Smart 1 vs Subaru Uncharted

What's the difference?

Another day, another China-backed EV brand launches in Australia. This one, though, should be at least be vaguely familiar, with Smart having previously operated in Australia about 15 years ago, back when it was a Mercedes-Benz sub-brand rocking the tiny and clever Smart ForTwo and ForFour.

Mercedes is still involved, though now as a 50/50 joint venture partner with Chinese giant Geely, though the new Smart family is not being delivered by either company, and are actually being distributed by Mercedes’ biggest global dealer group, LSH Auto.

All of which is a load of information you don’t really need. But you should know, as a result of all that, the brand is promising a fleet of semi-premium EVs designed in Germany and built in China, with the Smart #1 the first to touch down in Australia.

Oh, and they pronounce the “hashtag” part of the model name, but I just can’t see that strategy becoming part of the Australian lexicon.

Anyway, part-Chinese, part-German and all electric. So should the #1 be on your EV shopping list?

Subaru is entering uncharted territory.

The Uncharted is the brand’s first electric small SUV and a bold new direction, as the Japanese maker enters one of the most hotly-contested and now sought-after new segments in the Australian car market.

There is no shortage of new options calling out to Australian buyers and with a broad range of price-tags, designs and on-board tech it’s never been a more difficult time to enter this space.

So what does the Subaru Uncharted do differently, and is it worthy of your consideration? We took one for a week to find out.