Normally, it’s easy to identify an incumbent. Establishment figures tend to enjoy advantages—experience, name recognition, resources—that are scarce for upstarts. But in the case of the 2027 Rivian R2 and the 2026 Jeep Recon Moab, it’s hard to say who’s the incumbent and who’s the challenger. Jeep has been building SUVs since the 1940s, as it’s happy to constantly remind you, but is relatively new to EVs. Meanwhile, the first Rivians hit the road just five years ago, but EVs are all that it builds, and the R2 is the brand’s third model. Which incumbency is more advantageous? Let’s take a look.
The fresh-out-of-the-oven R2 hews to the typical launch strategy of offering the most expensive version first. Thus, our 2027 model is a Performance trim with the Launch package, which brings a 4400-pound tow rating and hands-free driving assist. Simpler variants are coming soon, priced closer to 50 grand, but our tester with its $2000 Launch Green paint tallied $61,485. Happily, the R2’s most delightful feature, its power roll-down hatch glass, is standard. Sorry, Toyota 4Runner, Rivian is onto the lifestyle appeal of a dropped rear window with a surfboard poking out. Or a dog or two who won’t be breathing exhaust fumes.
For Sale Near You
See all results for new 2026 Jeep Recon EV for sale near 115280
The Recon is so far only available in Moab trim, which at Jeep signifies elevated off-road capability along with an elevated price. Indeed, the Recon’s $68,990 base sticker exceeds the R2’s as-tested figure, and an assortment of goodies further inflated our as-tested price to $73,345. Major options included the $1995 Comfort package, which adds ventilated front seats and heated second-row seats, and the $995 towing package (max capacity: 3300 pounds). Plenty of off-road hardware is standard: skid plates, an electronically locking rear differential, and 33-inch all-terrain tires. And because Jeep is leaning into the “Wrangler, but electric” theme, the Recon’s doors and rear windows are removable without tools. But, at about 70 pounds each, the doors might not be removable without a daily swig of creatine.
Exterior and Interior
The R2’s styling is “Honey, I Shrunk the R1.” It’s clean, modern, and employs the signature Rivian ovoid headlights. There’s nothing too revolutionary about it, but that works to its advantage—Rivian wants to sell the hell out of this thing, and divisive styling is not a smart play for conquesting market share from internal-combustion rivals. (Just ask the Tesla Cybertruck.) And, hey, you can’t go wrong with big wheels pushed out to the corners. Our tester had all-season tires on 21-inch wheels, the mall-crawler spec, but Rivian does offer tougher-looking 20-inch wheels with all-terrain tires. Those, however, will drop EPA-rated range from 330 miles to 307 miles.
For Sale Near You
See all results for new 2026 Jeep Recon EV for sale near 115280
The Recon’s aesthetic is intentionally anti-EV, with nary a concession to aerodynamics or rolling resistance. It’s square, tall, and has a front bumper that looks like a bulldog’s underbite, all of which contributes to an atmosphere-battling 0.404 coefficient of drag. It doesn’t quite pull off the Wrangler’s studied minimalism, but the Recon is the most off-road-forward EV this side of a Hummer or a Mercedes-Benz G580e. It’s also capable of changing up its look, depending on whether the doors and windows are removed. Buttoned up, it’s a regular SUV with an off-road bent, but ditch the doors and open the full-length canvas roof, and it’s like you’re driving something from the car-stripping contest in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.
Inside, the R2 and Recon represent their respective manufacturers’ design philosophies. Whether you prefer the spare, screen-centric Rivian or the more conventional Jeep is a matter of your priorities (and, maybe, age), but the Recon is undeniably more user-friendly. Stellantis may whipsaw on its product planning—EVs! No, V-8s!—but its interiors are consistently good, from Jeep to Ram to the Chrysler Pacifica. A splash of tan leather across the top of the steering wheel matches the seats, and a red panel on the console draws attention to the rocker switch for the terrain modes. Both the Rivian and Jeep feature large touchscreens, but the Recon augments its touchscreen functions with hard buttons (on both the dash and the steering wheel) and knobs for volume and tuning. The Jeep’s Uconnect 5 system also supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while the Rivian doesn’t allow phone mirroring.
Rivian minimizes physical controls in part by aping Tesla’s strategy of forcing scroll wheels into multiple roles. Want to adjust the steering wheel or exterior mirrors? You’ll need to go into a settings menu in the touchscreen and temporarily deputize the steering wheel scroll wheels (“haptic halo wheels,” in Rivian parlance) to handle whichever adjustment you’re pursuing. It’s annoying, but probably not the kind of thing you deal with too often as an owner. At least, while you’re wrestling with that, you can gaze upon the lovely birch trim that spans the dash.
Both interiors allow a view of the sky, with the Rivian employing a fixed panoramic glass roof and the Jeep offering the full convertible experience with its power roll-back soft top. The R2 can also drop its windows (including the back one) with the touch of a button—the rear quarter windows stay fixed, alas. You can remove those in the Recon and, unlike the doors, store them in the car in handy bags. In any case, both SUVs are down with al fresco travel, but the Recon is more committed. The catch is, you’ve got to be committed too.
Powertrain and Performance
The Recon and R2 both showcase the hyperbolic performance we’ve quickly come to regard as the EV norm. Why, some of us are old enough to remember when the C5 Corvette Z06’s sub-four-second run to 60 mph was considered wickedly quick. And now we have family off-roaders that will torch that Vette—and plenty of other sports cars besides. To wit: The R2’s dual motors combine for 656 horsepower and 609 pound-feet of torque, good for a 3.5-second 60-mph time and an 11.4-second quarter-mile at 126 mph.
Jeep Recon Moab
HIGHS: Removable doors and glass, quicker than a Charger Scat Pack, real off-road ability.
LOWS: 160 miles of real-world highway range, higher price, Wrangler people will probably leave ducks on it.
VERDICT: Jeep’s EV off-roader is fun and fast but far from frugal.
The Jeep is even more powerful, and its huge Nexen Roadian ATX tires are churned by 670 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque. The Recon ties the R2 to 60 mph and is slightly behind in the quarter-mile, requiring 11.8 seconds. The Jeep’s quarter-mile time is compromised by its 111-mph speed limiter, which it hits more than a second before it finishes the quarter. And still, it runs 11s. If you’re wondering how quick the Jeep would be minus the doors and glass, superleggera-style, so did we. And we’ll let you know the answer to that next time we get our hands on one.
The Jeep’s 94-kWh battery is bigger than the Rivian’s 88-kWh pack, but the Rivian’s superior efficiency means that it goes longer between charges. In our 75-mph highway range test, the R2 managed 260 miles, a full 100 miles more than the Recon. It also charged a little bit faster, going from 10 to 90 percent charge in 39 minutes, versus 43 minutes for the Jeep. If you’re not doing 75 mph, the Recon fares somewhat better—its EPA-estimated range is 222 miles—but it’s still well short of the 300-mile threshold that’s become a common range expectation for EVs.
Neither the Rivian nor Jeep are particularly impressive dynamically, but as with range, you can divine their handling prowess just by looking at them. On the skidpad, the Jeep holds on for 0.74 g of grip, while the Rivian ekes out 0.81 g. The R2 also out-stops the Recon from 70 mph, 178 feet to 201 feet. We’d guess both those differences would be narrowed if the Rivian wore its available all-terrain tires, but both machines are like old-school muscle cars—hellaciously quick in a straight line but not about to hang with a Mazda Miata in the corners.
The Driving Experience
Although our two contenders here are calibrated more for on-road comfort than apex-slaying performance, the Recon is far more competent and composed than the Wrangler that it’s cosplaying as—an independent front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering work wonders to modernize the Jeep driving experience. It’s tall, yes, but you don’t get the sense that you’re heaving around in the crow’s nest of an 18th-century schooner, nor does it impart the side-to-side neck snap that presents when overly aggressive anti-roll bars begin asserting themselves. The cushy ride is helped by the all-terrain tires’ generous 70-profile aspect ratio. You won’t likely bend a Recon rim on a pothole or a rock out on the trail.
R2 Performance
HIGHS: Stupidly quick, looks great inside and out, the rear glass rolls down!
LOWS: Lack of physical controls, light regen setting still too strong, no CarPlay or Android Auto.
VERDICT: A premium SUV for the masses that happens to be electric.
Many of us feel the R2 is better to drive than its big sibling, the R1S, despite having a simpler suspension setup with conventional anti-roll bars. The R2 feels like it had plenty of R&D attention, in accordance with its importance to Rivian’s business model. Specifically, the spring and damping rates feel in harmony, with firm body control but enough compliance to soak up nasty pavement. There’s no sense of the suspension abruptly running out of travel, either on droop or compression.
Both the Recon and R2 feature some mandatory brake regeneration when you back off the accelerator, but the Recon’s is milder and feels more like coasting compared to the Rivian’s system. Rivian really wants you to embrace one-pedal driving—in fact, it insists. We’re still not sure why Rivian is so big on mandatory regen, but if you like your car to coast down hills (which, as we’ve explained before, is more efficient than converting kinetic energy to electricity and back again), then the R2 might be a little too one-pedal for you even in its weakest mode.
We didn’t get to really off-road the R2 and Recon, but that contest might be closer than you’d think. The Jeep takes its off-road mission seriously, with 9.1 inches of ground clearance and those 33-inch tires, but the modest Rivian actually has more ground clearance (9.6 inches), and its 32-inch tires aren’t much smaller. Speculatively, they’d both be fun to take muddin’.
And The Winner Is . . .
The Recon is quick and charismatic, but its high price and stunted range make us think that Jeep built this model as an EV beachhead rather than as a serious volume contender. It’s also better at being a Jeep than it is at being an EV. If you wanted an electric Wrangler, this is the closest thing to it, for now. You can drive it in Mad Max dune-buggy mode, and strangers will leave ducks on the windshield, but the Recon is a fun idea that’s desperately awaiting the next generation of batteries to extend its range. Put it this way: When you’re shelling out more than $70K, it hurts to get smoked on range by the $29,000 Chevy Bolt (262 miles, per the EPA).
So the R2 wins this contest because it delivers the design—and most of the performance—of the R1S at a much lower price point. It’s easy to build a compelling vehicle when you’re charging more than $120,000 (see: the R1S Quad), but it’s much more impressive when you’re targeting the high $60,000 range, the heart of the market. With more than 300 miles of EPA-rated range to go with its scalding acceleration, the R2 is the electric family SUV we’d want to put in our own driveway.
➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.
Want to see these vehicles' specs side-by-side?
Check out the Jeep Recon EV & Rivian R2 on our new compare tool.