2026 Subaru Uncharted GT in the Mojave Desert.Credit: Brooke CrothersSubaru seemed to be lost as an outdoorsy, eco-activist-friendly brand when the EV arrived. With the Uncharted, it's found its way.It always seemed curious to me that the stereotypical Subaru owner – REI frequenting, NPR listening greenie with a "Coexist" tee – never blinked when the world moved to electric vehicles but Subaru didn't. No matter how many save-the-planet bumper stickers you slapped on a Subaru, it was still a fossil-fuel guzzler. Then – finally – Subaru delivered the electric Solterra in 2022. But that was ten years after the Tesla Model S and five years after the Chevy Bolt (another great EV, by the way).My point? Better late than never. Subaru has finally gotten its EV act together with the Uncharted (with some help from Toyota.) And note that the Uncharted is a very different car from the Solterra, which I tested for a week last year.AdvertisementAdvertisementTL;DR: The 2026 Subaru Uncharted GT is wicked fast on the highway but rugged enough to tackle off-road duties. It comes with a Tesla NACS charging port and a basic driver-assist system. Battery range comes up a little short with an EPA-estimated 273 miles, missing the 300-mile mark. The GT I test drove has an MSRP of $46,215.2026 Subaru Uncharted GT in the Mojave Desert.Highway: Fast, Not Fazed By Steep GradesWhen I got my first EV in 2013 (a plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt), I was immediately addicted to the torque of an EV. The Subaru Uncharted GT provides that in spades. To wit, 338 horsepower from dual electric motors. On Los Angeles freeways that torque comes in handy all day long. Climbing out of the northern reaches of Los Angeles County near Castaic, Calif. on Interstate 5 is a good test. It's a hill where big rigs die and gas cars peter out. The Uncharted flew up that long rise to the summit (about a 2,000 feet change in elevation). And that's another great thing about EVs: they're completely unfazed by steep grades.Off-Road Silence: There Is Little Not To LikeBut can an EV that burns up the highway also be hot off-road? Yes. Definitely. I took the Subaru on a rocky road in the Mojave Desert (near the massive Antelope Valley Solar Ranch) and it exceeded my expectations. Both Mojave soft sand and chunky rocks can be challenging in spots but the Subaru didn't flinch. It helps that it has an ample 8.2 inches of ground clearance and X-MODE to provide optimized traction. The larger point is that a Subaru electric matches – or exceeds – its off-road gas reputation. And all of you naturalists take note: EVs are silent. That makes a huge difference when you're glassing Joshua Trees for a Cactus Wren or watching a kit fox on the hunt.Range: At Highway Speeds Comes Up ShortI set the cruise control to 70 or above. At that speed, the Uncharted GT's max range topped off at well under the rated 273 miles. I would put it in the 240 - 250 mile range, as some other reviews have also found. But that's par for the course if you drive an EV at higher highway speeds. Slow down to 60-64 mph and your range usually improves pretty dramatically based on testing I've done over the years. Sometimes by as much as 40 miles. My point:a it could achieve or exceed the rated range at slower highway speeds.Charging the Subaru Uncharted at a Tesla charging station in Simi Valley, Calif.NACS Is NiceThe Uncharted has a Tesla NACS charging port. The Tesla charging network is a must in 2026. There's just no competition. It's not even close. Other public charging networks are just too few and too glitchy. Redundancy is built into every Tesla charging station: Tesla typically clusters at least 8 and often 20+ stalls at a single location, so if one or two chargers go down, there's always enough to accommodate everyone. The result is a network built for actual demand.Driver Assist: DecentLet me start by saying that Subaru is much better at implementing driver assist systems (aka, Advanced Driver Assistance System or ADAS) than its sibling Toyota. The driver assist I tested (for a week) on a 2026 Toyota bZ was awful. The Subaru's driver assist, called EyeSight, was solid. In short, with the Subaru, you turn it on and it stays on. The bZ's was incredibly flaky and unreliable.AdvertisementAdvertisementThat said, it's a very basic ADAS – referred to generally as lane-centering. If you're on the highway and stay in your lane, EyeSight will, more or less, drive the car for you: it steers, controls braking and acceleration, and maintains a distance from the car in front. It is not in the same league, however, as General Motors' Super Cruise, which I've been testing on the 2027 Chevy Bolt. Super Cruise pretty much handles all highway driving, including executing lane changes. (Tesla Full Self-Driving is in yet another league – basically a robotaxi that takes over all driving duties.)RideI'm not a reviewer who is oversensitized to subtle differences in ride quality. I think it's a first-world problem that gets more attention than it deserves. Suffice to say, the Uncharted GT is not a Cadillac Lyriq in the ride department but I found the ride smooth and comfortable enough on the highway. During the week I had the car, I drove long distances and never felt any kind of ride fatigue.ConclusionThe Subaru Uncharted GT is an exceptional EV. Subaru has finally found the road to EV excellence.This article was originally published on Forbes.com
