Subaru Uncharted vs Cupra Born

What's the difference?

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.

Electric cars. Australia now has quite a few, and to add more confusion to the mix, there are a litany of all-new brands releasing models into this new frontier of the automotive landscape.

Most new electric cars are in Australia’s favourite buying category, the SUV, but there’s also a ute, some odd sedan-y things, and, of course, a handful of hatchbacks.

Hailing from Spain, the Cupra Born sets itself apart from the rest for a few reasons though. Firstly, it promises to be a hot hatch, something we haven’t really seen much of yet, and secondly, it has to bear the burden of launching Volkswagen Group’s all-electric MEB platform to the Australian market, but most importantly for Australians keen to hop into their first electric car, it promises to do this while offering a long range at a reasonable price.

Can it really do it all? We attended the Cupra Born’s Australian launch to find out.