The 2026 Subaru Uncharted's Identity Crisis
6/24/202647 min
Is the all-new Subaru Uncharted a rugged Subaru, a rebadged Toyota, or something in between? We share our first impressions of the compact EV's strong performance, comfortable ride, confusing ergonomics, and missing EV features. Plus, we answer a viewer's question about the best fun-to-drive car for a college student with a $35,000 budget.
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SHOW NOTES
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00:00 Introduction
00:23 2026 Subaru Uncharted Overview
01:36 Subaru-Toyota Relationship Explained
03:25 What We Like: Performance & Driving Experience
05:23 What We Like: Ride Comfort, Space & Seats
08:59 What We Like: Infotainment & Interior Features
11:42 Handling Impressions
13:39 What We Don't Like: Driver Display & Ergonomics
18:04 What We Don't Like: Center Console & Shifter
23:45 Is the Uncharted Behind the Competition?
27:37 Final Thoughts: Who Should Buy the Uncharted?
39:19 Audience Question: Best Fun Car Under $35K
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Model History: Toyota C-HR
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/toyota/c-hr/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Test Results: Subaru Solterra
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/subaru/solterra/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Test Results: 2026 Nissan Leaf
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/nissan/leaf/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Test Results: Hyundai Ioniq5
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/hyundai/ioniq-5/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Test Results: 2026 Kia K4
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/kia/k4/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Test Results: 2026 Acura Integra
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/acura/integra/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
2026 Toyota GR Corolla
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/toyota/gr-corolla/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Best Cars Under $30K
Model History: Kia Stinger
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/kia/stinger/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL\_YT
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMike Monticello· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hi, everybody. Welcome to another episode. I'm Mike Monticello.
Steph Schrader· Panelist0:13
I'm Steph Schrader.
Alex George· Panelist0:15
I'm Alex George.
Mike Monticello· Host0:16
So today we're gonna be talking about our first impressions of the all new 2026 Subaru Uncharted EV. Think of the Uncharted as basically the electric counterpart to the Crosstrek, right? So it's basically a fairly small EV SUV. If you're wondering, it, yes, it's smaller than the Subaru Solterra, but it does use a lot of the same mechanical bits, and that includes, uh, the 330, 338 horsepower from its dual electric motors. And lastly, what's the one thing that everyone wants to know about an EV? Driving range, right? So for our, uh, Uncharted all-wheel drive test car, it has an EPA estimated 287 miles. As always, with every EV that comes through our test program, we will do our own 70 mile per hour highway range test with the Uncharted, uh, once it goes through our program. Uh, so, uh, we bought a 2026 Subaru Uncharted Sport all-wheel drive. Our test car was only equipped with a few options, including its metropolis gray metallic paint, which I kinda like. I kinda dig it.
Steph Schrader· Panelist1:17
It's got some purple in it.
Mike Monticello· Host1:18
Yeah.
Steph Schrader· Panelist1:18
Yeah.
Mike Monticello· Host1:18
Uh, along with its $1,450 destination charge, the total cost of our test vehicle is $42,083. Now, before we get into what we like and what we don't like about