supposed to always be prepared for a long-term grid down scenario?
There’s several fast charging stations in Green River, Moab itself, Monticello and Bluff. There’s fast charging in Price and Grand Junction along the route to/from there. Rivian has a fairly extensive network since day tripping offroad is their market and Tesla because Moab proper is like Taos or Sedona, full of art-loving wine-slurping limousine liberals. If you want to do more than a 3 hour tour you need real fuel but for the affluent tourist types the EV charging infrastructure to totally clog up town is there.
-anon
Moab is really hard to avoid if you want to make good time driving between Texas and the Pacific Northwest so I’m not surprised at the decent charger support.
OTOH, as I’m sure Bill Meyer can attest assuming that he is clear of any sponsor relationship with the company, the Lithia dealer group based in his part of the country successfully blocked installation of a Tesla charging station in Medford for the better part of a decade until Target broke the political lock on the city council and installed the requisite equipment in their parking lot.
Without a charging station in Medford, the gap between the stations at Grants Pass and Cottage Grove were simply too great to overcome going over the mountains on I-5 in sub 40 degree weather.
Indeed, US191 is a pretty well used artery. At least if you don’t want to drive all the way to I-15 or I-25 to link between I-40 and I-70. It’s a well used route for a 2-lane Federal highway.
-anon
0-60 in 3.6 seconds? Who cares? Are you telling me you are going to do that over the boulders and ravines “off road”?
I’m sure the leadershit of Stellantis went to all the right schools and got all the right certifications saying how smart they are. Who are you to say otherwise?