On The Road: Despite the quirky name, Subaru Uncharted an appealing electric SUV

There are multiple reasons to applaud this new entry into the electric vehicle realm. But one of them isn’t the name. Subaru Uncharted – really!!! According to the company, the 2026 Subaru Uncharted received its name because the company wanted to present the electric SUV as adventurous and align it with Subaru’s outdoorsy image. They also believed the name would appeal to younger car buyers looking for an affordable EV with versatility. However, the standard 2026 Subaru Uncharted model is not equipped with all-wheel drive (AWD), limiting its “adventurous” capabilities somewhat. The lack of all-wheel drive is a departure from every other Subaru vehicle with the exception of the Subaru BRZ, the closest the company comes to offering a sports car. The Uncharted is the first front-wheel-drive Subaru since the 1990s. That makes it less efficient than most Subaru vehicles for mild offroad trips or navigating serious snowy conditions. But higher Uncharted trim models do come equipped with AWD. The arrival of the Uncharted last July gives Subaru three EVs in its lineup. The subcompact Uncharted is the smallest of the three – the Solterra is a compact SUV and the Trailseeker is billed as a rugged midsize SUV. What we enjoy most regarding these three electric Subarus – they are fun to drive, something that can’t be said about practically every other vehicle the Japanese carmaker has produced in the past two decades. Give Toyota a major assist for developing the Uncharted. In a joint agreement with Subaru, Toyota created the remodeled C-HR, which shares the same platform, battery packs and Tesla charging ports as the Uncharted. The C-HR provides AWD in all trim models, but feels far more at home on paved roads. The Uncharted offers better mileage range – up to 308 miles compared to the 287 for the C-HR. The Subaru EV also has a more suitable base price of approximately $34,900, while the C-HR starts at around $37,000. Naturally we were pleased to see the Uncharted veered from the company’s routinely uninspired acceleration and had some major zip to it. We sampled the GT model that has two electric motors, producing 323 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque. It can get to places in a hurry, traveling 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds. The Uncharted base model features a single electric motor that delivers 221 horsepower and 211 pound-feet of torque. It goes 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds, more than two seconds slower than the GT and Sport trim models. Both versions of the Uncharted utilize a 74.7 kWh battery pack. Its small size helps make the Uncharted a pleasure to drive. The steering feels quick, the handling is stable and it takes challenging turns and tight corners with ease. What we don’t like is the squared-off shaped (squircle) steering wheel blocks the view of the tiny digital instrument cluster in back of it. Standard driver safety features include pre-collision braking; lane centering and lane keep assist; lane departure and sway warning; rear cross traffic alert; automatic emergency steering; and adaptive cruise control. A large standard 14-inch touchscreen has good graphics and is fairly straight forward to use. There is a convenient knob for radio volume and the climate control can be done without going into multi-levels of the screen to make adjustments. A big area below the center console is large enough to store a woman’s purse. While the front seats are comfortable and roomy, the rear seats lack adequate leg and headroom. The cargo area is fine at 23 cubic feet of space that expands to 59 cubes with the seats folded to the floor. Even though the 2026 Subaru Uncharted is saddled with a quirky name, there’s nothing unordinary regarding its overall appeal. This small electric SUV offers good to great performance, handles well, and has enough strong qualities to make it appealing to the masses. Jeffrey Weidel is an award-winning journalist from the Sacramento region who has written automotive reviews for nearly three decades and now appears weekly in the Folsom Times. He can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Copyright © 2026, Folsom Times, a digital product of All Town Media LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The post On The Road: Despite the quirky name, Subaru Uncharted an appealing electric SUV first appeared on Folsom Times.