It’s not the Wrangler EV, but it’s the closest thing to it. The 2026 Jeep Recon EV is the first fully electric trail-rated SUV, packing 650 horsepower, 9.1″ of ground clearance, and plenty of range to get you back to town.

Meet the 2026 Jeep Recon EV

The Recon is finally here. Jeep unveiled the Recon on Tuesday, deeming it “the first and only fully electric Trail Rated SUV” on the market.

Built on the STLA Large platform, the Recon delivers 650 horsepower and 620 lb-ft of instant torque, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in as little as 3.6 seconds.

Jeep built the Recon from the ground up to make it the ultimate off-road electric SUV. The all-wheel-drive powertrain consists of 250 kW front- and rear-mounted electric drive modules (EDMs). Each EDM combines an electric motor, gearing, and power electronics to improve efficiency and response time.

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Jeep’s engineers custom-tailored the Recon’s throttle pedal to optimize torque, while an electronic locking differential ensures torque is distributed to both rear wheels when active.

The souped-up suspension and standard 33″ tires provide 9.1″ of ground clearance on the Moab trim, which will be the first trim to launch.

Jeep’s signature Selec-Terrain traction management system offers five drive modes, including a new Rock mode for the Moab trim, helping to unlock the full potential of the all-electric powertrain. The Rock mode joins the current Auto, Sport, Snow, and Sand modes.

Built for zero-emission off-roading

Although it’s still clearly a Jeep, the Recon introduces a few new design elements for a modern, electric look, including an illuminated seven-slot grille and U-shaped daytime running lights.

In the spirit of its sibling, the Wrangler, the Jeep Recon is the only fully electric vehicle with removable doors, rear quarter glass, and swing gate glass.

Inside, the electric SUV blends trail-ready materials with advanced new tech. It offers over 26″ of usable screen space, including a 12.3″ driver display and a 14.5″ infotainment touchscreen. Jeep said this is the largest usable digital screen space in one of its vehicles ever.

The setup is powered by Jeep’s Uconnect5, its most advanced infotainment system yet, offering an easier-to-use interface and larger displays.

For when the adventure gets a little rough, Jeep added a passenger-side grab handle. The Recon also includes smart storage spaces, including a two-tiered pass-through center console and modular door handles.

With up to 65.9 cubic feet of rear cargo space with the second row seats folded, plus a frunk that adds another three cubic feet, the Recon is ready for any adventure.

Jeep even included a premium Alpine audio system, the first EV in its segment to offer a premium sound system as standard.

Powered by a 100.5 kWh lithium-ion battery, the 2026 Jeep Recon has up to 250 miles of driving range. However, the Moab trim, the first to be available, is estimated to have up to 230 miles of range.

Although it will initially launch with a CCS charging port, Stellantis announced plans to switch to the NACS port starting in 2026. Jeep didn’t reveal charge speeds, but said the Recon can charge from 5% to 80% in about 28 minutes using a DC fast charger. It can add about 100 miles in 10 minutes, according to Jeep.

The 2026 Jeep Recon EV starts at $65,000, excluding a $1,995 destination fee. Production is set to begin in early 2026 at Stellantis’ Toluca Assembly plant in Mexico. The Recon will first launch in the US and Canada, followed by a global expansion.

Can Jeep’s off-road electric SUV compete with the upcoming Rivian R2 or Scout Traveler? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Porsche has unveiled the 4th generation of the Cayenne, it’s all-electric, and it just happens to be the most powerful thing ever to leave Porsche’s factory gate. We got to take a look at it in advance of the unveil.

The Cayenne is Porsche’s large SUV, which at its introduction was the brand’s first foray into four-door vehicles. Over the course of its first three generations, it’s been quite successful for the company, but now it’s entering a whole new electric era for the fourth generation.

The gas and plug-in hybrid versions are getting an update too, but the 4th-generation moniker is exclusive to the electric version. Our Porsche rep told us that this feels like the first time Porsche has made an EV that happens to be a Porsche, rather than a Porsche that happens to be an EV. Despite sharing a nameplate with the gas Cayenne, the EV has some big differences.

The big headline here is that the Cayenne EV, in upgraded Turbo spec, is the most powerful Porsche ever to be mass produced. There are others which have been faster of course (as an SUV is not a sportscar), and there are more powerful one-off racecars (such as the 919 Hybrid EVO, which beats the Cayenne by… 5hp), but this is the one that normal customers can buy with the highest horsepower rating.

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And despite just being unveiled, it has already earned some racing kudos in camouflage form. When Porsche brought it to a hillclimb in the UK this summer, it smashed the times by every gas SUV ever.

Last week, in advance of Porsche’s official showing of the car, we got a studio sneak peek of a late development version of it, and learned all the details of the coming changes to the popular Porsche model. No drives just yet, but we did get to look at it inside and out.

Porsche Cayenne Electric specs

Its 1,139hp and 1,106 lb-ft of torque gives it a 0-60 time of 2.4 seconds and a top speed of 162mph. That said, the full horsepower is only available in launch control mode, whereas normal driving will give you 844hp with an available 10-second 173hp boost through a push-to-pass button on the steering wheel.

Porsche says it has transferred some innovations from its Formula E team to the Cayenne’s drive system, using direct oil cooling on the rear motor and having the same 600kW of regen that current Formula E cars are capable of. That said, it still won’t have one-pedal driving, and that regen will be on the brake pedal (boo, give us a one-pedal mode, Porsche).

The base model Cayenne EV is still no slouch, with 402hp in normal operation and 435hp in launch control mode, which will get you from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 143mph. Its top regen power is 345kW.

The battery for both is 113kWh (nominal), with WLTP range of 399mi for the base version and 387mi for the Turbo (EPA numbers aren’t available yet, but will be lower). It uses 800V tech to charge from 10-80% in 16 minutes at up to 400kW (or 200kW and 34 minutes on a 400V charger). The car will show a live estimate of its charge curve; when we saw it, it estimated 327kW at 41%.

DC charging happens through a NACS/J3400 port on the driver’s side (a CCS adapter is included), while AC charging happens with a J1772 port on the passenger side – possibly a little confusing to newbies, but Porsche is confident its customers will be able to figure it out. And the driver’s side port is in the same position as the Tesla port, which should make Supercharger use relatively simple. (It also means no plastic bit for the optional electric charge port door to get stuck on – I continue to recommend the manual door)

Exterior & interior changes – much more space

The exterior on the EV has several different design features (entirely different grille, more aerodynamic elements in the rear), the layout of the interior screens is different (and larger), and the electric has a lot more interior space due to a 2in (5cm) longer body and 5in (13cm) longer wheelbase.

This results in no shortage of legroom in both front and back (and both the front and back seats are electrically adjustable). But then, at 196 inches long, you’d hope there’d be room for two rows (for comparison, the Lucid Gravity is 1.9 inches longer and fits three rows with adult-level legroom).

And as we’ve come to expect out of EVs, there’s a frunk (and quite a deep one, at that), and an additional under-floor storage area in the back to keep things like charge cables out of the way. The EV has a bigger trunk than the gas version, plus the additional frunk – though with the seats folded down, the EV has a little less space than the gas model.

A number of electric-specific improvements have been made to the exterior of the Cayenne, with a smoother grille with louvered intakes to improve aerodynamics. In addition, the rear has an adjustable spoiler-like feature above the rear window, and rather unique “active aero blades” in the form of two extending flaps at the rear (on the Turbo version only).

These supposedly help to channel air around the back end and reduce drag, perhaps to help avoid the “egg-like” smooth exterior of many modern SUVs. They don’t look like they’d work that much to me, but the wind tunnel doesn’t lie – the Cayenne EV has a Cd of 0.25.

Although that’s likely to change a lot based on which of the nine 20-22″ wheel designs you pick (I, as always, would pick the most aerodynamic ones, which have a big effect on efficiency).

Which brings up the customizability of the Cayenne EV, which Porsche says is more customizable than any Cayenne yet. It comes in 13 colors, 9 wheel designs, 12 interior combinations, 5 interior packages and 5 accent packages. Porsche also offers paint-to-sample options for a completely custom build. And that customizability transfers through to the car’s user interface as well.

Tech & user interface – customizable everything

In addition to interior customizations through options and accent packages, the Cayenne’s user interface features excessive customization everywhere. I loved this about the Macan EV, and I like it here too.

The Cayenne EV features the largest amount of screen space Porsche has ever offered, with displays for the driver, curved OLED display in the center, and an optional driver display.

While there has been somewhat of a backlash against giant screens lately, Porsche still offers physical controls for volume and HVAC.

In addition, the curved OLED offers a comfortable and customizable way to access various interface buttons. There’s a wrist rest to help you reach the screen, and you can move just about any interface element onto the bottom part of the screen.

The curved screen also solves a problem I had with the Macan EV – between Porsche’s own in-car Porsche Communication Management (PCM) UI, its CarPlay app, and regular CarPlay, this can lead to some amount of confusion/redundancy between various interfaces. But having a screen with two “regions” means that you can have CarPlay on one and PCM on the other, which means you don’t need to lose access to one to use the other.

I still think that a really slick, polished single user interface is the best path in general for automakers, but this is a good compromise – allowing those who feel they need CarPlay to use it, while also keeping access to the vast customizability of Porsche’s interface and full access to vehicle information.

Full access to vehicle status is important for things like charge routing – and Porsche’s UI offers extensive customizability there too, letting you individually set to prefer or avoid each charge network. (It does, however, default to having gas stations show on the map as a “point of interest,” and we found no way to individually turn them off… but at least they disappear on the wider zoom levels at which you’d normally be looking for charging)

The coolest tech feature is Porsche’s Augmented Reality HUD. We only got to see the AR HUD briefly in the studio, and didn’t actually get to drive around and use it. But from previous experience with the Macan EV, it’s one of the coolest things that I’ve used in a car. Other HUDs feel gimmicky, but this one actually gives you really useful new information, like live directions floating over the road in front of you so you never miss a turn.

You can even customize how much sun you’re getting, as the glass roof is electrochromic. There are various patterns available, going from full clear to full matte or partial shade for the front or back.

All in all, due to these customizations, Porsche has one of the better user interfaces of the various incumbent auto manufacturers. The menus can be a little arcane and overwhelming in their detail, but the amount of detail and customizability is unparalleled.

Inductive charging – a first?

Cayenne has another charging innovation – an available 11kW AC inductive charging mat, which we think might be the first to be offered by an EV manufacturer in the US (not as an aftermarket option). This mat can be placed in your garage or driveway to allow for wireless charging simply by driving over the mat.

Porsche says the system is impressively ~90% efficient (which still means about twice the energy loss of plug charging, at ~95% efficiency). Release timing and pricing are TBD (though in Europe, it’s priced at 7k Euros, including the ~33lbs of additional components on the car and the charging mat).

I personally think that conductive (plug) charging will remain the dominant form, but inductive does have its niches, and if we’re thinking about a fully autonomous future, inductive will likely be a relevant charging solution at some point, so Porsche’s work here will be useful. And if anyone’s going to introduce a €7k charging mat, it might as well be a company whose customers may balk less at that admittedly high price.

Electrek’s Take

Our Porsche rep used the phrase that they wanted to make the Cayenne “better because it’s electric,” which is something I’ve said many times and thus was quite glad to hear.

I’ve long bristled against VW Group’s general strategy of providing a car that just happens to be electric, but our Porsche rep told us that “it feels like we’re making an EV that happens to be a Porsche instead of a Porsche that happens to be EV” – which is a statement that’s so up my alley that I’m wondering if he tailored it specifically to me.

We’ll have to see how that plays out when it comes down to the ownership/drive experience though. While the Macan EV had great dynamics as one would expect of a Porsche, I still found a number of odd foibles that made me feel like Porsche hadn’t fully committed to the electric experience. If those have been ironed out with this next generation of EV, then Porsche could make it to the front of the pack (but please give us a one-pedal driving mode…)

However, on a corporate level, Porsche’s commitment to electric has recently come into question. The company recently committed to $6 billion loss by delaying some EV models, even as global EV demand rises and gas car demand slows.

Porsche itself is also seeing rising EV sales and dropping gas car sales, and is selling more electric Macans than gas ones. Porsche’s CEO, Oliver Blume, has been advocating for Europe to roll back emissions standards as demand for gas cars continues its long-term decline… and as climate change continues apace, fueled by the products he’s lobbying for more of.

So we’ll have to see which of those two influences is stronger with the Cayenne – Porsche’s desire to make a car that’s “better because it’s electric,” versus its CEO’s apparent desire to pump the brakes on the electric transition. You can guess which side Electrek would like to see more of, and we’ll get a chance to see more about what progress has been made next year when the car hits the road.

Either way, having an EV be the most powerful vehicle ever made by one of the world’s storied racing brands still does make a significant statement about commitment to EV powertrains. The myth of EVs being underpowered should be well and truly dead by now, but putting out a family SUV with 1,139hp certainly puts a strong period on the end of that sentence.

The Porsche Cayenne will start US deliveries in late summer 2026, starting at $109,000 for the base Electric version, and $163,000 for the Turbo Electric.

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There’s a popular belief that slower equals safer. The concept is not entirely without merit, but it doesn’t apply universally, and especially not to electric bicycles.

For those brave enough to power through their gritted teeth and keep reading, let me explain.

When it comes to electric bicycles, the mindset of slower equals safer has translated into some pretty restrictive speed limits. While most US states allow a segment of e-bikes to reach speeds of 28 mph (45 km/h), many cities and jurisdictions have discussed limiting speeds. New York City, one of the most significant recent examples, enacted a new law that limits e-bikes to just 15 mph. That means riders in NYC will now be slower than even most European countries, with their 25 km/h (15.5 mph) limit.

But here’s the thing: that conventional wisdom doesn’t always hold up. In fact, I’d argue that faster electric bikes, especially those that can cruise comfortably at 25 to 28 mph, can actually be safer in real-world traffic.

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Why? Because when your e-bike can keep up with traffic, you stop being an obstacle and start being a participant. And that makes a big difference.

As the internet’s resident e-bike guy, I’ve ridden just about every type of electric bike you can imagine, from mellow pedal-assist cruisers to high-powered, throttle-happy monsters. I’ve ridden on more types of roads than I can count and in more countries than I can remember. And one thing has become very clear: When riding in a city, the scariest and most dangerous part isn’t going fast – it’s being passed. Over and over again. By cars. Trucks. Buses. Trolleys. Anything that weighs 100x what your bike does. Sometimes with inches to spare.

When you’re riding a 15 or 20 mph limited e-bike on a street where traffic is moving at 25 to 35 mph, you’re not flowing with traffic. You’re impeding it. And drivers don’t like that. They get impatient. They make unsafe passes. They buzz you close to the curb. Even the ones who mean well still have to swerve into the other lane to get around you. It doesn’t matter that you have every right, both societal and legal, to be in that lane. It’s simply a perfect setup for conflict.

Now take a Class 3 e-bike – one that can do 28 mph with pedal assist – and the dynamic completely changes. Suddenly, you’re not the slowpoke in the bike lane or shoulder. You’re riding in the lane, keeping pace with cars. You’re visible. Predictable. You can merge when needed. You can also move back to the shoulder when you need to and allow a pass in a safe place (that doesn’t take as long to reach because now you’re moving faster). But you don’t have to spend the ride hugging the curb or dodging into the gutter just to stay out of the way. Because you’re not in the way, you’re part of the way. You’re an equal participant among the other road users (at least, in terms of speed).

In many cases, that extra bit of speed turns you from a second-class road user into a full participant in the flow of traffic. That’s not just better for you as a rider, it’s also better for drivers, because it reduces overtaking events and simplifies the entire dance of shared road use.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that e-bikes should be going 50 mph. There’s a reasonable ceiling here, and I’m happy to accept the current legal limit (in the US) of 28 mph for Class 3 electric bikes, since it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting a hypothetical Class 4 e-bike standard any time soon. But the idea that “anything over 20 mph is inherently dangerous” just doesn’t match up with the way urban traffic actually works.

If anything, artificially limiting e-bikes to sub-traffic speeds creates more danger by increasing interactions between cyclists and passing vehicles. That annoying car on the interstate doing 50 mph when everyone else is doing 70 mph is a danger to itself and others. Why would you force e-bikes into the same situation while using an even more vulnerable vehicle?

And let’s be honest: most pedal cyclists already ride “illegally fast” when conditions allow. Plenty of strong cyclists on non-electric road bikes can cruise above 28 mph.

And many US Class 2 or Class 3 e-bikes hit 25+ mph with ease, especially downhill or with a tailwind. Yet we simply don’t see an epidemic of high-speed e-bike crashes.

Yes, crashes happen, but they simply aren’t a significant threat to life or limb the way car crashes are due to e-bikes employing considerably lower energy. And don’t get me started on the ‘threat to pedestrians,’ a fact-supported near non-issue compared to the number of pedestrians killed by cars every year. If your argument is that we should focus on the 1% of pedestrians killed by an electric bike instead of the 99% of pedestrians killed by cars, then you aren’t pro-pedestrian, you’re simply anti-ebike.

The problem here isn’t speed, it’s context. It’s mixing slow vehicles with fast ones without giving either group the tools to navigate safely.

What’s more, newer e-bikes are better equipped than ever to handle slightly higher speeds. Hydraulic disc brakes are becoming nearly standard equipment on all but the cheapest e-bikes these days, not to mention the inclusion of integrated lighting, wider/grippier tires, and upright geometries that all contribute to safer, more stable handling at 25 to 28 mph. These aren’t 1990s beach cruisers with motors slapped on. Modern e-bikes are increasingly built for the job of going faster and carrying heavier loads at those speeds.

And the riders? For the most part, they’re not daredevils. They’re commuters. Parents. Students. People who want an alternative to driving that doesn’t make them feel like second-class citizens on the road.

Yes, there are hooligans out there popping wheelies and being idiots on two wheels, or trying to pass off 40 mph non-street-legal Sur Rons as simple e-bikes (which, they aren’t). But those extreme rule breakers are not the majority of riders. And if you think they are, then I’d like to introduce you to that comfortable little overlap on the Venn diagram between confirmation bias and availability heuristic. That’s where you’re standing.

This is what frustrates me about efforts to clamp down on e-bike speed. The well-meaning argument is usually “but what if someone gets hurt?” But the overlooked danger is that a slower bike might put someone in more harm’s way by forcing them into the margins of the road where they’re harder to see and constantly being passed.

And I’m not totally blind to the unique dangers of higher speeds, either. Of course, there are situations where riding slower is undeniably safer. On crowded bike paths, in dense pedestrian zones, or during wet or low-visibility conditions, lower speeds give riders more time to react and avoid hazards. A bike zipping through a shared-use trail at 28 mph doesn’t belong there, and pushing for faster e-bikes or against arbitrarily low e-bike speed limits shouldn’t mean encouraging reckless riding. There’s a time and place for reasonably high speed, and a time to ease off the throttle or pedals. Education is paramount. We offer driver’s education for cars instead of programming a speed limiter into them. We teach drivers how to drive, rather than physically limiting cars to 40 hp and 65 mph, despite both being sufficient to drive on any road in the entire US.

As e-bikes become more powerful and accessible, particularly to teenagers and young riders, there’s a real need for better education around safe riding practices. High speeds come with higher risks, especially when reaction time and braking distance shrink. But acknowledging those risks doesn’t mean we should impose blanket limitations that restrict responsible riders from using e-bikes to their full potential. The answer isn’t capping all bikes at 15 or 20 mph – it’s smarter infrastructure, better training, and rules that reflect real-world conditions instead of a one-size-fits-all limit.

We need to shift the conversation. Instead of treating faster e-bikes like ticking time bombs, we should recognize their potential as safer, more effective urban vehicles. Yes, speed can be abused. But when used responsibly, it’s a powerful tool for staying safe and in control on the road.

Not every e-bike rider needs to go 28 mph. But every e-bike rider should have the option to keep up with traffic when conditions call for it. And cities should embrace that, not fight it, if they’re serious about reducing car dependency and improving safety for vulnerable road users.

Maybe one day the US will invest in better cycling infrastructure, and this won’t be as big an issue. But that day is not today. And with the way US cities are built now, sometimes the safest place to be is right in the middle of the lane, moving with traffic, not behind it.