2026 Jeep Recon

Yet another Jeep that will collect dust on the lots for a few years. Stellantis' product development and marketing departments have no idea what most people actually want.

It's sad what's become of these iconic vehicles. When I was selling in the early 1990s, you could buy a soft-top 4-cylinder Wrangler (they were all 4WD back then) for a bit over $10-$11K with discount and rebates. A few bucks extra would net you a 4.0L engine, and for a few more bucks you could get an automatic transmission. A solid XJ could be had in the teens.

Yes, there's the matter of inflation, but the heart of the matter is this: Buyers back then wanted a trusty utility vehicle sans all the fluff and frills. If Jeep could figure out how to sell a base Wrangler near $20K they'd sell every one they could produce.

Their thinking over the past several decades gave us the Liberty, Compass, and "Renegade." This is what happens when bean counters - and not car guys - run these companies.
Oh
 
Management makes decisions based on best available data and acts based within their resource constraints. It is what it is with Stellantis. Arm chair quarterbacking is a cushy job. Been there recommending 10's to eventually 100's of millions in procurement decisions reporting into the president of a Fortune 50 company. Won a chairman's award saving my US counterpart 60+million USD a year. No armchair in sight.
It's about maximum profit with the least amount of sales. When all the money is pulled from parts and labor there is only one last resort and that's bumping up the price. You can't serve two masters and shareholders always win against the consumer.
 
Story time? Locker? AT tires? Air pressure?

Never thought of sand as bring particularly challenging for AWD but that's just my lack of experience.
The main thing with sand to me is airing down. As kids/teen we used to go Nantucket with relatives AMC Eagle who lived there which had a decent AWD. They taught us to air down.
 
Series hybrids just don't work well for the way most people use cars.

There's research out there that people don't plug in their PHEV's making them actually worse in the long run over a regular hybrid. So if you combine that with a range extender you're even worse off.
right dont give people what they want.. force that "green-ness" up their behind!
65k price tag is icing because we know that will likely be 70k+ out the door.
 
right dont give people what they want.. force that "green-ness" up their behind!
65k price tag is icing because we know that will likely be 70k+ out the door.
Ha, not the way Stellantis has been going. It will be 10k+ price drops to entice sales. Non EV owners already think they need over 300 miles of range.
 
The Recon is a joke. Realistically, this thing will have 200 miles of summer range, 150 miles of winter range. It can't be an off-road adventure vehicle because there are no level 3 chargers growing out of trees. It can't be a lifestyle vehicle because the towing capacity is too miserable for a camper or large boat. Middle class Jeep people aren't going to buy it because the START price is $67k with destination charges, and that's before we even talk about trim levels or options. So WHO is going to buy this??
 
Only 222 miles of range. But that's not the worst part. The price is - $69k.

I think it's dead on arrival. I had hopes for this as I want to see more off-road oriented EVs. So far the Rivian remains the best option. Subaru Trailseeker is ok.

It does have a rear locker and you can take the doors off. Price is insane. It won't sell.
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https://insideevs.com/news/799088/2026-jeep-recon-epa-range-efficiency/
 
Only 222 miles of range. But that's not the worst part. The price is - $69k.

I think it's dead on arrival. I had hopes for this as I want to see more off-road oriented EVs. So far the Rivian remains the best option. Subaru Trailseeker is ok.

It does have a rear locker and you can take the doors off. Price is insane. It won't sell.
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https://insideevs.com/news/799088/2026-jeep-recon-epa-range-efficiency/
Aerodynamics and tires. If you lift it, as Jeep owners are prone to do, it will be even worse.

The highway tires on the Cybertruck are worth 30 extra miles, for example.

But yeah EPA 222 with 100KWH is pretty bad. Worse than my Lightning even, mine's EPA 240 on 98KWH. Agreed this won't sell much at the MSRP.
 
So essentially, with a price of $70k, no rebates, and terrible resale value, the leasing payments will be around $1k. Rivian's new R2 is much less expensive and even that vehicle is at $850/month for a lease. It's nuts. The residuals are just too low on EVs to make it appealing to buyers.

And nobody wants to "buy" them, because if you keep it a short time you end up paying way more than you would have on a lease but if you keep it long term you'll eventually get hit with those $30k battery replacements or drive motor failures or AC/DC converter failures.

I love what the Recon is, and I'd trade my '25 Wrangler Rubicon for one today if the lease payments were the same, but there's just no way that's possible. And the range... 222 miles? Is that summertime? Because that means <175 miles of range in winter.
 
So essentially, with a price of $70k, no rebates, and terrible resale value, the leasing payments will be around $1k. Rivian's new R2 is much less expensive and even that vehicle is at $850/month for a lease. It's nuts. The residuals are just too low on EVs to make it appealing to buyers.

And nobody wants to "buy" them, because if you keep it a short time you end up paying way more than you would have on a lease but if you keep it long term you'll eventually get hit with those $30k battery replacements or drive motor failures or AC/DC converter failures.

I love what the Recon is, and I'd trade my '25 Wrangler Rubicon for one today if the lease payments were the same, but there's just no way that's possible. And the range... 222 miles? Is that summertime? Because that means <175 miles of range in winter.

I’ll take my chances with a GM EV or Tesla 3/Y any day compared to a gas car.

Tundra engines blowing up, GM 6.2 blowing up, Honda head gaskets blowing up, whatever problems other cars have. It’s easy to get to a “not worth it” repair on a gas car out of warranty. My aunts perfectly maintained gently driven one owner 2015 Subaru blew the engine at like 80k miles. If I remember right they quoted her $15k to fix it. She bought a new car instead.

And even if we compare Jeep to Jeep, what options do you have? The 3.6 that either leaks all its oil out through the oil cooler or loses cams? The Hemi that has its own issues? The hybrid that catches on fire? I wouldn’t have the confidence in the new Recon either but I think the problem is the whole company, EV or not.
 
I’ll take my chances with a GM EV or Tesla 3/Y any day compared to a gas car.

Tundra engines blowing up, GM 6.2 blowing up, Honda head gaskets blowing up, whatever problems other cars have. It’s easy to get to a “not worth it” repair on a gas car out of warranty. My aunts perfectly maintained gently driven one owner 2015 Subaru blew the engine at like 80k miles. If I remember right they quoted her $15k to fix it. She bought a new car instead.

And even if we compare Jeep to Jeep, what options do you have? The 3.6 that either leaks all its oil out through the oil cooler or loses cams? The Hemi that has its own issues? The hybrid that catches on fire? I wouldn’t have the confidence in the new Recon either but I think the problem is the whole company, EV or not.

I’m on my 5th 3.6L engine since 2012, and this new one has given me the first issue with any of them. It needs a new PCV valve. My last one had 202k miles the day I traded it in and it was running flawlessly. The 3.6L is an excellent engine with top notch reliability. The people who kill them with 0W20 oil on 15k mile cycles are just fools…

I’ve had some 5.7 Hemis too, up to 100k miles, and those were flawless as well.

I’ve had 30+ vehicles in my lifetime, from all the major brands, and Dodge/Jeep/Ram has treated me the best with the least trips to the shop for repair and the fewest issues, and it’s not even close.

But I get what you’re saying… EVs have far fewer moving parts and therefore should be more reliable over time. It’s just that those few parts on an EV are all VERY pricey.
 
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