Jeep currently has two EV models on sale in the U.S., but it’s understandable if you didn’t even know about them. Neither the Wagoneer S midsize crossover SUV nor the Recon off-roader have rocked the sales charts so far, quite the contrary.
The Jeep Wagoneer S has actually skipped the 2026 model year in North America to return with an improved 2027MY version after sales plummeted 95% year-over-year through the first three quarters of 2026, dropping to only several hundred units compared to 10,000 the previous year.
The Recon Covered Just 160 Miles in the Highway Range Test
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Launched in June 2026, the Jeep Recon has done much worse so far, racking up only about 80 sales through the first three quarters of the year. One of the reasons for the abysmal market debut is the range, which severely falls short of EPA estimates.
Car and Driver recently tested the 2026 Jeep Recon and concluded that the electric off-roader’s poor result “puts it among the least efficient EVs we’ve ever tested.”
The outlet tested the Recon Moab launch edition model, which boasts a 94-kWh battery pack that’s EPA-rated at 222 miles combined, 250 miles city and 196 highway. But in Car and Driver’s real-life highway test undertaken at a steady 75 miles per hour, the Jeep Recon only managed to cover 160 miles on a full battery charge—18.4% below its EPA highway rating.
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The highway range delivered in the test equates to just 1.7 miles per kWh, making the Recon one of the least efficient EVs tested by the magazine. For comparison, other boxy EVs like the 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 and Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology were similarly inefficient.
The Hummer EV, which is powered by a 205-kWh battery, managed 290 miles in the same test, or 1.4 miles per kWh, while the electric G-Wagen squeezed just 160 miles from its 116-kWh pack, or 1.4 miles per kWh. As Car and Driver points out, these figures are roughly half the miles per kWh achieved by many EVs currently on sale, including 1,000-horsepower super sedans.
The Boxy Recon Is Half As Efficient As the Wagoneer S on the Highway
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While the Recon is slightly more efficient than the Hummer EV or G580, it’s also considerably smaller and lighter than those electric off-roaders. The Jeep tips the scales at 6,190 pounds, while the G580 weighs 6,908 lbs and the Hummer EV is a behemoth at 9,640 lbs.
Given that size and weight difference, the Recon was expected to be more efficient. But the more shocking comparison when it comes to efficiency is with Jeep’s own Wagoneer S, which shares the Recon’s STLA Large architecture down to the 94-kWh battery and 335-horsepower dual-motor AWD powertrain.
The Wagoneer S managed 280 miles in the same highway range test—3.0 miles per kWh—making it nearly twice as efficient as its more rugged sibling. Why is that? It all comes down to the Wagoneer’s much more slippery shape (0.29 coefficient of drag versus the Recon’s 0.40 figure), lower ground clearance (6.4 inches versus 9.1) and more street-oriented tires.
So if you’re in the market for an electric Jeep, picking the Wagoneer S is a no-brainer if range is the most important factor. If you plan to take it off-road more than occasionally, though, the Recon is the obvious answer.
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