THE 2025 LA AUTO SHOW OVERVIEW – OFF-ROAD EVS LAND IN LA LA LAND

THE 2025 LA AUTO SHOW OVERVIEW

OFF-ROAD EVS 

LAND IN LA LA LAND

The first ‘major’ auto show in North America kicked off in car-centric Los Angeles, just prior to Thanksgiving week. While quite a bit smaller compared to its pre-pandemic iterations, the media day was fairly well-attended, with notable new vehicle previews, including several off-road EVs, which appears to be an emerging trend (or an evolutionary cul-de-sac). Let’s take a look at the three major examples of this from this year’s show:

Hyundai Crater Concept

If there was a ‘star’ of the L.A. Auto Show media day, it was the Hyundai Cater Concept (think Jeep Wrangler / Ford Bronco meets Warthog from ‘Halo’).

Hyundai says it’s an off-road EV concept. (Personally, I think the notion of an EV off-roader is an automotive oxymoron). Hyundai envisions a range of off-road vehicles under the XRT label (think – again – Jeep).

The Crater certainly looks rugged and capable, with good approach, departure and break-over angles. It certainly looks buildable, though the coach doors would never make it to market. (Designers love them, but they don’t really work in the real world of garages and parking lots.) 

Hyundai execs were mum on the details of the powertrain, but the company’s e-GMP platform that underpins the Ioniq 5, 6 and 9 EVs is one of the best in the industry, so that would be a good starting point.

Hyundai says there are currently no plans for production, but that may depend on public reaction as the company would love to compete in the Jeep Wrangler / Ford Bronco off-roader space.

The bigger question is, does an EV off-roader make sense for going off-grid where there are precious few charging stations. Hyundai could easily pivot to a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or add an ICE range-extender to provide the necessary electrons out in the middle of nowhere.

Stellantis (Jeep)

As opposed to last year’s ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach, Stellantis, parent company of RAM, Jeep, Dodge and too many other struggling brands (14 in all!), put all their eggs in the Jeep Recon basket.

So, what’s a Recon? To me, it’s a bit of a rolling contradiction, an automotive oxymoron — it’s Jeep’s second pure EV (the Wagoneer S was the first). And it uses the same STLA underpinnings as that Wagoneer S.

Like the Wagoneer S, the Recon will offer dual motors pumping out 650hp to all four wheels, fed by a large 100.5kWh battery. Now, you’d expect a battery that large would yield a 300+mi range, right? Nope – you’d be sadly disappointed. Jeep claims the Recon’s range will be 230-250mi, which is on the short side — not good when your destination is somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

On the plus side, Jeep says the Recon will be able to recharge (often) at Tesla’s Supercharger network using the built-in NACS charging port.

Like the Jeep Wrangler that it (sort of) resembles, the Recon offers the ability for open-air motoring, with a large roof opening, removable doors (no tools required) and removable rear quarter and rear windows. Cool!

Inside, the Recon offers seating for five and more upscale trim than the more utilitarian Wrangler. You can even get heated front and rear seats.

Like most EVs, the Recon boasts rapid acceleration, with a claimed 3.6-sec 0-60 time, begging the question: Why? I suspect most potential buyers would trade 0-60 bragging rights for more real-world range.

And that brings me to my biggest issue with the Recon: What’s the point of a hard-core off-road EV? Jeep built its brand as the ‘go anywhere, do anything, where-we’re-going-we-don’t-need-roads freedom machine, but how much freedom can you really have when you need access to a DC fast charger every 230mi?

The Recon goes on sale next year with an expected price of $67K. Good luck with that, Jeep, as the slightly higher priced Jeep Wagoneer S EV has hardly been lighting up the sales charts.

Scout Motors Traveler / Terra

This is the 2028 Scout Motors Traveler SUV EV. Wait…2028, you say? (Checks calendar.) Aren’t they a bit…early?

No, that’s not a typo…it is a prototype of the upcoming Scout Traveler EV SUV that Scout Motors brought 2025 La Auto Show.

This is, kinda sorta, the reincarnation of the old International Harvester Scout SUV. Think Jeep CJ / first-gen Ford Bronco competitor sold from 1960-80. Somehow, through various corporate entities, VW wound up with the Scout name and decided to reincarnate it as an EV brand.

Scout has announced that the new Traveler will be a five-passenger SUV (there will also be a Terra pickup).

It’s a good-looking vehicle, with enough Scout design cues to warm the cockles of the old off-roaders who remember the original. Fine, but it’s an EV? As noted before, that’s  kind of…er, limiting…for an SUV? Yes, it would be, but Scout has given the Traveler an interesting twist — a gas-powered range extender so you can recharge it when you run out of electrons in the middle of nowhere. Smart! (Are you paying attention Jeep and Hummer?). While Scout is promising 300-350mi of battery range, the range extender is said to up that to 500mi. Now we’re talking!

Scout hasn’t announced many of the technical specifications (battery size, motor hp, etc.) for the Traveler / Terra, but they have said the range will be ~300mi in the base configuration or 500+mi with the gas range extender. That’s not bad. Given the battery-only range, I’d expect a battery size of 95-105 kWh. No estimate on recharging times for DC fast charge or Level 2 charging.

Inside, the Traveler is a nice blend of modern and retro, and it looks to have plenty of cargo space for camping gear, mountain bikes or other stuff.

Pricing of the Traveler is expected to come in at ~$60K, before options like the range extender.

Scout vehicles will be US made, in a new plant in South Carolina.

Will Scout succeed? The track record of recent EV startups is a decidedly mixed bag, but with VW’s backing and a recognizable name, I’d put the odds at better than 50-50.

Back to the question posed at the beginning of this article: Does an EV off-roader make sense? I’m still unsold on the wisdom of an EV off-roader, but I think the gas range extender has the potential to be a game-changer. If it were my hard-earned money making the monthly payments, I’d want the reassurance of an ICE motor to get out there…and back.