Charged EVs | 2026 Subaru Uncharted first drive: 308-mile range, NACS and AWD option

It’s quick where the Crosstrek is poky, more fun to drive, and offers some off-road capability. Is it a real Subaru? That’s for shoppers to decide.

The 2026 Subaru Uncharted electric hatchback will arrive at dealers within several weeks. It’s the smallest of three EVs Subaru offers this year—along with the Solterra on sale since 2022 and the newly arriving Trailseeker. While it offers all-wheel drive, a “limited availability” base model of the Uncharted Premium powers the front wheels alone. Known for its all-wheel-drive expertise, Subaru hasn’t offered a FWD-only model in roughly 30 years. But, that one version of the Uncharted hits its mark: the EPA range rating is 308 miles, above the crucial 300-mile level.

Adding all-wheel drive lowers range, as it does on any EV; the Uncharted Sport, with AWD standard, is rated at 287 miles, while the top Uncharted GT trim falls further to 273 miles, also with AWD standard. That Uncharted Premium FWD model has a starting price of $36,445; the range-topping Uncharted GT comes in at $45,245 (both prices include a mandatory $1,450 destination fee). Importantly, that FWD base model just beats the Nissan Leaf FWD in range.

Uncharted: Crosstrek counterpart

Each of Subaru’s three EVs is roughly analogous to an existing gasoline model in the lineup: the Solterra to the Forester, the Trailseeker to the Outback, and the Uncharted to Subaru’s smallest and least expensive model, the Crosstrek (or its less butch sibling, the Impreza hatchback). Among EVs, the Uncharted’s closest competitor is the Volvo EX30 Cross Country, with the Kia Niro EV, Hyundai Kona Electric, and Nissan Leaf in the same segment but having fewer off-road chops.

The 2026 Uncharted was unveiled last July and, not to put too fine a point on it, is effectively a Subaru badge plus some very minor changes applied to the car also known as the Toyota C-HR EV. Both cars have all but identical sheet metal, and both go on sale this quarter. We spent half a day driving an Uncharted in the pleasant environs in and around Orange County, California.

Subaru’s plans for a more elaborate off-road test course were washed out, literally, by the torrential rains that pelted Southern California for days before we arrived. A substitute course bulldozed into place offered steep, muddy hillocks, and enough dips and rises to lift a wheel off the ground even with 8.2 inches of ground clearance—only 0.5 inch less than the Crosstrek, and a bit more than the corresponding Toyota C-HR at 7.3 to 8.0 inches.

It also had breakover angles that showed the usefulness of the car’s front-facing camera within the Multi-Terrain monitor view while using the off-road X-Mode drive setting. Annoyingly, that view disappeared as soon as the Uncharted went above 6 mph—apparently a Toyota safety measure—meaning drivers had to select it (a multistep sequence) before the next hill.

Fast acceleration … in a Subaru?

As the lightest Subaru EV, with a battery pack of 74.7 kilowatt-hours, the Uncharted is pleasantly quick in traffic. That contrasts with the Crosstrek, which requires the more expensive Hybrid model to offer even average performance. Off-the-line acceleration has never been a Subaru characteristic, until now. On the all-wheel-drive GT model, the company quotes a 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of 4.7 seconds, and total power between the two drive motors of 338 horsepower (250 kilowatts). The FWD Premium base model comes in at “only” 221 hp (160 kW). Like every 2026 electric Subaru model, the Uncharted will come standard with a NACS charging port.

While each of Subaru’s EVs has a very, very close Toyota sibling, the two companies have split responsibilities differently for each of the three. The powertrain, including battery pack, motors, and power electronics, fell to Toyota. But Subaru took responsibility for the all-wheel-drive system and tuning, the roadholding and ride, and several aspects of the car’s safety systems. Both companies had input into the design, and the Uncharted is built in Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Japan.

To our eyes, this entry-level Subaru EV looks like a Toyota both inside and out. The design language and some of the unexpected body accents are less off-road Subaru and more urban Toyota. Inside, the interior layout, instrument cluster, and central infotainment touchscreen are all directly traceable to current Toyota models.

The car’s 14-inch center touchscreen includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay phone mirroring as standard, and dual wireless phone chargers sit in the front console. Rear-seat passengers can charge their devices on a pair of USB-C ports. Wheels come in various 18- and 20-inch versions.

Is it a ‘real Subaru’—and does that matter?

But none of the Toyota flavor may matter to Subaru shoppers who assess the Uncharted. The company’s market research suggests they’re ‘Youthful Explorers’ with a median age of just 32, believe “life is about the journey”, and view owning an EV as a responsible thing to do for the environment. We’d wager Toyota’s C-HR shoppers are more urban, possibly older, and view EVs as more practical and perhaps as a way to save money on running costs.

Given the progressive, outdoorsy nature of its loyal customers, Subaru could probably have done well with EVs starting in the late 2010s. But the company is tiny by global standards, and it simply didn’t have the cash to fund its own EVs. Enter Toyota, which owns a percentage of Subaru—and has finally come around to offering multiple EV models.

So whether any given auto reviewer see the Uncharted as a genuine product of the quirky company that’s given us reliable adventure and standard all-wheel drive for 30 years, versus just a Subaru-inflected Toyota, the market will tell us how Subaru buyers view this new electric entry.

We certainly aren’t betting against this one becoming another Subaru success.

Subaru provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable Charged to bring you this first-person drive report.