Even with the evaporation of federal tax credits, plenty of automakers have big plans for electric cars in the United States. In particular, Toyota and Subaru are both planning to stack their dealerships with more two-row crossover EVs. While this is a questionable tactic for most, I think there are two reasons why the brands could be successful. The fact that Subaru went way into left field to find a name for its new EV is going to play into this a bit.
First, let’s face it. The current generation of electric cars produced by Toyota and Subaru is not great. You’d think that two strong companies like Toyota and Subaru sharing the development of a platform would result in greatness, but that’s not what happened. The bZ4X and Solterra were the most also-ran of also-ran electric cars, offering no advancements in charging speed, efficiency, performance, or design. They were to electric cars what Screaming Trees were to grunge music.
That’s changing quickly. The 2025 Toyota bZ seems like a massive improvement, especially with regard to range. The bZ Woodland is an interesting take on the rugged-but-not-too-rugged crossover. Subaru gets its own versions with the revised Solterra and Subaru Trailseeker. For Toyota, a smaller EV two-row crossover is coming in the form of the electric CH-R. That vehicle, too, has a competitive spec sheet, with a range up to 290 miles.
It seems simple, but having truly competitive products is the first reason why I think Toyota and Subaru could make a trio of two-row electric cars work for the brands. The other reason is that the brands are Toyota and Subaru. The Bees Forks was one of the few products that Toyota wasn’t in constant short supply of last year, due to its lack of competitiveness. One just has to look at the success of the Honda Prologue to witness how much pent-up demand there probably is for a good Toyota EV.
Here are the pairs of cars we have right now:
- Toyota bZ = Subaru Solterra
- Toyota bZ Woodland = Subaru Trailseeker
- Toyota CH-R = ?????
Subaru may be in better shape than Toyota because Subaru has its buyers entranced. You don’t buy a Subaru so much as you ascend into your final form as an outdoorsy Subaru owner when a ray of light beams down from the nearest REI, and all your clothes vanish from your body and are replaced by Patagonia.
While I expected the new CH-R-based Subaru to have basically identical stats, I was not ready for the name, which is: Uncharted. It’s the 2026 Subaru Uncharted.
This brings up a lot of questions: Is this the first Subaru to be named after a video game? Is it the first Subaru name that’s exclusively an adjective (Legacy is both a noun and an adjective, as is BRAT)? It’s a strange name, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. If Subaru is a brand of mostly well-marketed economy cars and crossovers, then Uncharted is exceptional branding for an average electric crossover.
The Uncharted will debut on July 17th.
Top graphic images: Naughty Dog; Subaru
Uncharted?! That is NOT a name for a car…how stupid
“Yeah, I drive an Uncharted”
i hope the second generation is called the Subaru Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Trailseeker sounds more like a copy but different of the trailblazer name. Or even Jeeps trail rated moniker. A lot of car names are odd. I like European names. Barely names just a model badge number. Much less cheesy that way.
Trailblazer + Pathfinder = Trailseeker
Toyota CH-R = ?????
I think Subaru missed out by not going with Sunny.
I mean, Sunny and CH-R has a nice ring to it don’t you think?
I’m assuming that CH-R is pronounced Cher. If it’s pronounced Chair, then is Table the choice?
Isn’t Uncharted a synonym for commercial failure, as in so much of a failure it is off the charts?
Pronounced CHR unless you’re made of cheese
Do you mean sea aitch are?
Otherwise, you need some sort of vowel sound.
The CH-R is not my son.
but there’s already a nissan sunny!!
Uncharted is a stupid name. It’s as if they asked some Artificial Stupidity/”AI” to suggest a name, “Uncharted” is what it barfed out and they mindlessly decided to roll with it.
The only ones buying this will be alpha betas trying to find their first happy trails.
Nah, true alpha males are still out in the barn trying to fix that head gasket on their old F250. If only they had a torque wrench for those head bolts, which of course, they don’t.
Finding all the hidden free L2 charging opportunities and free DCFC (it exists, I tell ya!). Then keeping the results to themselves and not spilling the beans on Plugshare.
I really liked the Solterra name, it was fresh, easy to say, played into the eco theme of a soft roady EV, then Trailseeker I’m like ok they’re going back to the Outlander theme, that’s cool, but this is um….a choice, I guess? I’ll wait until at least the first DLC to really judge.
Hey now, Screaming Trees had at least 4 songs that charted.
Pour one out for Mark ;-(
Sing Backwards and Weep is a great book, especially the audiobook. Listen on a long road trip and try not to bawl your eyes out.
Of course competitive offerings are the most important thing. Just what are you comparing in the race though? I see no range numbers, no space numbers, no maintenance numbers, I see nothing even being compared so how are they losing the competitive competition? Neither company has any recalls on their EVs that I am aware of every other EV has as many cars coming back as being sold. If you say they aren’t competitive make your point.
A further random thought, I saw a Wilderness trim Subaru and thought the badge said Suburban Wilderness, which seemed totally on target
This one would literally be the Subaru Uncharted Wilderness
This “outdoorsy Subaru owner when a ray of light beams down from the nearest REI, and all your clothes vanish from your body and are replaced by Patagonia.” is the reason why despite living in Bend Oregon, land of Subaru, I drove a Mazda and never wore PataGucci, which I see as the mark of the Californian. I still drove around with kayaks and mountain bikes, I just wore Columbia, or random surplus.
“Subaru Uncharted. Coming soon to…what’s that? The entire Earth has already been charted?”
(clears throat)
“Subaru Uncharted. Available late 2025 on Mars. Late availability on Callisto.”
Well, a lot of the open ocean floor is still uncharted. Maybe they’re anticipating another container ship fire?
“Why do I want to drive a car that hasn’t been charted?” – my husband.
Though I admit the prospect of a Subaru Uncharted Wilderness kind of f-s.
In that case, it should be called the Titan Uncharted.
They are inviting jokes about its range and it turning into a Subaru Uncharged.
The second generation runs the risk of being Unchanged.
This could go on and on.
This would be a great name in a country where English is not the primary language, such as Japan. Here, not so great, for many reasons.
On the other hand, if Gilligan’s Island gets remade, this car is a shoo-in for a cameo.
Brat is not an adjective.
What is brat?In modern pop culture, the word brat refers to someone who is confidently rebellious, unapologetically bold, and playfully defiant.
https://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/brat/
Exactly right; it’s a noun.
She is brat. Brat is an adjective – modifying she. No different than She is tall.
Now if you said “She is a brat”. Then yes brat is a noun.
I’d never heard it used as an adjective until this year, in the context of the album of that name.
It took off last summer with Charli XCX’s album. Then was picked up online and for some reason integrated into the Harris presidential campaign. It was the Collins dictionary word of the year for 2024.
My nieces say Brat is no longer a thing – no doubt do to the fact that it got picked up and used by us old’s.
That’s both cringe and sus.
Did you guys know the new Mazda CX-5 was revealed today??
So was the Ioniq 6 N.
Apparently Autopian would rather discuss 20 year old Cadillacs and airplanes. : (
You say that like it’s a negative or abnormal aspect of The Autopian.
Did you, uh, make a wrong turn getting off the information superhighway? Think the signs for this place are pretty clear, not sure what you were expecting – Hollywood DT might be in the market for a new car, but the rest of these cats are still half-feral at best.
That’s why we come here.
I dunno about you guys but I’d like to see an all “K-car” demolition derby pitting an ’82 Lebaron coupe against a LeBaron wagon vs an ’85 Reliant vs a Plymouth Acclaim.
At least this is not TTAC. Just last week they posted the 61st in a series of reviews of old Cadillac behemoths:
Rare Rides Icons: The Cadillac Eldorado, Distinctly Luxurious (Part LXI)
That dead horse has been whipped into flinders, and then some.
The lack of car coverage today is strange. Maybe everyone has the week off.
I don’t think it’s that, I just think our writers are given a lot of creative freedom and that new car releases aren’t really the main priority here. Sometimes I’d like to talk about them right when they happen, but there are myriad other websites that cover them anyway.
We come here for the weird, after all.
Lets allow Hyundai to clean up the mess left in their wake with the 100,000’s of ICE powerplants that have screwed Americans before allowing them to screw them further with their ICCU failures that are now numbering in the thousands.
The new CH-R is a mighty compelling little package. 300ish horsepower and miles of range with standard all wheel drive, an NACS port, and fairly attractive design. They’ve got a great base to build on, color me mildly intrigued.
Up next, the Subaru Far Cry, Subaru Horizon and the Subaru Tomb Raider!
The Lara Croft edition may go over well with a certain demo known to buy Subarus.
The top picture has her counterpart, a digitally created male weekend warrior.
I always thought her counterpart was Turok: Dinosaur hunter
My vote goes to the Subaru Tetris.
I apologize, Screaming Trees. Matt is in some kind of mood today, I don’t think he meant what he said.
I guess you could say….he nearly lost you there
And he’s taken us somewhere!