Jeep Recon Unveiled As An All-Electric Defender Rival

This is the all-new Jeep Recon, and it’s not strictly the first time you’ve seen it. A few pictures were first revealed way back in the autumn of 2022, but since then, all’s been fairly quiet with regards to this boxy electro-off-roader.

No more, though, because Jeep has given us all the details on the Recon ahead of production starting early next year. Based on Stellantis’ STLA Large underpinnings, the Recon is – for now – a full EV, packing a dual-motor powertrain with a drive unit on each axle. Altogether, they deliver peaks of 650bhp and 620lb ft, and are fed by a 100kWh, 400V battery pack. Performance and range figures are still TBC.

That platform already underpins all manner of cars, and not just SUVs – it can be found underneath the new Dodge Charger, and will be the basis for the next generation of larger Alfa Romeos and Maseratis, too. To ensure the Recon is still very Jeep-y despite that, the company’s thrown lots of off-road kit at it.

It has an electronic locking diff, beefed-up half-shafts and CV joints, and a Selec-Terrain surface response system. That brings Auto, Sport, Snow and Sand modes on all versions, plus an additional Rock setting on the extra-rufty-tufty Moab trim – although that’ll only be available to North American customers. All trims also come with Selec-Speed Control that regulates speed on both inclines and declines.

With the help of standard 33-inch tyres, the Recon manages almost 240mm of ground clearance, and brings a 34-degree approach angle, 34.5-degree departure angle and 23.5-degree breakover.

Since the Recon is essentially doing the job of an electric Wrangler, you’re able to take bits off it at your leisure. The doors, rear quarter glass and tailgate glass can all be detached, apparently without the use of any tools, and there’s an optional power retractable roof for the full Spring-Break-on-South-Beach effect.

Despite its old-school approach to many things, though, the Recon is still a modern EV, and therefore comes with Much Screen on the inside. There’s the usual 12.3-inch driver display plus a central infotainment screen, which, at 14.5 inches, is the biggest of its kind ever featured in a Jeep. That controls pretty much everything, including the climate, although you still get physical knobs for volume and radio tuning and buttons for some of the ADAS functions.

The Recon’s going into production in the first quarter of 2026, with initial sales in the US and Canada. That’ll be expanded worldwide by the end of next year, including the UK. Reckon there’s enough of an appetite on our shores for something like this powered solely by electricity?