The Jeep Recon’s Interior Was Made to Be Tinkered With

With the new Recon, Jeep is aiming to bring a little Wrangler versatility to electric SUVs. There’s the freedom to take the doors off, sure, but one of the smaller but still clever ways in which it intends to deliver on that spirit can be spotted in the interior’s trim. Look at the door pockets, and you’ll see thick elastic straps to hold stuff, fixed to the door with Torx bolts.

That hardware isn’t for show—it can actually be removed. And, frankly, Jeep doesn’t care how you rearrange it or what you slot in there to replace it. When asked about his favorite aspect of the Recon’s design, Ryan Nagode, Vice President, Head of Interior Design for Stellantis North America, called out this element.

“I love the accessory straps that we put in the doors and the center console,” Nagode told The Drive during a launch event for the new SUV. “You can pull them out, you can take them from criss-cross to straight straps, and then people can have fun with creating their own systems, their own accessory stuff. Some awesome water bottle that they have—maybe create a cool little holder for it.”

The ability to rearrange the straps is neat enough, and if you look closely at the side of the center console, you’ll see the same bolts are found there, too, without any elastic. But, Nagode imagines that more enterprising owners will 3D print custom accessories and attach them using these mounting points. “The flexibility is there,” he said, for people to either reconfigure what’s there or make that space their own.

It’s an opportunity that, naturally, was inspired by the Wrangler.

“We look at, you know, the Jeep lineup—especially Wrangler over the years, highly accessorized. One of our most accessorized vehicles,” Nagode said. And while the community should be just as easily able to take customization into their own hands, when asked if Mopar would offer some of its own for that space, the interior design chief was optimistic. “I think it’ll be the ability for us to have fun over the years,” he hinted.