Uncharted, Trailseeker and updated Solterra - they’re all signed up for the region, so ….

REGIONAL availability of what’s being considered the electric equivalent of two well-supported Subarus here, the petrol Crosstrek crossover and Forester sports utility, has been confirmed by Subaru.

Whether reawakened interest in electric vehicles here will inspire the make’s New Zealand operation to tick off the new Uncharted car for here has yet to be explained.

However, its introduction here could be relatively easily arranged, as this country and Australia - where the five-chair electric crossover goes on sale in June - are with a common distributor, Inchcape.

Uncharted in set to be sold across the Tasman as a Sport Electric Vehicle (SEV), to sit alongside the Solterra, which has also been recently refreshed and another option, called Trailseeker.

The cars all share DNA link: Solterra is of course twinned with the Toyota bZ4X and the Uncharted is based on the Toyota C-HR Plus.

Trailseeker - whose station wagon looks and nuggety aptitude have seen it being officially renamed the ‘e-Outback’ in the United Kingdom - shares the same platform as those machines.

Last August Subaru NZ suggested consideration of all three was well under way, but suggested the timings were challenging.

At that stage there was a high degree of uncertainty about the market environment, the EV sector having all but completely collapsed after Government pulled rebates and implemented Road User Charges.

Those impacts deeply rattled all sector involvers, but the scene seems to have altered radically within the past month, due to military action in the Middle East.

Not only have petrol and diesel prices raced up, but there is greater concern about the availability of any fossil fuels. This has caused a spike in EV buying; last week was the strongest in sales of new and used battery-pure cars since 2023.

The Uncharted will run in dual motor format, with 225kW and an estimated 0–100kmh time of five seconds. The feed comes from a 74.7kWh CATL battery providing a driving range of up to 522km. DC fast charging of up to 150kW can replenish the battery from 10 to 80 percent in approximately 30 minutes.

Uncharted also features 1500W Vehicle to Load (V2L) capability, allowing compatible devices to be powered directly from the vehicle.

The model bound for Australia has 211mm of ground clearance and a comprehensive suite of traction and control technologies including Symmetrical All Wheel Drive, X-Mode and Downhill Assist Control.

The fastback silhouette elevates a sportiness, which dictates it riding on 20‑inch alloy wheels hand having bold LED lighting and a vibrant colour palette.

The interior includes a 14-inch touchscreen, dual wireless device charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Key functions retain physical switchgear for intuitive, distraction-minimising operation, Subaru says..

Intelligent safety and driver-assist technologies include Subaru Safety Sense, Subaru Vision Assist with Blind Spot Monitoring, a 360-Degree View Monitor and Driving Monitoring System (DMS).

The confirmation of Uncharted for Australia follows the recent introduction of the 2026 Solterra and reveal of the all-new Trailseeker.