Here's a fun piece of trivia that'll surely impress all your friends at the next trivia night: this 2026 Subaru Uncharted you see here is the first front-wheel-drive Subaru to be sold in North America in 30 years.

First, electrification came for our Boxer engines. Now, Subaru's back to offering FWD vehicles to generations of customers that originally bought into the beauty of all-wheel-drive. As a Subaru enthusiast becoming increasingly jaded day by day, perhaps there just might be no rules.

What's new for 2026?

Everything. The Uncharted is an all-new model for 2026, part of a broader initiative on Subaru's part — with the help of Toyota — to bolster the electric offerings of both brands. That's right, fanboys and fangirls: the corporate partnership that forged The Twins is now bringing you more EVs.

The expanded-for-2026 lineup is anchored by the updated bZ on Toyota's end, and the also-updated Solterra on Subaru's end, which we haven't sampled yet. Branching out from there are the Subaru Trailseeker and Toyota bZ Woodland, two new wagon-flavoured offshoots aimed at the Outback crowd, and this Subaru Uncharted and its cousin, the born-again Toyota C-HR. They're effectively Subaru and Toyota's players in the burgeoning, somewhat-affordable EV space.

First impressions

After Subaru sold us the beauty of all-wheel-drive for years, launching the Uncharted with a front-wheel-drive model feels weird. And before you say anything else, at least the BRZ is a fun, rear-wheel-drive sports car.

Here's the thing about the Uncharted: its Toyota cousin is actually quite good. The C-HR made me reshuffle my top picks in the somewhat-affordable-$45,000-EV-space, and now the Uncharted — especially in this most basic flavour — hammers it home. It wears the same swoopy profile and tidy rear end as the C-HR, tricking you into thinking it's a two-door from afar. Unique to the Uncharted is its front fascia and our tester's bright orange paint.

What's it like to drive?

Whatever you want to call them, and whichever logo you prefer, they're all underpinned by the same basic platform — Toyota calls theirs 'e-TNGA,' while Subaru prefers the term 'e-Subaru Global Platform.' The Uncharted does things a little differently than the C-HR, starting with an ultra-base trim using Toyota's 57.7 kWh battery pack and a single, front-mount electric motor. This one's good for 165 horsepower and 399 kilometres of range.

Our tester is one rung up the trim level ladder. It uses the same 224-horsepower front electric motor and the larger 77 kWh battery pack. Above that is the all-wheel-drive Uncharted GT and its 338-hp electric motor setup. But that's not why we're here.

Despite being a front-driver with "only" 224 ponies, the Uncharted proved surprisingly fun. It's punchy off the line and doesn't totally run out of breath on the highway. The Uncharted rides extremely well over bumps and potholes, but the absence of an engine makes my ears focus on what seemed like extra road noise than Subaru's norm.

Range and charging

Subaru says the long range Uncharged, appropriately, boasts the most range. It's rated at 496 kilometres, compared to 399 for the base Uncharted and 436 km for the dual-motor models. Subaru also quotes about eight hours for a full charge on a Level 2 box, and a 10-to-80 charge in half an hour on a Level 3 fast-charger. Not great, but not bad, either. You'll live.

And if you have to charge on a 110-volt garage outlet in a pinch, the Uncharted will do a 50-to-80 per cent recharge — giving you more than 300 km to get home — in about 30 hours. Ask me how I know.

What's it like inside?

The Uncharted is a twin to the C-HR, down to every little stitch and button. The 14-inch touchscreen is immediately familiar, as are the climate controls and double-wireless-charger centre stack. It's roomy for a blob; the Uncharted can take 628 litres of junk in its trunk with the seats up. Fold them and that grows to 1,685 L. That's plenty for most — and on top of that, the Uncharted's cabin is well-built and solid-feeling. The Uncharted is a surprisingly agreeable companion.

Final thoughts

The 2026 Subaru Uncharted sure took long enough to get here, and I still haven't grown comfortable with the thought of a front-wheel-drive Subaru taking up showroom space across Canada. But for those who've been clamouring for an electric Subaru, the Uncharted hits all the right notes with its agreeable price point before incentives, good EV range, and a surprisingly fun demeanour.