First, the good: Jeep is introducing an electric vehicle. And the bad? It’s an escooter.
Meet the (Jeep) RX200
For its entrance into the escooter market, Jeep partnered with Razor. It took on the challenge by revamping its existing RX200 model and transforming it into… the Razor Jeep RX200: Now, let’s play a game of “spot the difference” with the original RX200: As you can see, the shift is rather superficial. The new version is colored army green, bears the Jeep logo, and comes with dual headlights. Both models come with a somewhat underpowered 200W motor that uses a chain to drive the rear wheel. This explains the scooter’s laughable 19km/h top speed. Plus, its 24V 7Ah lead-acid battery pack is outdated, providing a ride-time of a somewhat limited 40 minutes. On the plus side, the scooters come with 8-inch off-road pneumatic tires, disc brakes, and an improved gear ratio for high-torque trail, which make them suitable for rough terrains. All this is okay for a cheap off-road escooter, like the original RX200. This isn’t something that’s meant for long or fast rides. But in my opinion, the Jeep’s $499 price tag doesn’t justify what’s on offer. It’s still pretty affordable compared to other off-road models on the market (such as the Dualtron Ultra II or the Nanrobot D5+) — but these are just better machines. You’re basically just paying for the Jeep logo. That being said, it’s important to note that this is Jeep’s second attempt to enter the microbility market. In 2020, the brand collaborated with Quitekat to introduce its first electric mountain bike. Let’s hope the company eventually bites the bullet and makes an electric car — but, on current evidence, I’m not holding out much hope.
