Every time somebody mentions the Jeep Recon EV, my immediate reaction is, “Wait, Jeep is making that?” I wish I were kidding – this has happened to me multiple times. The Recon has somehow managed to become one of the least memorable new EVs in an industry where car companies spend ungodly amounts of cash to make us remember their products. Yet maybe that's fitting, because the more you look at the Recon, the harder it is to understand why it even exists.
On paper, an electric Jeep sounds like a slam dunk. Jeep has one of the strongest identities in the automotive industry. Give people something with removable doors, genuine off-road capability, and Jeep styling that can silently roll through trails, and that should be a compelling product. Instead, we get a roughly 6,200-pound electric SUV that, while quick in a sprint to 60 mph, isn't particularly impressive for an EV. Case in point, the Recon's 94 kWh battery is huge, but it’s effective range sure isn’t.
Car and Driver's recent testing of the Recon at 75 mph produced only about 160 miles of range – and from my understanding, that was with the doors on. That's the kind of number that makes you wonder what Jeep is doing with that 94 kWh battery.
With an MSRP of $67,000, that makes the Recon an expensive EV with mediocre (at best) range – and a misleading range, at that, considering Jeep advertises a range of roughly 220-240 miles.
This is where the Trump administration's rollback of CAFE standards enters the chat. The administration has reduced the trajectory of fuel economy dramatically from the much more aggressive targets automakers had been facing.
Stellantis is struggling for many reasons, and its inability to make compelling EVs in America is one of them. Because of that, the CAFE rollback is something the company should jump on. Stellantis should sell as many profitable internal-combustion Jeeps, Rams, Dodges, and other vehicles as the market will absorb, generating cash, and protecting the business from insolvency – at the same time, Stellantis should spend that money aggressively fixing its EV problem.
The CAFE rollback won't last forever. Regulations can be rewritten by the next administration, and global competitors aren't waiting for America to decide what it wants to do about electrification.
With the CAFE rollback, Stellantis has been handed much-needed breathing room. The Recon is a miss, and that’s alright. It’s the next generation of EVs that Stellantis can’t afford to be this forgettable.
(Image courtesy Jeep)
