Subaru’s EV collaboration with Toyota continues with the 2026 Subaru Uncharted, a small electric crossover that shares most of its bits and pieces with the upcoming 2026 Toyota C-HR.
An interesting reverse twist: Subaru, noted for its rugged all-wheel drive system and an outdoorsy product lineup that’s mostly AWD, is offering both front- and all-wheel drive versions of the Uncharted. Toyota, which usually has both front and AWD versions of its vehicles, will offer the C-HR only with all-wheel drive.
Otherwise, the differences are mostly cosmetic although Subaru did its own suspension tuning and promises “dynamic performance on and off-road.”
We’ll have to wait until we can get behind the wheel to weigh in on that – the official unveiling in New York today was for looking only.
We can offer, though, that we found Subaru’s Solterra to offer a stiffer ride and better off-road manners than its Toyota twin, the bZ4H (which shortens its name to plain-old ‘bZ’ with the upcoming 2026 model).
The 2026 Uncharted will be Subaru’s third all-electric offering, following the Solterra crossover, introduced in 2023, and the 2026 Trailseeker SUV, which is expected to go on sale about the same time as the Uncharted, in early 2026.
Subaru is expanding its EV lineup as the electric vehicle markets in the U.S. – its largest – and Europe both soften.
The Toyota-Subaru EV collaboration, while a decision made long before the Trump Administration and a Republican-dominated Congress took an axe to clean vehicle incentives, helps cushion the blow by spreading development and parts costs across two corporate budgets.
Pricing for the compact Uncharted EVhasn’t been released, but it is expected to start just north of $35,000 for all-wheel drive versions, which Subaru expects to account for the bulk of sales. If our guess is correct, the limited-production front-drive model, with a less complex drivetrain, could come it at a fairly budget-pleasing number somewhere in the low $30,000s. All pricing guesses, however, are subject to still-in-discusion U.S. tariffs on Japanese imports.
Uncharted Power and Range
While the new Subie’s model name suggests lots of unexpected stuff, there’s no secret when it comes to its volume models’ powertrain.
All-wheel drive Sport and GT versions will use what’s essentially the same 338-horsepower, dual motor setup as in the Solterra (also used in the Toyota bz4X and C-HR EVs.)
For those who need to be first across the intersection, that’s sufficient to provide zero to 60 mph acceleration in just under 5 seconds, the automaker said.
Range with AWD is a Subaru-estimated 290 miles – the same as for Toyota’s CH-R. Both vehicles use 74.7 kWh lithium-ion battery packs.
For the front-drive Uncharted Premium trim, the battery remains the same but the rear motor is gone. Relying on a single front-mounted motor cuts output to 221 horsepower, but also reduced its appetite for electrons, raising its range on a fully charged battery to a Subaru-estimated “more than 300 miles.”
Charging the Uncharted
As will most new EVs moving forward, the Uncharted gets a standard NCAS charge port that enables it to use the Tesla Supercharger network without an adapter for high-speed DC fast-charging.
It also can use a readily available adapter to access the CCS fast charge system that developed alongside Tesla’s in order to serve all the other EV brands before Tesla opened its proprietary charging system to others.
Subaru says that with the Uncharted’s maximum 150 kW acceptance rate for fast charging, it will take about 30 minutes to bring a 10% depleted battery back to 80% of capacity on either system in optimal conditions.
For home charging on 240-volt, Level 2 equipment, the Uncharted EV gets an 11 kW on-board charger that can easily bring a depleted battery back to full charge overnight. The on-board charger also is compatible with standard 120-volt household current for trickle charging when nothing else is available – it would take almost two days to fully recharge the Uncharted’s 74.7 kWh battery at 120 volts.
A Fastback SUV
The 2026 Subaru Uncharted is a small two-row, four-door crossover with a tall stance, high beltline, sculpted sides and a steeply sloping rear roof line that evokes the SUV-coupe styling popularized by the BMW X6 and later the original non-electric Acura ZDX (2010-2013). Rear door handles are nicely concealed in the rear quarter windows.
The exterior design is almost identical to the Toyota C-HR, but Subaru has its own signature LED headlamp and taillight arrays, and the flat, unadorned front fascia displays Subaru’s six-star “Pleiades” emblem just beneath the hood’s sharply down-sloping leading edge
Modern Inside
The Uncharted gets what’s come to be a fairly standard EV modern-minimalist interior treatment, with a 14-inch infotainment touchscreen dominating the dash and a smaller digital drive information screen higher up and farther back behind the steering wheel. A lighted metallic trim bar spans the full width of the dash and separates it into upper and lower potions.
There’s a wide and tall center console with two – count ‘em, two – wireless phone charging pads, a stubby shifter, buttons for the various drive modes, a pair of cup holders and a shallow storage tray at the front and a wide and deep open storage area underneath. The divider between the front seats serves both as a padded armrest and a covered storage area.
The front buckets look to be nicely bolstered and in the two upper trims are covered in a water-resistant faux leather that Subaru calls StarTex. The base grade likely gets cloth upholstery, as do most other base models in Subaru’s lineup.
We don’t have leg- and headroom figures yet, but the Uncharted’s overall length is almost 7 inches less than the Solterra’s while its rear cargo bay –with back seats up – is slightly larger, at 25 cubic feet versus 23.8 cubes. So we’re expecting decent front legroom but a bit of a challenge for rear seat passengers with long legs and or torsos.
Uncharted Trims s and Features
The 2026 Subaru Uncharted EV will be offered in three trim levels, Premium FWD, Sport and GT. The Premium is front-wheel drive only, the others are only available with all-wheel drive.
Full specs and features haven’t been disclosed yet, but here’s what we do know:
Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloys, heated front seats and exterior mirrors, power rear gate, ambient interior lighting, cloth upholstery, dual wireless charging pads up front and dual USB-C charging cord ports for rear seat passengers, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, a six-speaker sound system, and interior ambient lighting.
The Sport grade adds electronic all-wheel drive with Subaru’s X-MODE, a torque-modifying off-road driving assist system with hill descent control. There’s also water-repellent upholstery, a heated steering wheel, low-profile roof rails and a panoramic view monitor, among other upgraded features.
The GT adds 20-inch wheels, ventilated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, a panoramic moon roof with motorized sunshade, a Harman Kardon sound system and a digital rear-view mirror.The two-tone paint featured in the photos is an option for the GT trim only.
Safety Features
There haven’t been any official crash tests of the Uncharted EV– at least none with posted results – but Subaru is noted for safety. We don’t imagine the company scrimped on this one.
We know it will come with a suite of Subaru EyeSight safety tech, including front collision alert and mitigation, front cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, lane departure alert, adaptive cruise control with full stop-start capability. Traffic Jam assist and lane change assist are two of the safety features available as options on upper trims.
