Two new electric off-roaders – Munro Mk1 and Fering Pioneer – embody the spirit of adventure in sharp-edged, minimal suits

The Land-Rover Defender has a lot to answer for. Not the new, shiny, SUV from JLR, but the brawny original, with its agricultural ride and cliff-edge styling. A little bit of the Defender’s off-road DNA was scattered to the winds once the Defender finally ceased production in 2020. Some of it landed with companies who continue to outfit and upgrade the timeless original, and some with new firms who have taken direct ‘inspiration’ for their own products.

The latter includes the likes of the Ineos Grenadier and the Bollinger B1 and B2, both of which could be mistaken for a Land-Rover down a muddy track on a dark night. Now there are two more contenders for new-era replacements, both of which use electrification as their selling point.

Munro Mk1

The Munro Mk1 is a new machine from Munro, a Scottish company that claims it’ll be the country’s ‘first light vehicle to enter production in more than four decades’. Boasting a number of impressive endurance stats, including a 50-year lifespan, the Munro Mk1 is being pitched at industrial sectors that need reliable, all-weather, go-anywhere transport for small teams of workers.

The design is suitably brutish and stripped down. The first few examples will be hand-built, with plans to expand production to around 2,500 vehicles a year. Founders Russell Peterson and Ross Anderson named the company for the word defining a Scottish mountain over 3,000 ft. Back in 2019, they set out to electrify the sector with a simple but durable machine that would have widespread appeal and utility.

Fering Pioneer

Also on the cards is the Fering Pioneer, an electric ‘expedition vehicle’ designed by engineer Ben Scott-Geddes, whose credits include work for Ferrari and McLaren. Scott-Geddes’ other passion is adventuring, and the Pioneer is intended to be a long-haul EV capable of crossing any kind of terrain. It shares a similar aesthetic to the Munro Mk1, proving that Land-Rover must have got it right all those years ago. 

Munro Mk1, from £49,995, deliveries in 2023, Munro-EV.com (opens in new tab)

Fering Pioneer, price tbc, Fering.co.uk (opens in new tab)